18th FEBRUARY 2007.

ELMLEY MARSHES, A CRACKING FIRST VISIT.

It’s hard to know where to begin with this report. I had trouble sleeping last night as I was so looking forward to today’s’ trip! Leon and I had been toying with the idea of going to Elmley for some time and had decided that this was the day for it. We had spoken to our friends, Terry and Liz, about the planned day out and the germ of an idea, that we could go as a small group, was born. We had kept in touch throughout the week and plans and decisions made. And so, we found ourselves outside the flats waiting for Terry and Liz for nine o’clock. We were chattering away, about nothing in particular, willing the time to pass!
We didn’t have to wait long and after we had loaded our gear into Terrys’ car and had said our ‘hello’s’, the trip began. We had discounted using the A3 and made our way through south and southeast London with the aid of Terrys’ ‘TomTom’. We made good time and stopped just before we reached the Isle of Sheppey turn off for coffee.
We were going to attend a free walk but as that did not start until two o’clock we had plenty of time to have a look around; we planned our itenary over our coffees. Capel Fleet raptor observation point and Harty Ferry were obvious choices for people who had not been to the island before hoping to do some ‘birding’.

THE SHEPPEY BRIDGE FROM THE CAR PARK

Photo: Reg Norman

Crossing onto the island we made our way towards Capel Fleet but missed the turning and ended up at Leysdown. The sign for Capel Fleet/Harty Ferry was quite indistinct so t was not surprising that we missed it! It did not take long to retrace our steps and we soon arrived at the Raptor Point. On the way to it we started to fill out our note books eagerly looking in all directions! As we drove along we passed many cars parked by the roadside; there seemed to be many people out with the same idea as ourselves.
Arriving at the Raptor Point all four of us were eagerly kitting-up whilst trying to take in all that was happening around us. It seemed that wherever you looked you could see Marsh Harriers quartering the sky, just above hedgerows and reedbanks. There is a raised area, built especially for ‘birders’, we made our way towards it but it was painfully slow progress as one or other of our small group pointed out something new to see! We could see the birds quite clearly just using binoculars and with Terrys’ ‘scope set up as well we were treated to some spectacular views. All around us, in the distance, there were huge flocks of birds flying around. They were so far away that we, as novices, could not tell what they were even with Terrys’ ‘scope! We were lucky that some of the groups did eventually come close enough (some even flying directly over us) to enable identification. From this point we could also see good numbers of water birds and ducks. We were surprised that we saw very few small birds but soon had the reason worked out; there were very few trees or other cover for the birds. We did, however, see a single Goldfinch; he was probably the bravest (or most stupid!) Goldfinch in the world as he sat in full view of any raptors that may have been passing and sang his heart out. Perhaps he was just very hard!

ACROSS THE MARSH, VIEW 1

Photo: Reg Norman

Time was passing rapidly so we decided to move on to Harty Ferry to see some waders perhaps and maybe have some food. We were a little disappointed when we arrived as there was a shooting match going on and there were no birds to be seen at all! We repaired to the Harty Ferry Inn to have some lunch. It was here that Leon led me astray and I had a pint of beer. I never was one to mix solids with food! We did not stay long as we had to make our way back to Elmley Marshes for the walk.
Once again we missed the turning due to not so clear sign posting. We ended up crossing and re-crossing the bridge on to the island to get to our destination. We noticed that the signposting was better on the way in than coming from the island itself!
We arrived with about five minutes to spare. Just enough time for some of us to see our first Little Owl in a tree by the RSPB centre! There was a Kestrel in the same tree; this was going to be a doddle! The owl flew off but the Kestrel actually moved closer and began to pose for the cameras, or so it appeared! We were then invited by the warden to drive down to the next car park to save time. We had a few moments trepidation when Terrys’ wheels started to slide about but we reasoned that we would be alright as the warden had a large 4x4 truck that could be used to pull us free if the worse came to the worst!

