Autumn Big Sit 2007

West Point, Cliffe – Sunday 14th October

by Don Taylor

As ‘Cliffe Birders' we had such success with our first Autumn Big Sit in 2005 when we submitted our results to the American Birdwatcher's Digest website, coming 5th with 87 species, out of 171 world-wide ‘circles'. However, we only managed 83 in 2006 but felt that the challenge to reach 90 had to be taken on. Sadly, Bob Davison wasn't available and only Mark Tomlins was able to join me for the day, when we really needed three or four pairs of eyes and ears. The weather for observation was marred by early morning fog, which cleared by mid-morning, though a distant haze persisted. A light southeasterly wind dropped soon after dawn but rose again in the late afternoon. An early afternoon high tide made the choice of date for this International event a good one.

The starry sky and light southeast wind looks promising as I wait for Mark to arrive at 5.30am. It is a slippery climb up to our ‘circle' on the pinnacle at West Point but we settle comfortably in our chairs by 5.50am to hear Coots calling and a Tawny Owl hooting from the direction of Manor Farm. A Mallard quacks and Curlews call from the marshes. With the lights from the quarry behind us, both Dunnock and Robin are early in uttering short phrases of their songs, a Barn Owl screech echoes from over the pools and Redshanks are also calling. Patches of mist are extending across the pools, as a Blackbird calls shortly before 6am. A Wren (number 10 at 6.05am) sings from the quarry and there is continuous noise from the riverside by Cliffe Fort, where a ship is being loaded. A distant Moorhen adds its call to those of the numerous Coots.

There's a glow from the industrial Essex shoreline but no sign of dawn breaking by 6.15am, when a Grey Heron grunts and several noisy Herring Gulls are present in Higham Bight. A call from a Little Owl somewhere to our left is a welcome sound, as the eastern sky begins to lighten. Will a Long-eared Owl make it four owl species, we wonder? A cock Pheasant calls, quickly followed by Shelduck and Lapwing. The first Carrion Crow caws just after 6.30am and some fifteen minutes later the Tawny Owl, continuing to hoot, is joined by a second bird but the thickening mist over the pools is worrying. Jackdaws call as they fly over the quarry and shortly before 7am we hear a variety of hooting sounds, from the direction of Manor Farm again, with which neither of us is familiar but they don't sound like any LE Owls calls that we know.

A few Black-headed Gulls (number 20 at 6.55am) and three LBB Gulls fly over but our range of view is now extremely restricted. The sounds of Greylag Geese emanate from the direction of the Alpha Pool, a Pied Wagtail calls from the quarry and a flock of Canada Geese add their voices but no open water is now visible. Chaffinches, Blue Tits and a Magpie call in quick succession from the shadowy scrub below us, as workmen arrive in the quarry. A Green Woodpecker yaffles and Woodpigeons are perching on the power lines near Manor Farm but the sound of machinery in the quarry is now making hearing new calls a real challenge. A Cormorant (number 30 at 7.28am) flies out of the low cloud and mist, the sun looks like an orange ball, as it appears above the back of the quarry, a flock of Linnets flies over, Starlings gather on a power line and a Redwing flies by. A GBB Gull flies towards the North Quarry and three Greenfinches fly past but the mist is still dense. A few Feral Pigeons fly almost overhead and a Skylark calls as it flies over. A little before 8am a Song Thrush drops down into the scrub, from which the mist is slowly beginning to lift.

Numerous Tufted Duck and a GC Grebe (number 40 at 7.56) can just be seen on the Elf Pools but the visibility is still poor. A flock of Long-tailed Tits feeds busily in the shrubs below us, two Little Egrets drop into the nearest Elf Pool and through the mist we can make out both Little Grebe and Pochard with the Tufted Duck but there is no sign of the Black-necked Grebe that had reportedly been there. A hen Bullfinch flies along the shrubs and four Collared Doves fly virtually overhead. A Jay can just be heard calling above the din from the quarry and a Sparrowhawk flashes along a ride through the shrubbery. We decide to perch just below the ridge to lessen the intrusive noise and from there we see two Rooks flying overhead, a Goldfinch (number 50 at 8.20am) bounces by and a drake Ruddy Duck can be seen on the nearside of the Radar Pool – the first of six species not seen before on the October Big Sits. It's now quite cloudy and it is pleasing to see a Greenshank alight on the pool below us – it is colour-ringed.

Later, we learn that it was ringed by Bill Jones at Oakham Island, in the Medway Estuary - about 10kms ESE - on 20/08/06 as a 1st cy bird. Thanks Paul for your perseverence.

