The Stour Valley list for 2019 stands at 157 species so far.
November 17th
I was sitting inside the Marsh Hide at about 10:00 this morning hoping to spot one of the Water Pipits reported from yesterday - with no success.
Then a Marsh Harrier flew over and from the fields to the north of the area overlooked by Marsh Hide (towards the river) a flock of Pipits went up into the air. The birds never went that high but chose to fly around in tight circles. There were some Meadow Pipits amongst them but most of the pipits were bigger with a clear contrast between black centre of tail and white outer tail feathers; they were Water Pipits. I counted and re-counted and reached a maximum count of
39, a total that I never expected. Fortunately, half a dozen of them landed in full view from Marsh Hide - fantastic views. At one point, I had a Water and Meadow Pipit next to each other!
Yet another memorable day spent at Stodmarsh. The 2 Green Sandpipers (and one more from Reedbed Hide) and a number of Kingfishers all added to the occasion!
(Keith Derrett )
