Swanscombe Take 2 - January

Here we go again! The aim of the game is to match or better the monthly totals for last year, there's lots to see and let's hope for a few more rarities and vagrants that I can add to my patch list! Like last year, I'll be listing all species at the bottom of each blog, with bold as new year listers, and starred species are new patch lifers.

January started off much in the same vein as December, with a lot of waders still hanging around, with plenty to be seen at low tide. The Buzzard was back on her usual perch, and Stonechats occupied every bit of scrub.

However, things started to dry up very quickly. Redwing and Fieldfare numbers have already dropped off, and a lot of the winter migrants are increasingly difficult to come by. They're still here, but a lot more scarce, as most of the flock moves on following the food.

Whilst attempting to catch up with the LEOs, I inadvertently spooked a Barn Owl from a roost. I had a glimpse of what I thought was one here a few years ago, so it's unreal to finally get a nice (albeit quick) view of one! I did finally get my LEO shot though, even though it's through the foliage it still counts! They're incredibly shy birds, and it was incredible for one to let me be this close!

The Snipe are still holding out in good numbers, and I was thrilled to finally find one hanging out off the foreshore. 99% of the time I spook up an unseen bird never to be seen again or notice them through a scope at far too great a distance for photography. Their camouflage amongst the grass and weeds is nearly unrivalled, so managing to spot this individual was a fantastic moment! No thermal help either!

The ducks of course are still doing well, with the regular Egyptian Goose pair hanging out alongside Mallard, Teal and Gadwall, and if you look hard enough the odd Wigeon will eventually show up! Weirdly no Tufted Ducks to be found this month, and no Grebes either yet.

It was pretty cool to watch a pair of Ravens preening each other on one of the pylons. This is part of their courtship ritual and hopefully bodes well for another successful breeding season! Our largest crow used to be a fairly scarce winter visitor in North Kent but there are a few places now that they can be seen year round, and they are really starting to do well down here.

Not a bad start to the year all things being equal! 65 species betters last January by 2, and even if I didn't get out as much as I would have liked I still caught up with some great birds. I heard about a flyover Red Kite but wasn't around on the day, which is a shame but there's always next time! Really hoping that I can catch up with the Barn Owl again, and hopefully some early passage movement to come next month!

Full Species List

Woodpigeon

Collared Dove 

Feral Dove

Magpie

Jackdaw

Carrion Crow 

Raven

Blue Tit 

Great Tit 

Long Tailed Tit 

Bearded Tit

Starling

House Sparrow 

Reed Bunting 

Goldfinch 

Chaffinch

Linnet

Dunnock 

Wren

Robin

Stonechat 

Blackbird

Redwing

Fieldfare

Meadow Pipit 

Rock Pipit 

Pied Wagtail 

Cetti's Warbler 

Chiffchaff 

Great Spotted Woodpecker 

Pheasant

Ring Necked Parakeet 

Herring Gull 

Black Headed Gull 

Common Gull

Greater Black Backed Gull 

Cormorant

Redshank

Dunlin

Black Tailed Godwit 

Avocet

Curlew

Snipe

Lapwing 

Common Sandpiper 

Green Sandpiper 

Mallard

Gadwall

Teal 

Wigeon

Egyptian Goose 

Canada Goose 

Greylag Goose 

Mute Swan 

Coot

Moorhen

Water Rail 

Grey Heron 

Little Egret 

Kestrel

Peregrine

Sparrowhawk 

Buzzard

Marsh Harrier 

Long Eared Owl 

Barn Owl *

Total 66

Swanscombe Part 14 - The Round Up

As promised, I have a bit of a round up to go through! There's so much to talk about and a lot of data but I'll try to be quick and concise (and not sound like a school science report 😂) so here goes!

I totalled 122 birds over the year, which you could loosely split into the following categories 

65 Passerines & Pigeons

9 Gulls & Sea birds

23 Wildfowl & Wetland birds

16 Waders

9 Birds of Prey & Owls

17 of those I would consider vagrants and brief passage migrants to the site, leaving 105 seasonal and resident birds! 

