Oare Marshes Latest Sightings

February 2012

Reporting Your Sightings

To help keep this page as up-to-date and informative as possible, please send your sightings and any pictures taken onsite (please see 'Guidelines for submissions' on the KOS Photo Gallery for details of how to resize your pics etc.) to Murray Wright by clicking here.

Species List for 2012

To view the complete list of species recorded so far this year please click here.

113 species have been recorded in the area so far this year.   

February 29th 

The Rough-legged Buzzard performed well for about half an hour at lunchtime today over Mocketts - sparring with 2 Common Buzzards, hunting very low and perching on bushes and on the ground in bright sunshine.
(Andy Malone)

February 27th 

(08:15-13:00) Cool SW breeze and overcast, with poor light. On the W flood were c.50 Wigeon; 10 Tufted Duck; and a flock of 26 Greenfinches. 2 Red-breasted Mergansers were on the Swale below Sheppey Banks, plus 3 drakes flew W and at Uplees copse a further 5 birds were mid-channel. A Common Buzzard circled high above Uplees Copse drifting into Sheppey airspace. Later a male Sparrowhawk flew low in attack mode; although 2 'Black Hawks' looked more menacing as they gyrated through the E marsh, scattering all and sundry but fortunately causing Bearded Tits to 'ping' loudly - an OMYT at last! The Brent flock were much reduced in number; 30 Bar-tailed Godwits were among the waders at creekside - could have waded across today; water was very low - and Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits were feeding well down towards the head of the creek close to the moorings (as seen later from Oare ponds.) C.200 Avocets were also around the mud margins at the creek's mouth; c.40 Tufted Duck were on E flood plus 7 Pochard. A  Cetti's gave a staccato performance. A ringtail Hen Harrier was over Mocketts with a couple of Marsh Harriers.

(Mike Roser)  

February 26th 

A brief visit today produced a single Brambling in willows in the car park before it flew off west calling.
(Andy Malone)

February 25th 

(07:00-11:45) Cloud clearing to the south and then bright and sunny with a WNW breeze. I met up with Richard Roberts on a fine February morning. A scan of the East Flood revealed 7 Pochard (three drakes), 74 Tufted Ducks, 2 Gadwall (a pair), 30+ Pintail and 21 Mute Swans, plus small numbers of Shoveler, Mallard and Teal. A Water Rail squealed and showed briefly by the pull-in. From the slipway we picked up the Great Northern Diver on the Swale, which was present throughout the morning. Heading towards the cottages we found 4 Long-tailed Tits in the bushes near the disabled parking bay. A pair of Collared Doves on the wires by the cottages were a somewhat overdue OMYT for both of us (although they normally disappear from here during the winter months)! The West Hide produced very little as usual, but walking back Richard picked out a Goldcrest in the bushes near the gate (plus what were probably the same four Long-tailed Tits seen earlier) - an addition to the Oare year list. A Green Sandpiper flew west towards the fishing ponds. There were 2 Greenshanks in Faversham Creek off the Shipwright's Arms. From the Sea Wall hide we  picked out 2 ringtail Hen Harriers and a Short-eared Owl hunting on Sheppey below the church. The leucistic Curlew was on Horse Sands. A pair of Stonechats were near the carpark. 10 more Tufted Ducks and two pairs of Gadwall were on the dyke west of the Watch House. There were 3 Red-breasted Mergansers (two drakes) on the Swale, plus 10 Great Crested Grebes. From Dan's Dock a Common Buzzard was perched on a post on the southern edge of the sheep pastures. Back at the flood there were 13 Ruff, circa 25 Golden Plovers and 33 Common Gulls. 3 Cetti's Warblers were singing around the reserve.

