Apart from the strong winds it was great to be able to get out of the office and spend a day with Keith walking the River Medway near Gillingham. The tide was well out, which meant that many birds were far out on the mud-flats. We began our walk at Eastcourt meadows in the hope of a Woodcock, but given the mild nature of our weather so far it was not surprising that we did not locate one of these winter visitors, Making our way to the estuary we headed towards Copperhouse creek. In the pools and channels in the mudflats were groups of Wigeon and Teal. 3 drake Pintail briefly made an appearance before disappearing out of sight. Further out on the mud were large groups of Shelduck
On one of the pools a few gulls were present and we were delighted to find a Mediterranean Gull amongst the Black-headed Gulls. Once a scarce visitor to these shores, it is now an established breeder,
Tracing our way back east past we made our way towards Horrid Hill, a piece of land which sticks out into the river. In a channel we found a Greenshank.
Ringed plover scurried about on the mud and we found a second Mediterranean Gull this time even closer.
Off the wharf near Motney Hill, we found another large group of Teal and Wigeon.
We finished our day at the reed bed alongside the Motney Hill road. Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush and a single Redwing were all seen, whilst we could hear singing Song Thrush. A Water Rail called and a silent Sparrowhawk glided through the reed tops looking for one last meal before dark.
All in all a good day and we both agreed that those Mediterranean Gulls were the highlight of the day
Brant Goose [sp] (Branta bernicla)
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
Eurasian Teal [sp] (Anas crecca)
Great Crested Grebe [sp] (Podiceps cristatus)
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)
Water Rail [sp] (Rallus aquaticus)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Oystercatcher [sp] (Haematopus ostralegus)
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
Grey Plover [sp] (Pluvialis squatarola)
Common Ringed Plover [sp] (Charadrius hiaticula)
Black-tailed Godwit [sp] (Limosa limosa)
Eurasian Curlew [sp] (Numenius arquata)
Common Redshank [sp] (Tringa totanus)
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Dunlin [sp] (Calidris alpina)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
Mediterranean Gull (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus)
Common Gull (Larus canus canus)
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)
European Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
Common Pigeon [sp] (Columba livia)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Eurasian Collared Dove [sp] (Streptopelia decaocto)
Great Spotted Woodpecker [sp] (Dendrocopos major)
European Green Woodpecker [sp] (Picus viridis)
Eurasian Jay [sp] (Garrulus glandarius)
Eurasian Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)
Western Jackdaw [sp] (Coloeus monedula)
Rook [sp] (Corvus frugilegus)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)
Eurasian Blue Tit [sp] (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Long-tailed Tit [sp] (Aegithalos caudatus)
Eurasian Wren [sp] (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Common Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)
Redwing [sp] (Turdus iliacus)
Song Thrush [sp] (Turdus philomelos)
Mistle Thrush [sp] (Turdus viscivorus)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
House Sparrow [sp] (Passer domesticus)
Dunnock [sp] (Prunella modularis)
Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii)
Common Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)
European Goldfinch [sp] (Carduelis carduelis)
Common Linnet [sp] (Carduelis cannabina)
Pete's Favourite Things 