November Sightings

Sightings can be Emailed to:

      Martyn Wilson - martynwilson@talktalk.net

  Brendan Ryan -  brendan.ryan@yahoo.co.uk

  Marc Heath - Heathym007@aol.com   

For more of Marc Heath's Photographs, please click here

28/29th November

Due to the fact that I twitched!!! the Grey Phalarope at Reculver yesterday (28th) and today was rather wet with just some sunny/bright periods, I will just note the highlights of the weekend. On the 28th were, 12 Marsh Harriers, 2 Ruff, 800+ Fieldfares, 1 Little Egret and bird of the day a Goshawk that flew east along the southern boundary at 7.25am, disappeared into he treetops scattering 100+ Pigeons and not being seen again. Today (29th) I managed for the first time to do a Marc? and see a Tawny Owl in an overhead branch along the road near Collie corner at 6.30am. At Grove there were 26 Canada Geese, a rather superb Barn Owl that flew past us on the Ramp at 7.25 then along the footpath, in front of Green hide, across the reeds and into the fields along Harrison's before going through the bushes at the back of the Oxbow, plus the 2 Ruff still, 1 Stonechat, 2 Bearded Tits and the usual expected aviforna.

(Martyn Wilson Steve Ray, Steve Ashton, Mark Chidwick, Alan Ashdown & Mike Gould)

25th November

I had a couple of hours in the valley before work this morning, a brief look at Stodmarsh and Collards in surprisingly sunny conditions for once. Birds noted at Stodmarsh were 42 Fieldfare, 1 Water Pipit, 4 Marsh Harrier, 1 Water Rail, 1 Redpoll, c76 Lapwing, 4 Cetti's Warbler, 4 Bullfinch, 1 Grey Heron and 15 Greylag Geese. Collards held 11 Mute Swan, 10 Pochard, 18 Great crested Grebe, 5 Yellowhammer, 8 Fieldfare, 3 Marsh Harrier, 68 Tufted Duck, 1 Jay, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Bittern seen in flight, 1 Great spotted Woodpecker, c500 Wigeon, 121 Black headed Gull, 1 Peregrine, 3 Grey Wagtail and 2 Skylark.

(Marc Heath)

24th November

I had a few hours in the valley today at various times, making visits to Grove Ferry, Stodmarsh and a look at Collards in the strong winds. Birds noted were c200 Greylag Geese, c3000 Fieldfare in the Grove/Stod area, c10 Cetti's Warbler, 7 Redwing, 1 Kingfisher, 3 Redshank, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Kestrel, 8 Marsh Harrier, 1 ring tail Hen Harrier and 2 Great spotted Woodpecker. The unexpected highlight was a Snow Bunting that flew south over Collards calling at lunchtime, the second one in 2 weeks. There were 2 Grey Heron, 2 Water Pipit, 1 Sparrowhawk, 83 Golden Plover, 4 Stonechat, 1 Corn Bunting, 1 Snipe, 2 Little Egret, c70 Gadwall over Grove, 25 Great crested Grebe, 1 Bittern seen twice in flight from the Reedbed hide, 1 Mistle Thrush, 5 Pochard, 1 Shelduck, 1 Jay and at a blustery Collards, there were c300 Wigeon, c600 Coot as well as Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard and Tufted Duck.

(Marc Heath)

22nd November

After a brief stop at Grove Ferry to meet Pete, I went round to Collard’s knowing that the winds were forecast to pick up later and viewing would therefore become more difficult. As it was the wind was already quite strong and most of the duck were sheltering on the near bank and therefore impossible to see from my roadside vantage point. I did however have a stab at counting the duck and got to 103 Tufted Duck so the true number was probably a lot higher. On my third or fourth scan across the late I picked up a small pale wader flying strongly across the water. I managed to keep it in my scope as it gained height and came close enough to confirm its identity as a Grey Phalarope, possible the first record for the valley. As I phoned the news through to Martyn who was at Stodmarsh, a flock of seven Little Egrets flew in from the south and continued off towards Westbere. The rest of the morning was spent checking out all potential sites where to where the Phalarope might have relocated. Highlight at Stodmarsh was prolonged views of Peregrine harassing the Fieldfare and later sparing with Marsh Harriers. Martyn had already counted the duck and denied me that pleasure. The small flock of Redpoll were reported to still be present. At Cow Corner there were three Little Egrets, presumably some of the earlier seven. 24 Canada Geese were still present and a Common Buzzard emerged from the wood. Nearby there was a flock of around 40 Reed Buntings around a pheasant feeding station. Finally met up with Martyn again at Grove but was forced to abandon when the predicted rain arrived just after midday

