Trip reports

Stodmarsh Reserve - by Frank Clark

Sunday, 23 August 2009

This reserve in Kent is approximately 240 ha in size and has the largest reedbeds in the southeast of England. Split into two distinct areas, Stodmarsh and Grove Ferry, English Nature has been responsible for significant improvements to the site. With recent rarities such as Black-Winged Pratincole, Red-Footed Falcon and Purple Heron we all hoped that something good would turn up.

A Spotted Crake had been present at the Grove Ferry end of the reserve for almost a week and had been viewable from the raised ramp. As a result 4 of us decided to pop in there first to see if we could locate this extremely secretive bird. Unfortunately, although we were told which area the bird had last been seen in, after 30 minutes, we had not been able to locate it. It was now time to leave the viewing ramp to get to the meeting point at Stodmarsh for 09.30, knowing that we would get another chance to look for the bird when we got to this area later that afternoon.

In total 10 of us meet at the car park, behind the Red Lion Pub in Stodmarsh Village. Heading out towards the reedbed hide, we found good numbers of Blue Tit, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting and several calling Cetti's Warbler were heard. This reserve was where the Cetti's Warbler first established itself as a breeding bird in the UK and is now home to several dozen breeding pairs. A very secretive species of bird, the size of a House Sparrow, this plain brown bird has a distinctive narrow stripe over its eye. It tends to keep low in dense thickets only announcing its presence with its explosive call. Nearing the Lake Tower Hide we eventually got a brief view of this bird, as it flew low between 2 sets of bushes. At this point, some of the group also got a view of a hunting Hobby and going in the opposite direction a pair of Turtle Dove.

Heading off along the bank of the Great Stour heading towards the Grove Ferry end of the reserve, we had a pleasant walk whilst watching out for Yellow Wagtails amongst the horses. We did eventually find a very distant juvenile wagtail sitting on a post but could not for certain identify it as a Yellow Wagtail due to the heat haze. In the same area, on another post, we also picked up a distant chat, probably a Whinchat but again, we could not truly confirm the identity of the bird. Reaching the Tuft Fields hide and to ensure that Allan did not complain about being hungry, I decided it was time for lunch. From the hide we watched up to 12 Green Sandpiper, a single Greenshank and a single Common Sandpiper. In addition, a Water Rail put in a brief appearance on the far bank, as did 3 juvenile Bearded Tit that were feeding on the mud at the base of the reeds.

After lunch we moved on to the viewing ramp to have another look for the Spotted Crake. Whilst at the view point, we watched Grey Heron, Black-Tailed Godwit, Ruff, Snipe and Lapwing. Unfortunately, despite extensive scanning of the reeds, after an hour, we gave up on the Spotted Crake and began our walk back to the cars. Harrison hide had a little water in the scrape but it only held 2 additional Green Sandpiper, a juvenile Shelduck and 2 crows. Walking towards the Marsh hide we saw a pair of hunting Marsh Harrier flying along the bank in front of us, which was really the last new species that we were to see for the day. Reaching the cars at about 15.20, we packed up and set off for home with a total of 45 species seen.


Frank Clark