ACROSS THE MARSH, VIEW 2

Photo: Reg Norman

We were given a small talk about the birds that we might be able to see and then we divided into smaller groups and went to separate hides. If you have not been to Elmley before it is hard to describe just how big it is. On its’ seaward side it is miles long with great distances between hides. The hides themselves are well thought out and constructed. Those on the seaward side can be used to look out over the water or there were windows to look back over the marsh itself. We stopped at the first of these seaward hides hoping to see a great Northern Diver. On the way there we were treated to the wonderful sight of a Merlin scattering Lapwing and a flock of Starlings as it streaked across the sky. We were not to see him and the chaps from the site told us that the one that had been seen there had probably gone own with the tide that had not long changed. Terry managed to pull of an amazing feat of bird recognition; amongst hundreds of other like-sized birds he picked out two Slavonian Grebes! It must be admitted that we did not know for sure what they were but one of our ‘guides’ confirmed their identity for us. We stayed for some time at the hide watching different birds and picking up some ‘firsts’. After a while we realised that we had been left behind and so made our way back to one of the ‘inshore’ hides where we knew that the warden had headed. We arrived just as the rest of the group were leaving to go back to the car park area. We said that we would have a quick ‘shuftie’ from the hide and then join them. “You’ve just missed a Merlin!” we were informed by one smug git!
Inside the hide we quickly made ourselves comfortable; as we did a young lady, already seated, said “Look, a Merlin!” Sure enough, there was a Merlin … it had just landed right outside the hide, on a post! It really could not have been any closer and when it did move, it only moved a very short distance away! We could see, in minute detail, the patterns of its’ feathers.

ACROSS THE MARSH, VIEW 3

Photo: Reg Norman

We could not stay long at the hide and so soon moved off to join our fellow group members. As we moved towards them we noticed hat they were watching a distant object. It turned out to be another Merlin, not only coming directly towards us but just above head height. It did, indeed, fly right over us extremely low; it must have been hunting something on the other side of the sea wall as it approached it just below the level of the top surface, skimmed the surface at about three inches above ground and vanished over the top! Incredible!
Gaining the group we were asked if we saw the bird. I was sorely tempted to give them its’ ring number! We swapped stories about the birds we had seen on our visit. I had great pleasure in relating the story of the views we had of the Merlin at the hide where we had ‘just missed one’. Smug git!
We thanked our hosts and said our goodbyes; it had been a memorable day out. We made our way back to the RSPB centre, having easily extracted Terrys’ car from the mud, to have another quick look for the Little Owl and to ‘make ourselves comfortable’ for the journey home.
TomTom suggested a different way home which, we took. We were a trifle unlucky in that we were caught for a short time in a small traffic jam; nothing too serious and it did not delay us for too long. Thereafter we made very good time and were soon back to Roehampton. We asked Terry if he would mind dropping us at the village as Leon wanted to get some Chinese take-away food; he had been thinking about it for most of the journey home and was doing his impersonation of one of Pavlovs’ dogs! Terry obliged and we said our farewells. As we walked towards the ‘Ginger and Garlic’ we both suddenly remembered that they do not open on Sunday nights anymore! Leon stopped wagging his tail and only perked up a bit when I offered to buy him a beer at the ‘Angel’!

FALLNG TIDE, ACROSS THE SWALE

Photo; Reg Norman

What a fabulous day! We could not stop talking about it, the birds we had seen and the company of our new friends, Terry and Liz. As usual, when we are presented with fabulous photo opportunities we never seem to take enough! All of those that I took are presented here; Leon never took any at all! If you get a chance, visit this site!

BIRDS SEEN: Shelduck, Mute Swan, Red Legged Partridge, Rook, Greylag Goose, Coot, Cormorant, Carrion Crow, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Canada Goose, Moorhen, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Great Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Lapwing, Goldfinch, Stonechat, Blackbird, Jackdaw, Marsh Harrier, Wood Pigeon, Little Owl, Kestrel, Merlin, Great Crested Grebe, Pintail, Slavonian Grebe, Red Breasted Merganser, Ringed Plover, Common Scoter, Grey Plover, Starling, Little Grebe, Robin, Peregrine, Wigeon, Teal, Shoveller, Pochard, Gadwall.

4th FEBRUARY 2007.

BUSHY PARK, SECOND VISIT.

Another beautiful start to a day out ‘birding’! The sky was clear and although chilly had the promise of another lovely day. Leon and I met at 07:30 and walked to Roehampton Village where we were to catch the number 85 bus to Kingston. We did not have to wait long, the bus arriving soon after we did. There was no traffic on the roads and the journey seemed to finish in record time!

QUITE A COLD START!

Photo; RegNorman

Upon entering the Park we were surprised to see just how much frost there was still about; the sun was climbing steadily in the sky although it was still a little cold.
We had decided that we would follow the same general route that we had taken on our last visit as we had enjoyed ourselves so much. Next time, however, we would reverse our general direction to take in some new areas of the park.
On our way to the Leg of Mutton pond we had some excellent views of Skylarks, Reed Buntings and Stonechats. Although a little misty the birds were close enough to see quite clearly. At the pond we were to find that most of its surface was covered with ice; there were a couple of Mute Swans in the free water at the eastern end of the pond but nothing else in the way of birdlife. A few Mallard were sleep under a Willow tree but nothing else stirred.
We moved along the waterway and other ponds towards the car park hoping that the larger stretches of water would still be open. There was a good sized herd of Red Deer as we left the LOM pond. We were totally unprepared for the rather large stag that started to bellow as if in the ‘rut’ still! We were to hear him many times during the rest of the morning.

