Reporting Your Sightings

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

THE month for wader passage on the reserve. Many species of passage waders like green and wood sandpipers, little ringed plover, spotted redshank and curlew sandpiper peak during the month. The wader flocks are a mixture of lingering adults (some still showing vestiges of summer plumage) and freshly arrived juvenile birds. Ideal for wader enthusiasts! Expect at least one good bird during the month. Recent rarities include several red-necked phalaropes, a Pacific golden plover in 1995 & an American golden plover in 2008; a long-billed dowitcher in 1997 (& several subsequent years), white-rumped sandpipers in 1998, 2000 & 2009, lesser yellowlegs in 1998 and 2 marsh sandpipers in 2002.

Moulting duck numbers build up rapidly through the month; mainly mallard & teal, but also shoveler, gadwall and pintail. The first wigeon often appear by the months end and garganey are still present.

Raptor passage is also a feature of August - ospreys are regular, as are Montagu's harriers. August 2002 was a possibly unique year where all 4 European harriers could be seen at Elmley - the star being the 2nd year male pallid harrier present for most of the month, but with hen & Montagu's joining the resident marsh harriers. Common buzzard is now resident, honey buzzard is possible and merlin, peregrine and hobby are also regular.

Passerines are represented by good numbers of passage whinchat, wheatear and yellow wagtail and August has produced records of aquatic warbler. Check the scirpus-filled ditches early in the morning after south-easterly winds and you may get lucky!

There is still plenty of non-avian interest around the reserve: butterfly numbers begin to decline, but common blue, meadow brown & gatekeeper can still be abundant and it's a good month to look for clouded yellows along the seawalls. Dragonflies are dominated by common & ruddy darters and migrant hawkers, but it's still possible to find scarcer species like small red-eyed & scarce emerald damselflies and black-tailed skimmer. August is probably the best month to try to see the RDB Maid of Kent beetle. A fierce predator of cow-pats, Elmley is currently the only known site in the UK for this striking beetle. Hot, sunny days & a plentiful supply of fresh pats will maximise your chances of finding this rarity.

31st: 1j red-necked phalarope, 1 spoonbill, 26j curlew sandpiper, 3j little stint, 41 dunlin, 59 ringed plover, 3 green sandpiper, 1 common sandpiper, 1 whimbrel, 5 greenshank, 1 spotted redshank, 6 ruff, 22 little egret, 1 hobby, 1 peregrine, 2 buzzard, 6 whinchat, 1 wheatear, 10 pintail, 60 wigeon

30th: 1 Temminck's stint, 17j curlew sandpiper, 1j little stint, 74 dunlin, 132 ringed plover, 3 spotted redshank, 5 ruff, 3 golden plover, 1 turnstone, 8 green sandpiper, 4 common sandpiper, 2 garganey, 6 pintail, 1m merlin, 1 hobby, 3 whinchat, 3 wheatear

29th: 20j curlew sandpiper, 1 spotted redshank, 1j little stint, 30 dunlin, 102 ringed plover, 550 teal, 1 wheatear, 3 swift S

28th: 46j curlew sandpiper, 32 dunlin, 95 ringed plover, 4 whimbrel, 300 curlew, 2 bar-tailed godwit, 7 grey plover, 5 ruff, 1 spotted redshank, 1 greenshank, 1 garganey, 1j peregrine, 2 buzzard, 5 whinchat, 2 wheatear

27th: 6 wood sandpiper, 45 green sandpiper, 7 common sandpiper, 2j curlew sandpiper, 1j little stint, 36 black-tailed godwit, 8 spotted redshank, 6 ruff, 11 greenshank, 60 ringed plover, 42 dunlin, 1 peregrine, 2 buzzard, 1f merlin, 5 barn owl, 5 whinchat, 2 wheatear, 2 swift S

26th: 12 spotted redshank, 2 wood sandpiper, 5 ruff, 7 shoveler, 400 teal

23rd: 3 little stint, 30 ringed plover, 2 ruff, 1 common sandpiper

22nd: 8 whimbrel, 1f peregrine, 2 common sandpiper, 2 whinchat, 2 wheatear

20th: 4 little stint, 7 ruff, 3 spotted redshank, 2 greenshank, 2j LRP, 5 dunlin, 75 ringed plover, 1 golden plover, 265 black-tailed godwit, 6 wheatear, 4 whinchat, 1 willow warbler, 2 buzzard, 1 wigeon

19th: 4 little stint, 2 LRP, 1 whimbrel, 1 ruff, 1 garganey, 1 whinchat

18th: 4 little stint, 2 wood sandpiper, 6 ruff, 60 black-tailed godwit, 5 golden plover, 1 LRP, 62 ringed plover, 3 knot, 1 whimbrel, 2 spotted redshank, 1 garganey, 1f merlin, 3 hobby, 2 whinchat, 2 wheatear, 200+ sand martin

