The RSPB Community

Wagtails and Water voles!

Lyndsey — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:35:25 GMT

There is a lot of activity at Elmley Marshes at the moment.
The drive down to the car park is fantastic with close views of displaying
Lapwing and Redshanks wandering closely along the track. I can confidently say
you are very likely to see at least one stunning Yellow Wagtail and if you are
sharp eyed you may also see some Brown Hares. Along with Marsh Harriers, you
can get all this even before you have parked your car!

At the carpark and around the farm Swallows are building
their nest in the toilet block as they do every year and making a mess, however
we don’t mind – they are great to watch!

The Reserve is also looking great and supporting a good
number of nesting Lapwing and Redshank so please keep to the signposted paths to
avoid any disturbance to them. Marsh frogs can be heard in the ditches running around/
through the reserve. Whilst you are listening for the frogs keep your eyes open
for water voles sitting on the very edges of the ditches or swimming across.
Water Voles are very quick to disappear when disturbed so you will often only
hear a small splash as evidence of one jumping back into the water.

Snow and Cranes.

Lyndsey — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 11:32:38 GMT

The recent snow fall may have stopped our work on the reserve but it hasn’t stopped the wildlife. On a recent count just before the snow fell over 7000 Wigeon, 5000 Teal as well as Pintails and Gadwall were all on the reservoir and in front of Southfleet Hide. Heading into Wellmarsh Hide we had Dunlin, Knot, Golden Plover, Bar tailed Godwit and Turnstone and also spotted 43 Barnacle Geese a bit further out in the field. Very high numbers of Lapwing all over the reserve along with Golden Plover, Curlew and 800+ Brent Geese.

I am keeping my eye open for the Cranes that have been seen on Southern Sheppey (on the 23^rdthey were sighted on the fields along Harty Ferry Road) but not on the reserve yet.

Path Open!

Lyndsey — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 10:42:46 GMT

We were able to reopen the path leading to Counterwall Hide today. All over christmas we have had the sluice open to empty the borrow dyke and excess water out into the Swale and have finally got the level low enough to allow access.

Happy 2013!

Lyndsey — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:32:00 GMT

A quick update on path conditions: The path leading to Counterwall hide is still flooded and so remains closed. All other paths and tracks on the reserve are extremely wet and muddy so please take care. Our main phone line is currently down so if you would like any information or want an update then please contact Lyndsey - 07714139415 or Nick - 07703717540.

Over the Christmas period staff and volunteers were on the reserve everyday to check on the livestock and make sure everything was in order. However the decision was made on boxing day that there just wasn’t enough nutritional grass to sustain our herd of Sussex cattle and so we arranged to have the grazier come in and take them off. This was easier said than done as he couldn’t get the lorry down to the corral for loading. This meant that our two lucky volunteers who were in that day assisted Nick in driving the herd all the way up the main track to Rose Cottage, the corral on ECT land which is far more accessible for the lorry. It only took an hour!!

Elmley is a wader and wildfowl wonderland at the moment with Wigeon and Teal numbers looking fantastic. 5000+ widgeon alone can be seen on the reservoir when the swale is choppy and they want some calmer waters. Around 200+ Dark Bellied Brent Geese were on the swale New Year’s Day which is always a spectacular site for the start of a new year!

In addition, there are the usual buzzards, Marsh Harriers, Peregrines, Merlins, Sparrowhawks and Kestrels. Also the irregular sightings of both Male and ring-tail hen harrier. Short Eared Owls are still stopping visitors in their track when spotted and also hunting Barn owls.

Mike our volunteer giving the cattle their christmas dinner

Reserve Access

Lyndsey — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:10:05 GMT

We have had to make the decision to temporally close the path leading to Counterwall Hide due to high water levels, we are doing everything we can to lower the levels but the path will remain closed for the time being. The situation will be reviewed on a daily basis.

If you are thinking of visiting the reserve in the near future access to Wellmarsh hide is still available as is Southfleet. Please use the main public right of way track to gain access to Southfleet via the wooden field gate at the entrance to the reserve but please ensure the gate is closed behind you. All paths are very muddy, wet and uneven, please wear suitable footwear.

Elmley wardens

Winter Sightings

Lyndsey — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:05:00 GMT

Elmley is definitely living up to its reputation as a winter wildfowl spectacular! If you wrap up warm and make the walk down to the reserve (particularly good either side of high tide) you will see thousands of Wigeon and Teal – particularly from Southfleet Hide and around the reservoir. Also Pintail, Shoveler, Gadwall and even the odd Goldeneye have been spotted.

