Trip reports

Trip to Stodmarsh

Sunday, 8 July 2007

After weeks of very strong winds and heavy downpours, it was nice to have a bright, sunny and still morning for our walk at this Natural England nature reserve situated to the east of Canterbury. As is often the case at this venue, there was a good deal of bird activity in and around the car park. A garden warbler was singing from a large hawthorn bush in one corner, and a blackcap singing in another , with wren and whitethroat calling from the surrounding hedgerow. We had good views of whitethroat feeding young and of the singing garden warbler as we made our way from the car park through the reedbed and into the trees to the south.

As we walked slowly through the heavily coppiced alder carr, there was an absence of bird song except for the powerful trill of another wren. A tree creeper was seen climbing one of the many stout trees trunks that border the fields on the reserve boundary. It is more difficult at this time of the year to see the small birds as they flit to and fro, often in silence, looking for any morsel of food in the lush green leaves of the tall trees. Patience and luck are needed to get good views, and we were rewarded with a family of long-tailed tits and later a great spotted woodpecker. Leaving the small woodland behind and following the boardwalk through the tall reeds up onto the main track, there was no sight or sound of the reported booming bittern (it must be true - it was in the local paper!).

Clouds were beginning to bubble up and drift slowly from the west, the mirror-flat waters of the lake reflecting their stately progress across the otherwise empty skies. There was no sign of any swifts, martins or swallows and none were seen all morning. Reed and sedge warblers could be heard and one reed warbler was seen collecting nesting material from tall flowering reeds, an encouraging sign of another brood, perhaps? Common terns were out on the island provided specially for them; of the ten birds counted, at least two were this year's young. These vocal birds were very active, as adult birds could be seen carrying small fish out to the island. Marsh harriers hunted over the reedbeds across the lake to the west, and one harrier obligingly flew quite low over our heads. The usual gathering of cormorants were sitting in their regular spot, perched in the tall but dying willows on the far side of the lake. In the same trees a number of little egrets were preening, their brilliant white plumage in stark contrast to the almost black of the less elegant cormorants. The waters of the lake were occupied by a small number of mallards, a couple of pairs of majestic great crested grebes (no sign of young), and a large flotilla of greylag geese. As we made our way to the river Stour, the loud call of the cetti's warbler rang out from a number of places. There was more song from a number of warblers which we had already heard, such as garden warbler, blackcap and chiffchaff, but it is nice to hear birds in reasonable numbers scattered about the reserve.

We followed the swollen waters of the river, making our way along the muddy path at the top of the bank, trying to get better views out over the marsh in search of waders or wagtails (none were seen). The lack of marshland birds was compensated for by a very nice fly-pass of a hobby snatching insects in its powerful talons and eating them in flight, as they do. On our return journey, a cuckoo was seen sitting silently in the bottom of a bush out in the marsh. Their distinct call heralds the arrival of spring; their silence is not noticed until the summer is on the wane.

As regards visitor numbers, the reserve was very quiet, which was to our advantage. This reserve is very popular with the public for a number of reasons, not all to do with nature. Today there was a lot of competition for people's time, what with the Tour de France finishing in Canterbury, the Wimbledon final, and the British Grand Prix all taking place at the same time or within a few hours of each other, but I know where I would rather be.