Shellness
Isle of Sheppey
I wanted to treat myself today so off I went bright and early up to Shellness on the Isle of Sheppey. The weather was great with little or no wind and, believe it or not, no rain.
- As it was high tide, I started by the sea and found the usual selection of sea birds, predominantly Oystercatchers, Grey Plovers, Dunlin and Shelduck.
- With hindsight this was a mistake because by the time I walked along the sea wall to the hide quite a few others had walked the same route and scared off the Richard's Pipit that the other early birders had seen.
- By way of compensation, I had smashing views of the Hooded Crow as it perched on a post in the marshes just a few metres south of the hide. At least 25 White-fronted Geese were interspersed with the Greylags in the field to the north east of the hide, making for a nice view. Brent Geese in their hundreds dominated the scene.
I was disappointed not to find any Owls or Hen Harriers, although I saw several Marsh Harriers. Even when I relocated to the raptor viewing area at Capel Fleet the same result occurred. I would dearly have loved to stay for the afternoon session and roost but alas I had to get home.
Not bad - 16 additions to my rear list and a couple of "stand out" species - but not quite up to the experiences of previous visits.
Additions to BUBO 2016 UK Bird List:
75 Corn Bunting
76 Curlew
77 Dunlin
78 Grey Plover
79 Little Egret
80 Meadow Pipit
81 Oystercatcher
82 Redshank
83 Reed Bunting
84 Rock Pipit
85 Ringed Plover
86 Sanderling
87 Turnstone
88 White-fronted Goose
89 Hooded Crow
90 Marsh Harrier
Other birds seen included Black-headed Gull, Brent Goose, Chaffinch, Common Buzzard, Coot, Lapwing, Magpie, Marsh Harrier, Mute Swan, Robin, Starling, Woodpigeon and Wren
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