I could go into a lot more detail splitting up the Passerines, for example I recorded 11 different species of Warblers, but then we would be here all day, but maybe that's something I'll look at in the future.

Alongside the birds, I noted several butterflies species, Common Lizards and Grass Snakes, along with a fair few mammals including Least Weasel, Grey & Common Seal and Water Vole.

The most productive month was December with 82 species, whilst I averaged 65 per month. Hopefully next year I can build on these numbers with improved knowledge of behaviour, site geography and calls/song.

There were quite a few birds that you wouldn't consider rare in general that I found myself getting excited for, for example Woodpecker species, Rook and GC Grebe. I found myself getting very excited for some fairly common birds turning up where the habitat doesn't necessarily suit a long term stay!

The dry summer did not help a lot of birds, particularly the wildfowl with most moving away, but a lot of the passerines suffered too. This drought was concerning in isolation, but we're trending on a national level to hotter summers, and if this becomes normal then very quickly we will be in trouble with a lot of our breeding wetland birds having no suitable habitat to raise their chicks. Swanscombe has traditionally been a stronghold for Red Listed breeders like Pochard, and their disappearance this year is a cause for concern.

It's not all doom and gloom though, as I recorded some cracking rarities over the year. A self found Spotted Flycatcher is right up there, along with Red Kite, Dartford Warbler, Spoonbill, Grasshopper Warbler, Long Eared Owl, Yellow Legged Gull and a host of waders. Cetti's Warbler is easily the most common bird on site (apart from your standard Magpies and Woodpigeons etc), and Goldfinch and Stonechat are both very dominant from the higher perches.

The real highlight though came on a ringing session with Terry, in a stunning male breeding condition Marsh Warbler. There are literally a handful of breeding records per year in this country, and this is one of the rarest birds I've seen, let alone held!

There's been a few seasonal highlights that have stood out with this, for example we have resident populations of both Common and Green Sandpipers, whereas you would expect them to be Summer and Winter arrivals respectably.

Wintering Warblers have done well, with Chiffchaff and Blackcap holding on with the resident Cetti's, this is a trend that is increasing nationwide.

It's also interesting to see how populations fluctuate, Blue Tit for example drop off spectacularly in the summer. They're still here, but likely move to nearby garden feeders and nest boxes to avoid competition with migrants, before returning en masse after breeding. 

Kestrel were another bird that was remarkably thin on the ground during the breeding season before exploding in the Autumn to become a regular site again. This was particularly weird as I'm fairly sure they nest on the pylons, so maybe our individuals moved to a different site this year to raise their young.

Of course when doing something like this there will be a lot of birds that you miss, some found by others and some that fly under the radar altogether! 

Firecrest, Bullfinch, Great White Egret, Brambling, Yellowhammer, and Golden Plover are 6 that I heard about on site but failed to connect with, and I'm sure there's potential for a few more, for example a flyover Osprey on migration en route to regular stop offs at RSPB Rainham or Cliffe Pools.

Full Species List

Next to each bird you'll find a number 1-10 designating how common they are on site, with 10 being a pretty much guaranteed sighting and 1 indicating 1 or 2 individuals in the year, and a letter corresponding to when you'll see them as follows

Resident

Passage

Summer

Winter

Vagrant (to site, not UK in general)

Don't take these numbers as gospel, it's purely my opinion based on my observations, and some birds (eg Oystercatcher and Stonechat) you may see year round but are designated to a season as that is when their numbers are greatest.

