A lovely day dawned as Nicole, Andrew and I made our way to the Kent Wildlife Trust reserve at Oare Marshes in West Kent. Our target was the Bonaparte’s Gull which comes to Oare regularly every year around this time and has been doing so since 2013. No one knows for sure where this bird, which originates from North America, goes for the rest of the year – maybe somewhere in the UK or maybe in continental Europe, but back it has come to Oare every year for the past 11 years. If you are wondering how an American Gull was called ‘Bonaparte’, it was named after Charles Lucien Bonaparte, a noted 19th-century Ornithologist and a nephew of that more famous Bonaparte,
We made our way up onto the sea wall and started scanning through the Gulls on the mud and soon picked up one which looked different. The Bonaparte’s Gull is slightly smaller than our Black-headed Gull and has a black head with a black bill and pink legs. As we approached closer we could confirm our ID, but the bird was right on the tideline and a long way away. Thankfully as we continued to watch it came closer across the mud to where we were standing and we could make out the distinctive features with a good size comparison to the Black-headed Gulls around it.
Our attention was drawn away from the gull by another birder who had spotted a Turtle Dove flying across the reserve. This rare breeding migrant is becoming scarce in the UK and so it was good to see one as it flew inland.
Having contented ourselves with views of the Bonaparte’s Gull, we decided to move on with our walk around the reserve. On the Mudflats were Redshank, Curlew, Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit and Dunlin along with Herring and Mediterranean Gull, as well as more Black-headed Gulls.
As we moved back inland, we saw Sedge Warbler, Reed Bunting, Stonechat, Linnets and heard Reed and Cetti’s Warbler. On the East Flood were Little Egret, Mute Swan, Little Grebe, Mallard, Coot and Moorhen.
It was also an excellent trip for insects. Butterflies included a probable Silver Washed Fritillary, Red Admiral, Small and Essex Skippers, Small and Green-veined Whites, Marbled White, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Peacock. Bees included White/Buff-tailed Bumblebee, Common carder Bee, Large Bellflower Bee, and Red-tailed Bumblebee. Other insects included Common Darter, Common Red Soldier Beetle and 7-spot Ladybird.
All round an excellent trip.
Pete's Favourite Things 