Elmley Marshes

"Rough Justice" was to have been the perfect headline for this post. The three gargantuan prisons on the Isle of Sheppey were clearly visible from Elmley Marshes, but sadly there was no evidence of any over-wintering Rough-legged Buzzards.

No matter. If there is the perfect estuarine and marshland nature reserve, then Elmley Marshes is probably it. Following my disappointing visit to the much vaunted, enclosed-viewing-facility-challenged Rainham Marshes, Elmley was refreshingly old-skool with no visitor centre razzamatazz and five good quality hides - all well located. So, credit where credit is due the RSPB, this sanctuary is a belter.

I suppose it does help when the area is drowning in sunshine and teeming with Marsh Harriers to boot. According to one Kentish old hand, up to one hundred pairs are now breeding on the Isle of Sheppey – astounding. From today’s evidence, the residual over-wintering population is around ten birds and when one takes into account the Peregrines, Merlins and Hen Harriers you have some serious Lapwing mithering going on!

The Swale Estuary is no slouch either. I cannot remember seeing so many waders and wildfowl crammed into such a small area. Wigeon were the most numerous duck and Dunlin the commonest wader, but it was hard to take your eyes of the flock of circa two hundred Avocet – the largest I have ever seen.

Reflecting on such a wonderful day, I pondered whether or not being imprisoned so close to a nature reserve would be heaven or hell for a birder. Whilst it would be comforting to hear the rich and mournful trill of the Curlew on a still winter’s morning, would it not be torture having the knowledge that they were within touching distance yet out of reach?

Elmley Marshes 10.12.09

Marsh Harrier c9
Peregrine 3
Kestrel 1
Avocet c200
Grey Plover 50+
Black-tailed Godwit 100+
Dunlin 2,000+
Wigeon 4,000+
Teal c750

Until later.

Rainham Marshes

Today I have seen the future of birding - and I'm not sure I like it. I took a trip to the RSPB's Rainham Marshes and I'm not impressed.

The habitat is magnificent - a huge ancient grazing area adjacent to the River Thames that manages to seem extremely wild, despite its close proximity to the city of London.

The problem is that there is only one hide and that overlooks a scrape - one that is still being constructed. Considering the vast sums of money that have been spent on the visitor centre (that looks like a lego spaceship on stilts) and the hundreds of metres of boardwalks, there are very few facilities for the the birdwatcher whom looks to have been sidelined yet again in favour of the tea and sandwich brigade.

For example, it was a complete waste of time taking my telescope and hide clamp as I had to lump it 2 1/4 miles around the trail without being able to deploy it. There are numerous viewing points, but they are open air platforms with no areas to attach clamps and moreover, I would not wish to stand on them in bad weather. Crucially, this arrangement is also extremely inconsiderate to the birds as they can clearly see you looking at them and understandably stay at a distance. No good if you only have binoculars!!

There is also a huge tract of rough grassland you cannot see because of a lack of elevation. A tower hide overlooking this western section of the reserve would be incredible and provide cracking views of hunting raptors.

I can understand the RSPB wants to be as inclusive as possible, but it should remember that its core ethos should be to not only safeguard the future of wildlife, but also allow those of us who are serious nature watchers to actually see it.

With the towers of canary wharf clearly visible in the distance, it was difficult not to remember what happened to certain institutions when they grew so large that they become arrogant and forgot the original reason why they were set up in the first place. And we all know what happened to them.

Until later.

Ynys-Hir/Chat Masala

On Monday morning I decided to tootle down to the gorgeous RSPB reserve at Ynys-Hir on the Dyfi estuary. Roads as clear as a oil of ulay model’s skin meant the journey from Chester took around 90 minutes and I arrived about an hour before high tide.

I darted down to the Saltings hide and started to scan through the modest numbers waders being forced up the saltmarsh. Both Godwits were present as were a handful of Dunlin, Oysties, Redshank and Curlew. The river was a little more interesting with seven loafing Goosander and a manic Kingfisher that kept zipping around like a mini-torpedo with no sense of direction.

When the tide had peaked I moved to the Marian Mawr hide. The hide is beautifully positioned; the whole of the estuary and two ranges of mountains are visible. In front of the hide are a few pools and it was in here that I located the surprise bird of the day – a juvenile Scaup. For a notoriously dozey bird, the duck was actually fairly active and fed for the two hours I was there.