Woodpigeon... 10R

Collared Dove... 8R

Stock Dove... 5R

Feral Dove... 10R

Jackdaw... 8R

Jay... 4R

Magpie... 10R

Rook... 1V

Carrion Crow... 10R

Raven... 7R

Blue Tit... 8R

Great Tit... 7R

Long Tailed Tit... 7R

Bearded Tit... 7R

Stonechat... 9R

Whinchat... 2P

Robin... 10R

Nightingale... 4S

Spotted Flycatcher... 1V

Blackbird... 10R

Song Thrush... 4R

Mistle Thrush... 3W

Redwing... 9W

Fieldfare... 7W

Wheatear... 3P

Dunnock... 9R

Starling... 10R

Wren... 9R

Goldcrest... 4W

Goldfinch... 10R 

Chaffinch... 7R 

Greenfinch... 5R

Linnet... 7W

Siskin... 1V

Lesser Redpoll... 2W

Reed Bunting... 10R

Skylark... 2S 

House Sparrow... 10R

Chiffchaff... 8R

Willow Warbler... 3P

Blackcap... 8R

Cetti's Warbler... 10R

Reed Warbler... 8S

Common Whitethroat... 8S 

Lesser Whitethroat... 6S

Grasshopper Warbler... 5S

Sedge Warbler... 8S

Marsh Warbler... 1V

Dartford Warbler... 2W 

Pied Wagtail... 10R 

Grey Wagtail... 6W

Meadow Pipit... 8W

Rock Pipit... 6W

Water Pipit... 2W

Cuckoo... 7S

Pheasant... 9R 

Red Legged Partridge... 4R

Green Woodpecker... 3R

Great Spotted Woodpecker... 4R

Swallow... 7S

House Martin... 8S

Sand Martin... 7S

Swift... 6S

Ring Necked Parakeet... 7R 

Kingfisher... 5R

Black Headed Gull... 10R

Mediterranean Gull... 4S 

Herring Gull... 10R

Yellow Legged Gull... 3R 

Lesser Black Backed Gull... 8S

Greater Black Backed Gull... 9W

Common Gull... 5W

Common Tern... 1V

Cormorant... 10R

Oystercatcher... 8S 

Common Redshank... 7R

Common Sandpiper... 7R 

Green Sandpiper... 5R

Sanderling... 1V

Turnstone... 7R 

Dunlin... 6W

Lapwing... 8W

Grey Plover... 2W 

Common Ringed Plover... 2V

Common Snipe... 8W

Jack Snipe... 5W

Black Tailed Godwit... 3W

Avocet... 3W

Whimbrel... 5P

Curlew... 8R

Mallard... 10R

Shoveller... 4W

Gadwall... 8R

Pintail... 1V

Pochard... 3R 

Wigeon... 2W

Teal... 9W

Tufted Duck... 7R

Shelduck... 8R

Greylag Goose... 8R

Brent Goose... 1V

Egyptian Goose... 9R 

Canada Goose... 8R 

Mute Swan... 8R

Coot... 10R

Moorhen... 10R

Water Rail... 6R

Little Grebe... 6R

Great Crested Grebe... 2V

Grey Heron... 8R 

Little Egret... 7R

Cattle Egret... 2V

Spoonbill... 1V

Short Eared Owl... 3W

Long Eared Owl... 2W 

 

Kestrel... 8R

Hobby... 1V

Peregrine... 7R

Sparrowhawk... 7R 

Common Buzzard... 8R

Marsh Harrier... 8R

Red Kite... 1V

Total 122

This year the plan is going to be to build on this data, there are several variables that I want to explore, and see how they affect the bird populations, for example, if we have another dry summer will wildfowl decline more generally on site or will be see the return of breeding Pochard and Shoveller if Black Duck can stay wet?

I will be keeping an eye on how the new additions (like the central channel) develop for birds, mammals and reptiles, and hopefully every month can improve the total species counts on last year!

Wanted to give a big shout out to Barry Wright for his imperious knowledge and tips, to Terry Hilsden for introducing me to ringing and giving me the chance to get hands on amd learn a new side to birding, and to all the guys at Save Swanscombe who have done incredible things raising awareness for the site and halting the developments!

Lastly, a big thank you to anyone who has taken time to read anything I've posted, it's been a really fun project to bird one site for a year and record everything, but it's even better when you see that people actually enjoy following the journey and have sat and read the jibberish I spew out! Hopefully you continue to read the 2023 installments 😁😁

Swanscombe Part 13 - December

What a way to end the year! Ending on a personal best of 82 species in a single month, with some excellent highlights in an absolutely freezing December. I'm not entirely sure whether the total is a result of more opportunities to get out than normal, or a winter influx of birds, or a bit of both, but either way it made for  an absolutely brilliant time.

