Kent Wilderness: August 2022

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

Things have really dried out this month, both metaphorically and physically. Nearly every conceivable pool of water had been reduced to dry mud in the wake of the continuing heatwave, reaching nearly 40° at one point, and the wetlands that were full of life a few weeks back seem pretty barren by comparison. Even the vast pool behind Black Duck reeds is nearly empty

It is too hot even for reptiles, even the regularly-spotted lizards seem to be hiding away in the shade, being ectothermic they are unable to regulate themselves from quickly overheating.

The insects are doing well, with tonnes of flies, moths and dragonflies buzzing around, as this poor cow can attest! Whilst mentioning cattle, it's good to see the Botany area getting grazed to promote some fresh growth and habitat creation for our wintering species.

The birds are there if you look and listen closely enough, however it is largely smaller passerines taking advantage of their insect meals. The leaner months really provide an insight into which species truly flourish on the marsh as opposed to those who flit from site to site dependant on resources.

The wildfowl had almost totally dispersed by the end of the month, and interestingly its now been a little while since I've found a Canada Goose. As mentioned in previous months, I had assumed their residency but it now seems they only use the site on passage between wintering and breeding sites.

I had drafted a paragraph about this being the first month without a new species, but then right at the end an adult Yellow Legged Gull turned up on the foreshore! Nationally scarce but frequent on the continent, they do have a few strongholds over here, nearby Thamesmead being one. It's been a long wait but excellent to finally record one a bit further down river! These guys used to be considered a subspecies in the Herring Gull complex but, whilst still closely related, are now seen as a seperate species.

All in all a quiet month, and as such I'm going to keep this one brief and hope for a better time of it come August!

Full List