October 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 = 175

This is two more than last year finished on!

Non Avian sightings

28th October

Grove Ferry started today for Steve and me with what was probably a Little Crake just before the start of the Ramp. it appeared in the middle of the path, froze for a few seconds and then scuttled into the reedy dyke under the trees at the bottom of the ramp. Unfortunatly we never managed to relocate it by midday, when we left. Harrison's and Green Hides were visited and some time was spent sheltering from the strong winds behind the screens on the Ramp with Terry Laws, Brendan Ryan and Mike Gould. Birds noted today were, 3 Marsh Harriers, 1 Kingfisher, 13 Ruff, 3 Pintail, 1 Bittern, 1 Black-tailed Godwit and 5-700 Golden Plovers. There were, 3 Pied Wagtails, 1 Great Black-backed Gull, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Little Egret, 2 Stonechats and 1 White Wagtail. Also there were, 6 Tufted Ducks, 2 Pochards, 1 Water Pipit, 1 Green Sandpiper, 3 Shelduck, 3 Common Gulls and 228 Black-headed Gulls. Still very good numbers of Teal and Lapwings.

(Martyn Wilson, Steve Ashton & Pete Solly)

27th October

All five and half hours at Grove Ferry this morning were from the Ramp. There was 1 Kingfisher, 3 Marsh Harriers, 8 Ruff, 386 Golden Plovers, 2 Stonechats, 1 Green Sandpiper and 3 Sparrowhawks, one of these visited the feeding station presumably not for seed though! There were, 3 Shelducks, 2 Pied Wagtails, 1 Dunlin, 1 Little Stint, 35 Snipe, 1 of each Green & Great-spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Ring-necked Parakeets and 2 House Martins that flew over the Ramp SSE. Several Fieldfares still around plus a few Redwings and the usual suspects feeding on the Ramp including 16 Collared Doves and the Great-spot. Also today were, 291 Black-headed Gulls, 1 Common Gull, 3 Pintail, 2 Grey Herons and a Peregrine Falcon.

(Martyn Wilson, Alan Ashdown & Steve Ashton)

25th October

A very quiet day started at Stodmarsh which, was very hard work. Not much to report aside from the common Ducks on the main lake, ie, Shoveller in good numbers and Teal with a few Mallards as well plus 11 Great-crested Grebes. There were also 40+ Cormorants there and 3 Grey Herons, a Kingfisher, 2 Water Rails, 15 Long-tailed Tits and 6 Marsh Harriers. The Alder Wood was near on lifeless but the  female Goldeneye was still at Collard's Lake. More to report from Grove Ferry but only marginally better. There was 1 Kingfisher, 83 Golden Plovers, 6 Pintail (3 were flyovers), 5 Ruff, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrels, 1 Redshank, 1 Black-tailed Godwit and 8 Snipe. The Bittern was seen again in flight in the Harrison's Drove area and there were, 2 Green Sandpipers, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 2 Little Grebes, 3 Pied & 1 White Wagtail, 2 Water Pipits, 3 Bearded Tits and 2 Stonechats. Fieldfares are still fairly numerous espacially around the farms on the south side of the reserve but, not so many Redwings noted. Also today were, 2 more Grey Herons, 1 Great-potted Woodpecker, 1 ringtail Hen Harrier, 2 Dunlins, 1 Little Stint (injured leg), 5 Stock Doves, 1 Goldcrest and 10 Siskins flew over the ramp towards Stodmarsh.

(Martyn Wilson & Marc Heath)

24th October

My initial thoughts on yesterdays raptor was that it was a Goshawk but the rump was the only thing letting it down but, after consulting many books and video clips and a chat with Norman McCanch today Marc and I can confidently claim it was a Goshawk albeit not enough to submit a description. What seemed like a rump patch was probably the undertail coverts fluffing out as it banked otherwise a large grey and white accipiter flying like an Owl can only be Goshawk, it was as big, if not bigger, than a ringtail Hen Harrier.

