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Dr Hoo
Saturday 27th February 2021
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With a forecast for light winds and sun all day we needed somewhere away from the crowds and so opted for Cliffe. The car park still being closed at weekends we saw the expected mass of cars parked outside but found a space without too much difficulty. Now at the beginning of the year there are always a few common species that elude me - so it was that a Greenfinch singing as we put our boots on was #90 for the year (such a shame that these lovely songsters have declined so much). Now our plan was to avoid the crowds so we headed back along Salt Lane away from the reserve and turned right down to West Court Farm - the road goes around the farm and then we had a great view of the flooded fields South of the farm which were full of wildfowl - Teal, Shelduck, Wigeon, Coot, Four Grey Herons and three Little Egrets with Skylark, Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtails flitting around. Then took the footpath NW through the gravel works and then the path beside the wall between Alpha Pool and the Timber Lake. Plenty of Shoveler, Gadwall, more Wigeon and Tufted Duck on Timber Lake with Lapwing on the edge. At the end of the wall here, we stopped for coffee and a scan over Alpha Pool and Higham Marshes. Plenty of Greylag and both a Kestrel and a Marsh Harrier hunting. We then spotted a pair of Red-breasted Merganser on Alpha Pool along with plenty of Great Crested Grebes and Little Grebes (but sadly couldn't find the reported Slavonian Grebe). It was nice to be able to spend some time sitting without getting too cold for a change. We then spotted a Chiffchaff (#91 for the year) in the scrubby area below us along with a mixed flock of Linnet and Goldfinch. As we walked North towards Cliffe Fort a female Reed Bunting posed for us and then we spotted a huge flock of Wigeon on the Thames, along with numerous waders on the old structures/wrecks in the river - Redshank, Turnstone and Dunlin along with Cormorant. Good to see that the Saxon Shore Way has been repaired here (last year it was crumbling away into the river). A stop by Cliffe Fort for lunch and then we continued around the Fort and alongside Cliffe Creek - full of Teal as usual and with a few Avocets feeding. Turning up to the Flamingo Pool (I wonder how many in the group remember when it really did have Flamingoes on it!) we added Stonechat and had great views of some Goldeneye and at least 16 Ringed Plover. Continuing SE next to the Flamingo Pool we saw plenty more Goldeneye (at least nine - probably more) and the escaped Black Swan was still on the Ski Pool. We then realised that a good proportion of the gulls out on the islands were Meditteranean Gulls (#92 for the year list), at least a hundred and some looking splendid in full summer plumage. We also counted over 40 Pintail (one of my favourite ducks). A great day in lovely weather - we avoided most of the crowds (although there were more people even over that side than I've seen before) and we had 58 Species (plus Black Swan)
Thank you Vince. Dr Hoo

The North Kent Marshes are a very special area and worth preserving at all cost.