(Murray Wright)

February 23rd 

(07:45-12:45) Early cloud lifting to leave pleasant, warm sunshine with a light WSW breeze. A lovely morning on which it was nice to be able to dispense with coat, hat and gloves! On the East Flood first thing there were 2 Ruff, 13 Common Snipe, circa 750 Lapwings, 1 female Pochard, 62 Tufted Ducks, 7 Gadwall (three drakes), 34 Pintail and circa 50 Shoveler, plus smaller numbers of Teal, Wigeon and Mallard. A small ringtail Hen Harrier flew south through the flood. An early walk west to Uplees was pretty quiet except for the singing Skylarks, plus 4 Red-breasted Mergansers (one drake) and 10+ Great Crested Grebes on the Swale. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming from the trees around the fishing ponds. The leucistic Curlew was on Horse Sands for a change. Back along the road I met Ian Stewart (who I hadn't seen here since autumn 2010) just as the Rough-legged Buzzard got up over Mocketts (a new bird for Ian) in the company of 2 Common Buzzards. An hour or so later there were 5 Common Buzzards in the air togther with two circling south over the Swale. The Brent Goose flock (circa 1500 birds) was moving to and fro between Nagden marshes and the Swale. A Great Northern Diver appeared (dismembering a crab as usual) on the Swale off the mouth of Faversham Creek. A Little Stint was on the flood at high tide again, feeding alone just behind the circa 300 roosting Dunlins, plus circa 75 Golden Plovers and 19 Avocets.

(Murray Wright)

(13:30-14:45) Positively soporific! Early afternoon walk round the E flood; conditions brought the world and his wife out! Common Buzzard and Marsh Harriers over Mocketts; 2 Cetti's in song; melanistic Curlew in the saltmarsh; c.20-25 Ruff around the reserve; other wader sps were predominately c.400 Dunlin; Black-tailed Godwits widely spread c.250; Golden Plover constantly alert and not staying but c.500; usual Redshank numbers with a few Ringed Plover, 1 Little Stint and 24 Avocet. There were 4 pairs of Gadwall and c.35 Tufted Duck. Pintail and Shoveler numbers much reduced. Brent numbers over South Swale maintained around 1500, occasionally rising above the seawall en-masse. Not too much avian activity on the water - enticing though for yachties off winter moorings!

(Mike Roser)

February 20th 

A sharp frost iced up the dykes; the air was cool from the SW and there was clarity of light. Wildfowlers lingered, stretching the season's end; 2 Rock Pipits were on the foreshore as I walked W. Skylarks extended their song; Little Egrets were busy in the saltings. A flock of c.20 Greenfinches continue to roam the marsh plus good numbers of Reed Buntings. C.70 Avocets were Sheppey-side as were 2 Canada Geese. A group of 2 male and 4 female Red-breasted Mergansers hinted at courtship with the males throwing their heads back and porpoising through the water mid-channel. Towards midday activity over Mocketts increased with up to 4 Common Buzzards and a Rough-legged Buzzard apparent. The main wader sps on the E flood were Dunlin with Ringed Plover, Grey Plover and Black-tailed Godwits in the mix. Up to a dozen Ruff were on the E flood and in the W rough grassland. Male and female Stonechats were on the E flood marsh.

(Mike Roser)

February 19th 

(07:15-11:30) Bright and sunny after a frosty start with a brisk NW wind. I met up with Philip again on a fairly quiet morning. A Great Northern Diver was drifting slowly west along the Swale catching crabs. A single Little Stint was with the Dunlin on the East Flood at high tide again. Just 2 Common Buzzards and a few Marsh Harriers were seen around Mocketts. A Red-throated Diver fishing on the Swale off the Sea Wall hide was an OMYT for both of us. There was a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers on the Swale and a duck flew west, plus 3 Gadwall flew in from the east and dropped on the water. Another pair of Gadwall were amongst the Tufted Ducks on the dyke west of the Watch House. A ringtail Hen Harrier flew across from Sheppey and headed off south over the West 'Flood'. There were 4+ Rock Pipits at Dan's Dock, and a Water Rail was showing well in the concrete reservoir there.

(Murray Wright)

February 18th 

(07:15-12:30) Increasingly cloudy with a strengthening SW wind. I met up with Richard Roberts and Philip Goacher. There were 14 Ruff amongst the Lapwings and Black-tailed Godwits around the West Scrape. 2 Pied Wagtails around the Watch House were an OMYT for Richard! A Cetti's Warbler was singing from the paddocks. A Rough-legged Buzzard was over Mocketts much of the morning, plus 5 Common Buzzards in the air together. A Little Stint appeared briefly on the East Flood at high tide, plus 2 Ruff, a single Bar-tailed Godwit and 15 Avocets. There were 48 Tufted Ducks on the dyke west of the Watch House. A Great Northern Diver was located on the Swale off Dan's Dock. From Uplees there were 7 Canada Geese on the mud on the Sheppey-side, plus a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers and 10+ Great Crested Grebes on the Swale, and a Woodcock was flushed from the copse. A quick look at Ham Road pits failed to produce any Smew. Mike R had a Greenshank on Oare Pits early afternoon.