Todays news, very quiet but a good start with a Peregrine at 7.05 chasing and knocking a duck out of the sky. There were also, 8 Marsh Harriers, 1 ringtail Hen Harrier, and 17 Brent Geese flew east at 7.40. Yesterday there were 3-5000 Starlings leaving their reedbed roost and today there must have been at least 5000 maybe more. There were, 2 Kestrels, 2 Water Rails, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 10 Ruff, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 36 Golden Plovers, 9 Snipe and 1 Redshank. Also today was 1 Common Gull, 1 Little Grebe, 28 Wigeon west, 1 Pochard, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Stonechats, 7 Bearded Tits, 3 Grey Herons and 6 Great-crested Grebes. There were, 2 White Wagtails, 1 Green Sandpiper, 5 Pintail, 2 Tufted Ducks, 55 Black-headed Gulls and 1 Green Woodpecker. The first Goldeneye, a female, of the Autumn was at Collard's Lake with 25+ Wigeon and several Tufted Ducks and Pochards.

(Martyn Wilson)

23rd October

Birding the Grove/Stodmarsh circuit today produced, 4 Tawny Owls, 1 Kingfisher, 6 Stonechats, 14 Redpolls, 2 Water Rails, 5 Marsh Harriers and several Fieldfares and Redwings. There were, 11 Ruff, 1 Greenshank (late?), 4 Pied Wagtails, 1 Pochard, 4 Little Grebes (3 at Stodmarsh), 30 Bearded Tits, 1 Little Egret, 8 Snipe, 4 Great-spotted Woodpeckers and 45 Golden Plovers. A large raptor that flew up river viewed from Marsh Hide sadly avoided identification, all features pointed towards a very large accipeter but it seemed to show a white rump?. There were, 12 Long-tailed Tits, 1 Mistle Thrush, 1 Little Owl, 2 Goldcrests, 2 Wigeon, 9 Great-crested Grebes, 1 Common Gull, 8 Jays, 5 Green Woodpeckers and 2 Bullfinches. Also today were, 1 Water Pipit, 10 Siskins, 2 Kestrels and 2 Tufted Ducks while the usual suspects were feeding at the ramp feeders etc. A Red Admiral and the Rat were the only non-avian of note. A species count today only reached 67, missing out on several birds that have been present over the last few days.

(Martyn Wilson & Marc Heath)

22nd October

I had an hour at Grove this afternoon around 3pm. I made brief visits to the Green and Harrisons hide and spent the rest on the ramp. The following made the notebook: 1 Little Stint with the injured leg was on the main pool, c200 Black headed Gull, 4 Common Gull, 2 Spotted Redshank, 1 Redshank, 1 Green sandpiper, 4 Meadow Pipit, 1 Redpoll over calling, 3 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Green Woodpecker, 1 Great spotted Woodpecker, 5 Pintail, 1 Black tailed Godwit, 2 Marsh Harrier and c50 Golden Plover. There were a few groups of Fieldfare and Redwing around the reserve along with the usual mix of bird activity around the feeders and table on the ramp.

(Marc Heath)

A cold murky day today where the cloud cover and light mist merged with no wind keeping tempratures down. Birds today were, 5 Marsh Harriers, 1 ring-tail Hen Harrier, 2 Little Stints (both new birds with quite different markings) but no sign of the juvenile with the bad leg today, just 12 Golden Plovers, 3 Water Rails, 4 Tufted Ducks and 5 Pochards (1 Grove, 4 Stod). There were 3 Green Sandpipers, 2 Spotted Redshanks, 8 Cetti's Warblers, 3 Stonechats, 10+ Long-tailed Tits, 12 Great-crested Gebes, 4 Great-spotted Woodpeckers and 5 Jays. No obvious Thrush passage today but still well over a hundred Fieldfares in the middle of the reserve plus up to 100 Redwings. There were, 25+ Robins, at least 10 Wrens, 15+ Bearded Tits, 1 Kestrel, 1 Pied Wagtail, 18 Snipe and 1 Pintail. Also today were, 6 Ruff, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Redshank, 1 Little Grebe, 124 Black-headed Gulls, 8 Common Gulls and 1 Green Woodpecker. Taking advatage of the feeding station today were, 9 Blue Tits, 1 Great Tit, 1 Wren, 1 Dunnock, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 12 Chaffinches, 10 Greenfinches, 14 Reed Buntings, 1 Robin, 1 Blackbird, 6 Magpies, 15 Collared Doves, the Cetti's Warbler again and the Rat again.