17th: 4 little stint, 90 dunlin, 140 ringed plover, 250 grey plover, 6 bar-tailed godwit, 50+ black-tailed godwit, 1 ruff, 3 wheatear

16th: 1 wood sandpiper, 3 little stint, 4 ruff, 2 spotted redshank, 70+ black-tailed godwit, 1 brent goose, 1 whinchat

15th: 2j black tern, 2 little stint, 1 curlew sandpiper, 1 wood sandpiper, 250 grey plover, 77 dunlin, 2 whimbrel, 22 spotted redshank, 1 greenshank, 4 ruff, 85 black-tailed godwit, 1 golden plover, 90 ringed plover, 1 LRP, 22 green sandpiper, 12 snipe, 2 garganey, 265 teal, 1 pintail

14th: 1 little stint, 1 curlew sandpiper, 26 dunlin, 4 ruff, 8 spotted redshank, 5 greenshank, 50 black-tailed godwit, 17 golden plover, 3 LRP, 1 brent goose, 1 willow warbler, 1 whitethroat, 1 wheatear

13th: 1 curlew sandpiper, 26 dunlin, 75 ringed plover, 2 LRP, 1 greenshank, 20 spotted redshank, 6 ruff, 2 knot, 30 snipe, 56 black-tailed godwit, 3 grey plover, 4 turnstone, 10 whimbrel, 1 wood sandpiper, 1 bar-tailed godwit, 12 golden plover, 1 peregrine, 200+ sand martin

12th: 1 curlew sandpiper, 5 ruff, 4 spotted redshank, 2 greenshank, 40+ black-tailed godwit, 6 LRP, 52 dunlin, 200 grey plover, 7 bar-tailed godwit, 10 whimbrel, 400 curlew, 2 whinchat, 1 willow warbler, 6 wheatear, 1 hobby

11th: 2 spoonbill, 2 curlew sandpiper, 1 wood sandpiper, 4 ruff, 4 spotted redshank, 7 common sandpiper, 5 greenshank, 7 dunlin, 1 bar-tailed godwit, 3 LRP, 1 whinchat

10th: 1 curlew sandpiper, 1 spotted redshank, 1 greenshank, 3 ruff, 24 dunlin, 6 black-tailed godwit, 100+ sand martin, 50+ yellow wagtail, 1 wheatear

9th: 2 curlew sandpiper, 40 dunlin, 12 green sandpiper, 6 common sandpiper, 48 black-tailed godwit, 2 ruff, 1 LRP, 6 spotted redshank, 25 snipe, 1 sparrowhawk, 1 hobby, 1 barn owl, 1 peregrine, 2 wheatear

7th: 2 curlew sandpiper, 9 spotted redshank, 45 black-tailed godwit, 10 green sandpiper, 6 common sandpiper, 3 ruff, 1 buzzard, 2 hobby, 4 wheatear, 1 whinchat, 1 willow warbler

6th: 2 curlew sandpiper, 2 LRP, 7 green sandpiper, 7 common sandpiper, 30 black-tailed godwit, 3 ruff, 8 spotted redshank, 30 snipe, 1 dunlin, 1 greenshank, 1 whinchat, 1 hobby, 1 buzzard

5th: 2 spotted redshank, 4 ruff, 12 black-tailed godwit, 20 snipe, common & green sandpipers, 2 willow warbler, 1 whitethroat, 3 reed warbler, 2 wheatear, 8 sand martin S, 1F peregrine, 1 buzzard, 1 barn owl

4th: 12 spotted redshank, 2 greenshank, 7 ruff, 4+ whimbrel, 27 grey plover, 50 dunlin, 30 ringed plover, 8 common sandpiper, 14 green sandpiper, 130 black-tailed godwit, bearded tit (H)

3rd: 12 spotted redshank, 6 ruff, 1 greenshank, 25 grey plover, 40 dunlin

2nd: 35 grey plover, 9 turnstone, 275 curlew, 4 whimbrel, 100 black-tailed godwit, 1 bar-tailed godwit, 12 spotted redshank, 1 greenshank, 5 ruff, 15 dunlin, 7 golden plover, 1 LRP, 14 green sandpiper, 10 common sandpiper, 1 brent goose, 1 hobby, 1 peregrine, 60+ sand martin

1st: 3 whimbrel, 16 green sandpiper, 8 common sandpiper, 1 greenshank, 21 spotted redshank, 3 ruff, 1 golden plover, 9 grey plover, 2 turnstone, 2 dunlin, 34 black-tailed godwit, 1 buzzard, 1 hobby, 1 willow warbler