(Murray Wright)

February 17th 

(08:30-11:30) I walked round the East Flood this morning. Of interest: 1 Water Rail in the small flooded copse beside the car park, seen and heard; 1 Great Northern Diver on the Swale by the spit to the east of the Sea Wall hide. 1 Red-throated Diver on the Swale drifting out on the receding tide (the first seen here this year).
(Andy Millar)

February 16th 

(07:45-10:00) Overcast, cloudy and feeling quite mild. There were 3 Pochard (one drake and two ducks) on the East Flood first thing - only my second sighting of the species here this year, plus 33 Tufted Ducks. A ringtail Hen Harrier flew W along the sea wall. A single Bearded Tit was in the reeds near the sluice. Heading back from failing to see any Greenshanks in Faversham Creek, the session was curtailed when a call from Geoff, reporting the eagle (i.e. a White-tailed Eagle) had landed in south Kent, had me heading off to Walland Marsh for a long overdue Kent (and Sussex) tick!

(Murray Wright)

Lunch hour in the Sea Wall hide; 3 Red-breasted Mergansers west of Castle Coote; and the South Swale Brent Goose flock alighted near the mouth of the creek. Spent some time 'scoping them, finally finding the pale-bellied bird - prominent once found! Small numbers of Avocets and Bar-tailed Godwits; with Terry R trying to capture the whirring wings of Dunlin. We settled for at least 23 seals on Horse Sands. The arc in front of the hide contained c.280 Shelduck. Large gulls on Horse Sands included Great Black-backeds, Lesser Black-backeds, Herring, and one bird I was not confident about - an intermediate-grey mantle colour; strong definition between the upperwing colour; black primaries and mirrors; with both white leading and trailing wing edges prominent against the grey, as it flew. Appearing to have a pure white plumaged head - reminded me of Yellow-legged; trouble was I didn't see the leg colour!

(Mike Roser)

February 15th 

(07:30-12:00) Bright with cloud building and the odd spot of rain and a strong NW breeze. With the East Flood fully thawed there were 15 Tufted Ducks amongst the wildfowl and 15 Ruff amongst the waders. I met Brian Blackman at the slipway and we walked west to Uplees. I finally managed to see a Woodcock when one flushed while I was trudging through the copse (from exactly the same spot where Geoff put one up on Sunday) - it circled round passing Brian on the sea wall and dropped back in at the east end of the copse, where Brian saw a second bird drop in with it a minute or so later. A Great Northern Diver appeared on the Swale steadily drifting east on the receding tide (we later watched it off the slipway and then preening out near the green Receptive Bouy). There were also 10+ Great Crested Grebes on the Swale, but I failed to see any Mergs this morning. The flock of circa 25 Linnets were on the saltmarsh east of Dan's Dock. I met Steve Clinch who'd seen a Merlin fly west along the Swale. 5 Common Buzzards were soaring together around Mocketts, plus several Marsh Harriers. As we approached the East Hide a female Kingfisher flew past and landed on a broken reed. A quick visit to Ham Road pits added the 4 redhead Smew, single Green Sandpiper and Sparrowhawk to day's sightings.

(Murray Wright)

February 13th 

Initially walked W well beyond Fowley Spit. A chill, raw W breeze was less cold than of late; ice and snow receding giving credence to Skylark (14), Chaffinch and Linnet call-notes. Wildfowl numbers were high toward South Deep with Wigeon, Brent and Teal prominent. A few Red-breasted Mergansers (6) and Great Crested Grebes (11) noted; a good mix of waders included Bar-tailed Godwits, Knot and Avocets. Returning, a Woodcock was flushed from the saltings near the copse, and met up with Malcolm McVail and Barry Woolhouse watching a Rough-legged Buzzard over Mocketts from Dan's Dock - dark mantled, pale at base of primaries and broad black tail band prominent against white upper tail, constantly hovering. Common Buzzard and 3 Marsh Harriers also noted. (BARRY HAS ADVISED THE LOSS OF A LEICA EYE-PIECE between Dan's Dock and Oare car-park - I have an e-mail address for anyone finding the lens). East Flood was slowly de-icing; 12 Tufted Duck back on site, plus Terry R waiting for warmth, and light, for camera work!

