October Sightings

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                            Sightings can be Emailed to:

      Martyn Wilson - martyn@wilson5834.freeserve.co.uk  

  Brendan Ryan -  brendan.ryan@yahoo.co.uk

  Marc Heath - Heathym007@aol.com   

Marc, Martyn & Brendan

Photo Gallery

  Number of species recorded in the valley this year so far = 181

We are now at the same total as last year

30th October

Peregrine & ringtail Hen Harrier at Grove Ferry on morning of 30th. Hundreds of Redwings in Hawthorns along Little Stour that morning.

(Cliff Dean Pett E Sussex)

28th October

After spending the morning at West Hythe watching and photographing the Green Heron I decided I had better pop into the local patch just in case we had our own rarity, we didn't. It seemed very quiet with only a few birds logged: c450 Golden Plover, c400 Teal and Lapwing, 3 Stonechat, 1 Little Egret, 2 Snipe and a few Long tailed Tit heard. The Green hide pools were totally empty of birds but hopefully with a couple of months to go yet, something else good will appear in the valley.

(Marc Heath)

24th October

As Martyn mentioned, I went out again this afternoon to see if I could improve on the 66 species seen this morning by the 4 of us. I spent a few hours at the Stodmarsh end and also taking in Collards. I added 10 species taking the tally to 76 species. I still missed Kingfisher and Bullfinch to name a few but added most of the other common species. The valley might have to wait tomorrow as half of England will be visiting Hythe for the Green Heron, hopefully.

(Marc Heath)

Just read the report on KOS. I actually managed to get to Grove ~1.30 and Jack the snipe was alive and well, sitting on the right hand end and doing what he does best - nothing! No pictures - still no lens - but I think Jack's picture has featured a lot in the last week - it must be the most heavily photographed Jack Snipe of all time!
Other than that it was pretty quiet during my brief visit, hardly a small bird to be seen in fact and Harrison's was totally deserted.
(Steve Ray)

Marc had already been in the valley for an hour and a half by the time I then Alan arrived having recorded 7 Tawny Owls. Quite a big but see throughable (is that a word) mist and cold frost awaited us at the ramp but as with Wednesday, cleared to reveal a rather glorious day if not somewhat chilly when the strong South South Westerly got up. Other birds in the valley this morning were, 3 Stonechats, 8 Lesser Redpolls, 10 Marsh Harriers, 2 Dunlin, 5 Ruff, 2 Spotted Redshanks, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker and 4 Kestrels. There were, 2 Water Pipits, 1 Little Egret, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Common Snipe, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 271 Golden Plovers, 1 Black-tailed Godwit and 30 Wigeon west. Also today werer, 3 Sparrowhawks, 1 Pochard, 3 Water Rails, 1 Siskin, 4 Jays, 1 Peregrine Falcon and 10 Bearded Tits. Visible migration of Chaffinches continued with small parties of between 6 & 30 birds passed through numbering at least 120 individuals, also Skylarks were moving with 37 counted. There were, 14 Long-tailed Tits, 5 Goldcrests, 1 Little Owl, 5 Green Woodpeckers and 2 Redwings. Marc is also visiting again this afternoon while also doing a weekend list of how many species can be seen, by midday it was 66 and i'm sure he will add more this afternoon. No sign of the Jack Snipe today.

(Martyn Wilson, Marc Heath & Alan Ashdown)

24th October

What started out as a fine but grey morning saw me retreating to the green hide as the onslaught of rain started. On arrival at the green hide I immediately noticed the Jack Snipe outside the hide on the dyke's edge less than 3 yards away. I first called John Cantelo, who had yet to see it, then called upon the camera to get yet more images of this delightful little wader for which I make no appologies. As you can see rain made light conditions terrible but hey ho the wonders of digital photography eh! Birds at Grove Ferry today were, 1 Tawny Owl, 2 Kestrels, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 7 Marsh Harriers, 3 Water Rails and 2 Dunlin. A Common Buzzard drifted west over the river at 7.49 and there were, 280 Wigeon west plus a single Wigeon at green hide, several Mallard and Shoveler west, 1 Stonechat,  and at least 60 Redwing in the paddock and just one Fielfare, a bit of a suprise!!. Also today, 96 Golden Plovers (where are the other 400?), 1 Little Egret, 24 Common Snipe, 1 Jack Snipe, 2 Grey Herons, 1 immature male Sparrowhawk, 2 Tufted Ducks and 1 Kingfisher.

