Grain, Allhallows and Northward Hill 31/01/21

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Glorious weather today, calm with unbroken sunshine.

Starting off at Grain, where at 9 a.m. it was high tide and waders were roosting near the outflow from the power station.  Present amongst a group of 35 Turnstones the overwintering Purple Sandpiper was soon found. The bird was asleep most of the time, nevertheless a long time since I've seen Purple Sandpiper in Kent. A loose group of finches on the adjacent marsh/scrub held around four Greenfinch, one of which was briefly in song.

Along West Lane in Grain a somewhat distant Great White Egret was on North Levels, with a couple of Little Egret also present. A female-type Marsh Harrier flew over the marsh.

Moving on to Allhallows we walked out from the Pilot towards the seawall. On a calm river 12 Red-throated Divers drifted east in several groups. There were a fair number of Curlew on the marsh and eventually the long staying Glossy Ibis showed at quite close range. The ibis is apparently often seen together with a Little Egret, and today was no exception. A single Stonechat was also present near the seawall, while Skylarks were very visible and vocal on the marsh.

St. Marys Marsh had no particular geese other than the usual Greylag and Canada, though offshore there were a few Brent plus a flock of approximately 200 Black-tailed Godwit on the receding tideline. No surprise to see three circling Buzzard over the marsh in the sunny conditions.

Ending the day at Northward Hill and hoping to see Brambling since flocks had been reported flying into roost on previous days. We were probably a bit early for the main roost though one very obliging bird showed well at close range. The sheer number of corvids in the area was mind blowing, consisting mainly of Rooks and Jackdaws.

Turnstones and Purple Sandpiper (top)

Purple Sandpiper and Turnstone

Glossy Ibis and Little Egret

Glossy Ibis

Skylark

Starlings

Brambling (female)






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