July Sightings

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                            Sightings can be Emailed to:

Marc, Martyn & Brendan

                   Martyn Wilson - martyn@wilson5834.freeserve.co.uk                                                   Brendan Ryan -  Brendan_canterbury@yahoo.co.uk

                            Marc Heath    - Heathym007@aol.com   

Photo Gallery

  Number of species recorded in the valley this year so far = 160

Non Avian sightings

31st July

The day started off very well with 2 Barn Owls together just outside the valley at Chislet at 3.12am, then 3 Little Owls were noted as I drove around the valley outskirts. I finally arrived at Grove at 4am and was soon listening to the familiar call of a juvenile Long eared Owl in the paddock. An adult Long eared Owl was also seen briefly as it crept back in to roost. It was almost shorts and t-shirt weather and I spent a few hours until 9.30am looking from the ramp, the green hide and Harrisons. The following birds were logged: 3 Grey Heron, 4 Water Rail, 3 Hobby, 2 Greenshank, 6 Garganey were together from the ramp, 13 Little Egret were on the main pool and 2 Green Woodpecker were heard. There was 1 Blackcap, c32 Cormorant, 6 Green Sandpiper, 8 Dunlin including 7 high East towards Pegwell, 3 Ruff, 1 Black tailed Godwit, 2 familes of Tufted Duck, one with 7 young and the other with 6. 1 Common Sandpiper was again on the mud from the ramp, 1 Common Gull was present along with 39 Black headed Gulls, 1 Kingfisher, 2 Snipe, a single Willow Warbler was hanging around the ramp feeding up on berries, 1 Wheatear was from Harrisons hide, 14 Canada Geese and c150 Greylag Geese. Hirundines were scarse with only 4 swallow noted but a few Bearded Tit were heard along with a few Reed and Sedge Warblers.

(Marc Heath, John Cantelo & Phil Earley)

30th July

Just to report - on an evening walk at Grove yesterday, I had Barn Owl (from the path behind the Harrisons hide, over the fields towards Stodmarsh) and, at 9.30pm, a Long-eared Owl was hunting in the field by the entrance.  It perched in the tree by the ramp for a minute or so, and I was able to scope it - just enough light left! 1 Wood Sandpiper was also seen; nothing else of particular note, but Green Sands seemed particularly plentiful - I counted at least 6 outside Harrison's.

(Anthea Skiffington)

29th July

A rather miserable morning with lots of rain confiding us to Harrison's for the best part of the day where we noted, 2 Hobbies, 14 Green sandpipers, 4 Dunlin, 13 Little Egrets, 5 Marsh Harriers, and 4 leucistic Mallards. At 7.05 Marc noticed a small looking Tern flying towards the ramp. In very light drizzle Marc and I made our way to the ramp while Steve stayed at Harrison's in case we missed it going out. From the ramp, sure enough there was a stunning adult Little Tern, a mega for the valley and the first in many years, and Steve soon joined us. This attractive Tern stayed around the main pool on the mud and often fishing in the right hand corner until 9.20 when, it flew off strongly high north towards Reculver. Also today were, 5 Garganey, 2 Common Sandpipers, 2 Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Wood Sandpiper, 3 Greenshanks 3 Snipe and a Pied Wagtail. The Great-crested Grebe pair were still attending their two young while the Tufted Duck female with 6 young were present on main pool.  There were 5 Common Terns, 6 Ruff, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Turtle Dove, 14 Canada Geese, 1 juvenile water Rail, 1 Kestrel and 86 Black-headed Gulls. Several hundred Sand Martins were moving north in a constant scattering of between 8 and 15 birds with the occasional Swallow in alongside.

(Martyn Wilson, Marc Heath, Steve Ashton & John Cantelo)

