Grey Wagtail

Grey Wagtail - photo by Jack Farrar

I think it’s a fair bet that Jane Austen hasn’t featured in the annals of the KOS. She has a significant connection with Kent in that her brother owned Godmersham Park and Jane was a regular visitor. She would walk through the park to worship in the church and, who knows, she may have noticed a fat finch sitting in the same Yew trees where many birders have enjoyed views of Hawfinches in recent years. We will never know as nature is not a feature of her writings.

However, her nephew, Charles Knight, took an active interest in the birds and other wildlife in Godmersham and thankfully kept a journal. His 1832 records are not, as far as I know, part of the ornithological record in Kent so in occasional series of posts I look at some of his records and set them in a modern context.

Grey Wagtails are familiar sight along the Great Stour with several pairs in Godmersham. Courtesy of South East Water’s antiquated pipes we often have leaks forming temporary streams that often attract a Grey Wagtail or two (one particularly dramatic leak even attracted a Little Egret).

We know that Grey Wagtails have graced our village for nearly two hundred years as Charles Knight wrote about them in his 1832 journal – he noted that he had seen ‘Yellow’ Wagtails on the banks of the river on 30 January – he offered the opinion ‘I think Yellow Wagtails stay with us all the year. I have seen one or two about the river all this winter. It has been a very mild winter.’

Then, as now, Yellow Wagtails are summer visitors, and Charles later realised his error. On 22 May he was away staying in Bath and recounts seeing ‘real’ Yellow Wagtails; ‘We saw there, Yellow Wagtails, they are different from those I have seen at Godmersham being the real Yellow Wagtail, whereas ours are the Winter Wagtail. The Yellow Wagtail. is more highly coloured and is more regularly yellow than a Winter Wagtail.’

It was his ability to correct a misidentification that made me recognise Charles Knight’s skills as a naturalist, everyone can make assumptions and mistakes but to be alert to them and correct them takes patience and practice.

His reference to them as Winter Wagtails is significant.  In the 19th century Grey Wagtails were, indeed, winter visitors to Kent and only rarely bred in the county. In the 1909 History of the Birds of Kent the first few breeding attempts were being recorded. By the second half of the 20th century, they were well established along the Stour but were susceptible to a cold winter – the cruel winter of 62/63 knocked their numbers back, albeit temporarily.

Grey Wagtails are now residents locally and can be found along the river in all months – in cold weather they often relocate to the nearest sewage works where finding insects is easier. More generally they are partial migrants and leave upland areas in the winter. The last population estimate in 2016 is 37,000 pairs in the UK with 200 to 300 in Kent. The Grey Wagtail is amber listed as a bird of conservation concern reflecting a modest decline over the last 40 years. At least locally the population seems to be in robust health.

2025 is the 250 anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth so I will be using that as an excuse to revisit her nephew’s journal throughout the year.

Charles Austen compiled a list of the birds he saw in 1832, and he included a reference to a small woodpecker – the Smaller Speckled. I’m sure this was a reference to the bird we know as the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. It’s likely that Lesser Spots were far more common in Charles’ day – it’s now a scarce breeding bird in Kent.

A reminder that we’re running a survey this year don’t forget you can help by recording your sightings on BirdTrack, via eBird or directly through the KOS website.

If you’re a photographer, your contributions are also valuable. If you manage to take any clear photos of the bird’s face and/or back, please send them to us with a note of the bird's location using what3words coordinates or a grid reference and email all information to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. All images will remain the copyright of the photographer and will only be used for conservation and survey purposes, with full credit given to the photographer."

A version of this article first appeared in the Godmersham and Crundale Parish Magazine.

Andre Farrar

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