It's been a fantastic month for raptors, with Buzzard, Sprawk and Marsh Harrier all frequently seen. Kestrel have been very visible lately, even seen mobbing larger raptors. It's likely that the colder conditions are making things tougher for prey, leading mice etc to become more obvious in their search for food, which in turns gives the hawks and falcons a non stop buffet!

It's not just the raptors though, a bit of intel from Barry lead me to a Long Eared Owl roosting up. Apparently they are frequent visitors to the site, but due to their camouflage and habit of tucking well away in daylight in dense scrub they are notoriously hard to spot. I havent managed a decent photo yet, but It's going to be interesting next year to find out if they are residents or just wintering. 

The bare trees have made passerine photography a lot easier, with all sorts of Tits and Finches sitting up in good numbers. The real prize however came in a Dartford Warbler in the scrub off of Northfleet Beach. My second ever here, and considerably better views than last time, a real joy to watch it flit around!

The cold snap has coincided with an influx of waders. The morning of the 15th turned up 11 different species, including Grey and Ringed Plover, which are both relatively scarce here, along with a huge flock of Dunlin. Golden Plover have also been seen by others recently, and once again I found myself pretty amazed at the diversity on show for a place I don't really think of as a wader venue. They were followed at the end of the month by Avocet and a few Godwits to really put the icing on the cake!

Speaking of waders, a morning trip with Barry and James gave me a total lifer in Jack Snipe, a species I have been searching high and low for for what seems like forever! Their numbers are meant to swell in March as continental birds join up before the trip north for summer, hopefully then I'll have more luck with getting a photo of these near-invisible waders, for now the dodgy record shot will have to do!

A particularly nice site was 4 Brent Geese flying up the Thames. These winter migrants are fairly common in tidal estuaries in Kent, but they're far less frequent up-river, and these were the first ones I've ever seen from Swanscombe. Just a shame they were a little distant!

As mentioned, the barer the trees the easier it's been to spot small birds, but the snow and ice took this to a new level, with birds moving around more in the open when foraging. A winter Chiffchaff down by the lorry park was a nice moment, and the new central channel is starting to come to life, with Reed Buntings, Stonechats and Cettis flitting round the edges, whilst Grey Wags, Snipe and Green Sandpiper feed in the water and on the banks. This is going to be Warbler central come summer, and hopefully a good place to spot snakes too!

What a great way to end the year, just over the 120 species target I set myself! There were still a few missed opportunities that I heard about but didn't catch up with, and a lot of rarities that I didn't expect to see. I'll go over the full year in another blog, and here's to January! 

Full List

Woodpigeon

Collared Dove

Feral Dove

Jackdaw

Jay

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Raven 

Starling

Dunnock

Wren

Cetti's Warbler 

Chiffchaff 

Blackcap

Dartford Warbler 

Goldcrest

Stonechat

Robin

Blackbird

Song Thrush 

Mistle Thrush 

Redwing 

Fieldfare 

Meadow Pipit

Rock Pipit 

Water Pipit 

Blue Tit

Great Tit 

Long Tailed Tit 

Bearded Tit 

Chaffinch

Goldfinch

Linnet

House Sparrow 

Reed Bunting

Pied Wagtail

Grey Wagtail 

Great Spotted Woodpecker 

Red Legged Partridge 

Pheasant 

Black Headed Gull 

Herring Gull

Common Gull

Yellow Legged Gull 

Greater Black Backed Gull 

Lapwing

Grey Plover 

Ringed Plover 

Curlew

Common Redshank

Common Sandpiper

Green Sandpiper 

Turnstone 

Dunlin 

Snipe

Jack Snipe 

Black Tailed Godwit 

Avocet 

Cormorant 

Mallard

Shoveller 

Gadwall

Tufted Duck 

Teal

Wigeon

Brent Goose 

Shelduck

Egyptian Goose

Greylag Goose 

Canada Goose 

Mute Swan 

Moorhen

Coot

Water Rail 

Grey Heron 

Little Egret 

Kestrel 

Peregrine 

Sparrowhawk 

Buzzard

Marsh Harrier 

Long Eared Owl

Total 82

Running Total 122

Swanscombe Part 12 - November

Another bumper month, the Peninsula is alive with Winter migrants, and I managed 70 species, equalling May's Total, but with a very different make up of species!