A FINE STAG

Photo: Reg Norman

The other open areas of water were still fairly clear of ice although all contained some to a certain degree. Leon found great pleasure in throwing bread onto the ice and watching the ducks trying to ‘icebreaker’ their way through to it! A Coot had the right idea … he just walked across the ice to the bread even though he did fall through a couple of times. The circling gulls went hungry, for some reason they would not actually land on the ice.
Once again we found there to be many people in the park at a very early hour, although there were no anglers this time. There were lots of photographers about; perhaps there was a competition in progress.
From the car park we left the people that had gathered to ‘feed the ducks’ and headed for the Diana Fountain. Here we found a good number of both Canada and Greylag Geese. There was also a good number of duck about and even a Cormorant sunning itself on the bank. We did not stay long but moved off towards the Queens’ Water, following it towards the Woodland Garden and The Pheasantry.

QUEENS WATER

Photo; Reg Norman

We went into the Woodland Garden and started to move around in a clockwise direction for no other reason than the first opportunity for choice was that way! We could hear many birds although seeing them was a little difficult as they tended to stay in the thickest part of the rhododendrons. I cannot say that I blame them as the temperature seemed to have dropped somewhat and it appeared to be getting slightly misty again! We came upon an Egyptian Goose that was asleep on one of the bridges that we needed to cross. He opened his eyes but did not move as we passed him, even allowing us to get fairly close enough to take some pictures!

EGYPTIAN GOOSE

Photo: Leon Rusk

Not long after this Leons’ day was made. As we walked along we noticed a bird coming towards us. It was a large cock Pheasant and was obviously used to people as it came straight up to us. Leon soon had him eating out of his hand. I don’t know who was happier, Leon or the bird!

LEONS' LITTLE FREIND

Photo: Leon Rusk

It had started to get rather dull among the trees although visibility was still quite good. We could still hear the birds moving all around us although they remained awkward to see. The sad part was seeing all of the mature trees that had been toppled in the recent storms and winds.
Finishing our circumnavigation of the Woodland Garden w crossed the clearing and entered The Pheasantry. We saw no Pheasants here! The gardeners were obviously very busy finishing the remodelling of the garden. All around was the evidence of tree and shrub clearance, new areas that had been created by these actions had been marked out with canes and spray marker for the new planting scheme?
This whole area is the domain of the dreaded Ring Necked Parakeet. This pest is almost the only thing that you can hear in the garden, they almost completely drown out all other birdsong. We were able to see and hear other small birds but it a very difficult and frustrating; I, for one, was very glad to leave the area.
Leaving the garden by a northern gate we made our way towards Teddington station where we caught a train to Barnes and then a bus on to the WWT.

STORM DAMAGE

Photo: Reg Norman

BIRDS SEEN: Pied Wagtail, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Starling, Song Thrush, Jackdaw, Robin, Wren, Great Tit, Wood Pigeon, Skylark, Reed Bunting. Ring Necked Parakeet, Mute Swan, Egyptian Goose, Coot, Mallard, Black Headed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Stonechat, Canada Goose, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Moorhen, Gadwall, Red Crested Pochard, Greylag Goose, Feral Pigeon, Cormorant, Pochard, Heron, Mistle Thrush, Green Woodpecker, Long Tailed Tit, Jay, Pheasant, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Herring Gull, Shoveller.

28th JANUARY 2007.

UNUSUAL DAY AT THE PARK.

Leon and I had decided that we would visit the park today and travel about in a different direction to the last time that we were here. The reason for this was that we were hoping to cover some different areas of ground, some of those that we had missed on our last visit. With this in mind we had caught the ‘bus at about seven o’clock and entered the park by the Robin Hood gate.
The day started very warm for the time of the year and an early light mist had cleared by the time we had walked up through the woods to the south of Test Hill. There were already many joggers and cyclists about taking full advantage of the beautiful day.
There were many birds in the trees about us, many singing away at the top of their voices. Their names were entering the list as fast as I could write! We had not gone that far when Leon spotted a Kestrel, about ten feet off the ground, flying up the hill between the banks of trees. The smaller birds had stopped singing but soon resumed their song when the raptor had passed by. At the top of the hill we took a few moments to enjoy the view back down the hill and away to Wimbledon Common.

