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Our sheep grazier rang yesterday to let me know that he was bringing up his rams to the reserve today (next years lambs!) and that the flock of tegs ( last years lambs) were due their inoculations. So it was out on the quad this morning to drive the 213 tegs off the Flood and into the pens. They've...

Things have been a bit quiet on the reserve over the past few days, although even in "quiet" periods there's usually something of interest around the reserve. On the 25th, a short-eared owl, a wheatear & 3 brambling were around Kingshill Farm. On Monday, 2 little stint were present...

The single female snow bunting was still present at it's favoured patch by Swale hide today (22nd). But while we're welcoming our winter visitors, don't forget that there are still summer birds heading south: also around the reserve today a swallow, a wheatear and a chiffchaff. A ring...

I've not been able to up-date the blog recently, so think a quick up-date as to what's been seen on the reserve is in order. Highlights over the weekend included a report of a short-eared owl on Saturday, with both little & barn owls being seen at Kingshill Farm. 2 merlin and 2 peregrine...

Both Natalie & myself had the weekend off, but a number of visitors reported some interesting birds on the reserve. On Saturday, a spoonbill was again seen on the Swale, along with a spotted redshank. Raptors included male hen harrier, merlin and 3 buzzard. Continuing the run of bearded tit records...

Natalie & I attended a series of meetings at Northward Hill today, although the North Kent Marshes team managed to escape at lunch-time to spend a short spell up at the Marshland Viewpoint on the reserve. Well worth the effort, with a ring-tail hen harrier, hobby, buzzard, marsh harrier & a stonechat...

Having spent all day in the office, a quick trip down to the reserve before it got dark was on the cards. It was a still, mild evening, but the threat of more heavy showers was in the air. However, I'm pleased that I made the effort as I found the juvenile black tern that had been reported over the...

Back at Elmley having spent 3 days in York at the RSPB Warden's Gathering (which included a very enjoyable trip to a previous stomping ground at Blacktoft Sands - plenty of good birds, including at least 26 spotted redshanks, 3 curlew sandpipers & a skein of pink-footed geese headed south. If...

The rather indifferent tides at the moment are failing to push waders off of the Swale and onto the reserve. Nevertheless, there were still 3 little stints on the Flood this morning, along with green sandpiper, black-tailed godwit, avocet, snipe & lapwing. A bit of a show from the birds of prey...

The clearing skies last night was presumably the reason that there was no sign of yesterdays Temminck's stint on the Flood. But they can be elusive, so we'll keep our eyes open. Other waders on the Flood today included 5 little stint, 5 curlew sandpipers, a juvenile spotted redshank and 2 juvenile...

Lapland buntings used to be a regular feature of Elmley in winter, with more or less annual records during the first 25 years from 1975-2000. But the frequency of records has declined recently, perhaps as a result of fewer birders being familiar with their distinctive "ticky-tick teew" flight...

The high tide roost at Elmley today saw 24 curlew sandpipers & 6 little stint, along with 193 dunlin, 3 spotted redshank, 2 ruff, 150 avocet, 5 bar-tailed & 25 black-tailed godwit, 2 turnstone, 200 ringed plover, 1 common & 3 green sandpiper & a greenshank. Raptors included a merlin,...

I thought I'd let one of the Elmley regulars, Sean Huggins summarise the days sightings, courtesy of a posting on the Kent Ornithological Society's website - he spent more time on the reserve than me y/day! "Another excellent wader session at Elmley over the big spring tide yesterday...

Highlight today was the discovery of the reserve's 2nd pectoral sandpiper of the autumn on the Flood at Wellmarsh hide. July's bird was an adult, but this bird was a juvenile, which is pretty much what you would expect at this time of year. Adults of the high Arctic breeding Calidrid waders ...

The juvenile red-necked phalarope remained on the Flood today, often showing very well from Wellmarsh hide. Also on the Flood were seven little stints (all juvs from Southfleet hide), about 16 juv curlew sandpipers, seven ruff (one ad), two spotted redshanks, one green and three common sandpipers, two...

There were still at least 18 juv curlew sandpipers and one little stint up on the high tide today, but the star turn was a rather un-assuming mud coloured wader that pottered about in front of Southfleet hide this evening - an adult Temminck's stint. A few pairs of these tiny waders nest on occasions...

Todays north-easterly winds produced an arrival of northern sandpipers at Elmley this evening. At least 45 green & 6 wood sandpipers could be found: mainly around the Flood, but particularly from Southfleet hide, where there was 24 greens, all 6 woods and a juvenile little stint to boot.. Also still...

I thought that I was going to have an encounter with the Kingshill Farm ghost this morning. 4am and I thought I heard a faint noise outside my bedroom. A minute or two later & there it was again. Definitely a noise - had I just not closed my bedroom door properly & it was moving in a draught...