28th July

The morning started with an adult Long-eared Owl flying in to the track side bushes at 4.08 and then the juvenile at the end of the bushes on a dead tree and at 4.30 a Long-eared Owl chased a Kestrel over the ramp while a Tawny Owl called from by the river. There were 4 Hobbies, 8 Ruff, 3 Greenshanks, 8 Black-tailed Godwits, 18 Green Sandpipers and 1 Common Sandpiper. The Great-crested Grebe pair were still feeding two young and a female Tufted Duck was accompanying 8 ducklings. A Barn Owl showed very well 5.00-5.10 and there were, 6+ Marsh Harriers, 4 Garganey, 2 Dunlin, 4 Common Terns, 370 Lapwings, 1 Whimbrel, an adult and two juvenile Water Rails and 4 Bearded Tits. A phone call from Brendan alerted us to the first Spotted Flycatcher (a family of six) of the year at Stodmarsh, while also at stodmarsh were, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Yellowhammer, 1 Corn Bunting, 74 Cormorants, 2 Kingfishers, 1 Treecreeper, 8 Common Terns, 2 Green Sandpipers, 1 Little Owl and 9 Great-crested Grebes including 1 juvenile. Back at Grove there were, 3 Green Woodpeckers, 12 Little Egrets, 1 Pied Wagtail, 2 Sparrowhawks, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 2 Snipe and 1 Jay. The Gull numbers are now starting to build up with 261 Black-headed, 2 Common, 9 Herring and 2 Lesser Black-backed all on the main pool. Small parties of Swifts, Swallows and Sand martins were passing over plus one or two House Martins and there were several Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Linnets. Brendan and I took a trip back to the reserve this evening to check out a report of a juvenile rose-coloured starling but without sucsess, perhaps a tad to early for juvenile! The only additions to this mornings list tis evening were, a further two Dunlin (all four together at Harrison's and a Wood Sandpiper.

(Martyn Wilson, Marc Heath, Breandan Ryan, Alan Ashdown & Steve Ashton)

27th July

At last, some sunshine to enjoy although the wind remained very fresh. The following birds were noted between 4.30am - 9.45am: 4 Hobby were out hunting early at 4.45am, 2 Grey Heron, 1 Common Sandpiper spent most of the morning on the mud from the ramp, 3 Greenshank, 9 Ruff, the Great crested Grebes were seen to be feeding only 2 young today, it looks like they have lost one. A Barn Owl was hunting near Harrisons hide at 4.59am, 13 Green Sandpiper, 4 Black tailed Godwit, 2 Green Woodpecker, 3 Water Rail and 1 Jay. There was 3 Marsh Harrier, 1 family of Tufted Duck with 8 young, 4 Garganey were from the ramp, 2 Common Tern, 1 Dunlin, 1 Turtle Dove, only 5 Little Egret, 1 Common Gull present, 3 Lesser Black backed Gulls present along with c20 Black headed Gulls. A few Reed Warblers were heard along with a Bearded Tit. Hirundines were represented with c40 Swift and small groups of Sand Martins West.

(Marc Heath)

26th July

With the summer Holidays beginning today for me I arrived at Grove at 4.45am armed with my raincoat and hat that was needed as usual. I spent most of the time viewing from Harrisons hide, the ramp with brief visits to the Marsh and Green hide. The following were logged before I departed for breakfast at 9.50am: 5 Garganey were seen ( 3 from Harrisons, 2 from the ramp, 1 Common Sandpiper, only 4 Little Egret noted, 10 Green Sandpiper, 3 Greenshank, 3 Water Rail, 1 Hobby, 1 Grey Heron and 3 Cetti's Warbler in song. There was 3 Marsh Harrier, 5 Ruff, 2 Black tailed Godwit, 1 Turtle Dove, 3 Common Tern, 1 Dunlin, 57 black headed Gull present along with 1 adult common Gull. 2 families of Tufted Duck were seen, 1 with 6 young and the other with 8 young. The Great crested Grebe family continues to feed their 3 young and 2 Wood Sandpiper landed briefly at the ramp before flying towards Harrisons but could not be relocated. 10 Goldfinch landed in the tree at the ramp and c111 Greylag Geese were present. 1 Pochard was seen along with the odd singing Reed Warbler and occasional small movement of Sand Martins West.

(Marc Heath)

25th July

A couple of hours at Grove this morning proved to be a little disappointing with neither Temminck's Sint nor Garganey showing as they did yesterday evening.  From the ramp there were 4-5 Ruff, asingle Dunlin, a Greenshank, 5-6 Green Sandpiper, 7 Black-tailedGodwit, c60 Lapwing and 11 Little Egret.   Harrison's Drove Hide produced a further 3 Greenshank, 10+ Green Sandpiper and more Lapwing, but no sign of the Wood Sandpiper that was evidently see later in the day.  The Cattle Egret didn't show either.
(John Cantelo)

24th July

At Grove Ferry this evening there were 19 Green Sandpipers, 2 Greenshank, One Common Sandpipier, 7 Ruff and 5 Black-tailed Godwits. The adult Temminick Stint showed well from the ramp but there was no sign of either Cattle Egret. In the hope of catching up with the latter, I went to Stodmarsh to watch the egrets coming into roost. a total of 21 Egrets arrived, all of which were as far as I could see Little. Also at Stodmarsh there were 23 Common Terns of which only 2 were juvs, suggesting a poor breeding season. A single Hobby and 3 Swifts flew over.