Highlights from the pleasant vigil included a pair of Peregrines, and a wonderfully close view of a Red Kite being bombed by a Raven.

In order to work of my lunch I headed to the Breakwater hide – a longish walk that takes in the lion’s share of the reserve. The sun had brought out tons of dragonflies and tens of Speckled Woods. The woodland itself was fairly quiet with all of the spring migrants having packed up their bags and headed back to Africa. On the flooded meadows a vanguard of Wigeon had arrived, but I could not locate the trio of Barnacle Geese that had been logged the day previous.

A cracking day and not even being stuck behind a caravan for 60 minutes on the way home could ruin it!

Until later.

P.S – If anybody local is actually reading this blog (well there could be), four Whinchat were on the Gowy Meadows CWT this evening with even more Stonechat. I have also noticed that somebody has bagged a Merlin down here recently according to Birdguides.

Crake Expectations

Well, they say timing is everything. If I had opted to venture into North Wales today rather then yesterday then I would not have found myself driving along the A55 twice in two days!

Browsing the web this morning, I was drawn to a report of a Spotted Crake at Conwy, so after wolfing down my cornflakes I was back in the motor.

I arrived at just after eleven, to be ‘greeted’ by the news that the bird had not showed since ten past nine and the increasingly heavy rain seemed to add to the despondency of the assembled birders.

Thankfully, some interesting birds helped passed the time: a Goosander fishing in the lagoon and a brief glimpse of yet another Green Sandpiper were pleasant distractions.

Finally, at quarter to two the moment arrived. I caught a bird skulking at the edge of the reeds and as it emerged from the vegetation it revealed itself as our quarry – a cracking Spotted Crake!

The bird showed on and off for ten minutes before it disappeared back into the ether like one of the ghostly baseball stars in ‘Field of Dreams.’

Build a reserve, and they will come.

In a totally unrelated thread – has anybody else noticed the current trend for naming small businesses with a pun? An excellent example is a mobile caterer called ‘Everything under the Bun’ that I sometimes see parked up on the A55. Shocking

Until later.

Being and Nothingness

“Hell is other People”, claimed JP Sartre, and today I could not have agreed more.

Having driven 55 miles to Morfa Madryn, I was looking forward to plonking myself down in the hide and watching the tide come-in. What I hadn’t budgeted for was the fact that two blokes had decided the structure would make excellent temporary accommodation and had duly set up camp. Indeed, when I arrived they were mid-way through a picnic.

I pointed out that people may wish to use the building for its intended purpose, but this plea fell of deaf ears. I called the warden at Conwy borough council. “There will be someone down this afternoon.” Great.

Given that the tide was now practically in, I decided to check the pools from the other two hides. Two Sandpipers: a Green and a Common with a dodgy leg showed very well from the first hide, whilst the second pool held a good smattering of Lapwing, Redshank and a Greenshank, whilst just out to sea an immature Gannet prospected.

With the camp campers still in residence, I walked to the marsh to scan the spit. It was teeming with birds: if hell is other people, then heaven may very well be other birds!
Hundreds of Oystercatchers and Curlew were roosting on the shingle, joined by similar numbers of Sandwich Terns. Patient scanning revealed an Arctic Tern, a brace of Whimbrel and two superb adult winter-plumaged Mediterranean Gulls.

Returning to the motor a dragonfly sped past and landed on a flower. Incredibly, as I crept towards the critter it remained stationary – close enough for me to take a snap with my mobile. Back at Casa del Shenton a Golden-ringed Dragonfly was confirmed!

On the way back to Chester, I decided to nip into RSPB Starbucks. The five juvenile Red-crested Pochards reported yesterday were still dabbling around near the new screen. The provenance of this species is difficult at the best of times, but the appearance of this number of young birds seems bizarre to say the least. No tick.

I then repaired to the Benarth hide for a spot of lunch where I encountered a less uncommon species – the trigger happy photographer. As with many of this ilk, he seemed incapable of judicious shot selection and fired a battery of shots at flying Curlew running into the hundreds. He will probably still be looking through them next spring.

Until later.

Can’t See The Wood For The Teas

Perhaps mid July is the time for rare sandpipers at Conwy – almost three years ago to the day I was standing in exactly the same spot looking at a Stilt Sandpiper. Today’s Wood Sandpiper would probably fall into the uncommon category rather than mega, but what it lacks in scarcity it more than makes up for in its subtly attractive plumage.