The influx of passerines has continued, with Pipits and Chats readily seen, and with them a good amount of Redwing and Fieldfare. These are quite skittish Thrushes that can reach huge numbers here when food is available. Winter 2020 in particular yielded vast amounts of individuals, and nearly every visit was literally swamped by flocks of these guys plowing through the berries, and though we're nowhere near those numbers it's always nice to see them back.

The waders and ducks are continuing to show well, Redshank and Snipe numbers are building, whilst Teal and Gadwall are becoming more regular on the river. We're definitely seeing the knock on from the harsh summer though, Black Duck has still not refilled and most (if not all) of the water birds there have moved on. Shoveller, Tufteds and Pochard (previously a breeder here) have not returned yet, nor have the Geese, and the Rails are few and far between. Marsh Harrier still quarter the reedbed hoping to pick off a small mammal or bird, but it's still slim pickings at this previously productive area. Most (if not all) of the wildfowl are to be seen foraging or passing by on the Thames, and it will be interesting to see of the reedbed can recover for next year, likewise the scrape on Botany Grazing Marsh.

Stonechats are of course still everywhere, covering every conceivable perching spot and are easily the most common winter bird.

The Grey Wagtail was back on the beach by Ingress, and actually sat still for a brief second this time! I'm presuming it's the same individual as last month as I'm still yet to see one in another spot, perhaps he's wintering on the marsh before heading back inland for next summer. He's made an appearance on 'Wagtail Beach' a fair few times now, flitting in and out amongst the usual Pieds, let's see how long he hangs around with us!

Lesser Redpoll made for a great site tick one drizzly morning, with a couple in a mixed flock with Linnets and Chaffinches. The finches are starting to move through en masse, smashing through the seeds and berries, so hopefully some cheeky Bramblings will make an appearance. It's always worth checking groups of small birds, as you never know what's going to be hiding within them!

Most of the month ticks came in an early morning ringing session, with Goldcrest the undoubted highlight! We also caught a nice mixture of Tits, along with a handful of Reed Bunting and a very smart male Blackcap. c30 Fieldfare were also present but failed to find themselves in the nets, along with a handful of Redwing and Mistle Thrush, while interestingly over 6000 Woodpigeon were seen over on migration.

I'll leave you with the vision for the future of the site, wonderfully put together by the team at Save Swanscombe Marshes after many months of surveys, it truly is going to be wonderful to see this come to fruition after all the effort the guys have put in fighting the development and campaigning for the safeguarding of this wonderful greenspace.

https://twitter.com/sspcampaign/status/1592403576844058624?t=lkXPlDM9KZYKcmoB1wutAQ&s=19

Full List

Woodpigeon

Collared Dove

Feral Dove

Stock Dove 

Jackdaw

Magpie

Jay

Carrion Crow 

Raven

House Sparrow 

Chaffinch

Goldfinch

Greenfinch 

Linnet

Lesser Redpoll

Reed Bunting 

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Long Tailed Tit 

Bearded Tit 

Wren

Goldcrest 

Dunnock

Starling

Meadow Pipit

Rock Pipit 

Pied Wagtail 

Grey Wagtail

Robin

Stonechat

Blackbird

Song Thrush 

Mistle Thrush 

Redwing 

Fieldfare 

Cetti's Warbler 

Blackcap

Great Spotted Woodpecker 

Pheasant

Ring Necked Parakeet 

Herring Gull

Black Headed Gull 

Greater Black Backed Gull 

Lesser Black Backed Gull 

Common Gull

Cormorant

Common Redshank 

Turnstone 

Oystercatcher 

Lapwing

Green Sandpiper 

Common Snipe

Curlew

Mallard

Teal

Wigeon 

Gadwall

Egyptian Goose

Greylag Goose 

Canada Goose 

Mute Swan 

Moorhen

Coot

Little Egret 

Grey Heron 

Kestrel

Peregrine 

Sparrowhawk 

Buzzard 

Marsh Harrier 

Total 70

Running Total 117

Swanscombe Part 11 - October

A pretty solid October yielded 65 species in only a handful of visits. I'm starting to look into upgrading my camera, as bad light and lack of weather proofing is proving a real stumbling block with providing much more than record shots as we head into winter so you'll have you bare with me 😅

