Rainham RSPB and Barking Bay

August 16th

Rainham RSPB

I followed my normal route as I arrived at the Reserve, firstly the river –sea wall to the Bay and then onto the Marsh, it was overcast and grey but thankfully not raining.Definately a morning for Ring Necked Parakeets as they were constantly overhead in 1’s and 2’s, I ended up with 15 of them by the time I reached the Bay, all coming from Kent.
Best birds by far on the river though went to 2 juvenile Mediterranean Gulls together going up river, 2 Oystercatchers and a single Whimbrel were on the mud but little else in the way of waders.

The reserve however was much more rewarding with a male Marsh Harrier seen distantly hunting, this put up a flock of 17 Snipe and there were also 12 Little Egrets in the air. There is so much growth now the Target Pools are getting hard to view unless you are in the new hide, hoping for better views I carried onto the Pools.

Distant Marsh Harrier

This was looking very good with some exposed mud along the far bank, good numbers of Wildfowl were also seen 38 Teal and probably half that number of Gadwall and Shoveler.Waders were well represented with a female Ruff, 3 Juv Dunlin, Green Sandpiper and 11 Black Tailed Godwits.
I searched for the Little Stint and Wood Sandpiper that were present the day before but it was not to be, even the new scrape with some good exposed mud failed to deliver any type of wader.

It was still early so I then headed for………..


Barking Bay

The large expanse of mud on arrival failed at first to produce any waders, Shelduck were well represented as usual along with god knows how many Black Headed Gulls.
The Bay scrub has always been one of the best places to find local Whinchats and so it proved today with a group of 4 located in the scrub, although not great light they did prove quite cooperative for a photo. Much of this was due to the fact that all 4 were keeping an eye on a Sparrowhawk have a bit of fun with one of the Kestrels, a pity I was not closer I may well have got some decent shots.

Whinchat

Not to complain though as the 4 Whinchats were a pleasure to see and rivalled the 2 juv Med Gulls seen earlier as birds of the morning.
Overhead I picked up 9 Swifts during the morning and the rising tide now also provided 5 Common Sandpipers down near the Jetty and a single Ringed Plover making the most of the remaining mud.

A single Common Tern was the only Tern seen throughout the morning, roll on the Easterlies, they usually provide some good birds down the Thames.

Barking Outfall

August 12th


With autumn now starting it will not be long before the winter birds arrive, the Outfall has always been a winter site and produces far more birds in the cold period due to the food pumped out at the Outfall. It is a magnet and in the really cold periods it is not unusual for there to be 600 Teal here.
On arrival this morning early a.m. the first birds seen were 5 Teal so it is starting already, in the coming months they will start arriving in earnest along with Redshank and Black Tailed Godwits.

This morning’s visit also coincided with the high tide, a pair of ever present Oystercatchers were making the most of it before being pushed off, I decided to check the small trees and scrub area for migrants. I firstly came across a group of Warblers that included 3 Chiffchaff, Blackcap, a single Garden Warbler and 2 Willow Warblers, further back a Cetti’s Warbler was alarm calling.
A lot of work has been done to enhance the Creek path and the new overflow off the Creek is now looking good and more natural, I expect soon they will open the Creek walkway.

Creek Flooding area

Returning to the Outfall produced 2 groups of Common Tern, 9 and 7 and there were 9 Common Sandpipers in the roost, the best count by far for a long time.
A single Curlew was also seen along with 2 flyover Yellow Wagtails.

The rising tide had also bought in a massive shoal of Thick Lipped Mullett, they were actually out muscling the Black Headed Gulls for food pickings and because of their size presumably the resident Cormorants were ignoring them.
I at first thought they were spawning as I have seen Carp behaving in the same manner but surely it is too late now for spawning, whichever it is, it was a spectacular sight to see them churning up the surface.

Just part of the hordes of Black Headed Gulls

Competing Thick Lipped Mullett

After this I headed into the sewage works, carefully negotiating Security with the berserker German Shepherd, the dog seriously wants to take lumps out of my arse. Pied Wagtails were everywhere as usual but a nice addition to the Patch list was 11 Sand Martins feeding over the sludge tanks. It is possible that they may even breed on site as I found a series of man-made holes in the side of a concrete building that the Martins may well be using for nest holes, I will check again next week.