(Brendan Ryan)

I cycled down to Grove after work this afternoon, arriving at 3.15pm in sunny but windy conditions. I stayed for an hour mostly at the ramp and Harrisons hide with a brief glimpse in the Green hide. The following were noted: The Temmincks Stint was showing distantly on and off from Harrisons hide on the left hand side of the pool and later seen flying into the main pool from the ramp. Also: 5 Ruff, 4 Greenshank, 21 Little Egret but no sign of any Cattle Egrets although the juvenile Cattle Egret had been seen earlier behind Harrisons hide. The farmer was in the field when I looked so the bird had obviously moved to another area. There was 1 Water Rail, c50 Greylag Geese and 2 Hybrid Geese, the Great crested Grebe was busy feeding 3 growing chicks, c100 Black headed Gulls were present on the main pool along with 3 Common Gull but no other goodies could be found among them. 1 Black tailed Godwit was on the right hand pool, 2 Common Tern, 2 Marsh Harrier, 7 Green Sandpiper were seen with more I suspect on the other pools, 1 Common Sandpiper, 2 Grey Heron, 1 Wood Sandpiper was heard but not seen from the main pool, 1 Pochard and c200 Lapwings around the reserve.

(Marc Heath)

22nd July

Where do I start, What a fantastic Weekends Birding. After seeing the 2 Cattle Egrets this morning I received a call from Brendan telling me the Temmincks Stint was still present. I made my way over there and was soon joined by Steve where we all met at Harrisons hide and enjoyed good views of the Stint. We next ventured over to see if the juvenile Cattle Egret was in the field which it was and good but brief views were had. Brendan had the adult Cattle Egret fly over him towards the back pools and the juvenile presumably followed a few minutes later. Another shock was in store as a Grasshopper Warbler reeled twice briefly and was also heard by Brendan. Steve located a hunting Barn Owl which posed nicely and allowed good scope views of these beautiful birds. Feeling all happy we wandered back to the ramp where we met up with Tony Swandale who had seen 1 Wood Sandpiper, 6 Greenshank, a few Common Sandpiper, 1 Garganey, 1 Temmincks Stint, 25 Green Sandpipers and a few Ruff. As we left the ramp a Long eared Owl could be heard and eventually after a patient wait, we were rewarded with good views as the Owl quartered the field near the entrance. Some top quality birds seen and all on the local patch, excellent.

(Marc Heath, Brendan Ryan, Steve Ashton & Tony Swandale)

Birding at Grove Ferry today once again produced a Long-eared Owl at 4.00am heard and seen briefly twice. The 2 Cattle Egrets were still present, with the adult flying in from the Stodmarsh direction at 5.15 and the immature being found  with the cattle to the west of Harrison's Hide. Also today were, 3 Hobbies, 3 Greenshanks, 7 Ruff, 12+ Green Sandpipers, 14 Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Common Sandpiper and 23 Little Egrets. A Bittern showed in prolonged flight around Green Hide at 5.06 and at least 6 Marsh Harriers were seen. There were 2 Snipe, 4 Common Terns, 4 Jays, 3 Linnets, 1 Kingfisher, 2 Water Rails and several Bearded Tits. A family of 4 Green Woodpeckers were noted as was a female Tufted Duck with 6 young plus 12 other Tufted Ducks flew into the back pools. Only two Great-crested Grebe chicks were seen today but, both adults still present. Turtle Doves are still in evidence with at least 5 seen and a handful of Swifts were overhead and 1 or 2 Swallows passsed through. Two Sparrowhawks were also seen today. On Steve's return to Grove this evening he located a Temminck's Stint outside the Harrison's Drove Hide, rounding of a rather pleasant day in the company of Dylan , Geoff Burton and John Tilbrook andMike Gould plus several other birders attracted to the Valley by the 2 Cattle Egrets.