Right at the start of the month I stumbled upon a Grey Wagtail on the edge of Black Duck by Ingress Park. He was way too quick for me and unfortunately wasn't seen again, but I have seen some cracking pictures on Twitter so fingers crossed he'll be back for more of a photoshoot! A new ditch has been dug out in the centre of the reserve, and it almost looks like a ready made hangout for these guys so I'm hoping they become a lot more of a regular sighting in the next few months.

More of the winter migrants are starting to turn up, Stonechats are now near enough the dominant small bird on the Peninsula and often overlooked LBJs like the Rock Pipit are starting to make an appearance. The first few Teal are starting to creep their way back up the Thames, and a couple of Redwing have arrived, hopefully to be followed by some decent numbers. The Snipe are back too, sneaking round unseen in flooded pools, and on more than one occasion I literally screamed as one flew up next to me before I'd spotted it! Not been able to confirm a Jack yet though.

Highlight so far is the Water Pipit on the foreshore by Black Duck. I was told about it last winter but was never able to pick it out amongst the usual Meadows so had to up my game for this season. Although not a particularly exciting bird to look at, they're certainly rare enough to be noteworthy! Hopefully I'll get a better photo next month as what I managed this time is definitely not worth sharing 😂

I got a great view of this Cormorant whilst scanning the river for seals one evening. He popped up right next to me and took a good few seconds to realise his mistake before he dived back under again, resurfacing 10 metres further out or so. Always found them to be quite shy for such big birds, and getting close enough without a hide is always a bit of a challenge so I was quite happy with this!

I also finally caught up with the Cattle Egrets! Got a terrible photo but I'd passed it off as a Little before noticing the feet and bill, so rushed to get a quick snap. It definitely won't win any awards but I'm very happy to have seen one here, after thinking it had been a missed opportunity. Botany Marsh has been grazed for some time now so I will continue to look there, surely it can't be long until the cliche views of Egret with Cattle comes along!

Only 6 birds to go to hit the magic 120 now, and there are a few reasonable targets left to see. Goldcrest were ringed here midmonth, and I could name a good few more that I've seen in previous years or other birders have found this year that are all realistic winter targets so we will see what happens!

October Full List

Woodpigeon 

Collared Dove

Feral Dove

Magpie

Jackdaw

Carrion Crow

Raven

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Long Tailed Tit

Bearded Tit

House Sparrow 

Reed Bunting 

Chaffinch

Goldfinch 

Greenfinch

Linnet

Robin

Stonechat 

Blackbird

Song Thrush 

Redwing

Starling

Dunnock

Wren

Pied Wagtail 

Grey Wagtail

Meadow Pipit 

Rock Pipit

Water Pipit 

Cetti's Warbler 

Ring Necked Parakeet 

Pheasant

Swallow (!)

Black Headed Gull 

Common Gull 

Herring Gull

Great Black Backed Gull 

Lapwing

Redshank 

Curlew

Snipe

Common Sandpiper 

Cormorant

Mallard

Tufted Duck

Teal

Gadwall 

Shelduck 

Egyptian Goose 

Canada Goose

Greylag Goose 

Mute Swan 

Grey Heron 

Little Egret 

Cattle Egret 

Little Grebe 

Moorhen

Coot

Water Rail

Kestrel

Peregrine

Sparrowhawk 

Marsh Harrier 

Buzzard 

Total 65

Running Total 114

Swanscombe Part 10 - September

September is traditionally the time when the wildcard birds start to pop up, with seemingly odd records of various species spotted all over the country as they pause briefly on migration. In this respect it was a good start to the month with the Spotted Flycatcher and Whinchat still hanging around, and still a small flock of House Martins! I ended on 66 species, which could have easily been more but between work and a house move I was not on the marshes as much as I would've been ordinarily!