(Brendan Ryan)

A little bit of excitement this morning when on arrival at Grove Ferry there was a plethora of Police cars all around where, we had to give details of our identity and the reason for being there at such an un-godly hour. The fact that we were there to "birdwatch" and that there was in fact a nature reserve not three feet from whenst they stood seemed a bit fanciful. Nevertheless, with all checks ok and no input as to the police presence we made our way to Stodmarsh for a change and birded that end. It was very much a raptor morning with at least 20 Marsh Harriers being seen, there were 16 out of roost that flew west, four over the reeds most of the morning east of the Lampen wall and we know that there would have been another five or six out of Grove (I know Pete had some). There was also 1 Peregrine, the 1st/cy male Hen Harrier that gave some good close views. I did get some early shots in the murk at 2000ISO (poor) but to see some excellent in sunshine shots visit www.eastkentwildlifepics.co.uk. Plus 2 Sparrowhawks and 2 Kestrel as well. There were 5 Cettis' Warblers, 2+ Water Pipits, 1 Stonechat, 3 Water Rails, 6 Grey Herons and 1000+ Feildfares. The duck count included, 2 Shelduck, 468 Greylag Geese, 198 Shoveler, 15 Pochard, 1 female Wigeon, 7 Great-crested Grebes, 1 Tufted Duck (plus 2 at Grove), and 1242 Teal with another 786 at Grove. Marc Heath recorded 2 Tawny Owls and 2 Little Owls in the dark hours early this morning.

(Martyn Wilson, Mark Chidwick, Steve Ashton, Mike Gould, Brendan Ryan & Marc Heath)

  21st November

Met up with Mark and Alan at the entrance at 6.45 this morning and proceeded to the Ramp. Only the Grove Ferry end was watched this morning taking in the Paddock, Harrison,s and Green hides and anything in between. Joined by Steve Ashton at about 10.30 and we left at 1.30pm. Birds noted today were, 1 Shelduck, 864 Teal, 775 Lapwing 4 Cetti's Warblers and a Hen Harrier (probably the immature male) a ringtail, flew east along the southern edge of the reserve at 7.05. Four Shoveler passed over west and there were, 9 Marsh Harriers, 600+ Fieldfares, 5 Grey Herons, 2 Kestrels, 4 Pied Wagtails, 4 Stonechats and 7 Snipe. There were 2 Tufted Ducks from the Green Hide plus 1+ Water Pipit, a Kingfisher made a brief visit and there were a dozen Bearded Tits, 70 Golden Plovers, 9 Skylarks, 3 Water rail, 1 Merlin, 15 Meadow Pipits, 1 Green and 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker and a Sparrowhawk.

(Martyn Wilson, Alan Ashdown & Mark Chidwick)

 Remembering how much time we all spent in the Fordwich area this time last year and how productive this was, I decided to start today birding the area from Fordwich to Westbere. Although there was a lot of bird activity along the river, a single Chiffchaff and five singing Cetti’s Warblers were the only birds of note. A single Siskin flew over but this time last year a small flock had taken up residence in the Alders. On Westbere Lake I recorded 19 Pochard, 22 Tufted Duck, 22 Gt-cr Grebes and a single Little Grebe. Next stop was at Cow Corner where there were 22 Canada Geese but not much else. On to Collard’s where viewing conditions were for a change good, light winds and sunshine. 69 Tufted Duck, 2 redhead Goldeneye, 530 Wigeon, 11 Gt-cr Grebes and a Kingfisher was as good as it got. A brief stop at Grove produced 700 Lapwing and 690 Teal. The final port of call was at Stodmarsh there was a single Goldcrest and seven Lesser Redpolls in the wood and 420 Teal, 7 Pochard, 66 Shoveler and 2 Shelduck on the lake. A flock of 80+ Fieldfare flew over, which was a marked contrast from the previous week when Fieldfares were everywhere