1000+ Dunlin are making use of the islands in front of Wellmarsh Hide along with Grey Plover, Turnstone, Knot, Snipe and Ringed Plover. Dark Bellied Brent Goose are close to reaching a count of 100 and can be seen grazing in the fields along with Lapwings, Golden Plover and Curlews digging in the mud for invertebrates.

As Graham mentioned in his blog there are plenty of raptors about. Marsh Harriers, Merlin, Buzzards and the Peregrine are all being seen on a daily basis. Short Eared Owls and Barn Owls are out and about hunting. Early evenings are the best time to see these although if you are lucky you will sometimes see the Short Eared Owls hunting during the day.

Grahams Blog...

Lyndsey — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 11:33:00 GMT

Hello, bit of a Blogger change for what will probably be the last update of the year. I’m Graham Hill one of the regular volunteers on the Elmley reserve.

In the last post Lyndsey, said it was feeling wintery, well, it has well and truly arrived now. Regular visitors know how bitter it can get down here, so you can imagine how the dusting of snow has confirmed winters’ arrival and the mandatory wearing of thermal underwear!

I was fortunate enough to have a Volunteering day sanctioned by my employer on Friday, I didn’t wear thermals so my advice above is heartfelt (well lower than heart!), but despite the bitter northerly winds, I had, as ever, a great day helping out around the reserves.

The weather has brought in a fantastic influx of winter wildfowl. Really good numbers of Wigeon and Teal, Brents and Greylags abound. The constant background babble of “purring & chattering” Brents and the “whistles” of Widgeon, keeping us company in this isolated location. Best views and ambience from Southfleet hide.

As ever, plenty of raptors around on the eye for a ready meal.

The LEO in the orchard, had been a bit of a star attraction, however probably thinking it too cold to sit around all day, has finally moved on(not been seen since mid-November), I must admit I’d have done the same given the weather!

Please take extra care when driving on to and off the reserve, as the conditions can be challenging, I know the tracks route pretty well having travelled it many, many times, but I still had a bit of “moment” on Friday.

Sightings

Lyndsey — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:29:00 GMT

It is really beginning to feel wintery on the reserve. Raptors are really making their presence known with Hen Harrier, Merlin, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine, Shorteared Owls and Barn Owls all spotted over the weekend by visitors.

From Spitend Hide the estuarine waders can be seen in relative comfort out of the wind. These are including high numbers of Curlew, gulls, Dunlin, Turnstone, Blacktailed Godwits, Knot, Oyster Catchers, Lapwing and Plovers to name a few.

On the reserve there are still a few Green Sandpipers, greenshank, Snipe, Wigeon, Teal and Pintailed ducks along with Canada Geese, Brents and Greylags. Around the farm carpark there are quite a few small birds hanging around the bird feeders and bushes including Robins, Black Birds, Wrens plenty of Goldfinches and I also spotted a Gold Crest hiding out in the Orchard. Long Eared Owl was last seen on the 8^th November.

Grumpy Cows

Lyndsey — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:06:51 GMT

Many may have noticed this year that we have had no trouble raising our water levels. Plenty of rain has meant that the reserve is possibly looking the wettest that most can remember. This is fantastic as it has created a great habitat for the winter bird’s arrival. It also makes our days much more enjoyable trying to get around the reserve as we have to abandon the truck and walk. Rain has not stopped management work either as the never ending maintenance of our 2 electric fences continues. This includes checking for any shorts, cutting back vegetation and re-securing the underlying terram matting. The two extra wires that the volunteers added to the fences this time last year seem to have done the trick with keeping foxes out of the wader nesting areas.

Throughout October/ early Nov the Long Eared Owl has been sitting in the orchard giving visitors fantastic opportunities to see him. Typically on the busiest days he would disappear deeper into the orchard leaving visitors very disappointed if not determined to see him. He was last seen on Thursday 8^th November.

We started weaning the calves from the cows on Friday .....this has caused all sorts of drama including cows swimming ditches and wardens not being able to get through gateways. However it should all settle down in a day or two when the cows realise they no longer have their calves around to worry about.

Glorious mud

Lyndsey — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:39:00 GMT

It is getting to the time of year where we start seeing the marsh looking like everyone supposes a marsh should look like.....very wet. With all the rain we have had over the last couple of weeks it is not surprising that the water levels have risen and all the rills and scrapes have filled up. This is great, but it does pose problems for the team here to get around! We all try to stay on the main track as much as possible. If we were to start driving in the fields we would soon find we have a big muddy mess.

