Hobbies and Cuckoo at Stodmarsh: Firecrest and Nightjar on Ashdown Forest

Wednesday 11th May 2022

Stodmarsh NNR, near Canterbury, Kent

9 of us made the 2 hour trip to NE Kent. The highlights were:-

•  over 40 observations of hobbies 
•  a really close cuckoo
•  and the usual hirundines and swifts, marsh harriers and reed and sedge warblers.

• The stiff breeze meant we missed out on turtle dove and bearded reedling.

Friday 13th May 2022

Churlwood, Ashdown Forest

No unlucky day for me on my patch this morning!

•  I heard then saw a cracking male firecrest

Monday 16th May 2022

Goat, Ashdown Forest

After drawing a blank last Friday night it was normal service tonight when Martin, Alastair and I welcomed back the first nightjar of 2022 to the Goat site on the Ashdown Forest.

• It started churring just on 9 pm and then flew over our heads shortly afterwards.  We managed 3 such close up encounters before it got too dark for us to continue.
• Last Friday's visit wasn't all loss as we got splendid views of a roding woodcock as well as another welcome tree pipit singing its heart out nearby.

 

27 May 2022
Old Lodge NNR, Ashdown Forest

This morning, Martin posted,on our group's WhatsApp page, his sighting of a couple of spotted flycatchers at Old Lodge.  As there were 2 and they were emerging from holes in a dead tree there was a strong possibility that they were a nesting pair.  

• With this thought, I paid an afternoon visit to the said site and much to my delight the same 2 birds appeared from the same hole and then flew into the tall trees nearby.

courtesy of Martin Jeffree

• A little while later, one of them returned to the same dead tree but did not go into any of the holes, eventually flying away again.

courtesy of Martin Jeffree

• I waited for almost an hour but was unable to get any more sightings.

Three subsequent visits, all on different days, all drew a blank so maybe this is not a nesting site and is more likely to be a regular stopping off point.  

More work needed on this one.

 Year total - 192

Minsmere Trip 2022

 

Sunday 8^th May 2022

RSPB Minsmere

East Grinstead RSPB Local Group

(11 members present + 4 guests from the Ashdown Bird Group)

 

Trip Report

A coach trip to RSPB Minsmere, in Suffolk, has been an established slot on our birding calendar for years.  Sadly, the pandemic caused a postponement in 2020 and again in 2021 so it was a relief, and a delight, to return this year. The consensus of opinion was that this was one of the best visits we have made.   

• Most of us were eager to see our first sand martins of the year and they were soon in evidence, flying to and fro, in the area just outside the café.

courtesy of Ian Hodgson

• As we walked out towards the sea along the north wall we enjoyed the challenge of distinguishing our reed warblers from our sedge warblers.  The reed buntings, of course, were much easier to identify. 

• Our first rather special moment came shortly afterwards when a couple of bearded tits appeared from the reeds and gave us amazing close views.  These lovely birds were obviously making the most of the calm, cool, conditions.  We also had good views later on in the area around Island Mere hide.

courtesy of RSPB Minsmere and Twitter

• From the hides on the coastal path we got our best views of the terns, predominately common terns but there were a few sandwich terns too. Also showing well was a ruff and 2 common sandpipers.  Other waders seen included avocet, dunlin, black-tailed godwit and shelduck.

courtesy of Martin Jeffree

courtesy of Martin Jeffree

• Things moved up a notch when we spotted hobbies flying overhead from the south scrape. From then on they were seen regularly with up to 8 birds present.
• Excitement levels increased even further when a few members caught a glimpse of a bittern as it rose from the reeds to chase off a crow before dropping back down.  Those of us who missed this didn’t have to wait long before getting another chance.  Patrick, Kevin and Jenny were gobsmacked to see 3 birds fly in and land near Island Mere hide, Alan L and Alan C got really good close ups from the Bittern hide  with the bird showing for an impressive 15 minutes in front of the reeds.   Others saw the bittern fly 100 metres, left to right, over the reeds directly in front of Island Mere hide and made the return journey half an hour later.

courtesy of RSPB Minsmere and Twitter

We thought that was the end of matters as we made our way back to the coach but it wasn’t – not by a long way.  

• Just 25 metres from the coach we were entertained by a couple of nightingales, belting out their chorus from the safety of the nearby scrub.  What welcome news that these brilliant birds have returned to this patch after an absence of a couple of years.

We shared the coach with the East Surrey RSPB Group and their leaders John L and Brian T sprang a really pleasant surprise on us at the end as we headed home.  

• They arranged with the driver to stop the coach just outside the reserve, at Westleton Heath, from where they took us to a nearby stone curlew “hot spot”. We all lined up behind one of the 3 telescopes they had set up, each one trained on a stone curlew on the nest, to take it in turn to view the bird.  It was such a lovely gesture and a fine way to end our trip.

courtesy of Martin Jeffree

 

Another memorable trip!

 

 

Bob Hastings

• Next day I saw my first swifts of the year, here in Uckfield.  There were 7 flying around the rooftops of the vets we use for the dogs Odin and Bronwyn.

 

Species List

Name:			Name:
Avocet	1		Little Grebe	38
Barnacle Goose	2		Long-tailed Tit	39
Bearded Tit	3		Magpie	40
Bittern	4		Mallard	41
Black-headed Gull	5		Marsh Harrier	42
Black-tailed Godwit	6		Mediterranean Gull	43
Blackcap	7		Moorhen	44
Blue Tit	8		Mute Swan	45
Buzzard	9		Nightingale	46
Canada Goose	10		Oystercatcher	47
Carrion Crow	11		Pheasant	48
Cetti's Warbler	12		Pochard	49
Chaffinch	13		Red Kite	50
Chiffchaff	14		Redshank	51
Common Gull	15		Reed Bunting	52
Common Sandpiper	16		Reed Warbler	53
Common Tern	17		Robin	54
Coot	18		Rook	55
Cormorant	19		Ruff	56
Dunlin	20		Sand Martin	57
Gadwall	21		Sandwich Tern	58
Garden Warbler	22		Sedge Warbler	59
Goldfinch	23		Shelduck	60
Great Crested Grebe	24		Shoveler	61
Great Tit	25		Skylark	62
Green Woodpecker	26		Starling	63
Grey Heron	27		Stone-curlew	64
Greylag Goose	28		Stonechat	65
Herring Gull	29		Swallow	66
Hobby	30		Teal	67
Jackdaw	31		Tufted Duck	68
Kestrel	32		Turnstone	69
Kingfisher	33		Whitethroat	70
Lapwing	34		Willow Warbler	71
Lesser Black-backed Gull	35		Woodpigeon	72
Linnet	36		Wren	73
Little Egret	37

 Yeary total - 189