The Ramsgate Merganser

I had been looking forward to this weekend as the Eastern  Black Redstart that was showing well at walpole bay thanet all through the week looked like it was going to stay,  however as with so many birds that stop off on migration in our patch it had other ideas and left Thursday evening.  Frustrating or what, I wished I went last weekend.  With Stodmarsh being fog bound photo opportunities were very few and far between,  a Common Snipe was about as good as it got and it did not look like  the fog was going to lift. I sat in the  Feast hide with Steve Ashton where we did not take long to decide to try and find the sunshine as promised by our highly skilled weather forecast team. We moved to Ramsgate harbour where we knew there was a Red Breasted Merganser showing,  this would be a life tick for me and maybe action for my rusty camera shutter.  We meet Allan Ashdown and the three of us soon found the bird looking a little bedraggled, it allowed a few photos as it swam about. I was happy to gain a tick for this bird especially after last weekend. Yesterday I had seen three different Bitterns in flight whilst at grove so I would think if you want to see one the next few weeks will start to see the numbers rising throughout the reserve.

A Day To Remember

Remembrance Sunday, so many poignant memories and far to many life's lost .For me,  one of the lucky beings I will be able to remember the day for all its autumn glory and will always be grateful to those not so lucky that I can. The day started with me driving just before sunrise along stodmarsh road and through trenley wood.  The sun was starting to appear and was stunning,  the colours just wonderful.  I slowed down as I passed the rookery and memories of school boy egg collecting came flooding back to me. I looked at the trees we used to climb, and remember reaching out into the branches hanging on for dear life to gain an emerald green streaked trophy. The farmer used to give us hell if he caught us.  I carried along stopping for a photo of the sun,  it was very misty. Reaching the reserve at Stodmarsh I saw at least 10 Goldcrest, 2 Bullfinch and a small gathering of Long Tailed and Blue Tit.  By now the sun was glowing and the mist was descending on a carpet of golden leaves, wonderful.  I made my way to the marsh hide as I wanted a few pics of the Glossy Ibis with the sun on its back,  as I passed the dyke a Kingfisher flew by and 2 Water Rails played in the edge, there was lots to see here including a Grey Wagtail and a handsome Sparrow Hawk.  Male Marsh Harriers were up in the sky and my first November Bittern appeared in the distance.  From the marsh hide I had lovely views of the Ibis the sun playing on its back,  you can see where it gets its name. A good hour was spent in the hide on my own drinking tea,  interrupted only by the birds that graced the day. I moved on to the reed bed hide watching a huge flock of mixed wildfowl being chased by a Peregrine.  2 Jay,  20 Redwing with a scattering of Fieldfare were also noted. The willows have been cut to the right of the Reed bed hide making it possible to see across to the lampern wall, thanks to who ever done the work as it was well worth it .Not much apart from a Cormorant was seen so home for a well earned bacon butty .On a separate note I must add that whilst out with my wife this afternoon on a long walk with our Springer Spaniels we saw 4 Common Crane flying over heading towards Deal. This capped off a great day for me in bird land so again thanks to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice for me to do so.

Marsh Hide On A Monday Morning.

I was able to spare a few hours this morning so I decided that the marsh hide at Grove would be as good a place as any to visit,  there is not much about bird wise at the moment however the Glossy Ibis was very alluring especially as I had only fleeting views on Saturday.  I walked from the Stodmarsh end of the reserve and made my way along the track towards the alders, very little to see,  a Chiffchaff being the best. As I reached the clearing I looked towards the boat house and remembered great views of Barn Owls earlier in the year as they went about feeding their hungry brood. On arriving at the hide I was the only one there for a while,  Steve Ashton joined me and we were soon watching a fair amount of action. Birds of interest  were one Ringtail,  Peregrine,  Kestrel,  Sparrowhawk,  Marsh Harrier, Ruff, lapwing ,Egret,  Water pipit,  Jay, Snipe and Heron.  The light was not kind for the camera but we managed a few shots, a few other people arrived and were pleased to see the Ibis,  not common here and yet not the first this year. Its apparent that the seasons seem to be changing, birds and insects staying longer in the field, and boundaries changing giving us lots to enjoy. The morning flashed by and we were soon heading home with work commitments looming.