It is still vital we get out if only to check on our livestock. They are checked on a daily basis but we are being especially vigilant with our sheep. It is very common at this time of year for sheep to ‘roll’. Due to their big and heavy fleeces a sheep can get stuck on its back which could prove fatal if it is not helped and rolled back onto its feet as soon as possible.

Elmley has always been a great time to see Hares. As I drove into work this morning I spotted 6 sitting on the side of the track. Hares can be seen at any time of the day but early morning and evenings are the best time to look. Normally solitary creatures only pairing up in the spring, it was a real treat to see this small group or ‘drove’ as a group is often known as, I just wish I had my camera on me.

Recent sightings

Our Long eared Owl is still making a regular appearance and is currently sitting on his favourite perch as I write this blog. However, being a bit of a tease (especially, it would seem on the days people come to see him) he retreats deeper into the orchard out of sight. Short eared Owl and Ringed tailed Hen Harrier were seen yesterday over the flood, with merlin, peregrines and kestrels all being spotted over the weekend. Wader/ waterfowl peaks for Elmley this month include 1500 Teal, 500 Wigeon, 250 Shelduck, 700 Lapwing.

Perfect weather for ducks

Lyndsey — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 11:45:45 GMT

With 60mm of rain falling in just 4 days last week you can imagine that the marsh is looking extremely soggy right now! I have really noticed the wildfowl numbers starting to increase. A passing Marsh Harrier sent hundreds of Teal up into the air today from off the reservoir. It was an amazing sight.

Winter wader numbers are also on the increase, Lapwing and Golden Plovers can be seen in the fields along with Grey Plovers and Curlew. With all the rain and high water levels at the moment waders are sometimes difficult to see but the pools on the flood are being used by Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Turnstone and Little Stints.

Yellow Wagtail numbers have dwindled right down now with just the odd one still being seen, the same with Wheatears and Whinchats.

Some visitors with very keen eyesight spotted our Long Eared Owl over the weekend. We normally see up to 2 that regularly roost in the Orchard at Kingshill Farm. These birds are not always easy to see so a lot of patience and luck combined is needed! Please don’t be tempted to walk into or around the orchard to get better views as this is only likely to disturb them and may cause them to abandon their roost.

Recent Sightings

Lyndsey — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 13:03:27 GMT

It has been a good week on the reserve with the warm weather attracting a lot of visitors who want to make the most of the sunshine.

Although we have been managing the islands on the Scrape a good number of waders are still being seen poking around in the mud for invertebrates, especially around high tide. We are still seeing Spotted Redshank, Whimbrel, Common Sandpiper, the odd Ruff and also Little Stint but these numbers are going down. However Grey and Golden Plover, Lapwing, Dunlin and Knot numbers are slowly starting to increase.

It is worth getting out now in the warm weather to enjoy the dragonflies and Butterflies. There is still a lot to be seen including Peacocks, gate keepers, meadow browns and common blues and on the dragonfly front we are still seeing Ruddy Darters, Emperor, common skimmer and blue azures. These are best seen along the bottom of the seawall towards Spitend Hide.

Water Voles are coming to the end of their breeding season and a recent survey has shown we have a very healthy population. If you are patient and quiet you can often see them swimming across ditches.

Nick was very lucky last week to see the very scarce Maid of Kent beetle. He was casually checking the livestock when he happened to look down and see this beetle rooting around in a cow pat. These beetles look very much like bumble bees but obviously in the shape of a beetle. I have also seen a couple of stunning Wasp Spiders out on the reserve. Wasp spiders are big yellow and black spiders that up until recently were only found in the South East of England, but have now started spreading. They favour unmanaged grassland, building large orb webs catching flying insects and grasshoppers.

Habitat management.

It is the time year again where we let the water get low on the scrapes in front of the hides. Dont worry this is only for a very short time and there is still plenty of shallow water around the flood that the waders frequent to feed but are difficult to see from the hides. We are currently pumping back onto the scrapes.

Reserve Management

Lyndsey — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 09:58:54 GMT

You might notice that the pools on the flood are looking quite low...don’t panic, this is only for a short time as staff and volunteers are undertaking the enjoyable task of walking out to the islands, getting stuck in the mud (and sometimes falling into it) to complete the annual management of brushcutting the long rank grass on the small islands. This is the best time of year to do this as the scrapes have naturally dried down enough to allow us to get across to them. We are trying to get the islands cut as quickly as possible so we can get water back onto the flood and we apologise in advance for any disturbance caused.

