After the downpour

With Saturday's filthy weather plus a midday high tide, the place to be was obviously the seawatching hide at Oare Marshes. However, I don't have a car, and none of the drivers I know would really be up for sitting in a wooden box for five hours staring at a rainy estuary, so I didn't do that. I still haven't been able to bring myself to check the KOS website and find out how many Sabine's Gulls I would have seen if I'd been there. However, Sunday was brighter and Rob and I did go to Oare, though we mostly stared at the East Flood rather than the Swale.

The flood was busy with waders, but the first bird that caught my attention was in the ditch between the flood and the road, and it was a juvenile Moorhen with leucism. The individual feathers have white patches which suggests this is developmental rather than genetic (where you'd get entirely white feathers).

There were another three juvs here, and only one had normal plumage. They all seemed healthy and full of beans though.

Little Egrets were sashaying back and forth, on foot and in the air, giving occasional throaty 'gowk' calls.

Sadly most of the roosting waders were some way away, and not really photographable to any decent standard with my lens, but a few called in at the nearest island including this Redshank...

... and this Ruff, which I guess I'd better report to whoever blinged up its legs. ETA - no need, it's well known apparently - it's a male ringed in the Netherlands and is back at Oare for its sixth autumn. Other waders out on the flood included the usual masses of Black-tailed Godwits and Avocets, plenty of Redshanks, Ringed and Golden Plovers and Dunlins, and smaller numbers of Ruffs and Greenshanks. Also at least one each of Common Sandpiper and Little Ringed Plover.

I took a walk to the sea wall to see if there was a fantastic seabird passage underway. There wasn't. I did see a few little flocks of Dunlins, whizzing up and down looking in vain for some exposed shoreline to sit on.

A Sandwich Tern, almost in full winter plumage, was sitting on one of the posts by the slipway. The tern on the more distant post was a Common, and there were several more of these on the East Flood.

Back at the flood, about half of the herd of cows came around the edge of the flood, crossing the little wooden bridge in front of us with great care and trepidation. The other half of the herd opted to take a more direct route to the other side. I watched with interest, as I had often wondered how deep the water out here is.

A bit deeper than you'd think, it turns out. The first cow made it across but didn't seem too happy about it.

The next few cows followed suit, all getting soaked and emerging with muddy tidemarks halfway up their sides. The last two in the herd lost their nerve and reversed, taking the long way round at a gallop (except for the bridge crossing) in their anxiety to rejoin the others.

Another wander along the sea wall produced this Yellow Wagtail - there had been several overhead earlier.

There was also a light hirundine passage going on - first half a dozen Swallows, then a dozen House Martins including this one, then more Swallows.

On our way back from the second sea wall visit we saw a distant Sparrowhawk, but it was surely something bigger that put up all the birds on the flood. Avocets, godwits, ducks, even the Little Egrets took off and glanced anxiously skywards as they flew, but could we see what it was that had scared them? No, we could not.

Some worried waders and wildfowl - Golden Plover, Teal and a mixed flock of Shovelers and Gadwall.

As usual, though, it was the common birds that provided the best photo opportunities. House Sparrow males, eclipse drake Mallard showing a few green feathers, and a Mute Swan family waiting for the tardy fifth cygnet to catch up.

RSPB Rainham gearing up for autumn

Shane, Graham and I have been trying to organise a get-together for three weeks now - we could only meet on Wednesdays and the last two were a bit dodgy weather-wise. Last night the forecast was looking much better and it only remained to decide where we would go. I put in a vote for Rainham Marshes - had planned to go there on Monday with a certain Mr Sharp, but unfortunately said Mr Sharp banjaxed his shoulder over the weekend (hope it's on the mend, Phil!). Shane and Graham were amenable to this, and so we hit the reserve trails at about 10am.

From the first bridge, we found a Water Vole, but it was very tucked in and difficult to see. Then it took to the water and swam under the bridge. It was carrying a large chunk of some kind of root, and it settled in a much more viewable spot, very close to us, to devour the treat.

More viewable, but not any better lit. Still, we all took a few shots, and the vole showed no interest in us whatsoever. That root must have been really delicious.

Today was a good butterfly day. One of the first posers was this male Common Blue, feeding from Creeping Thistles along the trail.

Lots of Gatekeepers around. Also a few Meadow Browns, though these are now looking very worn out.

