Devil Birder

Day number two of August and an excellent finish to the weekend, 3 year ticks. So I've managed 5 year ticks this weekend, one of which was a British tick.

Phil Wallace picked me up at at 1020 this morning and we headed over to Oare Marshes in the hope of getting waders and the Spoonbills that had just come through on the pager. We dropped his wife off at her parents' relatively near Oare before we got on site to find the reserve full to the brim with people. We just about found a ''parking place'' and discovered that we'd narrowly missed the Spoonbills in flight and they'd dropped out of view. We gave the east flood a bit of a grilling before preparing to head off for the Swale embankment to see if we could view the Spoonbills from a more elevated position and different angle. Here we managed a year tick for both of us; great views of five feeding adult Curlew Sandpipers which still retained much of their summer plumage . As we were getting ready to go to the bank, I spotted the three Spoonbills fly up and head roughly north west before dropping out of view some distance beyond the west hide. Relieved, we stayed where we were and searched the east flood more carefully.

Also on the east flood was at least 5 Greenshank, 12 Avocet, several Teal, 5-10 Ruff in various plumages and 2 Sandwich Terns. Two Swallows and about five Sand Martins passed through.

We did the main walk and here we had a small, Sedge Warbler-like bird that dropped into some low coastal vegetation, never to be seen again. Thoughts ran through my mind of Zitting Cisticola, especially seeing that one was seen about a week ago not so far away, at Whitstaple. We had a few Whimbrel flying around, calling, and feeding as well as a single Common Tern on the Swale, a summer plumaged adult Knot, a Turnstone, several Grey Seals on Horse Sands, my first ever Clouded Yellow butterfly and other bits and pieces. We bumped into a mutual friend, Dave Coppen, while scanning the Swale for Little Terns. Dave managed a good photo of possibly the same Clouded Yellow butterfly and gave us advice on how to track down a couple of year ticks we needed. I glanced through my scope a few times and struck lucky one time, picking out five or so feeding Little Terns, a year tick for me and a lifer for Phil. They were very distant but certainly Little Terns. Two of them were also seen on the deck. From where we were standing, next to the Swale hide, I heard a squeeling Water Rail.

Phil and I completed our anti-clockwise walk while Dave continued his walk in the other direction. Phil and I returned to the road over looking the east flood where we bumped into Phil's mate, Mick, and Dave soon joined us again. Here, we all enjoyed views of the Curlew Sandpipers, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwits, Dunlin and a Common Tern. Fifty or so Common Terns flew over us to the Swale and a couple of Whimbrel called and circled overhead.

Phil and I went to the west hide. On the way there I flushed a pair of Hobby. They flew up and started going for a Common Swift, I didn't think the falcons had much of a chance, the Swift was keeping well away and the Hobbies didn't seem to be putting in much of an effort but one of them took the Swift, and myself by surprise as it suddenly came in and snatched the bird from the skies. It  and its mate immediately flew up together, calling and flapping, as they passed the Swift, still flapping in vane, between each other and flew off. Quality.

At the west hide we saw little of interest other than three or four Yellow Wagtails feeding around a gate and a couple of cattle. We headed back to the car, picked Phil's wife up and headed home.

A brilliant day! 3 year ticks- I was worrying that this would be the first year in a fair while that I'd miss Little Tern and Spoonbill, but I got them both in one day! Also goes together nicely with the Purple Heron and Wood Sandpipers yesterday.

My year list now stands on 212.