The topping is very nearly complete with just a few fields left to cut. All going well the bulls will be going back to their home farm leaving us with the females and calves. These are very easily mixed into a bigger herd and we can keep on top of the grazing in a more controlled regime.

Nick was very lucky last week to see the very scarce Maid of Kent beetle. He was casually checking the livestock when he happened to look down and see this beetle rooting around in a cow pat. These beetles look very much like bumble bees but obviously in the shape of a beetle. I have not seen one yet but am staying eagle eyed! I have also seen a couple of stunning Wasp Spiders out on the reserve. Wasp spiders are big yellow and black spiders that up until recently were only found in the South East of England, but have now started spreading. They favour unmanaged grassland, building large orb webs catching flying insects and grasshoppers.

Who said we needed rain??

Lyndsey — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:53:25 GMT

The summer is a very busy time of year on a wet grassland reserve. All staff and volunteers can take a sigh of relief now the breeding bird surveys are all complete and we can now crack on with the practical habitat management in preparation for 2013. If you are out and about on the reserve over July and August you may notice the fields being topped by tractor. This is a necessary management technique to remove grass seed heads and thistles. This along with our cattle and sheep will return the vegetation height to an even low one and make an attractive habitat for passing waders during the summer months and then our wintering wildfowl during the winter.

We have commenced pumping water off of the main flood as believe it or not we have too much water on site. So we will be pumping from the flood for a little while to expose some mud for our returning waders.

We are also in the process of mowing a pathway down to Spitend Hide, this should be completed by the end of the week and make walking down to the hide a bit easier.

We can confirm this year that the electric predator fence did its job and the breeding waders had a successful hatching year without being troubled by foxes and other small predators; unfortunately we couldn’t do anything about the Marsh Harriers and kestrels that were reported on a regular basis taking the odd chick to feed there own families.

There are plenty of butterflies and dragonflies around at the moment, and if you are about on the reserve listen out for the tell tale plop of a water vole dropping back into the water from the edge of a ditch. Bird wise there are plenty of Avocets, black tailed godwits, redshanks, spotted redshanks, lapwings, oyster catchers, common, green and wood sandpiper, ringed plover, yellow wagtails, marsh harriers and kestrels amongst other things.

Drought, what drought?

Lyndsey — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:48:22 GMT

Since our last blog we have been busy taking advantage of our abstraction extension from Windmill Creek and following the recent downpours we are now refilling the reservoir. As I write it’s probably about half full, so still a little way to go but welcome none the less. Just for the record we had 83mm of rain just in April and it has rained here every day so far in May so the whole reserve is now looking as it should which is fantastic. However, it does make getting around to check the livestock much more of a challenge!!

Nick has already been away on his summer break, so is now refreshed and ready to tackle the breeding season, pumping and the livestock and it is now my turn to get away for the next two weeks in the sun of the Med.

You cannot fail to notice that not only are we getting a lot of cattle on the reserve (mainly cows, calves and young store stock) but we recently had 200 sheep join us. The day before they arrived they were sheared. I am sure they don’t much like the marsh weather at the moment as they are dressed for summer but have happily been doing there job of keeping the grass down. Please note that all the livestock at Elmley are docile breeds so do not be put off walking across the field to get to Southfleet hide.

There are lots of chicks around at the moment with the Avocet, Lapwing and Redshank all doing very well, it looks like we are going to have a reasonable breeding season after all.

Better late than never

Lyndsey — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:18:13 GMT

I know it’s been a while since our last blog but with everything else going on and Easter etc we kept putting it off.

I suppose the best news lately is the sighting of the first Yellow Wagtails and Swallows on the reserve, great to see them back, summer must be around the corner.

On a more serious point the Environment Agency has very recently given us a temporary extension to our abstraction licence for Windmill Creek, this is great news for us but also means we are refuelling pumps and coping with breakdowns and burst pipes on a daily basis. As you are all aware the drought conditions has meant we have been unable to take any water from the creek since before last summer as the water level has been some 40cm lower than normal. So with the little splash of rain we have had over the last week and the water being pumped from the creek onto the eastern end of the reserve we should be able to maintain wet areas for the breeding waders. With a bit of careful management of the water we should be able to put some into the reservoir as well.

