Cliffe Pools in Kent with Mark and Elizabeth

Monday 6th September 2021 

Cliffe Pools, Kent

pm

Mark and Elizabeth invited me out today.  They spent the morning at Oare Marshes and I joined them for their afternoon visit to nearby Cliffe Pools.  The weather was even better today with lots of sunshine and a gentle breeze.  

All in all we had a cracking day with lots of birds around on an almost deserted nature reserve.

• There were hundreds of Avocets and almost as many Black-tailed Godwits on the Flamingo Pool.
• We also saw 4 superb Greenshanks.
• Perhaps the best was saved to last when we were directed to the Radar Pool to see 2 Spoonbills.
• Elizabeth spotted a Ruff, sleeping, as we viewed from the Pipe pool mound. 
• Other birds on or by the edge of the water included Great Black-backed Gulls, lots of Little Egrets, good numbers of Lapwings and several Little grebes.

We saw a few passerines

• Pick of the bunch were the Whitethroats.  We watched a group of 7, including a Lesser Whitethroat, on the eastern return path.  They were all in and around the same bush and entertained us for several minutes.
• There were also Linnets and Goldfinches in good numbers. 

• The only raptors we saw were a couple of Kestrels and a Sparrowhawk.

It was one of those really nice birding days, enjoying a variety of birds and butterflies with friends in the afternoon sunshine.