(Martyn Wilson)

23rd October

An amiable amble around the reserve today with not agreat deal to report, best part of the morning was finding John Cantelo on the ramp where we had a good old chin wag. We also spent some time in the green hide, now called the David Feast hide, but it was bvery quiet. At Grove today were, 2 Water Rails, 1 Kestrel, 8 Marsh Harriers, 2 Cettis Warblers, 10 Ruff, 2 Dunlin, 1 Black-tailed Godwit and just 95 Golden Plovers. There were, 3 Water Pipits, 1 Jay, 24 Redwings, 3 Tufted Ducks, 3 Bearded Tits, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Common Snipe, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Common Gull and a Little Egret. Plenty of the usual customers at the feeding station but all in all that was about it.

(Martyn Wilson)

22nd October

Heavy frost, thats what greeted me this morning that, and a slim blanket of mist which, after the sun broke through became a glorious day. Due to the disturbance yesterday of the cressula spraying there were not a lot of birds on the pools, numbers were down on usual added to the fact visibility was rather bad in the direct sunlight visits to Westbere for Gulls, Collard's and Stodmarsh were all taken in before returning to Grove late morning. At Grove Ferry there were, 9 Marsh Harriers, 2 Kestrels, 1 Little Egret, 2 Water Pipits, 2 Dunlin, 6 Ruff and 118 Golden Plovers. There was no sign today of either the Pec Sandpiper, Little Stint or Jack Snipe, although they weren't really looked for. There were, 75 Wigeon west, 30 Redwings, 1 Stonechat, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Spotted Redshank, 11 Common Snipe, 3 Tufted Ducks, 18 Bearded Tits and 1 Kingfisher. Lapwing were down to 780, Teal 547 and there were 60 Black-headed Gulls and a Sparrowhawk. Chaffinches were still moving through in small parties totaling c80 birds. Westbere had no Gulls so on to Collard's which was very quiet, counts were, 151 Mute Swans, 1248 Coots, 18 Great-crested Grebes, 50 Wigeon, 1 Tufted Duck and 1 Gadwall. On returning to the car a small Lark like bird flew over calling. Through the binoculars I saw a dark elbow with a white border and a somewhat short tail with white tips comfiming my suspision, it was a Woodlark traveling low north. At Stodmarsh a small flock of 8 Siskins were on the bend of the main path approaching the Alder Wood, also 8 Redwings there. There was an albino Squirrel on the edge of the Alder Wood and on the lake were, 56 Tufted Ducks, 18 Pochards, 431 Wigeon, 273 Shoveler, 186 Teal, 18 Pintail, 14 Great-crested Grebes and 61 Black-headed Gulls. Also 3 Water Rails heard and a Long-tailed Tit seen.

(Martyn Wilson)

21st October

A less windy day at Grove today but most time was spent in the green hide as the Jack Snipe was still present and showing exceptionally, for a Jack Snipe, well so camera shutters were in constant use. Half an hour after first sighting on the islands edge it took another hour to cover just 4 yards before roosting up again for the next 3-4 hours. Also today vegetation control was taking place to try and eradicate the cressula, therefore not a single bird was to be found on any of the viewable areas from the ramp or Harrison's after 9.00am, so all counts were made before this time. Birds at Grove today were, 3 Sparowhawks (the first at 7.10), 7 Marsh Harriers, 3 Kestrels, 16 Pintail west, 2 Dunlin, 10 Ruff, 1 Little Stint and 425 Golden Plovers. The Pectoral Sandpiper was still present but only seen by Malcolm McVail and freind, they also saw a male Crossbill from the ramp, Marc and I were in the hide, damn. There were 3 Water Rails, 8 Stonechats, 2 Little Egrets, at least 5 Water Pipits perhaps as many as 10, 20ish Redwings, 3 Redpolls, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 2 Grey Herons and the Saker "type" Falcon bearing jesses again.  As well as the showy Jack Snipe there were 21 Common Snipe, 6+ Bearded Tits, 1 Kingfisher, 32 Stock Doves, 1 2nd/winter Lesser Black-backed Gull and a single flyover Siskin.