(Brendan Ryan)

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17th November

A couple of visits were made into the valley today, an hour at Grove early morning and a visit to Collards and Grove again late afternoon. Birds noted were 22 Golden Plover, 4 Cetti's Warbler, 6 Mute Swan, 1 Shelduck, 4 Greylag Geese, c400 Lapwing, 31 Black headed Gull, 70 Mallard high west, 4 Fieldfare, 1 Snipe, 3 Jay, 2 Green Woodpecker, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Kestrel, 13 Long tailed Tit, 1 Yellowhammer east, 2 Stonechat, c250 Teal, 1 Marsh Harrier and a few Bearded Tits heard. Collards held 59 Mute Swan, 12 Great crested Grebe, 44 Tufted Duck, 8 Pochard, c390 Wigeon, 3 Little Grebe, c800 Coot, 1 Grey Heron and 14 Fieldfare. An hour at Grove late afternoon produced among the common species 237 Fieldfare, 2 Ruff, 10 Marsh Harrier, 1 ring tail Hen Harrier towards Stodmarsh, 31 Corn Bunting, 320 Greylag Geese into roost and 3 Sparrowhawk.

(Marc Heath)

15th November

A lot of precipitation this morning almost had me turning back for home but, I found the chiddywick snoozing in his car again and decided to stop. He joined me in my car to wait for the rain to stop where, we were joined by Marc who left as the day brightened and the rain stopped, then Mr Chidwick and I toured the complete Grove /Stodmarsh walk in a clockwise direction. The aviforna noted on our amble were, 7 Marsh harriers, 6 Little Egrets (5 north early and 1 on the Water Meadows), 1200+ Lapwing, 7 Cetti's Warblers, 2 Kestrels, 4 Water Rails and 40 Long-tailed Tits. There was a large movement of Fieldfares with at least 4500 individuals but, there was only 40 odd Redwings. A drake Wigeon flew high west over the ramp with Mallard's and there was a duck Wigeon on Stodmarsh. Over 2000 Teal were present with most on the pool at Grove while at Stodmarsh there were, 369 Greylag Geese, 46 Shoveler, 1 Gadwall, 3 Pochards, 3 Tufted Ducks (another 2 at the Green hide) and 7 Great-crested Grebes. Two adult Great Black-backed Gulls flew low west over the pools at Grove, a species seldom seen here but ofen found in the roosts at Collard's and Westbere. There were, 10 Stonechats, 5 Water Pipits, 8 Grey Herons, 17 Meadow Pipits, 2 Pied Wagtails, 22 Common Snipe, 1 Little Grebe (Marsh Hide), and the 1st year Hen Harrier again, quartering the fields between Marsh Hide and Harrison's Drove between the river and the path through to Marsh Hide. A single female Bullfinch was seen at the Jungle and there was 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Green and 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, while a pair of Bearded Tits were seen near the Ramp on the way out.

(Martyn Wilson & Mark Chidwick)

My intended visit around the valley this morning listening for Owls was soon cut short when the heavens opened so I drove around to Grove where Chidders and Martyn were sat chatting in the cars. I stayed a while before returning back to Collards where I spent an hour, mostly in the sun until the dark clouds once again delivered another shower. Birds noted were 9 Marsh Harrier, 66 Fieldfare, 1 Kestrel, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Green Woodpecker, 75 Mute Swan, 1 Bittern was seen flying low over Collards before landing in the western reedbed, 2 Grey Heron, 5 Lesser black backed Gull, c90 Black headed Gull, c60 Herring Gull, 3 Yellowhammer and 1 Little Egret. There were 3 Linnet, 2 Meadow Pipit, 1 Corn Bunting, 9 Great crested Grebe, 34 Tufted Duck, 1 Kingfisher, c50 Lapwing, 1 Skylark, c500 Coot, c350 Wigeon and good numbers of noisy Corvids in the area at dawn.