Conwy is not my favourite reserve by a long stretch – a reserve where the RSPB has almost provocatively set out to alienate ‘serious’ birders in its quest to gain a broader appeal. Why else would you build a coffee shop on a prime hide location?

But I am not a churlish man – most of the time anyway – so as I was en route from Anglesey I decided to pay a visit.

The bird was a little difficult to locate at first, but finally revealed itself feeding with Redshanks in front of Starbucks.

Plenty of other waders too: a handful of Dunlin, Common Sandpiper and Blackwit, plus large flocks of Oystercatcher, Redshank and a roost of Curlew containing a couple of Whimbrel.

I also had time to nip into Morfa Madyrn over a fairly low high tide. The hides here seem to be suffering from a rather chronic form of vandalism that will probably render them unusable in about 2043.

A few hundred Sandwich Terns were the highlight – with good numbers of juveniles too. Out on the water, twenty or so Red-breasted Merganser were taking it easy and a few Great Crested Grebes provided some company.

Now for the Terek's Sandpiper!

Until later.

Foiled Again

I hit the road early this morning as I had decided to pay my first visit to the RSPB’s Leighton Moss reserve near Carnforth.

After an hour and a half of the M6 during morning rush hour I was in serious need of some valium, but I soon began to unwind after I had plonked myself down in the Griesdale hide and clocked a male Marsh Harrier gracefully quartering over the reed bed. It was soon joined by a larger adult female and the duo seemed to delight in spooking the over-summering Black-tailed Godwits.

Bearded Tit is a bird I am yet to see and is a specialty of this reserve. They are, however, notoriously difficult to observe and today was no exception, although I did see every Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Reed Bunting at Leighton Moss in the process of trying to find one!

Early in the afternoon I headed over to the Eric Morecambe and Allen pools where the previous day both Pectoral Sandpiper and Temminck’s Stint has been logged. The Allen pool was very quiet with an Avocet and a few of the commoner waders.

There was a little more activity at the EM pool. A couple of birders pointed me in the direction of the Pectoral Sandpiper, but the bird in question was suspiciously similar to a Knot, in that it was actually, a Knot. No sign of the Temminck’s Stint either, although three Little Gulls were decent compensation.

What was required was a raptor to stir things up a little and right on cue an immature male Marsh Harrier appeared on the scene. The resultant pandemonium sent all the waders into the air in panic, including two belligerent Avocets that mobbed the bird remorselessly. Once they had all settled, a few more Redshanks has been flushed out, but if there were any Sandpipers and Stints around, then they remained hidden.

Until later.

West By South-West

Always partial to some seawatching, the combination of a high tide and a stiff north-westerly wind had me in the automobile and heading for a noon appointment with the sand dunes at the Point of Ayr.

Upon arrival at Talacre my spirits were soon sapped. I had neglected to remember that it was half term week and the car park was already rammed with dog walkers and the great unwashed. A further metaphorical kick to the teeth was received when I noticed the direction of the flag; not entirely agreeing with this morning's BBC weather graphic, it was shimmering west at best.

Faced with this double whammy, I enacted Plan B and headed to the Little Orme for what would be my inaugural visit. Initial impressions were good, a short walk from the road and I was perched on a section of elevated limestone overlooking the Irish Sea.

If anything the wind had acquired a south-westerly lilt now - hardly favourable conditions. Nevertheless, I was soon on to two Fulmars - one of which flew about six feet away from me! Kittiwake and Guillemot were both present in good numbers as were Cormorants, keeping themselves busy by commuting to and fro across the sea in small groups.

Four Manx Shearwaters were the next birds of note to pass through, banking nonchalantly into the head wind. Four seemed to be the magic number today as Gannets and Sandwich Terns appeared in the same digit. Two Shag were nice additions to my year list (now 177) and it occurred to me at this point that I had not seen any at Anglesey the previous week!?

Despite my many misgivings about RSPB Conwy, I decided it would be churlish not to pay it a visit given I was so close. Half an hour in the Benarth Hide revealed little of interest apart from a pair of Black Swans. Is it just me, or do these slimmer, ebony versions of the Mute Swan seem even more snooty and uppity? Time to get the boys from the Environment Agency in?

Until later.