(Martyn Wilson)

21th October

A far more quieter day today with no thrush migration being witnessed. Marc did his usual Owl prowl from 5.00am and I met him at the gate at 6.20. After two hours on the Ramp Marc left so I did the hole circuit meeting Steve Ashton at Stodmarsh and again later at Grove where, I also met Norman McCanch. Birds today were, 5 Tawny Owls, 2 Little Owls, 8 Cetti's Warblers, 3 Water Rails, 5 Grey Herons, 8 Ruff, 7 Marsh Harriers and 2 Kingfishers. There were a couple of large parties of Fieldfares with 80+ at Undertrees Farm and anothe 130+  by Marsh Hide bushes and threre were a 100+ Redwings scattered around. There were, 14 Snipe, 34 Golden Plovers, 1 Little Stint (injured leg), 2 Kestrels, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Pied Wagtails, 1 Redpoll over the ramp and just 2 Stonechats. A single ringtail Hen Harrier was again present and there were, 2 Little Egrets, 1 Spotted Redshank, 6 Ring-necked Parakeets, 2 Little Grebes, 2 Pochards, 2 Tufted Ducks and at least 9 Jays (I had 4, Norman had 5 & Steve had 9). Seven Great-crested Grebes were at Stodmarsh but the Alder Wood was very quiet although Norman had earlier had Woodcock and Chiffchaff there and Steve also had Chiffchaff as well as 20+ Long-tailed Tits.  There were 3 Water Pipits and a Bittern from Harrison's Hide and a Green Sandpiper. Plenty of Chaffinches, Greenfinches and Reed Buntings were feeding on the Ramp as were Magpie, Collared Dove, Blue & Great Tits and a Rat was spending some time on the bird table. Also today were, 1 Dunlin, 1 Common Buzzard, 3 Great-spotted Woodpeckers and 2 Green Woodpeckers.

(Martyn Wilson)

20th October

As mentioned in the earlier reports, today was a good day in the valley with some good visible migration going on. I recorded 70 species before I left at 10.30am and with Dylan and Martyn adding some extra species, it looks like at least 81 species were recorded in the valley today, maybe more! Not a bad figure for late October. 1 Swallow was seen on wires as I drove through Upstreet late afternoon at 5.45pm.

(Marc Heath)

I walked the complete circuit this morning. Parking at Grove Ferry, I joined Martyn, Marc & Pete on the ramp for half an hour, or so. No sign of yesterday's Cattle Egrets, but still plenty to see. A late Swallow headed north, 3 Redpoll and a Brambling flew over, but the morning really belonged to the winter thrushes. Redwings and Fieldfares were moving on a large scale with a noticeable increase in the numbers of Blackbirds and Song Thrushes around the hawthorns of the paddock, riverbank & Lampern Wall. My walk around the reserve allowed me to note 3 Kingfisher, 3 Sparrowhawk, 13 (more) Redpoll, 2 Siskin, 9 Stonechat, 4(more) Brambling, 7 Goldcrest, 5 Bullfinch, 1 Treecreeper, 1 Green Sandpiper and 4 Marsh Harrier amongst the other regular species. I was very fortunate to witness some spectacular behaviour by a flock of Bearded Tits. The reeds by the Boat House, on the Lampern Wall, were alive with Beardies with large flocks on either side of the path. They seemed very excitable as the noisily flicked around the reedbed. As I started to walk back towards the Marsh Hide from the alder wood, I found another group (3rd flock) of Beardies very close to the path. I estimated 200+ birds to be present in the reedbeds around the Boat House. I stopped to get some pics, when the whole flock, at least 87 birds!, flew up into the air (100m +) did a couple of circuits then headed off SW. I lost them behind the alders, so have no idea whether they moved along to Collard's or actually left the Stour Valley all together?

(Dylan) 

Marc had 5 Tawny Owls and 2 Little Owls prior to 6.00am and I had a Barn Owl just outside the valley at Nash at ten to. I met Marc and Pete and the entrance gate just after six where we made our way to the Ramp where, we were met by Dylan a little later for 30-45mins. Read Dylans account above. Marc and Pete left at 10.30 and Mick and Alan from Bough Beach joined late morning. Birds recorded today were, 5 Stonechats, 3 Water Rails, 5 Grey Herons, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 2 Reshanks, 151 Golden Plovers, 2 Green Woodpeckers and 5 Marsh Harriers. Fieldfares and Redwings were still moving through but were not counted although at least 600 of each must have passed through. There were, 24 Snipe, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 7 Ruff, 23 Wigeon (E), 3 Redpolls, 13+ Bearded Tits, 2 Kestrels and a very late (for the valley) Swallow. Three single Bramblings passed over and a fouth was in the Paddocks and there were 2 Little Egrets (no sign of yesterdays Cattle Egrets), 1 Little Stint (bad leg), 2 Little Grebes, 1 Tufted Duck, 1 Water Pipit, 1 Grey Wagtail and 54 Pintail flew east and one was on the Main Pool. There were 3 Sparrowhawks, 2 ringtail Hen Harriers (the first this Autumn), 1 Peregrine, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Bittern, 1 Dunlin, 1 Green Sandpiper and a Goldcrest. The usual suspects were feeding on the Ramp while the Collared Doves numbers had risen to 14, a Pied Wagtail flew over the Ramp.