We have started the annual Lapwing nest monitoring survey, this is conducted twice a week and is very time consuming but will ensure we keep an eye out for any problems which may affect the overall productivity of our birds. When out doing the survey we have noticed an increase in Redshank nesting although the number of Lapwing nests is slightly down on last years figure taken at the same date but its early days so they may pick up and get down to the business of having young.

We should being getting some livestock on site at anytime now, our graziers are planning to start bring cattle back in small numbers so that we don’t over graze the grass which is just starting to recover now that the soil temperature has risen.

Visitors to Capel Fleet will have noticed the new resting point bench installed as part of Swale Borough Council’s circular walk around Leysdown, I hasten to add that we had no input into the design of the bench but the new surface to the viewing mound has smartened things up. A replacement information graphic board has just been delivered and will be installed in the next week or so.

We are both away for different parts of April and May and although not together regular visitors may not see too much of us around. Rest assured one of us will be on site doing our best to keep Elmley as good as we can.

Nick and Lyndsey your Assistant Wardens at Elmley.

Are you sitting comfortably?

Lyndsey — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:01:53 GMT

The reserve team have been preparing for spring by finishing off the last of the reserve work and getting organised for the breeding season. We monitor the breeding lapwing very closely recording their productivity, as well as monitoring the predation levels. This has involved completing the modifications to the electric fence that surrounds the flood and the compartments towards Spitend and having everything in place for our volunteer team to commence monitoring as soon as we see the first Lapwing sitting on a nest. Monitoring usually starts in the last week of March but with the mild weather we have been experiencing the birds may try to catch us out, we are ready for them.

The last of the sheep left the reserve today (Friday) to go off to their home farm to lamb in the next week or so. It was sad to see them all go as it means for the time being we do not have any livestock on site. The grass on the reserve will get a well-deserved break before last years ewe lambs are put back out the graze. It will not be long before the cattle are back either, depending on the rate of grass growth we should see animals back within a month. The cattle and sheep are very important to maintain a good sward to allow us to attract the variety of birds to the reserve.

You will notice the flood in front of the hides has quite a high level of water on it although we would want it a little higher so that the slightly higher rills get some water. Unfortunately, we are running out of stored water and unless we get a significant rainfall we will not be pumping for very much longer. On the upside, so far March has surpassed the February total rainfall figure; let us hope the trend continues.

Nick

A message from Gordon Allison's parents

Alan Else — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:35:29 GMT

"Carol and Jim Allison would like to express our grateful thanks to all Gordon's friends and colleagues who have been such a great support to us during the last few weeks. We have been greatly encouraged by all the wonderful cards, letters, emails and comments on blogs, posts etc.

We have also been moved by the depth of feeling for Gordon which has been expresses by so many of his long standing friends. But we also had a smile at some of the comments about Gordon's unique style.

Gordon's dad and brothers, Stuart and David also appreciated greatly the chance to meet so many of his friends and colleagues at the Ferry Inn. The atmosphere was genuinely a celebration and just as if Gordon was there as guest of honour.

It was also good that the whole family had a chance to meet those who made the long journey up to Glasgow for the funeral.

Once again, thank you for all your support - it has been truly appreciated."

Happy Pumping

Lyndsey — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:08:03 GMT

Compared to the last couple of week’s cold weather, this week has been glorious. We have had a good number of visitors out enjoying the sights and sounds of early spring. The most notable and watchable signs being the lapwing displaying with the males starting to hold their territory. These acrobatic birds can keep anyone captivated for hours with their rolling and tumbling display flight, and their distinctive calls.

Although we haven’t got the high numbers of past years, waders and wildfowl have started to increase, especially noticeable on the flood in front of the hides. As... I’m sure by now.... most people have heard; it has been a very dry season. We have not had the levels of water that allow us to pump and flood the reserve to create the shallow pools and rills most favoured by breeding waders. However, the small amount of water we have got stored in our reservoir we are using wisely.

Our course of action this year is to concentrate on two main areas. These being the main scrape in front of the hides and the second scrape towards Spitend to the East of the reserve. These have proven to be the most popular and successful areas on the reserve for the breeding waders and wildfowl in the past and so we are going to do our best to maintain these areas, particularly over the spring.

Notable highlights of the week for staff and visitors have been 2 rough legged buzzards over Kingshill farm and also watching a large group of roosting Knots being troubled by a Peregrine one evening on Wellmarsh pool.