With the addition of Sand Martin, Garden and Willow Warbler the patch list now stands at 93, hopefully August will bring some migration and river movement to reach the ton.

Two Tree Island

Saturday August 11th

An early morning start, first briefly at Canvey Point before heading round to Two Tree Island to catch the rising tide.

The Marina roost produced 12 Sandwich Terns laying up along with a good number of Common Gulls doing the same, autumn is here.
I only gave it around 30 minutes before heading round to Two Tree Island, as I drove through Hadleigh the Olympic Mountain Bike event was already becoming apparent with personnel and services everywhere.

The Olympic Moutain Bike course from Two Tree Island

Catching the tide right produced an eventual count of 540 Black Tailed Godwits, a lowish tide had them spread out all along the Creek, over a 100 were in the reserve along with 2 Ringed Plovers and 6 roosting Greenshank.
6 Bar Tailed Godwit were on the outer creek before it flooded along with 4 Whimbrel dotted around, like the Bar Tails they did not roost and were still feeding in the muddy margins. Some movement was noted in 8 Yellow Wagtails overhead, a calling Golden Plover and the odd Swift going through.

Curlew, Whimbrel and Redshank

A spectacular sight was a female juvenile Peregrine duffing up the wader roost out on the Salting’s, possibly suggesting local breeding.
A good visit, a hoped for Whinchat or Wheatear never showed, with the cracking weather I expect many migrants are just going straight through but then again it is still early.

Dad?

Juvenile Green Woodpecker in the garden

Barking Bay - Heavyweight Gulls

August 5th 

Now we are into August I will start stepping up the visits as autumn migration will soon be upon us, last year the large expanse of mud and the scrub produced some good birds.
The scrub area has always been a Wheatear magnet, especially the short cropped grass patch and it was for here I made for along the green sward.

En route I picked up Common Sandpiper, 5 Black Tailed Godwit, 2 Ringed Plover and 2 fully fledged groups of juvenile Shelduck out on the edge of the mud, tagging along with them was the hybrid now becoming a regular.
It was as I was half way down that first one Great Black Backed Gull and then a 2nd adult made themselves known with that deep guttural call and started to circle me, I have seen this behaviour before in past years, again at the Bay. Further to this one adult started to mock dive me getting really stressed, knowing it had to have a juvenile nearby I searched the mud, presently 1 came into view, not on the mud but flying overhead. This was the confirmation that I was after as I have suspected local breeding for a good few years,(see July 11th entry) I also had no doubt that this was the pair ¼ upriver at the Beckton Lesser/Herring Colony.
In past years both Paul and I have been mock dived by stressed angry Great Black Backed Gulls, at all those times we have not been able to locate a juvenile so it was good to have the proof at last.

Stressed adult Great Black Backed Gull

Juvenile G B B Gull approaching

The behaviour of the big Gulls seemed to have rubbed off on a pair of Lesser Black Backed as well as they started to dive me also, if anything coming even closer than there bigger relative, again it was due to a fledged juvenile being present in the sky. Bearing in mind that the colony is round the bend upriver, both the Greats and Lessers behaviour suggested that both were freshly fledged from the colony, very likely making their way down to Gull utopia, Rainham Tip.

As mentioned before I am not a Gull man and the differences between juvenile Great Black Backed and Lesser Black Backed Gulls had me scratching my head, they are very similar with differences in plumage marginal. Obviously GBBG is bigger but at times I must admit it gave me a headache trying to split them, judge for yourselves from the photos, hopefully I have got it right.

Adult L B B Gull

Rather stressed

Juvenile L B B Gull

Swifts were also on the move with 14 seen all going south across the river and an unexpected patch addition added to the list in the shape of a Great Spotted Woodpecker, the year list now stands at 101.Another 14 Black Tailed Godwits were also seen going down river.

An interesting visit, no Wheatears unfortunately but they are no doubt on the way.


Lancaster Bomber
Whilst sitting in my 2nd floor flat in Hornchurch on Saturday afternoon glued to the tele watching the Olympics, which has been brilliant, I heard a very loud aircraft approaching. I had an idea what it was as it got ever louder as there was a Military Aircraft show on locally over the weekend. With a start that Usain Bolt would have been proud of, I ran for the camera in the other room and managed to return just as it came right over the Flat.