(Martyn Wilson, Marc Heath, Alan Ashdown, Steve Ashton & Pete Solly)

21st July

At Grove Ferry today a single Long-eared Owl was heard along the entrance track at 3.55 this morning, then onto the ramp where we were in the process of counting waders when 4 Little Egrets that had been on the main pool took flight and disappeared onto "dowitcher" pool. As to counting, there were 7 Ruff, 13 Black-tailed Godwits and 9 Green Sandpipers plus another 10 Green Sandpipers seen from Harrison's later, so as many as 19 without overlap! A total of 9 Egrets got up from "dowitcher" pool and, as they were watched dispersing to various pools I noticed the familiar yellow bill of a Cattle Egret,  alsmost a year to the day (23rd) from last year. After it settled on the right pool we called the locals Steve arriving first, followed by Allen and Brendan just as it was heading up Valley towards Stodmarsh. Brendan later located an "Egret" flying into a field with Cattle in from the north of the river and John, Marc and myself soon found ourselfs looking at a second Cattle Egret, in somewhat unusaul plumage. This one had a black bill and caused much confusion until we found this to be the plumage of an immature, a dress niether of us could recall ever seeing before!! Although we never relocated the yellow-billed individual, much of the morning was spent watching this unusal but showy youngster. These two are the 4th and 5th records for the Valley following the first for Kent in 1992 another in 1995 and last years well watched bird. Not a lot else was really noted today but did include, 2 Greenshanks, 4 Common Terns, a female Tufted Duck with 8 ducklings, the pair of Great-crested Grebes with thier 3 young, 1 Ringed Plover, 1 Sparrowhawk and a small movement of Swifts and Sand Martins. Also today 2 Hobbies were hawking over the pools at 4.55am.

(Martyn Wilson, Marc Heath, Steve Ashton, John Cantelo, Brendan Ryan & Alan Ashdown)

20th July

It was overcast and dull as I left Canterbury, but the time I reached Grove it had started to rain so I had a quick recce from the ramp before moving on to Harrison's Drove Hide.  Despite the rain I managed to see a couple of Ruff, two Redshank, 11 Black-tailed Godwit, 11 Little Egret, c40 Lapwing and a Marsh Harrier from the ramp.  Walking on towards the Green Hide a flock of c70 Sand Martin appeared out of the clouds and the odd Beardie pinged.   At Harrison's Drove Hide there were c70 Lapwing, 3 Snipe, a minimum of 10 Green Sandpiper, a further 4 Little Egret and an obliging Water Rail.  Five of the Green Sandpiper dropped into the nearby reedy pool giving superb views (although there was no sign of the Wood Sandpiper that had apparently been around for several days nor the Common Sandpiper that had been there earlier).  With the rain increasing, numbers of Sand Martin had risen to c250 birds (and, surprisingly, despite looking hard, apparently no other hirundines).   A pause in the rain allowed me to head back for a better look from the ramp.  Not much had changed, but 3 Green Sandpiper were present and a Hobby powered through.  

(John Cantelo)

18th July

Although my morning saunter round Grove  resulted in nothing exceptional, there was still plenty to see.  Several Turtle Dove were calling in the Paddock as I arrived and from the ramp there were 15 Little Egrets, a single Black-tailed Godwit, two Green Sandpiper, about 70 Lapwing, the usual mix of ducks (though no Graganey) and 30 odd gulls (mainly Black-headed, including some very brown youngsters).   There was little to be seen from the Green Hide other than female Tufted Duck cautiously marshalling its brood as a couple of young Marsh Harriers drifted around.  En route to Harrison's Drove Hide there were plenty of Beardies pinging from the reeds as Reed & Sedge Warblers scolded me as I passed by.  At the Harrison's Drove Hide there were an additional 140+ Lapwing, a Greenshank, a further 6 Black-tailed Godwit and a minimum of 6 Green Sandpiper (more were certainly lurking in the reedy margins).  The muddy margins look ripe for a more exotic wader to come calling so it'll certainly be worth close scrutiny over the nest week or two!  

