CROYDON RSPB MEMBERS' GROUP - TRIP REPORT

Some parts of Kent and Sussex were experiencing their worst floods in decades, so it was no surprise that water levels on the Oare Marshes reserve were rather higher than we remembered from previous visits. Not that we were seriously inconvenienced - paths were all readily passable and the artesian well near the car park was handily pouring out water for boot cleaning. The tide was on the rise when we arrived, but sufficient mud was exposed on the banks of the Swale for numerous waders to be feeding busily, with grey plovers, knots and dunlins most in evidence. Just behind the seawall, near the Visitor Centre, a stonechat and two wheatears were using fence posts as vantage points from which to plunge onto insects in the grass and a little further away a kingfisher was intently peering into a flooded ditch from the top of a five-barred gate. Far more distantly, a female marsh harrier could be seen hunting over the grazing marshes on the Isle of Sheppey.

As we turned our attention inland, to the pools east of the Harty Ferry Lane, more waders began to come in to roost, gradually being displaced from their feeding grounds by the incoming tide. The new arrivals were mainly redshanks and black-tailed godwits, joining the several dozen snipe already scattered about on the grassy spits and islands, but we also picked out a single little stint, a curlew sandpiper and several greenshanks. Teal, shoveler, gadwall, a little grebe or two and one pintail were also present. Moving on into the hide overlooking the western flood, we found plenty of lapwings and wigeon and about another five little stints. Swallows were still straggling over, giving perhaps our last sightings for the year.

Whilst quietly enjoying lunch on the seawall, one of our number was treated to a rare close-up look at a weasel as this tiny carnivore worked its way along among the weeds just above the tideline. Soon afterwards a sparrowhawk dashed past, putting up the waders and ducks for a few minutes. Then, when the 'pinging' calls of a bearded tit (or bearded reedling - actually Europe's only representative of the mainly-Asian Parrotbill family) were heard from the reed-filled dyke behind the seawall, most people managed decent views of a male and one or two saw both male and female posing side by side, as depicted in field guides. Reed buntings were also active in the reedbed hereabouts. Meanwhile, a big flock of Brent geese had drifted with the tide into the eastern end of the Swale and others were forming impressive flight formations in the distance. The black smudge of a large oystercatcher roost could be made out on the far shore along towards Shellness Point. Following the embankment around, Faversham Creek was much disturbed by a procession of weekend sailors, although we did find a rock pipit here and a few migrant hawker dragonflies were on the wing and proving rather inquisitive. A new angle of view onto the eastern pools revealed at least a dozen more greenshanks and briefly we had a good look at a spotted redshank standing side-by-side with common redshanks. A range of typical farmland birds seen in the bushes and fields beyond, including a respectable flock of house sparrows, added variety to the day's list.