Sunday 8th January 2023 RSPB Shellness on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent

 

Sunday 8^th January 2023

Isle of Sheppey

East Grinstead RSPB Local Group

(12 members present)

 

Trip Report

Despite the adverse weather, we decided to go ahead with this trip, albeit a day later than planned to take advantage of the better forecast.  Thankfully the rain held off but the very strong winds proved challenging at times. 

Expectations are always high on Sheppey.  We had a wish list that included hen harrier, short-eared owl, corn bunting and white-fronted goose as well as a selection of shorebirds.  Thankfully, we managed to see most, but not all, of these species, producing a species count of over 50 for the day.

The trip divided naturally into 3 parts.   The morning was spent at Shellness NNR, walking along the old sea wall to the hide.  After returning to the car park at lunchtime we headed out to the banks of the Swale to catch up with the shorebirds driven in by the incoming tide.  The last port of call was to the raptor viewing point at Capel Fleet.

 

 

Walking along the old sea wall to the hide

Apart from a reed bunting and a very vocal skylark, the early session was dominated by the large birds – raptors and geese.

·         Pick of the raptors was the peregrine, perched on a post in the adjacent field.  There were also kestrels, buzzards, marsh harriers and a raven around.

                                                                                   Kestrel - courtesy of Patrick Sullivan

 

·         The white-fronted geese were a delight to see, with well over 100 of these lovely winter visitors. 

Courtesy of Alison Playle

 

·         Brent geese were everywhere, filling the skies beautifully – there must have been over 1000 present. 

Courtesy of Alison Playle

 

 

·         Star billing however went to the 100+ barnacle geese that we saw on the ground as we approached the hide at the end of our long outward journey.  

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

 

 

On the banks of the Swale by the WWII concrete observation post.

The Surbiton & District Bird Watching Society were also visiting Sheppey today.   After lunch we joined them at the observation point by the River Swale to look for shorebirds.  We had to do battle against a gale force wind but we succeeded.   Most species were present but bird counts were well down on last year, reduced to about a quarter of the 2022 figures.

·         Oystercatchers were the largest group present.  There were also good numbers of grey plover, ringed plover and turnstone.

Turnstone – courtesy of Alison Playle

 

Ringed plover- courtesy of Patrick Sullivan

 

Grey plover - courtesy of Alison Playle

 

 

·         There were small groups of dunlin but we had to work hard to pick them out from the assembled masses.

The problem was that most of the waders were facing away from us and huddled together for protection against the wind, making it very difficult for us to ID them.

·         Knot was perhaps the hardest species to pick out but again we stuck at it until we made the ID. 

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

·         A lone sanderling was surprisingly easy to locate.  It was moving around in its characteristic busy style and was by far the smallest wader there as well as the most mobile .

 

 

RSPB Capel Fleet

It was quite a relief to relocate inland, away from the strong coastal winds.

Courtesy of Patrick Sullivan

 

·         Just before we arrived at the viewing mound, we saw a group of 30+ corn buntings in the bushes in a field off to our left.  Unfortunately we were not able to stop and take pictures.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree

 

Courtesy of Patrick Sullivan

·         Whilst the photographers, now armed with their cameras, left to look for the corn buntings the rest of us assembled on the viewing mound and soon enjoyed our first sight of a cracking barn owl in a field north of us.

·         Afterwards we were further rewarded with good views of a ringtail hen harrier as it flew past us, high in the sky.

·         Thankfully, the barn owl put in another lengthy appearance, much to the delight of the photographers who had now returned.

·         Marsh harriers, kestrels and buzzards were frequently seen but there was no sign of any short-eared owls.

·         By now people were beginning to drift away for home.  John and Joy, the last to leave, were witness to an altercation between a peregrine and a ringtail hen harrier a well- deserved reward for your patience and persistence.

 

 

Species List:  Isle of Sheppey

 

Name:	Count:		Name:	Count:
Barn Owl	1		Knot	27
Barnacle Goose	2		Lapwing	28
Black-headed Gull	3		Linnet	29
Blackbird	4		Little Egret	30
Brent Goose	5		Magpie	31
Buzzard	6		Mallard	32
Carrion Crow	7		Marsh Harrier	33
Cetti's Warbler	8		Mute Swan	34
Chaffinch	9		Oystercatcher	35
Collared Dove	10		Peregrine	36
Coot	11		Pheasant	37
Cormorant	12		Raven	38
Corn Bunting	13		Red-legged Partridge	39
Curlew	14		Redshank	40
Dunlin	15		Reed Bunting	41
Dunnock	16		Robin	42
Goldfinch	17		Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon	43
Great Black-backed Gull	18		Rook	44
Grey Heron	19		Sanderling	45
Grey Plover	20		Shelduck	46
Greylag Goose	21		Shoveler	47
Hen Harrier	22		Skylark	48
Herring Gull	23		Starling	49
House Sparrow	24		Stonechat	50
Jackdaw	25		Turnstone	51
Kestrel	26		White-fronted Goose	52
			Woodpigeon	53
species count = 53

 

Thanks to our members for their wonderful support today. 

Special thanks to all three of our photographers for the lovely images.

 

Our most challenging trip for some time!

 

Bob Hastings

2023 species count = 84