Return to Cooling Marshes

 If you have read the blog in the past, its no secret that I love the wildness of the North Kent Marshes, with more available time, I would spend a lot more time over there. At dawn you just can’t beat the sunrise as everything comes alive and the landscape is revealed.

Wednesday’s visit, dawn arrival naturally, was very rewarding and from 5.45a.m until 12.00p.m I recorded 73 species, I would expect that as the tide started to rise and more waders came to roost possibly, no doubt I could have added more.

Admittedly I was moving about and suspect if I had concentrated on the river more, I would have added Terns, possibly even Scoters to the day list.

However, a thoroughly enjoyable morning and I recorded 8 species of wader – standouts on these being 9 Whimbrel (suspect more as they were everywhere) and a couple of Bar Tailed Godwits along with a flock of Avocets feeding out on the mud.

On the drive out to it no less than 5 Corn Buntings singing, once I arrived, I checked the fields with the Cows, and it was great to see 5 Cattle Egrets feeding amongst them. Gradually becoming a more common sighting, much the same when Little Egrets first arrived, nowadays everywhere.

I watched these for a while, along with a Stoat that was just too fast for the camera, also circling overhead was a Tiercel Peregrine presumably from the Essex side as it came that way.

I was hoping for some Wheatears, only ended up with one but nonetheless as ever always great to see one, just don’t get enough of them.

A really good visit and definitely a prelude to more over the summer, quite looking forward to it already.