Grove In All Its Glory

I have often thought that I am not a lucky person but in reality I am,  lucky that I have been blessed with the ability to enjoy the country side and all that occurs within it.  I had decided that a walk to the marsh hide would be a good idea today as there had been a juvenile Glossy Ibis showing well in the week so setting off along the track from grove I walked to the ramp where I made my first stop.  Blue, Great and Long Tailed Tits were fooled by the warm temperatures in to thinking it was spring along with a Wren and two Dunnock.  At the ramp there were lots of Reed Bunting and Chaffinch,  I scanned for a Brambling to no avail.  A Marsh Harrier scrambled the ramp locals and the raise in decibels was tremendous.  My next stop was the newly transformed feast hide,  I must thank all those who gave up their time in the week and help to bring the area back under control.. Here there were Teal and lapwing,  Little Egret and a few others.  Along the path to the marsh hide I saw a charm of Goldfinch and several Thrushes coming in of which there were a lot of Fieldfare. On reaching the marsh hide I was rewarded with distant views of the Glossy Ibis and the Grey Heron who seems to like his picture being taken. Six Ruff circled and a few snipe were also seen. This time of the year is stunning, don't miss it.

Warm Winds At Reculver

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 Meeting Steve Ashton at the fishermans car park just after 8 this morning  we were greeted with  a strong southerly wind albeit bright and sunny. I was going to go to Dungeness for the day as the Penduline tit seems to be showing but with the big game at lunch time and me being a man utd fan I wanted to be home to watch the local derby if you can call it that with the multi national teams these days  and boy what a waste of a sunny afternoon that was. .Any way back to the birding. We walked along the track from the car park noting a kestrel but not much else before crossing the railway  and turning left along the old embankment. We had a Green Woodpecker and fleeting views of various Thrushes as they skulked in the bushes keeping out of the wind,  a party of Finches flew over but photo opportunities were few and far between even though the light was kind.  Not being a bird lister I just enjoy what ever the walk turns up bird wise however I hope to see a few birds this time of the year that are new to me.  We had good views of Marsh Harrier looking spectacular on the wind they just seem to hang there.  We turned along the green wall heading towards the sea  where we saw two Bearded Tits and a flock of Golden Plover twisting and turning as they flew in the bright morning sunshine. A Peregrine was spotted towards the towers scattering all the birds in its path.  On reaching the sea wall the tide was in and we had good views of Brent Geese, Turnstone,  Two Wheatear and a pair of Meadow Pipits, here we had the bird of the day a Goosander flying towards the towers close in allowing a hurried record shot. We made  our way along the sea shore spotting a raft of Mallard  with a lone Wigeon, more Brent Geese,  Ring Plovers flying by and on the lagoons a  few Redshank calmly paddling in the clear water. Making our way back to the car park we located several Long Tailed Tits in the hedge row allowing a few shots,  they disappeared quickly bringing the mornings ramble to an end. Another enjoyable morning, you can forget all your troubles and everything else with this hobby.  Yesterday I  had an hour with the Bearded Tits at Grove,  they are thinning out now but still stunning to see when you find them. Lastly there is lots of work taking place around the feast hide lets hope we see the iconic Kingfisher back on its post soon.

Grove In The Sunshine

After a cold night I was greeted with a frozen car this morning,  the first of the autumn. I set off for Grove hoping the sun would soon burn off the mist and develop into a nice sunny day like the weather forecast had promised.  As I walked up the track towards the ramp the ghostly appearance of a Barn Owl passed me in the mist and flew towards the feast hide, it looked stunning as flew by reminding me of the great times I had with them back in the summer. I also saw Green Woodpecker, Stonechat, Reed Bunting and Cettis Warbler. Three Marsh Harriers were upsetting the ramp residents causing lots of commotion on a calm morning as I made my way to the track past the feast hide where I hoped to photograph Bearded Tits. Conditions were now perfect for my target bird and I soon found a few to grace the camera,  I clicked away happily for an hour. I met Alan Ashdown,  Steve Ashton,  Adam Faiers,  Martyn Wilson And Mark Chidwick just by the feast hide and we decided as it was so nice to walk to the marsh hide and a circuit via harrisons and middle drove. We saw Fieldfare,  Redwing Stonechat  andWater Rail before finding a small flock of Redpoll, these turned out to be the highlight of the ramble. The morning was most enjoyable with us putting the world to right in all departments as we strolled in the morning sun.

The Last Few Weeks.