EAST TO ROBIN HOOD GATE

Photo; Reg Norman

We then made our way towards Isabella Plantation, always a favourite with the two of us. As soon as we entered we were aware of much more birdsong; the place seemed alive with birds. The feeder area was particularly busy with Tits but, although we could hear them, we saw no Finches.
At the pond Leon proceeded to feed the ducks. This is a worrying development in his behaviour; I think that he is trying to relive his childhood! He caused yet another ‘feeding frenzy’ (See Wetandswedge The Other Sites – previous post) and I thought that some of the ducks might get injured in the melee!
All around us we noticed that many of the flowering shrubs were coming into bloom. Witch Hazel, Camellia and Rhododendron were all starting to show. There were many Heathers (or Ling?) in flower as well. I made a mental note to tell some of the ladies at work about this as I know that some of them are very interested in the plantation and its’ plants.

APPROACHING ISABELLA PLANTATION

Photo: Reg Norm

Pen Ponds were our next destination and we were in for a surprise as we made our way there. We saw a Sparrowhawk streaking across the sky, about twenty feet up, in the direction of the plantation and leaving an awful commotion behind him. We thought that we could see some Egyptian Geese in the distance and it certainly sounded like them. We moved in their general direction hoping to see what all the fuss was about. We noticed at this point that there were an increasing number of people about and that most of them were carrying either binoculars or ‘scopes. Was there something about that we were unaware of? The Vulture returned or something similar?

WITCH HAZEL, ISABELLA PLANTATION

Photo: Reg Norman

Soon, we came upon the Egyptian Geese. They had stopped flying around and making a racket and were perched in an old, dead, oak tree. We were somewhat surprised by this and it wasn’t until later that we found out that these birds do nest in trees! We watched and photographed the birds for a while before moving on to the ponds.

EGYPTIAN GEESE IN A TREE!

Photo; Reg Norman

The pond area was literally crawling with people! Apart from the usual joggers and dog-walkers, there were even more people about – all with binoculars or ‘scopes. What could be going on? I posed this question to the duck-feeder who immediately responded that it was …”the RSPB day of birdwatching, everyone has to send in their sightings!” Bloody birdwatchers, no wonder there weren’t many Finches about!
After noting the different species of birds on the water we started to make our way to the area north of the ponds, an area I had not visited for about thirty years! On the way we stopped on the bank between the two areas of water. Leon wanted to feed the ducks again! I thought that there must be something in this odd behaviour and so begged a few slices so that I might gain some insight. The best bit of the experience was watching the ‘ducks best friend’ throwing the bread with all his might, in the general direction of the birds, into the wind. The bread then rose, he watched it sail over his head, and then threw some more. He was throwing the bread forwards and feeding the crafty gulls behind him! You just had to be there!
Moving northwards up the hill, away from the ponds; I suggested that we looked for a small pond off to the left that I had not visited for many years. We soon found it and, although it seemed to be much smaller than memory allowed, it had not changed at all. Memories came flooding back of small boys hunting for tadpoles and newts. I wondered if these creatures still bred there. We did not stay long as there were no ducks for Leon to feed! At the top of the hill we stopped and looked back, as we had done before this day, at the view.

SOUTH OVER THE PEN PONDS

Photo: Reg Norman

It was at this point that our friend, Tim,’ phoned. He had come to the park to walk ‘Becks’ his Spaniel pup and suggested meeting-up at the Pen Ponds. We made our way back down the hill to meet the two of them.
Our plans changed and we walked following a different route than was planned. We did, however, still manage to cover lots of ground that we had missed on our last visit. We passed the eastern end of the ponds and it was here that we witnessed some of the worst damage of the storms a few weeks earlier. There were piles of neatly cut timber stacked and left (quite rightly) to rot. Some of the large trees were remembered from my childhood and I had quite a strange feeling of ‘something changed forever’; it made me feel quite strange for a while. I was snapped out of it by Leon explaining to Tim about how to cause a ‘feeding frenzy’ among the Coots. We then duly followed him to ‘his’ feeding station where he proceeded to FEED THE DUCKS! I was going to take a picture but found myself engrossed in the look on the dogs face; I don’t think that he could believe what he was watching!

STORM DAMAGED TREES

Photo: Reg Norman

We then took a circuitous route, via Spankers Hill wood back to the Car Park where Tim had left his car. He had kindly offered us a lift from the park to WWT Barnes which we gratefully accepted. For this minor service we popped into ‘the office’ to buy him a beer (forcing ourselves to have one!) before he made his way home and we went to the Centre.

BIRDS SEEN: Song Thrush, Blackbird, Ring Necked Parakeet, Jackdaw, Great Tit, Kestrel, Jay, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Starling, Wood Pigeon, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Robin, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Mandarin Duck, Wren, Moorhen, Chaffinch, Coot, Gadwall, Feral Pigeon, Egyptian Goose, Sparrowhawk, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Tufted Duck, Canada Goose, Shoveller, Ruddy Duck, Little Grebe, heron, Cormorant, Mute Swan, Magpie.