(Marc Heath)

Back into the duck counting routine that is the Stour Valley. Viewing conditions at Collards were considerably better than yesterday with light winds and good light but that didn’t improve the counts with 57 Tufted Duck, 590 Wigeon, 12 Pochard, 2 Goldeneye and 12 Gt-cr Grebes. Conditions were so good that I treated myself and counted the Coot, 1,560. I again saw a Bittern flying over the reeds at the Eastern end of the lake. Stodmarsh produced 6 Tufted Duck, 13 Pochard, 2 Chiffchaff and a Little Egret. Despite much time scanning the tit flocks, I only managed to see one Goldcrest, an indication of how scare they have been everywhere this autumn. A quick stop at Grove produced 75 Golden Plover and 1090 Lapwings. Huge numbers of Fieldfare seem to be around at the moment but the were scattered and flighty so I didn't attemtpt to count them

(Brendan Ryan)

14th November

My first proper birding in the valley for a couple of months but the windy conditions made birding difficult. Started at Collards where the highlight was a Bittern flying over high from Westbere direction, spooking all the duck as it went. It finally pitched down into the reedbed by the tip. 65 Tufted Duck and 730 Wigeon were the only other birds of note. The track to Stodmarsh was blocked by a fallen tree but was negotiable on foot. On the lake were 63 Shoveler, 110 Mallard, 2 Tufted Duck, 2 Pochard and 12 Gt-cr Grebes.7 Heron, including 4 juvs, were huddled together by the reeds sheltering from the wind, There were 214 Greylags in the nearby fields and a flock of about 40 Whitefronts flew over and may have gone down on Collards

(Brendan Ryan)

Despite the forecast gale force winds and heavy rain, I made my pilgrimage to the valley at about half six this morning only to find Mr Chiddywicker snoozing in his car at the entrance. A brief look from the ramp produced nothing out of the ordinary so we made our way to Harrison's for shelter, at around 7.10 Mark spotted a ringtail Harrier heading towards us, this turned out to be a fine 1/cy male Hen Harrier that showed again at 7.35 and 7.50 from Harrison's. This is the first Hen Harrier sighting this Autumn.The light was far to dark and a record shot taken at ISO1250 at 1/200th of a second was all that i could muster. A few other bits noted were, 2 Ruff, 7 Marsh Harriers, 9 Snipe, 1 Golden Plover and 1 Little Egret (the first i've seen in the valley for several weeks). Mark saw and photographed a Grey Wagtail on Baillon's pool and a Sparrowhawk was seen. A very large number of Gulls were moving west, some in flocks of 50+, mainly Black-heads and Herrings, there was also a lot of Fieldfares in the bushes bordering Newbons farm.

(Martyn Wilson & Mark Chidwick)  

11th November

Two brief 30 minute sessions were had today at Grove before work and Westbere lakes lunchtime. Not much to report today but noted were 76 Fieldfare, 3 Water Rail, 5 Cetti's Warbler, c50 Black headed Gull, 54 Mallard high west over Grove, 1 Jay, 1 Great spotted Woodpecker, 8 Mute Swan, c400 Lapwing 5 Goldfinch, 1 Ring necked Parakeet, 1 Kestrel and a few Reed Bunting, Blue, Great and Long tailed Tits around the ramp.

(Marc Heath)

10th November

I made a couple of visits into the valley today, an hour in the fog early morning at Grove and an hour after work again tonight. The highlight this morning was a mega in the valley, a male Snow Bunting that was feeding on the main entrance track near the base of the ramp at 8.35am. I initailly heard some 'trilling' calls c30 minutes earlier in the fog but did not twig what it was. As I left the reserve it flew up with some Reed Bunting and Chaffinch before luckily flying back in and allowed some close views down to 3 metres, fantastic. I had to pass it to leave and unfortunately it flew up and gained height where it circled the ramp a few times calling before being lost to view. According to our records, the last recorded one in the Stour Valley was 17th Dec 1978, 31 years ago! although there may be other ones not recorded by us. Other birds noted today were 11 Long tailed Tit, 5 Cetti's Warbler, 10 Mute Swan, Bearded Tits heard, 2 Little Egret, 1 Shelduck, 2 Stonechat, c15 Reed Bunting, 91 Golden Plover, 14 Snipe and 1 Sparrowhawk. There were c55 Black headed Gull, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Redshank, c200 Greylag Geese over Stodmarsh, 2 Water Rail, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Water Pipit, 1 Chiffchaff, 3 Marsh Harrier, 1 Great spotted Woodpecker and 27 Corn Bunting into roost.