It's been good to see the Canada Geese return, with quite a few on the river after a long absence over the hot summer. Also, the Meadow Pipits, Linnets and Stonechats are starting to reappear. I had thought these were resident, but after a bit of reading it turns out they mostly spend the summer in more upland areas before returning post breeding. It became a bit of a theme this month to spot species not recorded for a little while as birds start to move into their wintering grounds.

I got told about a Firecrest found singing on Botany, but wasn't able to get down for a couple of days, by which point it seemed to have moved on! A good chance to familiarise myself with their song and habits (thank you google), so hopefully I'll be ready the next time one pops up!

I also missed put on a group of Cattle Egrets reported by local guru Barry Wright, however on an evening trip searching for them I caught a Hobby passing over the marshes! One of my all time favourite birds, I've been praying all summer to pick one up here and finally got my wish!

From the car one morning I had 2 Spoonbill fly overhead on London Road next to the marshes. Is that controversial to count as a record for the site? You decide but I'm definitely taking it! They definitely flew over Botany, whether or not I was on the Peninsula was a different story 😂 Also of note on Botany is the return of roosting Lapwing, most of the reed coverage has been cut back and we should now start to see more wader species here as the scrape fills up with water in the wetter months.

The resident passerines are currently very quiet, but an assortment of common species are still (less vocally) flocking around the scrub. After a flurry of juveniles at the start of the month, I think it's safe to say the warblers have now departed, aside from the Cetti's. 

Things will be easier to spot from now on as the trees shed their leaves and birds become more obvious through the branches, and I'm going into winter with a couple of specific targets not yet reported on site. I won't name them because I'll only tempt fate, but fingers crossed!

A nice find on the central reservoir was this Great Crested Grebe, a scarce one for the site, and brilliant to have it come in this close! These are common UK birds on almost any lake, but I've only had one so far this year on the Peninsula and even then it was just passing by on the Thames, so this was a decent record!

Their Little Grebe cousins are resident here and there are some areas of habitat that could arguably support both species, perhaps it is a food or competition reason behind their normal absence.

As September draws to a close I think it's important to note just how scarce the herps have been on the Peninsula this season.

With heavy droughts a lot of the water courses ran bone dry over the summer, and their inhabitants really suffered. Barely any Frogs seen/heard, a single Smooth Newt, a handful of Grass Snakes and Lizard sightings way down on last year is a genuine cause for concern. If seasonal droughts are to continue in the changing climate then our herpetofauna will really suffer long term population struggles.

September Full List

Woodpigeon 

Collared Dove

Feral Dove

Jackdaw

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Raven

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Bearded Tit

House Sparrow 

Goldfinch

Chaffinch

Greenfinch

Linnet

Wren

Dunnock

Starling

Meadow Pipit 

Pied Wagtail 

Spotted Flycatcher

Robin

Whinchat

Stonechat 

Blackbird

Song Thrush 

Blackcap 

Cettis Warbler

Whitethroat 

Lesser Whitethroat 

Willow Warbler 

Pheasant

Ring Necked Parakeet 

House Martin 

Swallow

Herring Gull

Black Headed Gull

Common Gull 

Lesser Black Backed Gull 

Great Black Backed Gull 

Cormorant

Common Sandpiper 

Green Sandpiper 

Curlew

Mallard

Gadwall

Tufted Duck

Shelduck

Egyptian Goose

Greylag Goose 

Canada Goose

Mute Swan 

Great Crested Grebe

Little Grebe

Moorhen

Coot

Water Rail

Grey Heron

Little Egret 

Spoonbill

Kestrel

Hobby

Peregrine 

Sparrowhawk 

Buzzard

Marsh Harrier 

Total 66

Running Total 111

Swanscombe Part 9 - August

It's amazing what a bit of rain can do, and following some long overdue showers the Peninsula is looking much better in places. Although some areas are still very dry and water levels still low, there is a lot more happening and most of the site was looking fairly replenished at the start of the month before the next wave of heat hit. I managed 68 species including 4 new birds so pretty successful!