(Martyn Wilson)

19th October

I made two brief visits into the valley today, one to Stodmarsh at lunchtime and one to Grove Ferry after work for 30 minutes. I totalled 50 species without really trying. I failed to locate the Mealy Redpoll in the alder wood but a few Redpoll and Siskin were seen. The usual suspects were seen also at Stodmarsh. Back at Grove the following were seen from the ramp: 54 Greylag Geese, 1 Ruff, 31 Black headed Gull, 2 Common Gull, only 2 Golden Plover although I suspect they were hiding on other pools and 2 Stonechat. There was 1 Little Stint with the injured leg, 1 Little Egret, 2 Marsh Harrier and good numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare in the paddock and entrance bushes.

(Marc Heath)

Thrushes dominated the valley again today but, not quite the large amount as yesterday. There were 647 Fieldfares moving west and 610 Redwings, a few Song Thrushes and Blackdirds were present as well. A single Little Egret flew out to the north at 7.10 and then at 8.15 five more Egrets flew out to the north and they were 2 Cattle Egrets and 3 more Little Egrets, are these two Cattle Egrets new for the year or, could they possibly be the two that were present in July (the juvenile now having aquired it's full yellow bill?). There were 5 Marsh Harriers, 1 Ruff, 3 Kestrels, 5 Stonechats and 9 Cetti's Warblers (one briefly on the bird table!!). The first Shelduck since early spring flew over at 8.05 and was probably the same bird seen later on Stodmarsh main lake. There were, 42 Golden Plovers, 1 Redshank, 14 Snipe, 4 Water Rails, 2 Green Sandpipers, 5 Great-crested Grebes and the Tit flock in the Alder Wood today had 2 Goldcrests with them and a finch flock there today had 4+ Redpolls at least one was a Meally Redpoll, 6+ Siskins, 3+ Goldfinches and one or two Chaffinches. Also today were, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 2 Jays, 1 Water Pipit, 2 Pied Wagtails, 55 Black-headed Gulls, 1 Common Gull and 1 Green Woodpecker. Feeding on the Ramp were, 11 Collared Doves, 3 Pheasants, 6 Chaffinches, 7 Greenfinches, 5 Magpies, 5 Blue Tits and 14 Reed Buntings. Non-avian were, 1 Fox, 2 Red Admirals, 1 Peacock, 4 Common Darters and a Migrant/Southern Hawker.

(Martyn Wilson)

18th October

A brief visit to the ramp at Grove after work for an hour produced 41 species with many common species not seen: The following were seen in glorious sunshine: 2 Redshank were a surprise on the main pool for a while before departing to one of the back pools, 1 Kingfisher, 2 Little Egret, 1 Ruff, c100 Golden Plover, 1 Redpoll over calling, 27 Black headed Gull, 2 Wigeon, 2 Marsh Harrier and 1 Kestrel. There was 39 Greylag Geese present, 1 Little Stint with the injured leg and as I left 4 Siskin flew over the paddock calling.

(Marc Heath)

