RSPB visit to Cliffe Pools. 21/08/2022

Nine of us turned up for this walk but we had to park in the road as the gate was locked. Then just before the appointed hour the Senior Volunteer Warden (SVW) arrived to let us in to the reserve. They say virtue brings its own reward, and it certainly did in this case. As the SVW was driving down the track to the car park a kingfisher flew across in front of him. The rest of us were not so lucky.

We decided to walk up the Saxon Shore Way to the Thames. As we walked to the path we saw the inevitable wood pigeons and heard a Cetti’s warbler in the scrub and jackdaws overhead. We stopped several times as we walked past Radar pool and saw black-tailed godwits, initially a small flock flying overhead then more on the far side of the pool. There were great-crested and little grebes, good numbers of redshanks, the first of many egrets, lapwings, avocets, tufted ducks, mallards and a single pochard. There were a few black-headed and herring gulls and a lone lesser black-backed gull. Some greylag geese flew in.

As we made our way past Flamingo pool we saw swallows, our only sighting of hirundines, and heard a chaffinch. When we reached the top of the path we had a quick look at the mudflats of Cliffe creek but they yielded nothing new. Two of our number who stayed to have a better look were rewarded by a distant whimbrel. After picking up a few linnets, we spent a fair time at the top of the pool scanning the opposite bank for the stone curlew which had been reported to be still around, but we had no luck. However, we did see a flock of Canada geese, two fly-by cormorants, several oystercatchers, quite a few shelduck with juveniles, ringed plovers, a single common sandpiper and a greater black-backed gull. There was a big flock of black-tailed godwits and one of our number managed to find amongst them a single dunlin, which promptly disappeared from view.

We agreed it was too hot to do the circuit, so we missed out on the chance to view the Black Barn pools. On the way back the rest of our group picked up two whimbrels in the same spot as previously. We returned via the Conoco track and saw a kestrel, our only raptor, and nothing new in the pools. We did get a much better view of a lesser black-backed gull than previously and found at least a dozen little egrets on the far side of Crystal pool. Then we made our way to the car park after a very pleasant walk in the sunshine, where we saw or heard 35 species.

Warren Mann

Species seen and heard

Wood pigeon, Cetti’s warbler (h), jackdaw, kingfisher, black-tailed godwit, great-crested grebe, little grebe, redshank, little egret, tufted duck, black-headed gull, lapwing, pied wagtail, avocet, swallow, greylag goose, lesser black-backed gull, pochard, herring gull, mallard, Canada goose, cormorant, starling, chaffinch, crow, oystercatcher, shelduck, great black-backed gull, dunlin, linnet, common sandpiper, ringed plover, kestrel, robin, whimbrel.