(Mike Roser)

February 12th 

(07:15-12:30) Snow first thing turning to sleet/rain and then to general murk. I arrived onsite at -4C with falling snow which was quite nice, however, it soon turned pretty grotty and misty when the temp rose a couple of degrees above freezing - it turned out a productive morning nonetheless! A Corn Bunting was perched on a bramble between the East Flood and the seawall. There was a Ruff and 6 Black-tailed Godwits on the ice on the mostly frozen flood. I met up with Geoff, a surprise visitor today following an aborted trip to Holland - a good thing as he was on a bit of a roll today! 1 or 2 Water Rails were on the ice on the frozen dyke along the west side of the road. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming occasionally throughout the morning from the trees around the Gate House Cottages. 2 Long-tailed Tits in the copse opposite the cottages were an overdue OMYT for both of us! There were 33 Mute Swans on the mostly frozen East Flood. A female Kingfisher appeared a couple of times around the sluice again. A pair of Peregrines (appeared to be adult male and female) shared the first pylon east of Faversham Creek. A Merlin flew past us at the Sea Wall hide and headed west. On the Swale this morning there were 8+ Red-breasted Mergansers and 12+ Great Crested Grebes. 3-4 Rock Pipits were around the slipway. A Sparrowhawk flew low south along the road towards the cottages. A single Knot dropped onto the mud just beyond the saltmarsh west of the slipway. A Common Buzzard flew over the sheep pastures and headed across the Swale to Sheppey. A mobile flock of circa 50 Skylarks were on the saltmarsh west of Dan's Dock. A passerine perched on top of a hawthorn as we approached Uplees Copse proved to be a female Yellowhammer - an addition to the Oare year list and always pretty scarce here despite good numbers still being present nearby e.g. at Abbeyfields. Shortly after a Merlin (probably the same bird seen earlier) perched briefly on a fence post opposite the copse before flying inland. Finally Geoff flushed a Woodcock as we trudged through the copse, which I somehow managed to miss - doh!

(Murray Wright)

February 11th 

(07:15-11:30) Bright but hazy sunshine after a hard overnight frost. The car was registering the temperature as -9C when I left home this morning and +2C when I got back! A lovely crisp morning with little wind, though the birding was a bit quiet. The Lapwings roosting on the almost wholly frozen East Flood were all sporting a coating of frost. 30 Mute Swans were 'frozen in', plus 88 Coots were sliding on the ice, and 48 Greylags were around the margins. A ringtail Hen Harrier made a close pass near the sluice, quickly followed by a female Marsh Harrier. Circa 1000 Brent Geese were moving to and fro between Nagden Marshes and the Swale - an impressive spectacle. A Great Northern Diver was 'crabbing' near the Faversham Spit bouy, plus 8+ Red-breasted Mergansers and 3 Great Crested Grebes. 3 Rock Pipits were around the slipway. A young male Merlin was perching on posts in the saltmarsh west of the slipway. The imm Harris's Hawk flew north across the Swale from Dan's Dock. I met Steve Arthur who reported there were now 4 redhead Smew on Ham Road pits, where at 15:00 Terry Ryan saw a Bittern emerge briefly from the reeds (also seen by his brother there around the same time yesterday). This afternoon at Oare Julian saw a female Goosander with 5 Red-breasted Mergansers on the Swale before it flew off west.

(Murray Wright)

Walked toward Fowley Spit. Good 'scope views of the Great Northern Diver drifting W off Dan's Dock/Uplees slipway on the incoming tide. 5 Red-breasted Mergansers centre water; party of 11 Skylarks with Reed Buntings on saltings and 2 Rock Pipit. Talked at length very amicably and reasonably with two wildfowlers who acknowledged that the continual freeze might precipitate legislation for cessation of shooting, temporarily. At least there was distance between them and the carpark! Good to see Little Egrets surviving - the night was the coldest yet!