There were a handful of waders on view from the Purfleet Scrape hide, the closest of which was this lovely juvenile Common Redshank.

Much further off, two smart Greenshanks. There was also a Snipe lurking almost invisibly among long grass, plus a couple of Teals. A Linnet or two dropped in, and over the fields beyond a big old Starling flock was swirling about.

Migrant Hawker numbers are low, a far cry from what they will (hopefully) be by early September, but there were a few around, patrolling the ditches in their usual manner. Also on the wing were Common and Ruddy Darters, Brown and Southern Hawkers, Blue-tailed and Small Red-eyed Damselflies.

Up by the Target Pools we heard Bearded Tit noises, as we'd hoped we would. While waiting to try to see one, we heard a rustling low in the rushes nearby and then the nose of a Weasel appeared from a gap on the boardwalk edge. It clocked us and quickly disappeared again, and my best squeaky noises failed to persuade it to emerge. However, the Beardies did eventually show - I personally saw two different juveniles, not sure how many were around in total. And then we found a juvenile Water Rail lurking at the edge of one of the pools. Lovely views but I was (and still am) just too short to manage a photo of it - reed tops in the way.

On towards the Tower Butts hide. We paused to check the big stand of Buddleia on the way, but our arrival coincided with the sun going in and there were few butterflies around. What there was, though, was this - my very first Jersey Tiger moth. What a stunner. It didn't hang around but it was great to see it in flight, revealing wonderful pink hindwings.

Small Tortie in the same area. A lovely spanking new individual.

Nothing much was on view from Tower Butts so on we went. The return loop was much quieter but did produce a Brown Argus. It also produced a mystery wader on one of the pools, which I didn't pick up until it was pretty much too late. It was pretty pale and lacked any obvious white markings on wings/tail/rump. I am confused.

The wooded 'Cordite' area produced another lycaenid - this lovely female Holly Blue. Buddleia here was attended by Commas, Peacocks, whites and a few Silver Y moths. Birds here - none, really.

On the last bit of path we walked pretty much through the middle of the big Starling flock mentioned earlier.

Back at the start, we found that Superconfident Water Vole was in the same place as before and still enjoying brunch.

We had tea and (in Graham's case) cake at the visitor centre. While we were there the receptionist received a message via walkie-talkie that four Yellow Wagtails had just arrived on Purfleet Scrape, but we couldn't see them from where we were. We finished our refreshments and returned to the hide overlooking the scrape but it was wagtailless.

We walked to the turnstile and then cut through to the river path. A Whimbrel went by, giving its celebrated seven-note call, but didn't land in view. Last interesting sighting of the day was of two distant circling Sparrowhawks over the reserve, the only raptors that we saw.

A brief August patch-check

I wasn't going to blog about Sunday's outing because I saw so very little... but then realised there was a photo or two I fancied posting so I'll do a proper - but short - post. Rob and I went to good old Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve quite late in the day - it was sunny and warm and we spent most of our hour or two in the wildlife garden, photographing bees.

A Garden Bumblebee. I think I'm pretty confident IDing this species now, bringing the total of bumble species I can identify to.. five. Hmmm. Not that impressive. This sizeable creature was relaxing on the bench near the pond. Well, I suppose that's what the bench is for...

Inspecting the various 'minibeast hotels' I noticed that there was actually some minibeast activity around them, including this leafcutter bee checking out some nice drilled logs.

It eventually disappeared into one of the drillholes, then peered out to check if the view was as nice as it looked in the brochure.

The feeders in the little feeding station were empty, to the disappointment of this juvenile Blue Tit. I always like seeing them at this stage, just beginning to grow adult-type feathers. The contrast in colour on the crown between the juvvie grey and adult blue is very striking.

As we stood pondering whether to even bother with the rest of the reserve, this Woodpigeon came right for us and I grabbed a reflexive shot.

We went on to Tyler hide in the end. There wasn't much going on - no waders besides Lapwings, interesting ducks limited to a handful each of Gadwall and Teal. Most interesting to me was an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull with two fledged chicks in tow. I presume they are local breeders but can't think where they might have nested. The adult was having its ears thoroughly bent by the babies and kept trying to escape, but the youngsters were strong flyers and chased down Mum/Dad easily. Then the ear-bending began again. Eventually the adult sicked up something for the chicks to eat but it can't have been very much because it didn't shut them up for longer than 30 seconds.