A huge spot of luck on the Thames Foreshore on a low tide turned up a tonne of waders! A small group of Sanderling were passing through, along with a single Ringed Plover, followed by Redshank, Common + Green Sand, Lapwing and Oystercatcher. Interestingly the Sanderling were halfway between moulting from summer to winter plumage, and took me a while to ID! But the size, dark legs, straight bill and the supercilium starting to come through eventually gave them away. That's two more cheeky wader species onto the site list!

On the same day I had another bonus encounter, whilst scanning some gulls I heard a loud snoring sound coming from the water, and looked up to see a Seal chilling out, poking his nose up to see what was going on! Both Common and Grey Seals are fairly regular in the Thames if you know where to look, but it's still rare for me to see one at Swanscombe. I think this one is a Grey Seal, but my Pinniped ID leaves a lot to be desired 😂😂 

Safe to say I don't tend to really check tide times before coming down, as it's only round the corner I tend to get a nice varied spread of conditions as it is, but on another low tide afternoon I picked up my first ever Curlew on site! Although generally declining, they're fairly widespread and common in Kent so this is a bit of a strange quirk, but a record I'm happy to break! The local Green Sandpiper can also regularly be seen again on the central reservoir 

A dawn visit was quite fruitful, with plenty of bats circling overhead, a group of Red Legged Partridge and several Ravens croaking overhead early doors. There was heavy rustling in so much of the undergrowth, indicating some mammal activity but i failed to physically spot any on this occasion. It was way too dim for any decent photos but all the same a nice way to experience the site in a different atmosphere.

Bird of the month was this Spotted Flycatcher flitting about in Botany, apparently a very rare find for the site even in passage, so I was absolutely thrilled to find it! This was my second lifer of the year found on my own patch, which is always a special experience 😁The seasonal migrants have definitely started, with Whinchat also being seen on the top path.

The first stages of Autumn are well and truly in place, the Hirundines seen early in the month have now all but disappeared (1 small flock of House Martins briefly seen feeding on the 30th), and the Winter Thrushes will be pleased to know that lots of berries are starting to bloom in preparation for their arrival!  

Finally had a session back ringing with Terry and the guys at the end of the month, we caught 61 birds in a strong morning before the wind picked up and the nets became too obvious. The catch was mostly juvenile Warblers all fattening up before their first migration back to Africa, this stunning Willow Warbler amongst them (modelled by Alex, those are not my nails 😂😂), with the rest made up of Blackcaps, Reeds, Sedgies, Cettis, Common and Lesser Whitethroats with a few Tits thrown in for good measure. It was interesting to see that many Warblers due to the fact that they're nearly silent now (Cettis aside) and I figured most had already departed!

All in all a solid month!

August Full List

Woodpigeon 

Collared Dove

Stock Dove 

Feral Pigeon 

Jackdaw

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Jay

Raven

House Sparrow

Reed Bunting 

Chaffinch

Goldfinch

Bearded Tit

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Pied Wagtail 

Spotted Flycatcher 

Meadow Pipit 

Whinchat

Robin

Dunnock

Wren

Starling

Blackbird

Blackcap

Cetti's Warbler 

Sedge Warbler 

Reed Warbler

Willow Warbler 

Whitethroat 

Lesser Whitethroat 

Ring Necked Parakeet 

House Martin 

Swallow

Red Legged Partridge 

Pheasant 

Black Headed Gull

Herring Gull

Yellow Legged Gull 

Lesser Black Backed Gull 

Great Black Backed Gull 

Common Gull

Cormorant 

Ringed Plover

Lapwing

Sanderling

Common Sandpiper 

Green Sandpiper 

Common Redshank

Oystercatcher 

Curlew

Mallard

Gadwall

Greylag Goose 

Egyptian Goose 

Canada Goose 

Mute Swan 

Coot

Moorhen

Little Grebe

Grey Heron

Little Egret 

Buzzard

Marsh Harrier 

Sparrowhawk

Kestrel

Peregrine

Total 68

Running Total 109