August 2006 Sightings

Please email your sightings to Andy Lawson

If you live, or for that matter visit, any site west of the A249 between the Sheppey bridge and Maidstone and then west to Dartford and Tunbridge Wells (roughly...) then I would be delighted to hear from you.

Wednesday 30th August Haysden

A short wander around the Shallows this morning produced several Lesser Whitethroat, and Blackcap, two Garden Warblers, Chiffchaff and a singing Willow Warbler. Also 100 House Martins still present and two Swallows noted.
(Andrew Appleton)

Tuesday 29th August Haysden

About 100 House Martins, 30 Swallows and one Sand Martin were noted at Lower Haysden this morning.
(Andrew Appleton)

Sunday 27th August Sevenoaks Nature Reserve

The Reserve has been a slumbering giant for 3 months, but in the last 2 days it has woken up, yawned, stretched and looked about.

On Thurs it saw a summer plumage Grey Plover and today there were 3 Common Scoter. Only one observer connected before the dusky ducks duly departed. Also today there was Little Egret, 2 Shoveler, 2 Wigeon, 22 Teal, 3 Green Sands, Common Sand, 7 Snipe, 3 Kingfishers, Grey Wag and 2 Spot Flies. 200 yards north of the big field there were 3 Yellow Wags, 2 Whinchats and 6 Reed Buntings - altogether a much better effort.
(Martin Coath)

Thursday 24th August Haysden

Not a lot appears to have changed while I have been away - next to nothing to report. The best I guess were a couple of Sand Martins, a few House Martins and about 40 Swallows. Apart from that Reed Warblers are
feeding young and juvenile Goldcrests and Chiffchaffs were noted this evening.
(Andrew Appleton)

Tuesday 22nd August Motney Hill

Stopped off for a quick look around - on the mud flats at low tide, about 300 hundred black-tailed godwits, 8 curlew and 50 odd redshank. One common sandpiper flew overhead. Further out on the mud, several dunlin in dark-bellied summer plumage.

A follow-up visit next day showed about the same number of godwits and 90+ oystercatchers. On Otterham creek, a solitary pair of bar-tails with a juvenile. Further down on the slimy green island near the orchards, about 20 lapwing mostly asleep. A peaceful scene!
(Alan Lean)

Saturday 5th August North Kent

An early start today though not quite matching the Stour valley boys early starts!!! I wandered out to the Yantlett area from 0600 to 0800  in the hope of locating good numbers of waders. Once again the tide was too keen and I caught the tail end of the wader roost. There were actually very few birds the best of the bunch being sixteen Greenshank, three Whimbrel, eighty six Black tailed Godwit, eight Turnstone, three Sanderling, and a cracking juvenille Spotted Redshank. Little Egret were scattered around the area and there was the near constant sound of  Sandwich Terns flying over.

A quick look on Stoke saltings produced a lone Greenshank, three Grey Plover and Little Egret.

As there seems to be little suitable wader habitat at present I decided to visit Cliffe again on the off chance that the pools (what's left of them) may hold some waders!! Wrong again, only thirteen Dunlin, three Greenshank and a Common Sandpiper. There was only one option left, go home and do some bird notes, I was back home by 0930 !!!

(Barry Wright)

Saturday 5th August Cliffe RSPB

As part of a day's birding in Kent myself, James Hunter and Richard Bonser started at Cliffe at high tide and found the area to be virtually devoid of bird life (except Little Grebes!). One Greenshank + 20 Redshank on Radar, two Ruff on the 1st Black Barn, 2 Golden Plover + 1 Greenshank on Flamingo was about it. Not one Blackwit or Dunlin.  Scarce Emerald Damselfly was the highlight. Also 340 Avocet & 5 Yellow Legged Gulls on the river.
(Andrew Lawson)

Thursday 3rd August Dartford

New Diggings: female Gadwall & six fledged young, 3 families of Tufted Duck with 7, 5 & 3 young respectively, Green Sandpiper, Kingfisher, Sedge Warbler, 40 Mallard including a group of 15 eclipse drakes and Ring Necked Parakeet.

(Andrew Lawson)

Tuesday 1st August Dartford

Our 16 month old bairn has slept through the night for well over a year so I can forgive him one night.  At 10.30pm, as I pushed the pram up and down outside the house, 4+ calling Common Sandpipers flew over heading south.  Considering the distance between them, I would say they were part of a bigger group.

(Andrew Lawson)