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Its been a while since I updated my blog, ive been away in Menorca for a week and catching up on chores for another so it was  nice to get out on Sunday for a few hours. Whilst in Menorca near Cala Galdana I walked through a gorge and was delighted to add to my life list Egyptian Vulture and Booted Eagle, the Vultures breed here and were magnificent, if only I had my camera. I saw lots of Spotted Flycatcher Sardinian Warbler and even heard a Nightingale,  truly a place for me to visit again along with the  uncommercialised beaches and turquoise sea, wonderful.  On my return I had a few days working at Arundal a mile from the Pallid Harrier, naturally I had a look for this super bird but was not lucky however did see Red Kite,  Buzzard,  Kestrel and Raven Along with a calling Tawny Owl. Again a cracking location set in delightful  Sussex countryside . With the wife working Sunday I had a a bit more time so set off for Grove to try for a few Bearded Tit shots,  this time of the year there can be at least a 100 or more with the numbers I would imagine boosted from other areas. The light was fantastic when I arrived and I soon located the birds they were very vocal.  I meet a few of the locals and just as we started the camera action we received a call telling us of an Osprey at Reculver ( or was it Seasalter ). We decided to pay a visit as it seemed to be staying put in the oyster beds.  On arrival we could see it from a long way off,  it was huge and sat for some time before  rising and heading south,  wow what a sight well worth the trip.  With the sun now baking down on us I decided to head home.  Monday evening after work with the forecast saying that the weather was to break I paid Oare marshes a visit.  High tide is needed for the best views of the waders as they come in from the coast to roost and with the sun behind me a few shots were managed. I saw Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper , Golden Plover, Greenshank,  Ringed Plover,  Ruff,  Little Egret,  Green Plover,  Black Tailed Godwit to name but a few and as the sun went down a lone Spoonbill glidded in from the west. So there you are a brief note of whats been going on and a few pictures as follows 1 Bearded Tit..2 Osprey. 3 Osprey. 4 Golden Plover. 5 Black Tailed Godwit..6  Black tailed Godwit. 7 .Little Egret.....Finally a note to all you bloggers for some reason I cannot leave comments on your reports,  I am trying to sort out the problem.

Rye Harbour.

A change of scenery this morning with a trip to Rye Harbour for the Buff Breasted Sandpiper. A spur of the moment decision had myself,  Mike Gould and Steve Ashton setting off about 08.30.  Its a good hour drive from Canterbury via Ashford and across Romney Marsh,  a pleasant drive  taking in some of Kents lovely countryside before crossing in to East Sussex   .It was a very warm bright morning which encouraged lots of people out to make the most of the summer.  We made our way through the caravan park towards the scrapes where we had hoped the Sandpiper would be and on spotting a crowd ahead with scopes and binoculars we soon were enjoying close views .Photography was to be a challenge as the sun was in the wrong location, ( Late pm would be best.) so we decided to have a wander and see what else was about. We bumped into Mike Hook who joined us noting  Linnet, Wheatear, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel and  Little Egret  as we made our way to one of the hides.  Not much from the hide and with the sun beating down it was decided that refreshments were needed.  After tea ( and ice creams ) we made our way back to the scrapes as a couple of hours had passed along with most people and we were able to position ourselves allowing a few photos. Also on the scrape were Curlew Sandpiper Ringed Plover and  Dunlin all coming close. its a shame that we were not here for the evening as i feel we would have nailed the photos.We didn't see many different species throughout our stay, spending nearly all our time with the Sandpipers but all in all a very enjoyable visit............... Photos 1 and 5 are Curlew Sandpiper 2-4 Buff  Breasted Sandpiper.

The Stodmarsh Bitterns

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Its been a long long time since a pair of Bitterns have reared a successful brood at Stodmarsh. There has been lots of work behind the scene to encourage a pair to stay for the spring and the last few years a booming male has been heard and so hopes were high . A wonderful achievement  occurred this year when a successful  brood of three albeit at the second attempt   occurred giving hours of pleasure for those who have made a visit to see them. I spend a lot of time watching Bitterns in the winter from the Reedbed hide enduring the cold weather waiting for a fleeting view of a bird on the ice or in the air,  so to be able to watch four birds ( three juveniles and a female ) in a warm climate has been a pleasure. The camera was snapping away with lots of opportunities for all however the wind blowing the reeds about mucked up a lot of  photos. I watched on a few occasions the female arrive with food and the youngsters scrambling to be first to meet her, this was comical  as the birds were not very good at flying. They showed all the normal mannerisms of a fully fledged bird skypointing etc and i could clearly see them moving their loose throat feathers to blend in with the reeds. It was  a change to watch these birds amongst the green foliage with lots still in summer bloom adding welcome colour from the winter setting that i am used to. These birds will probably move on soon and we will have the wintering birds from Holland etc coming in to boost the numbers again. Here is a few photos from todays visit.

Oare marshes

With a few spare hours today i thought i would pay Oare Marshes a visit, the time slot i had did not fare well for the tide nor for photography however i saw a good few birds. Most of the time i was looking towards the East flood. Here Yellow Wagtail showed well along with a pair of linnet, there were single little Egret and Heron with many Black Tailed Godwit, Avocet, Ruff, Golden Plover, Redshank, Lapwing and the odd Greenshank. Moving on to the Raines hide a pair of Green Sandpiper was all that was on offer although along the path there were Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff, Long Tailed Tit and Whitethroat. I did not see any Wheatear. A pair of Common Tern and a single Kestrel completed the list. All in all lots to look at although i do wish we could see the birds closer. On a final note its a shame some

birds have to have so much bling on them, this Ruff being an example, perhaps its time to back off from this dated way of tracking birds