(Martyn Wilson & Marc Heath)

20th October

A brief 45 minute look around Grove Ferry tonight in a strong wind and gathering rain clouds. Not alot to report but managed only c400 Lapwing, c200 Teal, c100 Golden Plover, 3 Ruff, 2 Dunlin, 1 Water Pipit from the David Feast (Green) hide but no sign of the Jack Snipe although it was probably looking at me but 2 Common Snipe present. Also 3 Tufted Duck, 1 Pochard, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Grey Heron and on the exit path, a few Long tailed Tit heard above the wind.

(Marc Heath)

19th October

A very different morning today with virtually no Thrush or small passerine migration although there were 50ish Redwings, 25 Fieldfares and about 20-30 Chaffinches that passed through. We met Marc at the gate at 6.30am then he left at 8.30, leaving the 2 Steve's Alan and I to cover the area. There were 2 Tawny Owls calling along the river early am and there were, 11 Ruff, 1 Little Stint, 3 Dunlin, 496 Golden Plovers, 1 juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper, 1100+ Lapwings, 2 Spotted Redshanks and 19 Common Snipe. The Jack Snipe was still present from  the David Feast hide and showed briefly enough for Steve to fire of a few excellent shots (see below) and there were also, 4 Grey Herons, 7 Marsh Harriers, 7 Stonechats, 1 Goldcrest, 12 Pintail west, 21 Wigeon West, 4 Water Rails, 1 Grey Wagtail and 3 Water Pipits (2 at Marsh Hide, 1 from ramp). Also today were 6 Lesser Redpolls (2 singles over and 4 at the base of the ramp), 1 Jay, 1 Little Egret, 3 Tufted Ducks, 1 Kestrel, 1 Kingfisher, 7+ Bearded Tits, 1 male Merlin, 6 Pied Wagtails, 2 2/w Common Gulls and a Sparrowhawk.

(Martyn Wilson, Steve Ashton, Alan Ashdown & Steve Ray)

18th October

The morning started with Marc creeping around the valley looking for Owls, hearing 5 Tawny and seeing 3 of them a sixth bird was heard at the entrance gate at 6.15 by Marc, Alan and myself. It was soon apparent that a Thrush migration was in progress with near on a 1000 Redwings passing west during the morning with Fieldfares joining in a little later with, again, at least 1000 birds all moving west, some would drop into the paddock but, soon carried on. Also at Grove today were, 9 Ruff, 3 Dunlin, 1100+ Lapwing, 850 Teal, 5 Stonechats, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 7 Marsh Harriers and 6 Corn Buntings north. There were, 3 Water Rails, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Kingfisher, 3 Tufted Ducks, 5 Kestrels, 1 Little Egret and 18 Bearded Tits. Steve Ashton joined Steve Ray , Marc, Alan and me in the David Feast hide hoping for some photo opportunities but Marc left us after a short while to wander. Steve R and I met him again at Harrison's about 45mins later wher we received a call of Mr Ashton that a Jack Snipe was showing in front of the hide we had just left, this had Marc "Bannister" Heath recreating a sub 4 minute mile to obtain optimum position in the hide to acquire photo's. This is the first Jack Snipe either of us have seen on the ground for any length of time at Grove. Marc then left at 10.30am. Also at Grove it was noticed a large small passerine migration was also in full swing with at laest 150 Chaffinches, 3 Bramblings, 50+ Meadow Pipits, 8 Tree Sparrows (the first in at least 4 years), 46+ Siskin, 25+ Goldfinch and several Linnets all heading west. The elusive Pectoral Sandpiper was still present but only seen in flight when spooked and lost on a back pool. Other bits today included, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Redshank, 1 Pintail, 492 Golden Plover (incuding one with a missing foot!!), 3 Sparrowhawks, 2 Water Pipits, 1 Little Stint, 1 Spotted Redshank and a lonesome Swallow.

(Martyn Wilson, Alan Ashdown, Steve Ashton, Steve Ray & Marc Heath)

16th October

I called in to Grove briefly on the way back from work to catch the last hour of daylight. The pools were heaving with Lapwing and Teal as usual and amongst these hordes I was able to locate 170 Golden Plover, 2 Dunlin, one Little Stint, seven Ruff a Green Sandpiper and a single Pintail. Biggest surprise was to find that the Pec Sandpiper was still present, showing well briefly before disappearing onto one of the unseen pools.