Around 8.45am a Wigeon whistles, the sun is beginning to burn the mist off the pools and a pair of Mute Swans can now be seen. We have fleeting glimpses of a Chiffchaff as it flits across the path below us and a Common Gull now perches with the BH Gulls on a dilapidated timber bridge across one of the Elf Pools. A few Gadwall are also present there and a duck Teal flies towards the Timber Lake. Just after 9am several small flocks of LT Tits are feeding continuously all around us, a Goldcrest feeds with them, another Chiffchaff and several more Blue Tits appear, and a Great Tit (number 60 at 9.08am) stops to preen. A Stock Dove flies over and on the Ski and Hidden Pools several pairs of Shoveler can be seen, a smart drake Pintail upends and a lone Black-tailed Godwit is roosting.

A cock Stonechat flies on to a hawthorn bush just beyond the Elf Pools and we move back onto the ridge for greater stability and to feel some warmth from the sun. The cloud thins, the light wind drops and the visibility continues to improve. A lone Avocet hops, as it feeds in a nearer corner of the Flamingo Pool, the smaller waders nearby are providing ID challenges at such a distance and a few Meadow Pipits fly through our telescope visions. While scanning the pools, a GS Woodpecker flies into my binocular vision and continues E. Adding raptors is proving a real challenge but a Kestrel can now be seen perched on a fence post near the Black Barn. A Green Sandpiper (number 70 at 11.40am) alights among Lapwings in the northwest corner of the Ski Pool but soon takes off again. Ten minutes later a lone Brent Goose flies high down the river – these two species and Stonechat are all new for the October Big Sits and looking at the list of species not yet seen we're feeling quietly confident that 90 can be achieved.

A number of waders are resting amongst the Lapwings in the same far corner of the Ski Pool and with the much improved light conditions and a higher magnification lens it proves possible to identify the long-staying Pectoral Sandpiper, as well as a Dunlin and a Little Stint – the first-named is obviously another new species for the autumn Big Sits. Having had early breakfasts we're now enjoying our picnic lunches, as we continue to scan for additional species when a Ruff appears, again in the same area. As the tide rises, flocks of Dunlin and Black-tailed Godwits are beginning to arrive and while checking these for other wader species I glimpse what looks like a biggish raptor high over the Thames – it turns out to be a large female Sparrowhawk. Mark scores around 12.45pm, when he picks up a Wheatear in flight, which I also manage to see, as it heads towards Cliffe Fort – another first for an autumn Big Sit. Small flocks of Chaffinches are flying W and two groups of four Jays do likewise but there is little obvious passage and no sign of any hirundines. Suddenly, thousands of waders take to the air, mainly in individual species' flocks but we can't find the cause of the panic - possibly the local Merlin? Just after 1pm a Golden Plover appears, again on the favoured wader spot and two Grey Plovers fly by, as we continue to scan for other wader species. Large flocks of Black-tailed Godwits are arriving to roost, under a now cloudy sky and a light breeze is increasing in strength.

The Flamingo Pool is attracting big numbers of waders and gulls and shortly before 2pm, with careful scanning I manage to locate an adult Yellow-legged Gull while a flock of about 50 Avocets settles to roost nearby. A lone Ringed Plover (number 80 at 2.05pm) alights apart from the main flocks, allowing for a straightforward ID but try as we might we are unable to confirm the presence of either Knot or Turnstone and not one Oystercatcher appears. The numbers of waders flying in to roost are extremely impressive but there isn't time to count the several 100's of Black-tailed Godwits, Dunlin, Lapwings, Redshanks and Avocets, and scores of Grey Plover, when we're searching for new species. Another Sparrowhawk swoops down in front of us and Mark sees a Red-legged Partridge disappearing into a game crop at the far side of the quarry – it's just a matter of looking in the right direction at the right time. A large container ship is sailing down river and on this occasion three Common Terns are accompanying it but we fail to find any more exotic seabirds. The tide is now high and it is a really impressive sight when all the waders fly up and on this occasion the culprit is a Peregrine, a most welcome addition, particularly as finding raptors continues to prove a real challenge. A short while later we are able to identify a distant Reed Bunting as it perches on slender vegetation.

We continue to scan and suddenly find it is 4.50pm and we seem stuck on 83 - in retrospect I discover it is actually 84, as I'd omitted to note the Green Sandpiper. Missing passerines include Fieldfare and Mistle Thrush and the latter is occasionally seen feeding in the paddock, which we continue to scan at regular intervals. The Great Grey Shrike that has been present in the general area for a few days remains just out of sight. Mark finds a possible Common Snipe but it disappears, again while he changes the lenses, and we cannot relocate it – such frustration. We find two more Green Sandpipers and another Ruff but fail to add any more wader species to the list of 14. Though the opportunity for reaching 90 had seemed to be there, time is running out and the much sought-after species, including House Sparrow – usually seen on Manor Farm – simply aren't showing, and if a Kingfisher has visited the pool beneath us, as it usually does, we've been looking elsewhere at the time!

The sky is cloudless again and the breeze on our backs has a chilly feel, as the sun sinks slowly towards the western horizon and we decide to end another most enjoyable and reasonably successful day at 6pm. Having now recorded 105 species during the three events, we're sure that 90 is possible but it really needs four pairs of eyes and ears to realise such a total - maybe in 2008?