A rather pleasant day at Grove started a bit chilly but soon warmed in the Autumn sunshine, with a light northerly breeze. Avian fayre today were, 2 Kingfishers, 1 Little Egret, 4 Ruff, 2 Kestrels, 6 Marsh Harriers, 4 Green Woodpeckers and 9 Cetti's Warblers. Most exciting today was visible migration of one of my favourite birds, the Fieldfare. They were moving through all morning in Flocks of 6-300 with some Redwings amongst them. There were 2388 Fieldfares, 612 Redwings and 98 Song Thrushes. Large numbers of Corvids and Cormorants left in the early hours along with 300+ Greylag Geese and, the immature green rung CEC Cormorant was again from the Ramp. There were, 69 Golden Plovers, 28 Snipe, 3 Water Rails, 2 Green Sandpipers, 1 White Wagtail, 5 Stonechats, 2 Water Pipits and a large female Peregrine. The single Black-tailed Godwit is still present and there were, 19 Bearded Tits, 1 Bittern, 3 Great-spotted Woodpeckers, 6 Jays and 6 Great-crested Grebes. The Tit flock in the Alder Wood still has nothing more than a dozen Long-taileds and a few Great & Blue Tits, no Crests of any sort, yet! There were, 4 Grey Herons, 1 male Sparrowhawk, 2 fem Tufted Ducks, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Grey Wagtail, 55 Black-headed Gulls, 2 Common Gulls, 5 Stock Doves 3 Ring-necked Parakeets and birds feeding on the Ramp included Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Reed Bunting, Pheasant, Magpie and Collarded Doves.

(Martyn Wilson)

16th October

Another day off, so another visit to Grove/Stodmarsh with no fog but, quite a breezy westerly. Birds noted today were, 1 Little Egret, 4 Marsh Harriers, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 7 Pintail, 12 Ruff, 64 Golden Plovers, 3 Wigeon, 24 Snipe and 1 Little Stint again (bird with damaged leg, present at least a week). A Peregrine kept everything airborne for a good 30 mimutes this morning, a nice juvenile male chasing Goldies and lapwings. There were 2 Kestrels, 3 Stonechats, 3 Ceti's Warblers, 1 Little Grebe (still in summer dress), 3 Bearded Tits, 2 Sparrowhawks, 1 Jay and 1 Green Sandpiper.  All the Alder Wood had to offer today was a Tit flock of 10 Long-taileds and 8 Blues. Highlight was 2 Swallows south along the Lampen Wall and there were 5 Great-crested Grebes, 3 Water Rails, 1 Treecreeper, 24 Fieldfares again at Undertrees, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker and our semi-resident Barnacle Goose.  The Chaffinches and Reed Buntings are starting to feed on the ramp again with Blue Tits, Greenfinches and Magpies fo company. There were, 2 female Tufted Ducks, 53 Black-headed Gulls, 1 Green Woodpecker and a Little-ringed Plover flew west through Grove at 12.50. A birder couple had a Bittern at Harrisopn's Drove hide and another red rung Cormorant was at Stodmarsh, an adult this time.

(Martyn Wilson)

15th October

I had planned a visit to Grove Ferry after work today anyway but when news arrived of Martyn's flyover Shrike, I had to have a look as this would have been a new valley tick for me. I spent an hour wandering around the Grove end and as far down as the Marsh hide checking every bush in turn but with no reward. It would be nice to think its still in the valley somewhere and hopefully in the next day or so it shows to everyone. Other birds noted: 6 Stonechat, 2 Green Woodpecker, 2 Marsh Harrier, 6 Meadow Pipits, 20 Goldfinch, 2 Bearded Tits, 1 Grey Wagtail, 65 Black headed Gull and c200 Golden Plover.

(Marc Heath)

As not much birding was possible yesterday, I took today of hoping that the weather might be better and I'd get some bird watching done. I dropped the wife off at work at 6.30 and as she doesn't need collecting until 2.00 I had plenty of time to kill so did the complete Grove/Stodmarsh circuit. Yet again it was a pretty foggy start but didn't seem as thick as yesterday, the first noticable birds were several continental Blackbirds leading up to the Ramp. Not to good for visibility here so made a start at Green (Turf Fields) Hide where the pair of Chiloe Wigeon were again present, 2 Little Grebes and a handful of Teal and Mallards and a Cormorant were noted. Harrison's Hide Had 2 Green Sandpipers and several Lapwings plus 2 or 3 Snipe, a Pied Wagtail and a Grey Wagtail were prsent as was the White Wagtail from Saturday. Marsh Hide held 4 more Green Sandpipers and 1 of todays 5 Marsh Harriers. Biggest suprise of the day came whilst looking for Siskin in the Alder Wood when at 10.20 as I was about to raise my bins to a couple of small birds that had just landed in the top one Alder, a Great-grey Shrike flew straight over my head  just over the top of the trees in a northerly direction. Feeling elateted I quickly checked out what I was originally about to look at, it was 6 Siskins, before heading up to the Lampen Wall to try and relocate the Shrike. No luck i'm afraid but, hopefuly it is still in the valley somewhere. Other bits today were, 11 Cetti's Warblers, 24 Snipe, 6 Grey Herons, 2 Sparrowhawks, 1 male Bullfinch, 5 Stonechats and 4 Pochards (3 drakes at Stodmarsh, fem Grove). There were, 3 Tufted Ducks at Stodmarsh and a few Redwings were around the Oxbow bushes and 24 Fieldfares were on telegraph wires at Undertrees Farm. Also today were, 2 Little Egrets, 2 Jays, 4 Green Woodpeckers, 200+ Shovelers, 5 Great-crested Grebes, 10+ Bearded Tits, 12 Ruff, 3 Spotted Redshanks and 1 Black-tailed Godwit. There were 5 Pintail, 345 Golden Plovers, 114 Black-headed Gulls and a single Great-spotted Woodpecker as I was leaving. No sign of any Stints today. Non-avian were, 2 Peacock Butterflies and 1 Small Copper, 6 Common Darters, 1 Brown Hawker and 1 Southern/Migrant Hawker.