15th October

I could only manage a brief 30 minutes from the ramp at Grove Ferry today after work. Not that much around so I decided how many species I could get in that time. The following were seen or heard: Greylag Goose, c33, 1 Grey Heron, 4 Linnet, 5 Snipe, c300 Teal, Shoveler, 1 Pintail, 1 House Sparrow, Greenfinch, c350 Lapwing, Starling, 3 Marsh Harrier, Herring Gull, c90 Black headed Gull, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Rook, Stock Dove, Goldcrest, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Robin, Blackbird, Pied Wagtail, 1 Little Egret, Reed Bunting, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, 2 Dunlin, c100 Golden Plover, Cormorant, Woodpigeon, 2 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Ruff, 1 Green Woodpecker and Magpie. 38 species seen in a short space of time, not bad I suppose.

(Marc Heath)

14th October

A few hours was spent in the valley today at various times in the hope of any goodies. Early morning was sunny but a return later in the day proved cloudy with occasional light drizzle. A film crew was on the ramp with the warden filming 'escape to the country'. I was hoping it was going to be Autumwatch but I could not see Kate Humble, maybe next time. Back to the birding, the following being logged at various places in the valley. 10 Pintail, 2 Grey Wagtail, 6 Stonechat, 214 Golden Plover, 1 Black tailed Godwit, 82 Black headed Gull, 2 Chiffchaff, c10 Goldcrest, 2 Kingfisher with one staying c25 minutes on the post, 15 Bearded Tit with a flock of 9 seen dropping in from some height, 1 Pochard and 1 Tufted Duck, Also 1 Little Grebe, 1 Dunlin, 1 Ring necked Parakeet heard, 2 Little Egret, 2 Great spotted Woodpecker, 3 Green Woodpecker, 1 Green Sandpiper, 3 Ruff, 2 Marsh Harrier, 2 Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrel, a saker type falcon with jesses on over Grove, this bird seems to have been around for a few months now, 11 Siskin, 2 Grey Heron, 1 Spotted Redshank, 4 Cetti's Warbler, c400 Wigeon on Stodmarsh, c700 Lapwing and c400 Teal. All the usual crew were present around the feeder trees making a nice spectacle when things got quiet.

(Marc Heath)

13th October

I could only manage a brief 30 minutes from the ramp after work, not that much around although I did bump into the warden and volunteers who had been working on the reserve during the day. The small trees have been cut that were obscuring the left hand side from the main pool as you look out, hopefully the rather tall one on the right hand side will be next! Birds noted included 2 Ruff, c30 Black headed Gull, 15 Wigeon, c40 Snipe, 1 Little Egret, 1 Grey Heron, 1+ Water Pipit flew over calling, 1 Marsh Harrier, c500 Lapwing and c350 Teal. most activity was centered around the feeder trees with a flock of c7 Long tailed Tit, Blue and Great Tits, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Reed Buntings and Collored Doves. hopefully tomorrow will produce a little more.

(Marc Heath)

12th October

Arrived at 7.00 to a fog shrouded valley and went to Stodmarsh to see what was around Alder wood. 2 Barn owls could be heard in the distance as could numerous robin and several chiffchaffs. Also seen/heard were the normal tits plus chaffinch, goldcrest, wren, green woodpeckers and cetti’s warblers. I gave up after an hour and went to Grove starting at the Green hide (the main pool still being invisible). At the Green Hide you could just about see across the whole pool and good numbers of teal, mallard, lapwing and BH gulls, plus 6 shoveller, 7 snipe (5 on the small island in front of the hide) and the resident black tailed godwit could be observed. A lone little egret dropped in, a heron flew past and a flock of about 20 golden plover flew over several times before deciding not to land.  Heard but not seen were green woodpecker and more cetti’s. A wander down towards Harrison’s was rewarded with 2 flocks of bearded tits, one of 9 birds (along the drove) and one of 5 ( at Savi’s Corner) and significant numbers of reed buntings plus a few meadow pipits. When the sun finally broke through I went to the ramp but the list for the main pools were near identical to that seen from the green hide with the only additions being the golden plover (30-40 of them) with the 2 dunlin and a couple of grey lags. The feeders had the normal role call of finches, tits, reed buntings a robin and a dunnock and around the ramp were Cetti’s, a small flock of LT tits and another flock of beared tits – 7 this time. No sign of the pectoral  sandpiper unfortunately (and no sign of any ruff!). Gave up ~ 11.00.

