RSPB Rainham Marsh 29/12/2007

[Eastside Urchin]

Todays visit on a windswept but lovely sunny morning is as follows:-

 

3 Little Grebe(2 by call only),3 grey heron,2 Mute Swan

10 Cormorant (on thames,100+ greylag and 50+canada geese

2 Little Egret,88 Barnacle Geese(in field at back of scrape)

1000+wigeon,many teal,pintail,shoveler,mallard

2 kestrel,moorhen,coot,golden plover(on scrape),1500+ lapwing

knot,dunlin(on thames),3 snipe,black tailed godwit(on far scrape 20+),black head gull (500 plus),lesser black back gull,great black back gull,common gull(1),herring gull,wood pigeon,collared dove,Barn owl(briefly in box),kingfisher,Grn Woodpecker,Grey wagtail,3 pied wagtail,3 dunnock(woods),blue tit,great tit,robin,

5 stonechat,blackbird,fieldfare,song thrush,redwing,magpie,jackdaw,rook,carrion crow,starling,chaffinch,greenfinch,goldfinch,reed Bunting

 

A good morning although i would of liked another couple of hours to see some raptors if any more than the two were about.

 

[Ian_Sanderson]

amazing

[Eastside Urchin]

not really,just an ordinary day but one worth getting up for

[Dagger03]

36 barnacles still there - big flock of goldfinch on the upper path - up to 200. Nice male stonechat summer plumage on same path. Kestrel sitting on pole nearby. Over 1000 lapwing, nearly as many wigeon, little egret is back, swan, starling, crow, greenfinch, small flock of pipits (sorry not sure which - might have been water pipit), sparrows (quite a lot), shoveler, peregrin, wood pigeon, mallard, tufted, coot, bh gulls, gbb gull, cormorant, largish mixed finch flock near centre.

 

Green woodpecker was reported.

 

UM - any idea what the brownish streaked bird is that is flying with the goldfinch near to the centre - this is the second time I have seen it.

[Eastside Urchin]

are you sure its not a female chaffinch????

[Dagger03]

No - not a female chaffinch - I think it was a juvenile or female linnet - it's been flying with the goldfinch, but is not a junvenile goldfinch. It sometimes sits on the tree just to the left of the centre where the feeders are.

 

I followed the upper path today (forgetting that you cannot move down to the lower path) - which in turn meant I did not get a close up of the barnacles - but alongside the grassed area of the rubbish tip, there were two very large flocks of goldfinch - must have been 200 in all. Also a really colourful male summer plumage stonechat.

[Eastside Urchin]

i had a couple of nice male stonechats in summer plummage.

I am going over there again tomorrow as i want to walk down the upper path towards the tip and back,i will keep an eye out,hopefully i should beat 52 species tomorrow as i will be over there from about 8.30-4

[cantos]

Originally Posted By: urchin_mentalist

i had a couple of nice male stonechats in summer plummage.
I am going over there again tomorrow as i want to walk down the upper path towards the tip and back,i will keep an eye out,hopefully i should beat 52 species tomorrow as i will be over there from about 8.30-4

Thanks for the info,it will give me plenty of time to rob your house.

[Dagger03]

UM - if you take the upper path, is there any way to get to the lower path without having to go all the way back to the reserve centre?

 

The big goldfhinch and mixed finch flocks are about two miles from the centre, on the grassy area near the tip.

 

To take the upper path, it is possibly easier and quicker if you drive along Ferry Lane and then park at the little lay by where the road swings to the right - this saves about a mile and a half walk from the centre.

 

 

[Eastside Urchin]

haven't left yet as i got up this morning and felt like sh1te,but am going in an hour or so.

There is no way down to the reserve unless you go back to the centre which is a bit of a bum,there is a gate(green) which you go through when the warden does the wednesday walk but this is usually locked,i will have a look to see if you can get round it but i did try this last year and couldn't get round

[Eastside Urchin]

dagger this is off the East London Birders Forum for what was seen at rainham 30/12/2007

 

36 Barnacle geese,120 black tailed godwit,3 short eared owls,pair peregrine,220 greylag,75 canada geese,1900 lapwing,50 gloden plover,cetti warbler,20 curlew,15 rook,120 linnet,6 rock pipit,15 skylark,35 meadow pipit,255 ringed plover,12 stonechat,20 reed bunting,12 house sparrows,water rail,2 common sands,120 redshank,100 dunlin,kestrel,shelduck,grey wagtail