I swore to myself I'd spend at least one of my days off this week relaxing on the sofa, but there was no chance of that ever actually happening. Sure enough, one of my best mates (who I haven't actually seen since before lockdown) suggested a morning stroll, and a Wednesday visit to Cliffe Pools it was.
There have been a lot of sightings of some interesting species here doing the rounds on Twitter lately, so I set off with a few targets in mind, namely Little Ringed Plover, Garganey, Sand Martin and Cattle Egret.
Naturally it was just my luck that literally nothing was on show today, the low tide didn't help, as a lot of birds can be found feeding much further put onto the Thames rather than pushed onto the pools themselves. The best I managed was this group of roosting Avocets, Shelduck and Godwit, and there were a few brief flyovers from various Buzzards and Marsh Harriers. I'm really struggling for any luck bird-wise at this site at the moment, I think I'm gonna have to really plan a visit early morning or evening when the tide is on my side.
The undoubted highlight was a group of ten or so Common Seals across the river enjoying the sunshine on the Essex side (excuse the very distant photo), and I also saw a few lizards scurrying around the scrub on the path edges.
The day was spent clearing pathways in the woodland after some of the scrub was trimmed back, with the excess being used to create habitat piles for mammals, reptiles and inverts. We did make the mistake of inadvertently breaking into a Honey Bee nest, which certainly annoyed them! It was cool to see their honeycombs in the process of being built, but we hastily covered them up and gave them a wide berth until they settled down!
It proved a challenge getting photos of some of the wildlife on show, I didn't want to be carrying my camera when I was whacking about with tools in the undergrowth, however I did get some shots of the resident Red Tailed Hawk. Likely an escape from a nearby falconer, this American raptor first appeared last year but has survived so far! Very closely related to our Common Buzzard, but distinguishable by its head shape and red tinged tail (although less obvious from the angle photographed). Both species are highly variable and easily confused, but when you see them in the flesh side by side it's fairly clear who the odd one out is!
Once the work party had finished, the missus met me for a quick stroll around before it was home to tea. Saw a couple of Slow Worms and in general a nice wind down after a busy day! I keep meaning to do a proper evening walk here, there are definitely at least three species of Owl on site, along with Badgers, that I'm eager to get some snaps of, but that's one for another day.
I also have to give a shout out to this gorgeous new born Viviparous Lizard found at Swanscombe earlier in the week. He was so unbelievably small and delicate, it's fantastic to see the first of this year's generation of local reptiles, hopefully there'll be a few more to come before Autumn creeps up on us and most head off to brumate.
It's also that time of year when different moths start flying. I'm lucky enough to have a decent population of Gypsy Moths locally, these were presumed extinct in the UK around 100 years back but have clung on in certain areas around London. Around August I can usually see several fluttering around the garden, and in this case the kitchen! They have a reputation for damaging plant life, so aren't welcome amongst gardeners, but I for one am a fan of this pretty medium sized species.
I think it's fair to say I'm absolutely knackered, until next time!
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