A lovely day to go sailing!
Keith and I take the opportunity to take an afternoons leisurely birdwatching on the River Medway aboard Skipper Ray Wade’s boat Julie-Sue.
Birdwatching from a boat on a large river or an estuary is a different experince to viewing the same areas from the land. The boat can often get to places where you couldn’t get to on foot and the views of the mud-flats and water edges are not obstructed by vegetation.
On our way to Otterham to pick up the boat, we make a brief stop at Eastcote meadows to try and find an elusive Turtle Dove, but we are not in luck. We do get some nice views of a variety of butterflies in the meadows.
Leaving from Otterham Quay we make our way out into the river and begin to search around the pieces of salt-marsh still visible above the rising tide.
We see large parties of Sandwich Terns, Curlew and Black-Tailed Godwits on the marshes and flying to new feeding places as the tide pushes them on. Peregrine, Sparrowhawk, Marsh Harrier and a number of Kestrels are all seen hunting over the marshes.
Unexpected findings included a Brent Goose and a Common Gull – both normally winter visitors to these marshes, but which have been around all summer according to Ray. As we make our way back into Otterham Creek a Common Sandpiper flies alongside the boat.
One other sighting was of a sea-plane as it practised its take off and landings on one of the river’s creeks.
After leaving the boat we made a quick stop at Upchurch churchyard, this time in hope of seeing a Spotted Flycatcher. Initially we are unsuccessful, but on the way back to the car we see one sitting atop a grave-stone. We watch it for a few minutes and it flies from perch to perch looking for food before disappearing into the foliage of a tree – presumably the site of its nest.
Spotted Flycatcher
Photo by Ron Knight (https://www.flickr.com/photos/sussexbirder/)
Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Great Crested Grebe [sp] (Podiceps cristatus)
Grey Heron [sp] (Ardea cinerea)
Little Egret [sp] (Egretta garzetta)
Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Western Marsh Harrier [sp] (Circus aeruginosus)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk [sp] (Accipiter nisus)
Common Kestrel [sp] (Falco tinnunculus)
Peregrine Falcon [sp] (Falco peregrinus)
Eurasian Oystercatcher [sp] (Haematopus ostralegus)
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
Black-tailed Godwit [sp] (Limosa limosa)
Eurasian Curlew [sp] (Numenius arquata)
Common Redshank [sp] (Tringa totanus)
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
Ruddy Turnstone [sp] (Arenaria interpres)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
Mediterranean Gull (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus)
Mew Gull [sp] (Larus canus)
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)
Lesser Black-backed Gull [sp] (Larus fuscus)
Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis)
Common Tern [sp] (Sterna hirundo)
Common Pigeon [sp] (Columba livia)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Eurasian Collared Dove [sp] (Streptopelia decaocto)
Common Swift [sp] (Apus apus)
Eurasian Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
Barn Swallow [sp] (Hirundo rustica)
Common Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
Spotted Flycatcher [sp] (Muscicapa striata)
House Sparrow [sp] (Passer domesticus)
Common Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)
European Greenfinch [sp] (Carduelis chloris)
Large White (Pieris brassicae)
Green-veined White [sp] (Artogeia napi)
Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)
Comma Butterfly (Polygonia c-album)
Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)
Pete's Favourite Things 