(Mike Roser)

February 10th 

(12:45-16:30) Bright and sunny with a chilly SE breeze. What started out as a fairly quiet session perked up considerably when I met Geoff along the road late on. As we were passing the cottages a small bird shot into a Yew tree in one of the gardens and after a few seconds showed itself to be a very smart Firecrest. It performed well for five minutes or so, long enough for some other passing birders to see. Circa 60 Fieldfares were dropping into the scrub/paddocks and flying off south-east over the cottages. 2 Little Stints were reported in Faversham Creek although I didn't see them on the East Flood at high tide, but amongst the roosting waders there were 1 Ruff, 150 Black-tailed Godwits and 48 Avocets. A Barn Owl was hunting over the rough field east of the Ferry Inn mid-afternoon, plus a ringtail Hen Harrier and several Marsh Harriers noted there. A Merlin was reported over the west side.

(Murray Wright)

February 9th 

(07:45-12:00) Mostly overcast and a bit misty with a light N breeze. The sun just about broke through for half an hour early on, and it felt considerably less raw than the last couple of days. There were 12 Red-breasted Mergansers feeding on the Swale west of the slipway. 110 Pintail were on the East Flood (possibly my highest count here - I'll have to check my records!), plus a similar number of Shoveler. A foraging Wren joined me in the West Hide for a minute or two. A Sparrowhawk flew east over Faversham Creek, and a Peregrine was perched on a Nagden pylon. A ringtail Hen Harrier was hunting around the new acquisition and later a second bird flew across the Swale to Sheppey. Met Mike R at the Sea Wall hide where we watched a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers swim into the creek. After Mike headed W a Great Northern Diver appeared in front of the hide before flying off high east and disappearing over Shellness. A quick visit to Ham Road pits on the way home to see the 3 redhead Smew which were still present.

(Murray Wright)

After leaving you, trudged to Uplees not seeing a great deal, other than usual passerines in smallish numbers - that said a sizeable flock of Reed Buntings had several Skylarks with it.  The flock of c.30 Linnets mobile from the copse to the saltings. 2 Merlins seen apart, were distinctly different - one; unlike the usual blue/grey plumaged bird was larger, very much browner and with prominent tail banding - ad fem? 4 Rock Pipits were close to the slipway as I left.

(Mike Roser)

February 8th 

(07:30-12:30) Grey with sleety showers and a strong, freezing NE breeze. The East Flood remains only about a 1/3 frozen, so reasonable numbers of wildfowl remain, but no diving duck. Scanning the East Flood from my parking spot, I immediately noticed a drake Red-crested Pochard at the east end, so I headed for the 'comfort' of the East Hide for a closer look - a superb looking bird and only the second record for the patch that I'm aware of (the first was a drake on 18th January 2006). Later it flew around the flood and landed near the road. The light was awful and the results of  my attempts to get a picture were disappointing. Fortunately Terry Ryan responded to my text and got the shot below. From the hide I counted 93 Pintail (a good count here) and there may have been more as most of the wildfowl were tucked in around the margins, plus there were 22 Mute Swans first thing. A Kingfisher was fishing around the sluice again. A walk to Uplees with John Pymm produced a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers (a year tick for JP), plus there were a lot of Wigeon and Teal on the Swale. Back at the slipway a ringtail Hen Harrier flew over the seawall and headed north across the water to Sheppey. On the flood at midday there was a single Little Stint again, but we couldn't find any sign of the pochard. On the way home I popped into Oare pits where there was a Greenshank and a Kingfisher, and then to Ham Road pits where there were now 3 readhead Smew.

(Murray Wright)

A swift 'lunch-hour' visit hoping for RcP - but failing!  Impressive mixed wader sps roosts inc 1 Little Stint and 1 Ruff amongst a large gathering of Dunlin; together with Avocets, Grey Plovers, Ringed Plovers and Black-tailed Godwits. Noticeable lack of diving ducks but large concentrations of Pintail and Shoveler. On departure a male Bullfinch in the cottage's shrubbery was an OMYT. Continued the search for the RcP to the ponds (1 Greenshank) and to the pits (3 redhead Smew) where Tufted and Pochard were loafing. Lapwings ever more apparent in urbanized situations as I returned to Seasalter.