(Marc Heath)

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8th November

I spent an excellent 2 hours in the valley this morning before returning home at 8.30am for breakfast. Birds noted in the dark were 6 Tawny Owls and 1 Little Owl. I had intended to do a bit of vis mig at Collards which has a good view of the surrounding area and it proved to be a good decision. Birds noted here and a look in the Stodmarsh car park area were 7 Skylark, 24 Fieldfare, 7 Yellowhammer, 15 Marsh Harrier in one loose flock heading west at Stodmarsh, the most I have seen this autumn. Other birds were 1 Bullfinch, 69 Greylag Geese, 1 Green Woodpecker, 2 Siskin, 2 Jay, 2 Brambling over calling in with the Chaffinch, 2 Redpoll, 2 Corn Bunting and 1 Great spotted Woodpecker. Whilst scanning the duck on Collards, the first Bittern of the autumn flew by and landed in the reeds, also 57 Mute Swan, 3 Grey Heron, 15 Great crested Grebe, 46 Tufted Duck, 2 Goldeneye, the first of the autumn, 156 Wigeon, c500 Coot and 20 Linnet. The crows were heard going crazy over Cow Corner at Westbere, a search of the area producing a fine Short eared Owl which circled high in the area for c5 minutes before being lost to view, a new species for the year.

(Marc Heath)

7th November

A rather chilly and cloudy start soon brightened up into sunshine although the westerly breeze had a chill in it and perhaps a touch of north. On the circuit today were, 1600+ Teal, 1300-1500 Lapwings, 58 Golden Plovers, 2 Ruff, 14 Grey Herons, 6 Marsh harriers, 1 Kingfisher, 14 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Stonechat and 1 Shelduck. The paddock held a dozen Redwings and one or two Fieldfares but later from Marsh Hide we watched 400+ Fieldfares moving west, stopping briefly in the Hawthorns en-route. There were 5 or 6 Goldcrests, 1 Treecreeper, several Long-tailed, Blue & Great Tits, many Chaffinches, 1 Sparrowhawk and a Bullfinch heard. On the lake at Stodmarsh were, 57 Tufted Ducks, 28 Pochard, 11 Great-crested Grebes, 142 Shoveler, 18 Gadwall 5 Common Gulls and 87 Black-headed Gulls. There were 4 Water Rails, 3 Lesser Redpolls at the jungle, 4 Water Pipits on the Water Meadows, and 2 Chiffchaffs were heard.

(Martyn Wilson & Steve Ray)

1st November

Just Chickweed and Dipstick made it into the valley this morning and although quite blustery the sky was fairly clear and bright. This didn't last though and it wasn't long before we had to take refuge in the birdless Green Hide for the first shower. We left at 10.00am just as the heavens opened fully! We managed to record a few sightings though, and they included, 1000+ Lapwings, many Teal, 4 Grey Herons, Cormorants leaving for the coast as usual and 64 Greylags out. Not many small birds as they were blown out but 3 Cetti's Warblers were heard and the 2 Water Pipits were still at Marsh Hide, also 102 Greylags feeding here. The Marsh Harriers were quite mobile today with 7 seen before the rains plus, 1 Wigeon on the main pool (Grove), 1 Greenshank, 1 Redshank, 1 Ruff, 2 Tufted Ducks, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Kestrel and 2 Ring-necked Parakeets. A Little Grebe was on the marsh in front of Marsh Hide, the first time i've ever recorded one here, mind you it has remained very wet here throughout the Summer and Autumn whereas in normal years this and the Water Meadows are usually the first to dry up at the first hint of Spring/Summer sunshine. Why is it being kept artificialy wet, well who knows?? The powers that be are very secretive!

(Martyn Wilson & Mark Chidwick)