(Steve Ray)

11th October

I've just read your today's report (saturday) and I'm pleased to inform that the Pectoral Sandpiper was still there as well! We spotted it probably at about 2pm, not quite sure about the time unfortunately. It stayed at the back of the pool with a few Ruffs, as reported previously. I'm not unfamiliar with the species as I already saw it once in Poland (that's where we come from) in 1999. A rather characteristic wader, both regarding the plumage (breast-belly contrast) as well as silhouette (quite unlike Dunlin, rather more like a miniature Ruff perhaps..). We saw the three Dunlins as well anyway, on the adjacent pool. The identification was rather straightforward although certainly helped by the fact that we already knew it was somewhere there, just had to find it..  Unfortunately it did not stay long enough to enjoy it fully, flew off on its own after perhaps 10 minutes(?) and dropped somewhere on the other pool, with more restricted view and still very bad light (against the sun). We left and returned for an hour before the evening, about 5pm - great light, but no sign of the bird anymore. Check it out in the next days, it's likely to be still there.

(Marcin Sek +  Marcin Kasinski. London)

Not much of a report today as Grove was enshrouded in a thick fog most of the morning and I, along with Mr John Canterlo opened up the KOS stand at English Nature's open day at Grove at around 10.00am, joined later by Brendan who took over the afternoon shift from 2.00pm. I birded in the fog with Marc til 10.00 and had a quick half an hour on the ramp at 1.00pm and another 30mins at Collard's with Brendan just before 2.00pm. Birds at Grove today were, 1 Tawny Owl, several Redwings over, 3 Stonechats, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 247 Wigeon west, 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Goldcrest, 2 Pied Wagtails, 1 Little Egret and 2 Water Rails. There were, 2 Swallows, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Grey Wagtail over, 1 Redpoll NW, 2 Pintail, 2 Marsh Harriers, 10 Snipe, 165 Golden Plovers and 12 migrant Skylarks. A Bittern flew over Harrison's and dropped in behind Dowitcher Pool and there were, 12 Ruff, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 4+ Bearded Tits, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 3 Dunlin, 1 Kestrel and Brendan heard a Crossbil pass over. There was no sign today of the Pectoral Sandpiper but, it may still be around. A possible Scaup was on Collard's but may just have been an extremely white fronted Tufted with pale flanks. Also of note was a juvenile Hobby and 3 Chiffchaffs.

(Martyn Wilson)

10th October

Stodmarsh news update from Natutal England can be veiwed here

Popped down to Grove after lunch (skived off) and evetually the Pectoral Pandpiper showed up on the far side of the main pool and wandered around with up to 5 ruff for 20-30 minutes between 2.30 and 3.00 when I had to depart. Light was good so the feather and chest patterns could easily be seen. Other than the pec and the ruff there was a lone black tailed godwit- still quite coloured, a good number of snipe, plus the lapwing and golden plover flocks. Didn't really look at the ducks but there were lots there, mainly teal,  and a flock of c50 greylags dropped into one of the back pools. I stayed at the ramp so nothing to report from the hides.
(Steve Ray)  

9th October

Called in to Grove on the way home in the hope of catching up with the Pec that had eluded me the previous day. From the ramp there were 99 Golden Plovers, 820 Lapwings, plus a Black-tailed Godwit and Spot Shank from the Green Hide. For completeness I checked Harrison’s where the sum total of avian activity comprised 2 Pied Wagtails which promptly flew off leaving the area totally birdless .Luckily I decided to have a quick last look from the ramp before departing and immediately located the Pec Sandpiper on the rear of the pool. It was quite flighty and after giving reasonable but distant views it disappeared to wherever its hiding place is.