(John Cantelo)  

17th July

I made a trip to Grove after work today for a couple of hours, the wind was blowing strongly around the reserve but the sun warmed things up. I met a birder along the entrance path and we walked up to the ramp. There was a group of Gulls loafing around and I joked that it would be nice if a Mediterranean Gull was amongst them. I scanned through with no success but 33 Black headed Gulls, 5 Lesser black backed Gulls, 1 Herring Gull and 1 Common Gull were noted. A little later I picked up a Gull flying low in at 3.50pm and to my amazement it was a juvenile Mediterranean Gull. The Gull spent 5 minutes hiding behind Greylag Geese before flying over the ramp towards Stodmarsh at 3.55pm. Other birds seen: 1 Ringed Plover, 3 Common Tern, 31 Greylag Geese, the Great crested Grebe was carrying 3 young birds on her back, 10 Little Egret, 1 Hobby, 7 Green Sandpiper and 1 Greenshank. There was 1 Peregrine causing chaos over the main pool, 4 Marsh Harrier including 3 Juveniles, 4 Grey Heron, 1 Garganey, 3 Tufted Duck including 2 Females with 6 and 4 young. There was the occasional sighting of Sand Martins, Swallows and the odd Swift overhead.

(Marc Heath)

15th July

At Grove Ferry today while, avoiding a torrential downpour and violent thunder storm, we managed to record, 1 adult and 1 juvenile Ringed Plover, 3 Greenshanks, 11 Green Sandpipers, 7 Ruff and 15 Little Egrets. The pair of Great-crested Grebes were still caring for thier two chicks while 5 juvenile and 3 adult Marsh Harriers were noted. There were, 4 Pochards, 1 Hobby, 1 Green Woodpecker, 3 Tufted Ducks, 1 Cuckoo, 1 Cetti's Warbler and 2 Snipe. A small family of Bearded Tits were on the corner of Harrison's Drove and the main footpath whilst a showy juvenile was at Green Hide. Half a dozen Sand Martins and 7 Swallows flew over and only 1 House Martin. The juvenile Little-ringed Plover was seen again from the ramp and there were, 5 Common Terns, 1 Garganey, 3 Kestrels, 1 Common Gull, 1 Water Rail, 4 Grey Herons and still plenty of Reed & Sedge Warblers. Water levels are now starting to recede, exposing some mud so with some good fortune and plenty of coverage we might get some waders to watch this coming Autumn.

(Martyn Wilson, Alan Ashdown, Steve Ashton & Brendan Ryan)

14th July

Another morning at Grove Ferry where, there seems a couple of small crop circles have appeared to the left of the ramp?? These cuttings! don't seem to be of any use out in the middle of tall grasses ond overgrown pool banks, very odd. As to the birding today, 1 Long-eared Owl was heard and a single Hobby seen at 5.15. The Great-crested Grebe pair still have two youngs that look smart in thier stripy pyjama's. There were 6 Marsh Harriers, 7 Green Sandpipers, 2 Kingfishers, 1 Cetti's Warbler and a juvenile Little-ringed Plover. A single Yellow Wagtail flew over Harrison's Hide, 3 drake Wigeon were from the ramp and 9 Curlew flew west at 8.20. There were 2 Snipe, 5 Common Terns, 7 Linnets, 2 Turtle Doves, 1 Sparrowhawk and half a dozen Sand Martins flew west. Also today werre, 1 Stock Dove, 1 Common Gull, 1 Greenshank, 1 black & white Ruff, 1 Ringed Plover and 5 Grey Herons.

(Martyn Wilson, Marc Heath, John Cantelo & Steve Ashton)

11th July

An hour on the ramp this evening, in the sun for a change, where a Greenshank was seen, as was 2 Green Sandpipers and 6 Black-tailed Godwits along with the usual wildfowl and lapwings.

(Steve Ashton)

I made a lunchtime visit to Grove today for 45 minutes in cloudy and drizzly conditions. The following were noted: It was very nice to see the pair of Great crested Grebes with young from the main pool. The male was seen to bring some small fish to the female who had the chick(s) on her back. Also: 7 Little Egret, 1 Grey Heron, 58 Greylag Geese, 11 Teal, 2 Pochard, 1 Tufted Duck and 2 Marsh Harrier. 1 Water Rail showed well briefly from the Green hide and a juvenile was seen from Harrisons hide, 1 Snipe was drumming overhead, 3 Black tailed Godwit were seen in flight before dropping into the right hand pool from the ramp, 1 Greenshank was heard twice but not seen and 1 Kingfisher was seen twice bombing past the ramp towards the Green hide. 1 Cetti’s Warbler was heard along with a distant Blackcap, 1 Great spotted Woodpecker and 2 Skylark in song. 1 Meadow Pipit performed its display flight, 2 Linnet were near the ramp and with the low cloud c200 Sand Martin were feeding low over the water. The odd Bearded Tit was heard along with a couple of Reed Warbler.

