Monday
I started the week with a trip to Wildwood Trust, an awesome little zoo near Herne Bay. I thought long and hard about including this here, as I wanna keep the blog for wild encounters, but as they specialise in UK species (past, present and some hopefully soon to be reintroduced) I have to mention it.
Highlights included Adders, Otters, Elk, various Owls, and the chance to get up close and personal with Pine Martens, Wildcat and Mink, which I'm never gonna have a chance of seeing round here!
The news has also recently broken of their involvement with a scheme to reintroduce Eurasian Bison to Britain in 2022, this will certainly be one to watch, and it would be quite the spectacle to see these huge animals back on our shores.
I took a detour on the way home to stop back at Oare Marshes for a quick lap. Since my last visit it seems to have been overrun by Godwits and Redshank, there were also a lot of Dunlin and Avocet, and a supporting cast of Greenshank, Med Gullls, Common Sandpipers and Lapwing.
The top birds were undoubtedly a pair of Ruff, just starting to lose their awesome summer plumage, and a very lost Lesser Yellowlegs (a lifer for me). These dainty waders are native to America, but every year a handful of birds end up in the UK for a brief period, and it was awesome to catch such a rare animal! Another stateside visitor, a Bonaparte's Gull, has recently been seen on site (apparently for the seventh year running!) but no sign today.
Wednesday
A quick hour or so on an overcast morning at Swanscombe yielded little of note, save for a couple of Common Lizards, a small Grass Snake shed, overflying Ravens and Buzzards and a collection of moths, like the Six Spot Burnet pictured above.
Thursday
Another free morning meant a trip down to Gillingham to check on the Adder population. The males have generally dispersed by this time of year, the females are largely tucked away waiting to give birth, and the weather was crap, so I was ready for a challenge!
Somehow I managed to collect all 4 reptile species native to Kent. First up was a baby Slow Worm, then a basking Common Lizard, before two Adders on their usual spot were joined by a juvenile Grass Snake deep in shed. I then got another Adder, also getting ready to shed its skin. I've never managed to see all four in one location on the same day, so this was a personal triumph!
Other highlights included a perching Swallow who actually sat still for five minutes, some nice butterflies and an entertaining group of young Blackcaps.
I also got a chance encounter with a nice female Sparrowhawk, who landed by one of the Newt Pools for a quick look around. A bit of a distant shot through the bushes, but it was nice to get a semi-decent view of a bird I normally only ever see in flight.
Friday
A last chance to squeeze some wildlife in before a relaxing/drunk weekend meant a wander round Cliffe Pools. The wader numbers are starting to increase towards the summer crescendo, but it's still on the quiet side.
There was still plenty of passerine activity, with Sedge Warblers still very much on show, along with young Tits and co. Birds of prey were represented by a solitary female Marsh Harrier and a distant Peregrine.
I also caught my first Grass Snake here. I've always found the habitat to be excellent, but it's either too open or too dense to have much hope of spotting any, so I couldn't believe my luck when this decent sized adult decided to cross the road right in front of me!
Favourite photo this time goes to this young female Adder from Thursday, tentatively poking her head out of her burrow to check the coast was clear. She's one of two that I've named, so hi to Judith! (Don't ask 😂😂)
Not a bad week all in all! A few new birds for the year list and a generally nice catch up on all my usual spots. Here's to a very hungover weekend before I get back to the grind Monday! Until the next one!
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