The North Kent marshes team wants to thank everyone for their very kind wishes and words for Gordon, he is going to be greatly missed. All donations received will go towards a memorial at Northward Hill, a place Gordon worked prior to his arrival at Elmley and was very fond off.

Gordon Allison

Alan Else — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:16:00 GMT

for those who have not yet heard, we have some very upsetting news:

Rainham Marshes blog

Not Elmley

Gordon Allison — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:54:20 GMT

A friend of mine came over to the island today to do a bit of winter birding. The recent cold snap has frozen the reserve, with the result that most of the bird interest stays outside the seawall on the Swale. As a result, we decided to head elsewhere today. First stop was the beach at Minster, on the north side of Sheppey. Parking behind the bank at Scrapsgate, we walked up to the top of the shingle beach. There were lots of waders along the water line: over 100 sanderling & 200 oystercatcher were the most numerous, but there were also redshank, dunlin, turnstone, knot & a couple of bar-tailed godwit. Nice though this was, it wasn't what we were looking for. Heading east along the top of the shingle ridge, it wasn't long before I heard a rippling call from somewhere nearby and there, c.30m away ferreting about in amongst clumps of vegetation, was a flock of 23 snow buntings. This has traditionally been a good spot for snow buntings, but it's the first flock I've seen here for some time. They performed superbly, occasionally flying off over the coast road, but always coming back to their favoured area of shingle. Bouyed by our success, we headed first to the bay at Leysdown, where there was very little bar a few gulls; and then to Shellness. Having missed high tide, most of the roosting waders were now moving off, but there were still hundreds of knot & oystercatcher along the beach, with smaller numbers of dunlin, black-tailed godwit, grey & ringed plover and a few avocet. Offshore, the only thing of note were a few kittiwakes feeding around the cable-laying vessel that's been in the Swale for a while now. 3-400 brent geese were seen flying off the fields by Harty Church out onto the Swale. Cutting our losses in a very cold wind, we next headed to the RSPB fields at Harty, pausing by Muswell Manor to watch 3 ruff feeding in a paddock with a single lapwing. On arrival at Harty, we were met with the sight of a hunting short-eared owl & a ring-tail hen harrier. Even better, the harrier flushed a flock of c.30 birds that landed in the grass very close to where we were stood on the footpath: Lapland buntings! Whether it was the time of day or the weather or what, I don't know, but they seemed oblivious to our presence, running through the grass like small mammals. Despite seeing the flock land, once on the deck it was impossible to actually see more than a handful of birds at any one time. We watched for 10 minutes as they scurried back out across the field until they once again vanished from view. As time was now getting on, Capel Fleet was the obvious place to end the day. The temperature by this stage was now firmly sub-zero, so the Raptor Viewpoint was endured long enough to get fine views of another couple of short-eared owls and another ring-tailed hen harrier and then we headed to the western end to investigate some geese that I'd seen in the distance. We paused en route to enjoy a small flock of corn buntings in a roadside hawthorn, another ruff and a dashing merlin, zipping low across the fields. From a roadside pull-in we checked the large goose flock out on the arable - plenty of greylags & assorted "farmyard" varieties, but also at least 150 white-fronts. Light & distance prevented us seeing if there were any other grey geese with them, but our attention was distracted anyway as a pale, wavering form appeared between us and the geese - a hunting barn owl. And a fitting end to a rather cold, but very satisfying day in the field.

Out and about

Gordon Allison — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:53:02 GMT

Compared to some of the glorious winter weather we've experienced recently, today wasn't too inspirational, but the team took the opportunity to get out "in the field" anyway. A quick check first of the Elmley livestock: all the cattle have now gone until the spring, with only the sheep remaining. We had to pause briefly to right a "rolled" animal - at this time of year, with a heavy fleece, sheep that get stuck on their backs can't get up on their feet themselves. One of the reasons we carry out daily checks. Moving through the reserve, we paused briefly at Great Bells Farm to the north, where a female merlin was lurking with intent on a section of ditch spoil, before heading east to Capel Fleet & Harty. We had a good close look at the new RSPB fields at Harty to discuss the best way to manage them in the short term. There are still a lot of skylarks feeding in the fields, but we only saw one Lapland bunting (although I was told later that there are still 30+ around). A couple of bearded tits called from Capel Fleet & there was a small flock of linnets bouncing around. No birds of prey seen, although the weather wasn't great for them. However, we did find what was left of a short-eared owl along one of the ditches. Putting on our CSI badges, we noted a couple of owl pellets, so assumed that the owl was roosting there. The feathers scattered around had been bitten through - a sure sign of a fox. Had the owl been surprised by a fox at roost? But the droppings amongst the feathers didn't look like fox - maybe more mustelid. Could a stoat or mink have done for the owl initially and a fox had scavenged what was left? I guess we'll never know for sure.

