Saturday 10 March 2012

New Two?


 



An early morning start at Grove Ferry where it remained fairly grey and overcast throughout, meeting Alan by the entrance just before 5.30am we had a brief chat before getting ready and making our way to the Ramp. In the mean time we heard Snipe calling Blackbirds and Song Thrushes singing as well as Dunnock, Robin and distant Water Rails making their Hammer Horror like screams. The first of at least 7 Cetti’s Warblers was heard as we approached the Ramp and from here we noted 5 Shelduck along with a much depleted number of Duck species, with a lot less Gadwall, Shoveler and Teal than of late but, also present were 8 Wigeon and 3 Tufted Duck as well as a few Lapwing, 8 Ruff and 5 Dunlin. A look in the Feast hide added a further 7 Tufted Duck and 4 Little Grebes together while at Harrison’s Drove hide another Ruff was seen with many Skylarks in fine voice all around us one of 4 Green Woodpeckers encountered today “ yaffling” away, 3 Pied Wagtails and a small flock of 6-8 Meadow Pipits. Alan was due to meet Steve for a Peregrine hunt so I left him at Harrison’s and met Sue Morton and carried on to Marsh hide. The Marsh Harriers are now quite actively displaying with eight birds seen today as well a 2 ringtail Hen Harriers, one being harassed by a Crow as it moved south towards Seaton and a juvenile male that flew towards us before turning back on a course for Stodmarsh. Very little of note from Marsh hide where the water levels have risen after the rains in the week but we did add a brace of Little Egrets, 1 Redshank and 5 Stock Doves. Alan called to say he had a Grey Wagtail from Feast hide while we added 3 Corn Buntings to the days total while looking for Glossy Ibis (unsuccessfully). Many Reed Buntings are now singing on the reserve soon to be drowned out by Sedge Warblers and as we passed the lake at Stodmarsh we added a further 30 Tufted Duck to the days total plus 5 Pochard, 3 Grey Herons and at the Water Meadows a healthy gathering of 35 Water Pipits. Finishing the day back on the Ramp saw the 2 Glossy Ibises drop in at 1050 where they stayed for 45mins preening before taking flight and after getting to a good height dropped down around the area of flooded fields between Marsh hide and Newbons Farm. The interesting thing about these two is that they seem to be a different pair, none of them bare any bling, they are both the same size and both sport adult plumage. What are the chances of a different two turning up less than two weeks after the long staying birds have left?
One of the new? Gloosy Ibises
Also from the Ramp before I left there was a Peregrine Falcon, 2 Common Buzzards (one dark bird to the north and a resident bird over Collard’s), 1 Sparrowhawk and 3 Kestrels.
Peregrine over the Ramp today
On the way home I passed through Sandwich and saw the 2 Common Cranes on Worth Marshes from beside the Clay Pigeon shoot, the same place I also saw them yesterday. By now however the sun was shining brightly causing a heat shimmer plus the birds were distant making photography fairly impossible.
Common Cranes on Worth marshes at distance in a heat haze

Common Cranes on Worth marshes at distance in a heat haze

Common Cranes on Worth marshes at distance in a heat haze