With the valley seemingly getting some better quality birds the last few days, I arrived this morning just as it was getting light. Hopes were high until I noticed one problem, thick fog, great. I only had an hour before going to work so was mainly limited to shapes from the ramp and my good old trusty ears. Birds noted included 3 Chiffchaff, 3 Marsh Harrier, 1 Spotted Redshank heard, 3 Siskin over calling, 1 Little Egret, 3 Pied Wagtail, c200 Wigeon flew high East towards Stodmarsh, 1 Dunlin, 1 Snipe, 1 Water Rail, 4 Ruff with I'm sure more in the fog, 2 Redshank and c600 Lapwing and c300 Teal.

(Marc Heath)

The Pectoral Sandpiper was still showing this evening from the main pool at Grove Ferry.

(RBA pager)

8th October

With no work coming through the door at present I decided a morning at Grove was on the cards, arriving at 8.45 and meeting with Sue Morton and Pauline McKenzie-lloyd as I entered. A couple of pleasant hours in thier company and another hour or so with Brendan in between meetings. At Grove Ferry today were, 63 Golden Plovers, 6 Cetti's Warblers, 17 Ruff, 2 Marsh Harriers, Bearded Tits heard a couple of times and 3 seen from Harrison's and a Black-tailed Godwit from Green Hide. Also at Harrison's were 3 Little Stints that stayed long enough for ID before taking flight and heading of in the direction of Reculver, also there 3 Spotted Redshanks, 2 Dunlin and several, Lapwings. Behind Harrison's were, 3 Stonechats and 3 Whinschats. Also today were, 4 Grey Herons, 1 Kestrel, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 26 Common Snipe, 3 Stock Doves, 1 Little Egret and 2 Water Rails. The Pectoral Sandpiper was still present from the ramp but elusive and flighty at times not helped by the bloody great 'MK' jumbo making low passes over the reserve every twenty minutes or so then, while scanning for it among the Ruff a Honey Buzzard past almost unoticed low to the north at 11.15am9 about time one passed through!) plus, at 1.05pm another (4th) Little Stint dropped in on the main pool. There were 2 Pintail, 1 Green Woodpecker, 293 Black-headed Gulls, 1874 Lapwings, 988 Teal, 1 Common Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull and at 1.27pm a flock of 28 Pink-footed Geese flew south west past the ramp as I was about to leave.

(Martyn Wilson)

7th October

I had an hour before work at Grove today and 2 hours after work again in the hope of some birds. I spent most of the first session hiding behind the screens sheltering from the wind and rain which made viewing a challenge and the aftenoon session had me again croutching to escape the elements. The highlight today was a Pectoral Sandpiper that I found at 3.10pm in with some Ruff on the back of the main pool. The bird was quite flighty but gave good but distant views, apologies for the bad shot but the conditions and range were against me. Other birds noted included 24 Chaffinch West, 3 Cetti's Warbler, 7 Ruff, 2 Dunlin, 1 Grey Wagtail North, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Redwing, 2 Wigeon and 20 Golden Plover. Gulls seemed to be around in all directions with 216 Black headed present along with 2 Common Gull and Herring Gulls moving West down the valley. Other bits seen were 2 Pochard, 3 Garganey, 1 Chiffchaff, 4 Greenshank were a surprise, 1 Jay, 1 Whinchat, 1 Pintail, 10 probable Ringed plover flew high West, 2 Spotted Redshank, 1 Black tailed Godwit, 1 Little Egret, 1 Kingfisher and c400 Teal and Lapwing around the reserve.

(Marc Heath)

6th October

I paid Grove a visit after work tonight for an hour, spending a little while on the ramp with most of the time in the Green hide. I had the reserve seemingly to myself until a couple of ladies and their barking, growling and smelly mutts entered the hide. Without a care in the world they banged about with the windows and talked loudly and wondered why everthing left, unbelievable. On the bird front I noted c200 Black headed Gull, 3 Ruff, 1 Grey Heron, 10 Golden Plover, 1 Marsh Harrier, 8 Wigeon, 1 Common Gull, 3 Pochard, 1 Black tailed Godwit, 2 Spotted Redshank, 1 Kingfisher, 3 Water Rail, 1 Bearded Tit, c400 Teal, c350 Lapwing and as I left c10 Redwing were seen in the paddock.

