CROYDON RSPB MEMBERS' GROUP - TRIP REPORT

Our day's birding began at Allhallows, where we had to face a stiff northeasterly breeze blowing in across the Thames Estuary from the bleak wastes of Essex. The tide was well out, but there were plenty of birds dotting the vast expanses of exposed mud. Redshanks and shelduck were the most numerous species close at hand, with flocks of dunlin and knot more evident further out. A herd of about a dozen Bewick's Swans* was a nice find, although rather a long way off. Braving the wind, we kept to the top of the seawall to walk on eastwards for a further half-mile to the mouth of Yantlet Creek. Scrutinising all small passerines on the way, we found skylarks, meadow pipits and pied wagtails, but not the unusual buntings we had hoped for. As compensation though, there were good views first of a little egret and later of a female marsh harrier, both in flight over the rough pasture inland.

Reluctantly (or thankfully?) returning to the cars, we drove the few miles west to Cliffe Pools. Passing through some of Kent's remaining orchards on the way, we noticed that large flocks of fieldfares had been attracted by windfall apples, while further on a covey of about fifteen red-legged partridges was so close as to be overlooked (literally) by some of our party.

Arriving at Cliffe, we found the piles of rubbish a bit depressing, but moods brightened when a red-throated diver circled overhead during lunch and some more when we began our afternoon's walk and left the worst of the desolation behind. Passing arable fields, where we came upon the first of several pairs of stonechats, we reached the seawall to look westwards across the river towards Tilbury, finding conditions far more comfortable than during the morning. There were a few wigeon and gadwall on the water nearby, close to rocks where a flock of lapwings and a single well-concealed ringed plover had been resting until a passing sparrowhawk put them to flight. A pair of godwits feeding on the mud were confidently identified as bar-tailed, only for the birds to fly briefly and reveal the prominent black and white wing-barring of black-tailed. During our walk back past the Black Barns, the skies cleared and a low sun brought unexpected colour to a small flock of greenfinches and a pair of reed buntings in the tops of trackside bushes. There had been few birds on any of the inland pools passed hitherto, but the final one, Radar Pool, had plenty - some thirty curlews, thirty coots, twenty little grebes, twenty tufted ducks, ten great crested grebes and eight goldeneyes - all oddly segregated out into single species groups. A probable Slavonian grebe was also spotted near the far bank as light faded but, before this could be confirmed, our attention was distracted by the appearance of a barn owl, hunting over rough ground beyond the pool. Finally, as we prepared to negotiate the last partly-flooded length of muddy track in the gathering gloom, a second barn owl flew silently across our path towards the first.

(* 'Who was Bewick?' - Thomas Bewick (1753-1828) was an English artist, best known for his woodcut illustrations, who had a great influence on bird-art and thereby did much to popularize ornithology. A second, North American, species, Bewick's Wren, is also named in honour of his achievements. Until the early 1800s, Bewick's and Whooper Swans were not recognised as separate species, but were 'lumped' as Wild Swan.)