(Mike Roser)

February 7th 

(12:15-15:30) Bright sunshine with a cold, brisk E wind. I arrived just about high tide finding a single Little Stint with the circa 250 Dunlins roosting on the East Flood, plus 13 Grey Plovers and 8 Avocets, and the female Marsh Harrier with the 'dangling' right leg flew through. I met Mike Roser and John Pymm at the slipway. They'd seen 3 probable redhead Smew fly west along the Swale a little earlier. We walked west noting several Song Thrushes and Blackbirds feeding along the seawall, plus a pair of Stonechats, 2+ Green Woodpeckers and 3 Rock Pipits. The leucistic Curlew was in its favoured locale. There were good numbers of Skylarks on the saltmarsh, with a flock of circa 25 just west of Dan's Dock. At Uplees we were just looking through some Mergs on the Swale when I picked up 2 redhead Smew flying across towards Sheppey and then turning and heading steadily east - a new species for the Oare year list. We counted 21 Red-breasted Mergansers - groups of seven and four on the water and ten more flying past. There were also 3 Little Grebes on the water. A ringtail Hen Harrier was hunting over the saltmarsh Sheppey-side. A circumnavigation of the copse in the hope of Woodcock was unsuccessful, but we did see a female Merlin fly past, and a Common Buzzard flew over carrying what appeared to either a snake,  a sloworm or an eel! As we headed back a gull flying west over the West 'Flood' proved to be an immature Kittiwake (an OMYT for Mike). Walking back to my car there were several Common Snipe feeding in the frozen grass at close range. Mike deviated via Oare pits on his way home noting a Greenshank with circa 50 Teal and 20 Dunlin at the head of the pond adjacent to the creek, and also at least 30 Little Grebes.

(Murray Wright)  

This afternoon I saw a Common Buzzard over Mocketts, 2 Marsh Harriers and 1 ringtail Hen Harrier over the saltings west of the hard at Oare. The large flock of Brent Geese were at South Swale. As I left there was a female Goosander on the East Flood, it took off and was last seen flying along the Swale towards Uplees.

(David Perrin)

February 6th 

(09:15-13:15) Initially a stunning morning and desolate scene; hard on the eye in the warm sunshine. Within twenty minutes I was enveloped in a fog bank and apart from pipits, Reed Buntings and thrushes the walk to Uplees was a blank canvas - a Common Buzzard did come out of the gloom briefly. Some two hours later, in hope more than anything, the fog dispersed allowing me to start seeing birds. Male and female (drop-leg) Marsh Harriers came over the E flood; 6 Little Grebes were in the creek; 4 Red-breasted Mergs flew W (two of each gender) and a Little Egret seemed none the worse for weather extremes. A Kingfisher was fishing from the sluice fence, and waders on the ice encrusted creek shoreline included Grey Plovers and Avocets. The large Brent flock was a cacophony of sound at South Swale, and c.120 Greylags skeined across the sky westwards from Sheppey. Conversation with Kevin Duvall at the carpark was interrupted by a Short-eared Owl hunting across W and E floods, very pale/white underwings - thinking about it the paleness was probably accentuated by the lying snow and light conditions.

(Mike Roser)

