Kent Wilderness: December 2022

Saturday, 31 December 2022

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

Thursday, 1 December 2022

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