(Marc Heath)

5th October

Nothing ventured nothing gained as they say and, so it turned out to be - nothing gained at all just a drenching. Blustery and strong south westerlies with constant drizzle to heavens opening all through the morning, just Pete and I braving the elements today with most time spent playing with different ISO settings while photographing ducks from green hide. Birds seen at Grove this morning were, 5 Pintail (3 drakes), 1200+ Teal, 4 Grey Herons, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Ruff, 1 Kestrel, 2 Canada Geese, 2 Spotted Redshanks and 2 eclipse Garganey (1 drake, 1 duck). There were, 2 Water Rails, 1 duck Pochard, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Sand Martin west, 14 Swallows hawking over back pool, 2 Bearded Tits and a single Redshank (a rare sight these days). Also today were, 2 Marsh Harriers (female & juvenile), 172 Black-headed Gulls (more Gulls arriving as we left at 10.15ish), 3 Common Gulls, 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 11 Herring Gulls and 1 Great Black-backed Gull. The single House Martin was still present, there were 10 Golden Plovers and 8 Common Snipe while a large westward movement of duck included 287 Wigeon and 18 Pintail.

(Martyn Wilson & Pete Solly)

4th October

Hoorah! A Saturday morning without fog, trouble is though it was bloody cold and watching birds at this reserve is still a strained affair with all from the ramp at distance and the only hide that has birds to be seen from it are just a few ducks. Just Alan, Marc and myself today with Mr Ashton joining us later. The best bird today was a Bittern at 6.30am that Alan first spotted as it flew low over the green hide reeds towards harrison's. Also at Grove today were, 8 Marsh harriers, 2 Dunlin, 3 Spotted Redshanks, 2 Ruff, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Wigeon and 2 Sparrowhawks (both males, 1 adult and 1 juvenile). There were at laest a 1000 Teal, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 1 Shelduck, 2 Pintail (eclipse drake & duck), 3 Water Rails, 8+ Chiffchaffs, 6 or more Blackcaps, 2 Little Egrets, 1 female Tufted Duck, 1 female Pochard and 5 Gey Herons. There were also, 1 Stonechat, 3 Whinchats, 1 Kestrel, 18 Siskins west, a dozen Swallows around the White House, 1 Little Owl, 4 Mistle Thrushes, 21 Long-tailed Tits, and half a dozen Goldcrests. A single House Martin was trying to make itself look more by flying behind the hide and appearing again from a different possition but, we were not fooled.  There were, 11 Golden Plovers, 1 Kingfisher, 9 Redpolls north/west (the first this Autumn), 1 eclipse drake Garganey and 37 Black-headed Gulls, 1 Common Gull and a lonesome Great Black-backed Gull. A staedy passage of Song Thrushes passed over as did 1 Redwing but, no sign today of any Reed or Sedge Warblers, Africa bound one presumes!

(Martyn Wilson, Marc Heath, Alan Ashdown & Steve Ashton)

1st  October

Blustery westerly persuaded me to give up costal bush bashing and spend a few hours in the valley. The ramp pools were packed with birds; unfortunately most of them were Teal (1,380) and Lapwing (550) with 91 Black-headed Gulls, 4 Common Gulls and single Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit, Pintail, and Wigeon. There was a Garganey from the Green Hide and a Chiffchaff in the adjacent bushes. A Spotted Redshank was heard calling but couldn’t be seen. Onwards to Collard’s where at least 500 House Martins were hawking over the lake. Other “highlights” included 23 Tufted Duck, 25 Gt-cr Grebes and 420 Wigeon. A small flock of around 80 Chaffinches were feeding a harvested maze field but sadly I couldn’t find any Brambling amongst them.

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30th September

I made two visits into the valley today, spending an hour before and after work at Grove, mostly in cloudy and occasionally heavy rain. Birds noted included 11 Ruff, 8 Meadow Pipit, c30 Snipe, 8 Wigeon, 4 Pintail, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Siskin over calling, 8 Golden Plover, c60 Black headed Gull, 4 Bearded Tit and 1 Chiffchaff. There were 6 Spotted Redshank, c400 Teal, 2 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Marsh Harrier, 3 Garganey, 1 Kestrel and 1 Black tailed Godwit. Small groups of Swallow, Sand and House Martin were passing through.

(Marc Heath)

An Osprey flew low over Westbere Lake at 5.45 p.m. this afternoon, heading towards Fordwich.

(Sue Morton)