Elmley Marshes - September 2008

Reporting Your Sightings

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Still a good month for passage waders. Numbers of juveniles of some species like little stint and curlew sandpiper can reach their peaks this month (eg. 130 curlew sands in 1999), while the last of other species like LRP and common sandpiper are moving through. The first big wader roosts of the winter occur on the high "spring" tides, and large numbers of lapwing and golden plovers are present in the fields. There is still the chance of an unusual wader - a red-necked phalarope and a buff-breasted sandpiper in1999, a white-rumped sandpiper in '96 and a pectoral sandpiper in '95.

Wintering raptors like merlin, buzzard and hen harrier are seen much more regularly, while lingering osprey and hobby can still be found.

The trees around Kingshill farm are worth a look in the right conditions for grounded migrants - flycatchers, warblers, redstart etc are all likely.

The first major arrivals of wintering waterfowl - mainly wigeon and teal - swell the numbers of ducks on the reserve. On the Swale, numbers of Brent geese build up. Spoonbills are occasional visitors at this time of year - there were 5 in September 1999.

29th: 1 hobby

27th: 1 common buzzard, 1500+ wigeon, 1200+ teal, 25+ great crested grebe, 20+ little egret, 60 avocet, 2 green sandpiper, 1 ruff, 1 spotted redshank, 5+ yellow wagtail, 3 wheatear

26th: 2 common buzzard, 1F merlin, 2 little stint, 5+ bearded tit

22nd: 1 common buzzard, 6+ marsh harrier, 20 great crested grebe, 800 wigeon, 50 pintail, 40 grey plover, 2 green sandpiper, 1 snipe, 2 wheatear, 1 grey wagtail S

21st: 1F merlin, 1 hobby, 2 kingfisher, 1 cuckoo, 1 chiffchaff

20th: 3 little stint, 3 green sandpiper, 1 greenshank, 4 knot, 1 avocet, 2 snipe, 2 bearded tit, 1 great spotted woodpecker, 3 wheatear, 1 whinchat, 300+ wigeon, 3 pintail, 1 Sandwich tern, 1 hobby, 1 osprey being mobbed by an immature herring gull and later a kestrel over Windmill Creek. (per G. Coultrip)

19th: 1 osprey, 10 common buzzard, 3 peregrine, 7 hobby, 8 little stint, 3 ruff, 20 black-tailed godwit, 1000+ teal & wigeon (per R. Clements, D. Jordan & R&M Brown)

18th: 12 little stint

16th: 7 little stint

14th: 1 whinchat, 2 wheatear, peregrine, Med. gull

13th: 1 little stint, 2 short-eared owl, peregrine, hobby

12th: 1 osprey, 6 hobby, 40 wigeon

11th: 1 osprey, 3 hobby

9th: 500+ teal, 1F peregrine, marsh harrier, 1 barn owl, 45+ black-tailed godwit, 1 greenshank, 4 spotted redshank, 2 LRP, 20+ snipe, 1 ruff, 4+ wheatear, 1j cuckoo

3rd: 1 American golden plover (distantly on Swale)