A sunny November morning and a walk along the promenade at Gravesend with Keith.
By the time we arrived at Town Pier the tide was already high and so there was no mud to see. Consequently, our sightings were limited to a selection of Gulls and a couple of Cormorants as we made our way along towards the Marina.
A group of Brent Geese made their way upriver. We have done this walk a number of times but this is only the second occasion, both this autumn, that we have encountered Brent Geese on this stretch of river.
Beyond the Marina, downriver, there was still a patch of mud visible and here we found a group of Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit and Redshank still feeding on the rising tide.
We turned inland to Gordon park to see what was on the lake.
Surprise sightings were a drake Common Pochard (one previous sighting in 2023) and a Coot (not common here) alongside the usual residents.
This lake seems to be a good place for Moorhen and counts are usually between 10 and 20 birds. The were a good number here again in this walk including a group of 7 feeding on the bank at the southern end.
We the walked the top path along the ravine, but there was almost no bird activity here apart from a Ring-necked Parakeet (our first sighting at this site). After lunch we retraced our steps to the Marina. by now the tide was fully in and the waders we had seen earlier had left.
Walking along the northern end of the lake we re-entered the ravine and this time walked the lower path.
We added Dunnock, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Robin to our list before heading back into the town centre and a welcome hot drink. A lovely walk on one of the few dry sunny days recently with a few unexpected sightings for our trips here.
Pete's Favourite Things 