February 2008
Clowes Wood and Oare Marshes.
19/02/08
Pintail, arriving on the Eastern flood at Oare marshes this afternoon.
An early trip to Seasalter was cut short due to a blanket of fog, so after telling Mike Gould that I was looking for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker over the weekend with no luck, he took me to a spot in Clowes wood where he has seen them before. Although we had no joy in spotting one, we heard the distinctive fast drumming noise of one, to the back of a pine copse, but it remained well hidden in the tree tops. Also seen were a pair of Goldcrest, 2 Tree-creepers, and several Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tits, with 4 Coal Tits noted as well. We only stopped for an hour, as photography was proving difficult in the low light conditions of a wooded environment, and we both spent the afternoon at Oare marshes, my first visit this year. En route, with the fog lifting, a brief stop at Seasalter revealed 750 + Dunlin on the beach at high water, 3 Sanderling, several Oyster-catchers and Redshank on the island, with a single Red Throated Diver quite close in on the sea. Arriving at Oare marshes at 2 o clock in the afternoon, the weather deteriorated some, and a haze descended over the Eastern flood, with a chilly north wind making conditions uncomfortable. We stuck at it for an hour and a half, with the flood being fairly quiet. A Little Egret was seen, 2 Kestrels, and a Water Rail close to us kept us entertained for a while. There were several Pintail, and a flock of Widgeon were feeding on the Western flood. At least 60 Coots seen on both floods during our stay.