(Marc Heath)

10th July

I had a couple of hours this evening at Grove Ferry ,in warm sunshine. The most interesting fact was at least 7 Green Sandpipers being seen, 4 from the Harrison's drove hide, and 1 from the ramp. whilst watching from the ramp, another 2 flew from the nearside of the main pool, and headed towards the Harrison's drove pool. Harrisons held 3 Black Tailed Godwits, 8 Little Egrets, 1 Common Snipe, 40 + Greylag Geese, including 1 hybrid, and at least 100 Lapwing. A Linnet was on the bush to the right of the hide. I had 30 minutes looking for the Shrike, but could not relocate it this evening. A female Marsh Harrier was seen with prey whilst walking back to the ramp, and 4 Black Tailed Godwits flew over. Seen from the ramp as well as the 3 Green Sandpipers, were 5 Tufted ducks, 8 Common Terns, 1 Black Tailed Godwit on the right hand pool, 1 Garganey, and a Great Crested Grebe.

(Steve Ashton).

I made another visit after work today, again in warm sunshine. The following were seen: 2 Great crested Grebe, 10 Little Egret, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Pochard, 1 Tufted Duck, 2 Marsh Harrier, 1 Hobby showing well from the ramp, 1 Water Rail and 4 Green Sandpiper ( 1 from the ramp, 3 at Harrisons hide ). There was 22 Black headed Gull present on the right hand pool, 1 Common Tern, 1 Turtle Dove, 2 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Goldfinch, 5 Linnet, the occasional Bearded Tit and Reed Warbler heard. Whilst in the Green hide, something quite big and heavy made its way through the reeds to the right of the hide, I suspected a Bittern but this was not confirmed. A brief search for the Shrike was unsuccessful but the Spoonbill had been seen by others earlier in the day. Some work had taken place on the ramp today with the left hand side getting a haircut exposing some nice areas for waders in the next few weeks. The water levels appear to be dropping so lets hope the waders stop off soon.

(Marc Heath)

9th July

I arrived at Grove Ferry after work in brilliant sunshine, no wind and warm temperatures. An hour later there was cloudy skies, thunder and lightening and eventually heavy showers as I made it back to the entrance. I met a birder at Harrisons hide who said that the Red backed Shrike had been seen in the morning and again around lunchtime but he was unable to find it. I searched the area for 30 minutes but with no luck. However the following were seen before the rain set in: 9 Little Egret, 1 Great crested Grebe, 1 Marsh Harrier, 2 Tufted duck including a female with 8 young, 1 Grey Heron, Teal numbers were up to 10, c80 Lapwing and 1 Kestrel. There was 1 Chiffchaff in song, 4 Pochard, 1 Snipe close from the Green hide, 2 Cetti's Warbler, a few Reed Warbler in song along with a couple of Meadow Pipits, 1 Bearded Tit and a handful of Hirundines. 1 Hobby flew over the paddock on my swift departure.

(Marc Heath)

8th July

A Short-eared Owl was seen behind harrison's Drove Hide this evening.

(John Mills)

I met Alan along the entrance track at 3.30 this morning where he had been watching a Long-eared Owl hunting over the Paddock and was now sitting in the tree at the base of the ramp, it then flew up onto the ramp where it was seen sitting on one of the benches before flying back towards the Paddock. From the ramp we quickly located the adult Spoonbill from the previous evening and then moved of to Harrison's to wait for the Shrike to emerge. A Tawny Owl was heard and the first of 3 Hobbies were seen at 4.50 and, whilst at Harrison's Drove Hide a second adult Spoonbill flew in landed breifly before flying up the valley, over Stodmarsh then headed high north/west and out of sight, the original adult still from the ramp seen by Marc & Steve who arrived just after us. Also at Harrison's were 2 Green Sandpipers and 9 Little Egrets. The Red-backed Shrike showed just after sun-up to the west of Harrison's Hide and showed almost continually until 10.30ish when it crossed the footpath and spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon 150 yards south and 200 yards east of Harrison's Hide, still not allowing any good photographs to be taken. Other birds noted today, although not many due to the superb Shrike, were 2 Greenshanks, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Garganey, 5 Marsh Harriers (2 juveniles), 3 Cetti's Warblers, 3 Cuckoo's, 1 Water Rail, 1 Great-crested Grebe and 3 Turtle Doves. A few Bearded Tits were seen and the Lapwing flock seems to be building up nicely, would it be to much to hope a certain white-tailed version turns up with them!! Lol.