On we went to Willow hide, finding a Southern Hawker on the way. The hide was occupied by three of those Kingfishers-only photographer types who only seem to appear in August, but no Kingfisher showed up for them. Instead there was a Little Egret right in the far corner, effortlessly outshining the other species in this photo (Coot, Tufties and a well-hidden Grey Heron).

We headed back then, but were briefly detained by a remarkably fearless young Rabbit, which only looked up momentarily from its grass-cropping when I knelt down about two metres in front of it.

A local patch for local people

Unfortunately, some of the locals don't seem to like Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve as much as I do - on arrival yesterday morning I saw a police notice asking for information on an overnight spree of vandalism in the hides back in July. How nice. Either it wasn't too bad or it was quickly fixed because I didn't see any evidence of it on my tour of the reserve. I arrived at about 5.30am under clear skies, it was a little chilly but that didn't last long.

A tranquil scene. I wasn't really expecting amazing things today, and I didn't get them... but it has been a while since I visited and it was good to be out enjoying the general greenness and lushness of it all.

I went to Carter hide first, remembering that August is 'Kingfisher month' round here. All quiet. Moved on, past the near shore of North Lake which was where all the wildfowl were. There were a pair of Mute Swans with two half-grown cygnets - the family from Snipe Bog Lake I think, plenty of Mallards and various Moorhen and Coot families.

On to Willow hide. The water levels were low, with a little exposed mud, apparently not enough to tempt a Green Sandpiper though. A Kingfisher flashed past pretty much the moment I sat down, followed by two more chasing each other in the opposite direction. I was entertained for a while by the antics of half a dozen Moorhen juveniles, two of which climbed up to the top of the taller Kingfisher stick but they weren't fooling me. The lake also held Gadwalls, Tufties and a Grey Heron. I had a strong Water Rail vibe but Water Rails came there none. It was still quite gloomy so no (worthwhile) photos.

I carried on as far as the big field. Things were really quiet. Hardly any birdsong. Gulls are beginning to assemble on West Lake - I scanned for a while in the hope of a Black Tern but again my hopes were dashed. Then I noticed Swifts overhead and the next half an hour was lost as I tried to photograph them.

A few Swift pics. I tried out a range of different settings on these, and came to the conclusion that... Swifts are quite difficult to photograph, no matter what you do. Nearly all of them were sporting bulging throats, containing a lovely big ball of squashed flies for their offspring, which must be almost ready to fledge now.

I returned to Willow hide on the way back, to take a few photos in the improved light.

The young Moorhens were still chasing each other about. There seemed to be a dominance hierarchy among them. But it was an angry adult Moorhen that really sent them flying.

There were also plenty of juvenile Coots on the water. Looks like it has been a very good breeding season for both species - and I spotted a brood of tiny new Moorhen chicks as well.

There were Kingfishers calling in the background the whole time I was in the hide but it wasn't until I was on the verge of leaving that this juvenile came and landed briefly on one of the sticks in front of the hide. Worth the wait :)

On to Tyler hide. I found a Grey Wagtail on the way. Then when I was almost at the hide I nearly fell over a Southern Hawker which was patrolling the path somewhere between ankle and knee height. I watched it for ages, then it suddenly veered skywards and settled quite a long way up a tree.

I was checking out the scene from Tyler hide when I heard a tap-tap-tap from the unopenable window in the landward corner, and there was a Marsh Tit on the sill, hammering at the glass. Sadly the sunlight hadn't reached that corner yet so my photos are gloomy as well as glass-distorted. I went back to the hide doorway in hope of a better look, and tried making some squeaky Marsh Tit-like noises. The Marsh Tit didn't respond, but a juvenile Wren appeared, followed by an adult male then a juvenile/female Blackcap.

Back in the hide, I scanned through the geese and Lapwings and Pied Wagtails and a small mixed bunch of gulls, and took a few shots of this Tree Bumblebee as it visited a Creeping Thistle in front of the hide.

It was getting alarmingly late by this point - 10am, where had the time gone? and I had work to do at home, so I decided not to continue to Tower hide et al. I did, however, spend a few minutes on the open area near the fishermens' car park, photographing butterflies at the buddleia.

From the top, Red Admiral, Large White and Painted Lady. Very nice to see the last of these in particular. My patch is not great for butterflies but everywhere seems to be having a proper old-fashioned butterfly summer at the moment. Also saw Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Small White.