(Martyn Wilson)

14th October

Well, not much birding done today mainly down to the fact there was a thick fog blanketing the valley for the best part of the morning, only really lifting around 10.30-11ish. Because of this Marc, Peter and myself made a start in the Alder Wood at Stodmarsh, not much to report but, the first Autumn Siskin was heard flying over (only this years second bird) and several Long-tailed, Blue and Great Tits with a couple of Goldcrests among them. Several Redwings were passing overhead and there were a couple of Fieldfares. Three or four Cetti's Warblers were calling as were 2-3 Water Rails. Back at Grove Pete and I left Marc to go home and met up with Norman McCanch and Dylan Wrathall on the ramp. A few Golden Plovers and Lapwings could be heard amidst the mist and more Redwings were passing over here too. Much of the time was spent in humerous banter on subjects ranging from supression to twitching, rarity commitee merits to the, you expect to see it so you see it mentality of some reserve visitors and England giving the "v" sign to France in the rugby. In between all this and, a fleeting visit from Steve Ashton, we did manage to record some avian activity. There was 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Dunlin, 1 Little Stint, 2 Little Egrets, 2 Stonechats, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Pochard and 30+ Snipe. There were, 3 Grey Herons, 2 Kestrels, 3 Marsh Harriers, 7 Pintail, 57 Black-headed Gulls, 68 Golden Plovers, 12+ Bearded Tits and 1 Sparrowhawk. Dylan had a Brambling in the Paddock as he left while in the non-avian list there was just one Small White Butterfly.

(Martyn Wilson)

13th October

Another weekend started with Marc recording Barn Owl at 4.48 followed by 5 Tawny and 1 Little Owl all before 6.00. The rest of the morning consisted of, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 4 Grey Herons, 1200+ Lapwings, 5 Green Sandpipers, 13 Pintail, 12 Ruff and 132 Golden Plovers. One "golden" Plover was unusally marked, having a very prominent wing pattern with lots of white, white wedges either side of the tail and grey underwing! (see photo's). There were, many Redwings passing over plus 16 Fieldfares and more Redwings in the Oxbow bushes. There were, 47 Snipe, 8 Marsh Harriers, 2 Kestrels, 3 Wigeon, 2 Dunlin, 3 Little Stints, 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 flyover Grey Wagtails. Also today there were, a pair of Chiloe Wigeon, 2 Tufted Ducks, 1 Pied Wagtail, 3 Little Grebes, 1 Jay, 2 Sparrowhawks and the first 2 Redpolls for this Autumn. A smart adult White Wagtail was at Harrison's Hide and there were , 2 Green & 2 Great-spotted Woodpeckers, 10 Bearded Tits, 2 Water Rails, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Little Egret, 4 Common Gulls, 91 Black-headed Gulls and 1400+ Teal. The only non-avian was a single Noctule Bat in the early morning half light.

(Martyn Wilson & Marc Heath)

11th October

I had a brief 30 minutes at the ramp at Grove Ferry tonight after work and noted the following: 3 Little Stints were on the main pool with 3 Dunlin for company, also 1 Little Egret, 1 Marsh Harrier, 2 Ruff, 4 Pintail, 2 Wigeon, 67 Golden Plover, c15 Black headed Gull, 1 Kingfisher, c20 Snipe and good numbers of Lapwing and Teal.