(Martyn, Alan, Marc, Steve et al.)

7th July

With the news that the Red-backed Shrike had been relocated behind Harrison's Drove hide this afternoon, the locals made there way over to try again to connect with this bird. Brendan was first on th scene locating it quite easy followed by myself, then John Cantelo, Sue Morton and Steve Ashton. We all got fantastic, if not distant, views of this stunning bird. Unfortunatley it was just to far for even a decent digiscope image but, my atempt is below. You may also notice this bird is wearing a bangle, perhaps ringed in Britain! Also this evening there was a non breeding adult Spoonbill from the ramp, the third individual this year. Marc arrived just as Steve and I were  leaving, with both birds still showing.

Marc started the day of with 2 Little Owls at Cow Corner and then while we were on the ramp a Bittern flew into the right pool at 4.18 landed in full view on the back edge, walked slowly along, stopped for the occasional head stretch and neck puffing, had a feed and a preen before slinking into the reedbed at 4.37. A Tufted Duck female had eight fluffy new born chicks with her while another 9 adults were seen (6 males). There were 3 Garganey, 2 on right pool and one from Green Hide, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Great-crested Grebe and 7 Little Egrets. Today only 2 juvenile Marsh Harriers were seen but 5 adults including 3 males were noted. Also there were, a pair of Pochards, 5 Common Terns, 4 Cetti's Warblers (2 juveniles), 2 Cuckoo's an immature Water Rail and several hundred Swifts moving west with a handful of Sand Martins. We met Dylan at the Harrison's Drove Hide were he had just had 3 Black-tailed Godwits fly in, around and back out without stopping. Other bits today included, 2 Kestrels, 2 Swallows, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Hobby and 2 or 3 Turtle Doves.

(Martyn Wilson, Marc Heath, Alan Ashdown, Steve Ashton with Dylan Wrathall & Brendan Ryan)

3rd July

The bird of the day seen by a few lucky observers around midday was a cracking male Red backed Shrike. The bird showed in hawthorn bushes behind Harrisons Drove hide but could not be relocated by 5.50pm. Other birds seen in between the thunderstorms included 1 Cuckoo, 5 Little Egrets, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Marsh Harrier, 2 Linnet and still quite a few Swifts around the general area with good numbers of Sand Martin present.

(Marc Heath, Martyn Wilson & Steve Ashton)

2nd July

I made a brief excursion over to Stodmarsh in my lunch hour, it was windy and raining at times but the following were seen: 3 Great crested Grebe, 1 Little Egret was roosting in the Cormorant trees with a handful of Cormorants. Also 1 Grey Heron, c70 Greylag Geese, 2 Marsh Harrier, 1 Hobby, 1 Pheasant and 1 Water Rail. There was 7 Common Tern on the raft, c300 Swift were moving West with a few Sand Martin in with them, 1 Cetti’s warbler and  2 Reed Warbler heard in the wind. The Alder wood was more sheltered and held 2 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Great spotted Woodpecker, 4 Wren, 2 Robin, 2 Chiffchaff, a couple of parties of Blue and Great Tits and 1 Chaffinch. As I drove past Collards on my way back a few Swallows were feeding low over the fields and the usual mix of Jackdaws and Rooks were busy feeding to.

(Marc Heath)

1st July

A Barn Owl was seen just outside the area at Nethergong at 3.21 and another on the reserve between 4.40 & 4.53 and the juvenile Long-eared Owl was calling from 3.35 and also flying over the fields adjacent to the entrance path until 4.06. The immature Spoonbill was again present mostly from Harrison's and there were 8 Water Rails that included 1 fluffy black chick, 1 juvenile and an adult with a further 6 fluffy black chicks that, almost fell prey to a stunning female Marsh Harrier. There were a total of 7 Marsh Harriers with 2 adults and 5 juveniles, looks like the marsh hide pair have raised 3 little'uns. There were, 2 Great-crested Grebes, 6 Tufted Ducks, 3 Common Terns, 2 Cuckoo's, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 3 Pochards and 3 Green Sandpipers. Two Hobbies were seen as well as 7 Little Egrets, 2 Snipe, 90 Lapwings, 1 Turtle Dove, 6 Grey Herons and 1 Kingfisher. In a change from yesterday there were several hundred Sand Martins moving west but, only a few Swifts.

(Marc Heath, Martyn Wilson & Steve Ashton)