After lunch, we carried out the Elmley reserve WeBS count. The Wetland Bird Survey is a national monthly high tide count co-ordinated by the British Trust for Ornithology. Ideally, all the counts are carried out on one designated day. But this month in Kent, the actual date of the count saw high tide at 4am or 4.40pm. Not ideal. So we did it today. As usual, the most numerous species were lapwing & wigeon: 3500 of the former & 2800 of the latter. Other peaks included 2500 dunlin, 1000 teal & 550 shelduck. Reasonable counts, but well down on "normal" winter totals. Additionally, the rough-legged buzzard was reported again from Spitend hide, along with a great white egret; and there were peregrine, merlin & buzzard around the reserve. A spotted redshank was seen again and a water rail scurrying across the track was an unexpected surprise.

Mr Blue Sky

Gordon Allison — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:27:00 GMT

The weather over the past few days has, by & large, been fantastic! Gloriously sunny days, light (or even no) winds, crisp & clear. On Saturday afternoon, the visibility was so good that, looking through my 'scope from Kingshill Farm, I could pretty much count how many people (12 - 15 I thought) were up on the Capel Fleet raptor view point more than 8km to the east! And picking out a couple of red-breasted merganser and a single female goldeneye amongst the hundreds of wigeon, teal, shelduck and pintail on the Swale at Sharfleet was a doddle! Not a ripple on the water. Still, I've said it before and will doubtless say it again over the next few weeks (unless things change drastically) - I wish it would rain. A LOT!! It may still be the middle of January, but in a few short weeks, the lapwing will be starting to wind up for the breeding season and unless the marsh is a whole lot wetter, it could have dire implications for chick survival this year. Obviously, it's good if the adults have handy local feeding areas, but it's absolutely crucial for the chicks when they hatch. They can't fly off out onto the estuary to feed if the marsh dries out.

Our (semi-) resident rough-legged buzzard has been venturing further east of late. It was seen from our furthest hide on Saturday, but I couldn't find it today. But the other regular raptors: peregrine, merlin, buzzard & short-eared owl are still putting on a good show. Having spent Tuesday & most of Wednesday cooped up indoors on a 1st Aid refresher course, on my return to the reserve mid-pm, the fabulous sunny weather was just too nice to even think about plugging in to a computer! So I took a walk down to the reserve instead. The rough-leg was sitting on the seawall out towards Elmley Hill, but had a very bright sun above it. A common buzzard or two were on the marsh north of the track. By the bench halfway to the hides, a Cetti's warbler called - a flat "plitt" sort of sound, which they sometimes extend into a more wren-like trill. It didn't show of course. Sitting on the benches at Wellmarsh, I could see a merlin & a peregrine sitting out enjoying the late afternoon sunshine; and off to the north, a small group of 6 adult Bewick's swans and a flock of 32 white-fronts. I've not seen the swans since then, but the geese are still around in varying numbers, usually with greylags. On Sunday, there were at least 2 ruff, feeding alongside the access track with a flock of lapwings & starlings. There's still a pair of stonechats on the reserve and this afternoon there was a spotted redshank calling somewhere out on the Swale. Nothing much on the Flood today - it has of course now got water on all the pools, but that was frozen.