(Marc Heath)

10th October

I arrived at Grove this morning at 7am in dull and murky conditions. I stayed at the ramp for an hour before departing to work just as the rain started again. 4 Marsh Harriers made there way towards Sarre, 2 Green Woodpecker, 1 Cetti’s Warbler, 10 Ruff, 1 Grey Heron made everything flush on its arrival causing mayhem, when life was back to normal 2 Little Sints were seen with 1 Dunlin for company. 1 Little Gull was amongst 40 Black headed Gull. Redwings were still flying over calling and dropping into the paddock and 1 Fieldfare flew West over the ramp calling. 1 Kingfisher was heard along with 3 Meadow Pipit. 1 Stonechat was in the reeds next to the ramp, 2 Little Egret, 1 Bullfinch, 5 Pintail among the many Teal, 1 Chiffchaff calling in bushes, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Kestrel, c6 Golden Plover and c350 Lapwing.

(Marc Heath)

8th October

With the combined year list looking very healthy, I cycled down to Grove Ferry after work for an hour to see what was around, the answer was not that much but the following made the notebook from the ramp: 1 Grey Wagtail flew over calling and a while later 1 Pied Wagtail followed, also: 2 Wigeon, 2 Jay, 33 Golden Plover, 4 Little Gull were among the c40 Black headed Gull, 2 Grey Heron, 1 Great spotted woodpecker and 1 Green Woodpecker. There was an obvious Thrush movement going on with c400 Redwings flying West down the valley in 4 flocks, c200 out of the paddock. 2 Fieldfares were seen flying near the river, 1 Sedge Warbler near the ramp, 2 Dunlin, 2 Cetti's Warbler, c35 Goldfinch West, 1 Marsh Harrier, 2 Stonechat, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Water Rail and Bearded Tits heard in the reeds just west of the ramp.

(Marc Heath)

7th October

I do most of my birding around Faversham [Oare Marshes]; but I'm sometimes in the Stour Valley...yesterday I spent the afternoon at Grove and late afternoon, c.16.00, from the ramp had 2 Spotted Redshank right at the back of the water, preening. They then flew off over the reedbed at the back. Earlier on I think Brendan (?) was on the ramp, and I asked if there had been any Little Gulls...none been seen by then, but at 17.30 I had 5 superb Little Gulls, all adults, at the back in front of a long line of Black-headed Gulls. As I left about 17.50, walking back to the car-park all the gulls seemed to be leaving, flying overhead with at least one Little Gull calling.  

(Shaun Theobald)

A very miserable start to the day with a thick fog blanketing the valley for much of the morning. It did eventually lift to a murky late morning with occasional bursts of sunshine. Birds recorded today were, 1 Water Rail, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 3 Grey Herons, 1 Redshank, 2 Stonechats, 2 Jays and 1 Green Woodpecker. There were 3 Marsh Harriers, 14 Snipe, 12 Golden Plovers, 4 Ruff, 1 Spotted Redshank, 3 Little Egrets, 1 Tufted Duck and 2 Green Sandpipers. Out of a flock of 300 Black-headed Gulls there wee no Littles or Meds today but there were 3 Herring and 3 Common. There were, 2 Dunlin, 1 Little Stint, 5 Pintail, 2 drake Pochards, 1 male Blackcap, 1 Kestrel and a juvenile Arctic Tern flew NE at 9.20. There 15 Bearded Tits, a pair of Bullfinches a Grey Wagtail at Fordwich Bridge and the highlight of the day was a Brent Goose on roadside fields just west of Upstreet (valley side).

(Martyn Wilson)

6th October

After a rather frustrating morning bush bashing on the coast, I worked my way through the valley this afternoon. Highlights included 60 Tufted Duck and 70 Wigeon at Collard's, Where a young Marsh Harrier was trying to catch coot over the lake sending everything into a frenzy. Stodmarsh produced a single Chiffchaff and not much else, while at Grove there was an Adult Med Gull, along with 2 Little Gulls, single Little Stint, Dunlin and Green Sandpipers, 5 Ruff, 4 Pintail and 4 Wigeon. Presumably all the other waders that the boys had seen earlier in the day were hiding on one of Natural England's secret pools with no access. I do hope that Natural England are keeping good records and submitting them to the appropriate body!

