Ray O’ Reilly - KOS Field Trip Organiser - writes:-
‘It was a gloriously sunny autumn day on Wednesday 23rd October for the latestKOS field trip on the South coast.
We met at Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory and took a walk around the area while the team of bird ringers at the Observatory were doing their rounds to see what birds had been caught up in their mist nets.
During our walk we noted - among others - Oystercatcher, Skylark, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Stock Dove.
When the ringing team returned with the fascinating bulging bags containing the morning’s crop of trapped birds, we were invited into the ringing station by Eugene Hood who, with the other volunteers, processed the birds, identifying them, attaching a ring to one leg, carefully weighing and measuring them, noting their age and sex and finally, carefully recording all the details in their log book. In addition, a visiting scientist was present taking small blood samples from the Blackbirds to check for the virus Usutu.
We were delighted to see close up - 'in the hand' Goldcrest, Firecrest, Redwing, Blackbird, Chiffchaff, Long-tailed Tit and Green Woodpecker in an exciting morning’s catch.
After this fabulous experience we continued our walk along the Ancient Highway in The Elms, where we saw another spectacular adult male Firecrest. Visiting the Restharrow Scrape, we clambered into the first hide and watched in superb light a variety of water birds including Snipe, Little Grebe and Mediterranean Gull. A party of around eight migrating Barn Swallows were hawking insects above the scrape. We discussed plumages of the Med Gull and marvelled at the speculum colour of the Eurasian Teal in that brilliant light.
From the scrape we walked up to Sandilands and the beach towards Deal. A small raptor that was hunting Meadow Pipits and Skylarks near the shoreline was identified as a male Sparrowhawk. (The old falconers’ term for this hawk is a 'Musket' and the flintlock long barelled hand gun was named after this charming accipiter.)
We soon retraced our steps when the word went up that a Dartford Warbler had been found in Restharrow Dunes and within minutes thanks to Keith Cuttingwe were admiring an adult male in non-breeding plumage. Sometimes jokingly referred to as a Watford Dobbler these endearingly graceful warblers often loosely associate with Stonechat outside the breeding season and today was no exception.
We then travelled to Worth where lunch was taken by the village duck pond and we then made our way to Worth Marshes Reserve where local birder Neil Davies came out to greet us. We made our way around on often somewhat muddy trails. The problem we had here was that the sun was fairly low and all the pools that were stacked with birds seemed to be in glaring sunlight and as such it was one of our most disappointing visits to this site.
Our final stop mid-afternoon was Pegwell Bay Country Park and we timed the tide perfectly, as the incoming tide was moving the birds closer to the shore and onto the spit at Shellness opposite.
Here we enjoyed Sanderling, Brent Goose, Golden and Grey Plovers, Bar and Black-tailed Godwits among large numbers of commoner coastal birds.
At just after 4pm we called it a day finishing on 78 Species.
I would like to thank all those who attended, the patience and kindness of SBBO and also the assistance of notetaker and species judge Lyn Griffiths.'
Ray
23/10/24