Roughly speaking

Gordon Allison — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:07:01 GMT

With no sign of "our" rough-legged buzzard since the Bank Holiday Monday and with the gale force winds of the ensuing few days, the news of a bird on Saturday at Northward Hill reserve made me think that it was likely to be the Elmley bird relocating a bit further west. Venturing over there on Sunday, I was met with the news that there had in fact been two rough-legs seen that morning. One (a juvenile) had headed off in an easterly direction and, after a bit of a wait, the 2nd bird popped up on a fence post out from the Marshland Viewpoint. Scrutiny revealed that this was also a "text book" juvenile, with a pale head, single diffuse bar on the tail tip, lots of pale feather tips on the scapulars and an obvious pale panel on the upperwing at the base of the primaries. So not the Elmley bird after all. Other raptors seen from the viewpoint included another 3 common buzzards, 2 marsh harriers, a couple of sparrowhawks & a female merlin. Having gone that far west, before I returned to Elmley, I detoured to our reserve at Shorne Marshes, near Gravesend. Shorne Marshes is the western-most block of significant grazing marsh habitat in the North Kent Marshes and was "my" reserve before I moved over to Elmley. So I like to pop in from time to time to see what's happening. Most of the reserve is covered by the template of the Metropolitan Polices live firing range, so public access is restricted to the public rights of way that go either side of (& at one point cross) the reserve. In common with Elmley, the reserve was quite dry, but some of the marshy areas close to the shooting range produced a few snipe, as well as a couple of jack snipe. The latter are regular autumn arrivals in North Kent (although fiendishly difficult to see), but have usually moved on by this time of year when their chosen areas of marsh get ice-bound. Not this year though. Additionally, there were a couple of bearded tits in the small reedbed area and at dusk, a small flock of corn buntings flew over, on their way to roost.

Returning to Elmley, I discovered that "our" rough-legged buzzard had re-appeared (apparently, it had wandered off to Capel Fleet for at least Saturday) and other sightings included merlin and a little stint, again roosting on the Flood.

And a Happy New Year to all our followers

Gordon Allison — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:27:23 GMT

Well, here we are in 2012 and returning to Elmley after my Christmas break, I very much had a sense of deja vu, although on this occasion it wasn't just the RSPB website that I couldn't access - I couldn't connect to the internet at all! We traced the glitch to a faulty dongle and having replaced it, it's all systems go again. "Ding, dongle, merrily on high..."

The first few days of January has seen rain on every day - very welcome as, despite the reserve starting to look a bit more like a marsh, we're still a good 12" short of our abstraction point, when I can turn on the pump and really start to flood the place up. But every little helps, as they say, although I reckon we're going to need at least another 4"-5" of rainfall to get Windmill Creek up to that level. The creek has got quite a large catchment area, so it won't take 12" to get to our required level. Which is just as well, as the rainfall stats show that that's about half our annual rainfall. The stats also show that 4" is usually what we get in January & February combined, so March could be busy... Highlight of the festive period was the discovery of a rough-legged buzzard around the reserve on Christmas Eve. This is definitely a different bird to the one that spent a few weeks around Harty Marshes in November, and from the pictures that I've seen, appears quite dark and if seen perched at a distance might be tricky to seperate from a common buzzard. I've added a picture sent to me by Rocking Robin (Thanks John - that's a better view than I've had so far!), which shows the bird in flight. Note the solidly dark belly, the pale head, obviously white base to the tail and the pale bases to the primaries on the upper wing. When perched, it shows some fairly obvious buff spotting across the back. It was still around on Bank Holiday Monday, but hasn't been reported since, although conditions have hardly been ideal for raptor spotting since then.

In addition, there's been the usual buzzards, marsh harriers, peregrines, merlins, sparrowhawks & kestrels. There's been sightings of both male and ring-tail hen harrier (although they remain irregular) and there are still probably at least 5 short-eared owls around the reserve. We're also seeing from time to time a Harris hawk. This New World species is a popular falconers bird and the adults are easily identifiable, with their chocolate brown plumage, rufous shoulders & "trousers" and black & white tail, with a gleaming white rump. But this bird is an immature, is quite buzzard like and, with a white rump, could be mistaken for the rough-legged buzzard. I've added a couple of pictures from Mike Hook of the bird. Note the hefty bill, the longer tail & the beginnings of it's red "trousers". Unusually for an escaped falconers bird, there's no sign of any rings or jesses, which has led to speculation that this may be a "wild" buzzard x Harris hawk cross.

The white-front flock of 65 birds were still present over the festive period, but haven't been seen this year. Nor were there any reports from just before Christmas of the tundra bean goose that had been accompanying them. A herd of 11 Bewick's swans were seen on the 22nd and the recent stormy conditions have improved the spectacle on the Flood, with hundreds of wigeon, teal, mallard & pintail abandoning the choppy waters of the Swale for the relatively calm conditions on the reserve. Lapwing numbers are still encouragingly high, with several thousand present on any given day, with smaller numbers of golden plover. I don't often mention small birds in these round-ups, but the addition of a couple of strips of cover crops on the approach to the carpark has resulted in an impressive flock of linnet, numbering up to 200, with smaller numbers of other common finches, reed buntings & fieldfares. They ought to be a magnet for the reserves merlins & sparrowhawks! A couple of stonechats have been resident around the Flood.