Naturelog: 20th December

A good start to the morning with my first record of Grey Wagtail in the garden before I left to join Keith for a day in Rochester.

Our first stop though was on a housing estate on the outskirts of Strood, where a group of Waxwings has taken up residence attracted by the berry bushes. This attractive winter visitor is irruptive, that is the numbers in the UK depend on the success, or otherwise, of the winter-berry crop on the continent of Europe. The poorer the continental crop the more birds find their way to the UK in search of food. It took us about 10 minutes before the birds appeared and they then proceeded to visit various berry trees in the area around us, usually returning to a perching tree before going off to find more food.

After this we went into Rochester to visit the Cathedral and get some lunch before taking an afternoon walk along the River Medway, along what had been the dock quays but what is now and open space and a riverside path. The bird count was not high but we did find 3 Common Sandpipers, a few Common Redshank and Oystercatchers and a Stonechat.

Not the longest list but very satisfying to get such good views of the Waxwings

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Little Egret [sp] (Egretta garzetta)
Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Common Redshank [sp] (Tringa totanus)
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
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)
Eurasian Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
Bohemian Waxwing [sp] (Bombycilla garrulus)
Eurasian Blue Tit [sp] (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Common Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
Mistle Thrush [sp] (Turdus viscivorus)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
European Stonechat [sp] (Saxicola rubicola)
House Sparrow [sp] (Passer domesticus)
Grey Wagtail [sp] (Motacilla cinerea)
Pied Wagtail [sp] (Motacilla alba)
Common Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)
European Goldfinch [sp] (Carduelis carduelis)