Crystal Pool;The black-necked grebe was again seen in all its monochrome splendour with ample opportunities to compare it against its commoner cousin the little grebe of which there were dozens. Other birds on the pool included numerous pochard, tufted duck and coot. Flamingo; A flock of a thousand plus dunlin wheeled over the pool while other waders looked on. Also present: avocet, grey plover, redshank, great crested grebe and little grebe
Jason Mitchell, Warden, North Kent Marshes West.
A pretty cold morning with an average temperature of -2c to 1c, but thankfully no wind to speak of, so no chill factor to add.
High tide at Tilbury :- 17:37.
From the car-park the Black-necked Grebe was still in plain view amongst it's smaller cousins ( 15 Dabchick ) and a couple of dozen Tufted Duck, a heron huddled against the cold on the western bank, 25,Pochard, 8 Teal, 30 Coot, a Moorhen, 7 Redshank and a Green Sandpiper flew overhead.
On to Ski Pool and a noticeable lack of the smaller birds usually encountered in the undergrowth and shrubbery along the way to Creek Road ( Centre Track ).
On Ski Pool looking across towards Radar Pool, scanning left to right I counted an additional 121 Little Grebe, 125 Coot, 45 Tufted Duck. I was told about ten minutes before my arrival there had been a Common Scoter there but I couldn't find it! 12 Great Crested Grebe, 17 Pintail drakes and ducks and large numbers of Mallard, Pochard and Wigeon.
Lovely to see were a dozen or so Gadwall and half a dozen Goldeneye.
My best bird of the day was a kingfisher that peeped and landed on a rusting cars axle just over to my right, as I scoped it there was a second sitting almost next to it, then a third flew from my left and all three flew off across to Radar Pool. I count it a good day whenever I see a Kingfisher, so three at the same time is pretty special.
A Marsh Harrier quartered in the distance being seriously mobbed by a very persistant cro, they must get really pee'd off with them.
Then I bumped into Julian, the Site Manager for an exchange of info, always a pleasure to speak to one so informed !
Nothing much to speak of on the top end of Flamingo, but I did meet three new learner birders with a pair of antique binos so it was with great pleasure that I enthused them with a good view through the scope of Avocet, Redshank and a beautiful Greenshank darting in the shallows, as well as Grey Plover.
At the Thames view point with the high tide still a few hours away, good numbers of Dunlin and Redshank were feeding.
A fairly uninteresting trek to the Black Barns with only a couple of Little Egret and a Green Sandpipers as company.
B. B.s were like watery moonscapes with only two Magpie and a Pied Wagtail to catch my eye.
Then three Fieldfare landed nearby in a Hawthorn making the scene a little more interesting and stayed a while giving me superb views, as I walked back happily to the the car-park dark-time was closing rapidly, but both commoner Woodpeckers could be heard yaffling and chipping in the distance.
The North Kent Marshes are a very special area and worth preserving at all cost.