February 4th 

(07:15-11:45) Cloud breaking and then mostly sunny with a light SE breeze. Another cold day with a dusting of snow and the ground still frozen solid. Surprisingly the East Flood was still only 3/4 frozen with the usual wildfowl species crowded around the open water - though not for too long as the wildfowlers opened fire. Nothing much of note save for 24 Mute Swans and 80 Coot, and no Tufted Ducks. Walking west we flushed several Common Snipe, Song Thrushes, Blackbirds and Green Woodpeckers which were feeding along the sea wall, and there were plenty of Reed Buntings and Skylarks on the saltmarsh, plus the regular flock of 20 or so Greenfinches. A Water Rail showed well again around the frozen reservoir at Dan's Dock. Approaching Uplees copse we flushed an imm/female Merlin which flew off and perched in a small hawthorn. One of the Great Northern Divers was on the Swale off the copse and was later seen flying west. Scanning further west we picked up 3 Goldeneyes (a drake and two ducks) on the water - from Murston perhaps?. A Common Buzzard was sat in a tree to the south. We heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming from somewhere near the Gate House cottages and picked the bird up perched in a tree top - an OMYT! A flock of 30 Pintail flew west. A very 'low' high tide meant that the bulk of the waders remained on the mud along the Swale, with 18 Bar-tailed Godwits feeding near the slipway. We headed off to Ham Road gravel pits where the 2 redhead Smew, found yesterday by Geoff, were still in residence on the main pit viewed from the track to the Shipwright's Arms, plus a Woodcock and a Sparrowhawk noted there.

(Murray Wright)

February 3rd 

(08:30-11:00) The wind-chill was much less evident but it was a cold NW air today. Had a brief stop at the Sea Wall hide; it was a 'low' high tide which enabled waders to continue to feed near the slipway. Most activity was along Sheppey banks - 2 Red-breasted Mergs and 4 Great Crested Grebes were centre water. Walked to Uplees copse - cock Stonechat at Dan's Dock; c.30 Greenfinches in the vicinity and c.20 Linnets in the copse. Whilst scanning the waders on the foreshore - Golden Plovers, Dunlin and Bar-tailed Godwits - they erupted. Expecting a BOP, I was surprised to watch a Woodcock arc over the wader flock and alight in the copse - agitated with body erect and tail widely fanned. Snatched some digiscoped shots and was joined by GJAB moreorless immediately, but we couldn't relocate the bird. The Greenshank was still at Oare ponds on my return to base.

(Mike Roser)

February 2nd 

(07:30-11:00) As yesterday it was sunny with a strong and bitter ENE wind. One of the Little Stints was with a few lingering Dunlin on the partly frozen East Flood first thing. A Kingfisher was fishing in the dyke near the sluice. Sheltering in the lee of the Sea Wall hide with Ron Dubbins, we found a 1st winter Little Gull on the Swale amongst a large mixed feeding flock of mostly Black-headed and Common Gulls, which was steadily making its way east. Apart from that 4 Red-breasted Mergansers (two pairs) and a Common Buzzard over the Sheppey saltmarsh were the highlights. By the time I left the extent of the ice on the flood had increased considerably!

(Murray Wright)

(11:00-12:30) A numbingly icy short stay ticket. The Sea Wall hide was a comfort against the windchill, but frozen peas probably feel much the same in a freezer. 200+ Avocets were rooted to the mud; Brents were forming large parties on Horse Sands, and latterly a considerable tight flock E of Harty Church. Adjourned after meeting up with Francis Tusa, another 'Tufted Puffin' veteran! The warmth of Oare Gunpowder Works held several parties of Redwings feeding in the ivy-clad trees - exploding as a small male Sparrowhawk made inroads. Long-tailed Tits were in numbers and 3 Gadwall on the lake. A Greenshank was feeding in the muddy upper reaches of Oare ponds adjacent to the creek; 20+Little Grebes were present; also adult courtship plumaged Cormorant, and L B B Gull.

(Mike Roser)

February 1st 

(07:30-12:00) Sunny with a strong and cold ENE wind. A bitter morning to say the least! I spent much of the time sheltering behind (and occasionally in) the Sea Wall hide. There wasn't a lot going on, but I managed to add two species to my OMYL: an imm/female Goldeneye which flew west along the Swale (it appeared to take off from the water); and a 1st winter Little Gull which flew east. Also, 8 Kittiwakes (five adults and three first winters) flew past, including an adult east along the sea wall passing within a few feet of the hide, which was seen by Pete Maton a few minutes earlier sitting amongst the Black-tailed Godwits, Lapwings and other waders near the Watch House. Also noted along the Swale were one of the Great Northern Divers, a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers, and 2 Peregrines which were chasing the waders.

(Murray Wright)

I had a juvenile Pomarine Skua off the slipway at Oare at 16:25 while trying to find the divers, also a flock of 6 Red-breasted Mergansers and a few Kittiwakes.

(Frank Cackett)