I squeezed off a couple of shots before it went round the trees, and then one as it lined up probably for a low flypast as it had put it wheels down,. I can’t imagine it landing at the airstrip near Cely’s Wood as it is too small.

A stunning sight so low down, the noise of the 4 engines was incredible.

All quiet on the Western Front

August 1st


As I have mentioned before in the blog, West Thurrock Marshes was once my main patch a few years back but a combination of disturbance by moto x bikes and dodgy remote parking made me question covering it anymore.
It is a good patch otherwise, winter wader numbers are very high for the London area, and it most likely holds the most significant numbers of feeding and roosting Redshank and Dunlin for London, it yearly turns up the highest counts of Avocet every winter.

The large mudbanks looking towards the QE 2 Bridge

Stone Point - a Curlew favourite roost, Saltmarsh adjacent

Art and Nature

I can still remember finding a Grey Phalarope there a good few years back and briefly photographing a Warbler that on the limited views looked good for Bonelli’s, Dartford Warbler and Grey Partridge have all put in an appearance also. Grey Partridge is now a very hard bird to find in the London area.
Sadly though the site looks as if the Moto Crossers have again took the place over after they were virtually stopped a few years back with heavy duty gates, fencing and regular Police patrols.
The massive rocks put in place to stop them entering the site have been rounded; they have simply smashed the entire bramble down and gone round the rocks in 2 or 3 places. The bolts holding the fencing in place have been removed or sheared off and the fencing just pulled round so they can enter the site.

Damaged fencing

Rocks to prevent access

Bramble cut down, flattened and rocks rounded

What the site badly needed a few years back was for the RSPB to get involved with it, being close to Rainham would have benefited both sites as West Thurrock once held large numbers of waders on the old ash lagoons. Being a Brownfield site no doubt it will one day mean that it comes under the Government hammer and another East London site will be lost, a pity as the site has enormous potential as a local Nature Reserve.

On my walk down the sea wall this morning I was hopeful of some waders on the large expanses of mud but other than Oystercatchers, which numbered 11; these were the only waders present, early days yet.
Common Terns are starting to build in numbers with 14 seen all going up river, good to see some juveniles with them also.
Elsewhere I had 8 Swifts overhead going south along with 3 Swallows and a Little Egret was fishing near the Saltmarsh, the Saltmarsh vegetation was very thick and consequently no Snipe were encountered, again rather early for these.
I didn’t walk the woodland but just covered the sea wall, the graffiti as ever was very colourful, some of them are very talented I must say.
Walking back produced very little, should be Wheatears soon.

Juvenile Peregrines disputing a Ring Necked Parakeet at a London site - note Magpies waiting for scraps

Rainham RSPB

July 29th

I had planned to go to London to check on the Parliament peregrines but the Olympics has put paid to that visit with the cycling event, traffic would be a nightmare so I gave it a miss.I don’t watch cycling that much, the Tour De France now and then but watching the men’s event yesterday very much looked as if we were left high and dry by the other countries in the chasing pelaton.( I know, I have just learnt what a Pelaton is, before Saturday I didn't have a clue.)
Instead I treated myself to an early walk round Rainham RSPB, early on it was nice and sunny with good Dragon and Butterfly activity, bit of a contrast as I write this, it’s now raining with thunder to accompany it.
A rising tide as I walked down the sea wall produced 4 Whimbrel, a Common Sandpiper, 3 Redshank and 4 Oystercatchers, no sign of any Black Tailed Godwits on the mud, they do seem to favour up river more for foraging.

Entering the reserve showed lots of Darters, mostly Ruddies with many Butterflies showing including Small Tortoiseshell, I was looking hard for Emeralds Damselflies all over the reserve; I have had them there in past years but not to be today.

A hunting female Marsh Harrier showed briefly near the pylons and the usual Tiercel Peregrine was resting up on one of them. On reaching the Pools the 1st signs of autumn were apparent with 6 returning Teal amongst 50+ Lapwing and another Whimbrel sitting out the high tide.
I had earlier seen 2 small groups of Swifts, as I was scanning for the Harrier I picked up a very large group of Swifts feeding over the Landfill and Wennington Marsh, a conservative count was easily 80+, all no doubt on their way out.

To round off the walk, I picked up a Little Ringed Plover on Purfleet Scrape and 2 Common Terns heading off the reserve back to the river, a good walk.

Caught up with this Common Tern earlier in the week