(Brendan Ryan)

Grove started today with 2 Tawny Owls and 2 Little Owls with Marc recording one of each in the pre-6.00am shift. All this mornings sightings are mainly from the ramp. There were, 2 Stonechats, 2 Green Sandpipers, 8 Pintail, 17 Ruff, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 20+ Redwings, 5 Marsh Harriers, 2 Bullfinches and 3 Jays. Eleven Pied Wagtails flew over and there was movement of Meadow Pipits and Reed Buntings and several thousand Starlings. There were 51 Wigeon, 1 adult Little Gull, 19 Snipe, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Tufted Duck, 1 Redshank (a bit of a mega this year), 2 Dunlin and the obligatory Kingfisher. On the main pool were 192 Black-headed Gulls although birds were arriving just as much as others leaving plus there was 1 Common Gull and 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull. There were 2 male and 1 female Blackcap, 36 Golden Plovers, 12 Bearded Tits, 1 Spotted Redshank, 2 Green & 2 Great-spotted Woodpeckers, 1 Swallow south, and 3 Little Stints. The first Fieldfares of the Autumn flew west in a flock of seven, and there were 3 Grey Herons, 1 Kestrel, 1 Little Egret and the CEC rung immature Cormorant again plus a similar banded immature at Stodmarsh although the plastic ring was red, to distant (back of lake) to see any lettering. The only other additions at Stodmarsh was a Tit flock of several Blue & Great and 2 Long-taileds. While non-avian included, 1 Fox, 16 Common Darters, 1 Southern Hawker and a Speckled Wood.

(M. Wilson, N McCanch, P Solly, M Heath, S Ashton & A Ashdown)

4th October

After a successful visit to Reculver Caravan Park this morning to connect with a Yellow browed Warbler which showed well and was calling continously I called into Grove after work for 45 minutes. The following made the notebook: The 2 Arctic Terns continue to hang on mainly on the right hand pool from the ramp but occasionaly flying to the main pool. Also: 3 Little Gull present amongst the c200 Black headed Gull. 33 Golden Plover were seen along with 9 Ruff, 3 Stonechat, 1 Wigeon, 2 Little Stint, 2 Pintail, 1 Common Gull and c15 Snipe.

(Marc Heath)

3rd October

I had a brief visit to Grove Ferry after work today but was soon lured away by the arrival of quite a few Yellow browed Warblers on the North Kent coast. After a brief search I gave up as the mist arrived but the following was noted at Grove: 27 Wigeon, 2 Pintail, 1 Great spotted Woodpecker, 2 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Marsh Harrier, 2 Arctic Terns continue to show well from the ramp, c200 Black headed Gull, 4 Little Stint on the right hand pool from the ramp, 1 Green Sandpiper, 18 Golden Plover and c300 Lapwing. A Bittern was seen in flight at 4.57pm flying towards Harrisons before dropping down into the reeds.

(Marc Heath)

Popped into Grove Ferry this afternoon. Saw the Knot and two Arctic Terns from the ramp (both Stour Valley ticks for me) plus 4 Little Stints, 9 Dunlin, one Ruff and a Wheatear, Little Stint and 3 Green Sandpipers from Harrison Drove. Also cock Stonechat west of the drove.  

(Geoff Burton)

A very productive 20 minutes on the ramp before work allowed me to catch up with some of the birds that I had missed at the weekend while birding at my other local patch at Bockhill. A small flock of 20 gulls were present but they included 2 adult Little Gulls and an adult Med Gull. The only wader of note was a juv Little Stint on the main pool but it was a valley year tick so I am not complaining. One juv Arctic Tern was still present

(Brendan Ryan)

1st October

I cycled down to Grove Ferry after work today in heavy rain armed only with my binoculars. I made visits to the Green and Harrisons hide but spent most of the time getting soaked from the ramp. The following was noted 3.30 - 4.45pm: The 2 Arctic Terns were still present from the ramp with one showing very well close in occasionally, also 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Green Woodpecker, 3 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Little Egret, 4 Marsh Harrier, 5 Wigeon, 1 Pochard, 1 Wheatear and 3 Stonechat from Harrisons, 1 Green Sandpiper and 1 Ruff. There were still 3 Little Stints from the main pool, 1 Kingfisher, c150 Black headed Gull, 1 Great spotted Woodpecker, c10 Snipe and c300 Swallows lingering around the reserve. The occasional Bearded Tit was heard with Lapwing and Teal numbers continue to increase.

(Marc Heath)

8 Little Gulls were together on the main pool between 11 and 12noon.

(Ern)