STROOD KESTREL

A female kestrel perched on top of a tree near the Strood seawall on Tuesday 21st.

The regular black brant was feeding with 200 brent geese in front of the Firs Caravan park during the high tide on Tuesday.  A pair of greylag geese was on the flooded field and another four flew up the Strood channel.

A kingfisher flew along the Strood channel and perched on a culvert pipe which was sheltered out of the moderate wind. The kingfisher was seen again late afternoon still on the culvert by Shaun Bater.

On the nearby flooded field were 250 golden plover, 3 ringed plover, 20 shelduck, three Mediterranean gulls, grey heron, little egret, while four linnets were along the seawall.

A great white egret was feeding on the Ray Island saltmarsh on Tuesday.

The regular overwintering blackcaps were still present with the male singing at the Firs Caravan park and the pair in the Firs Chase garden.

A peacock butterfly flew through the Firs Chase garden on Tuesday afternoon.

On Tuesday morning Martin Cock walked the Cudmore circuit and noted two chiffchaffs, two Cetti's warblers, three water rails calling at the park pond, two muntjac deer and a fox in the grazing fields. Also noted by Martin, a Cetti's warbler and a chiffchaff were at the Youth Camp, while a greenshank was seen feeding beside the Strood causeway

On Monday 20th, there was the surprise of a brambling heard calling from the top of a tree at the top of Cross Lane. The bird was glimpsed through the branches for a couple of minutes before it flew off to the north. Half and hour later a second brambling was heard calling in the Waldegraves Holiday park and it was seen flying with a few chaffinches towards the seawall at Decoy Point.

A chiffchaff was singing half-way along Cross Lane, a Cetti's warbler was heard singing at the top of the lane and another at the bottom of the lane. Three great spotted woodpeckers were making a lot of noise in a tree at the top of the lane and two pairs of long-tailed tits noted.

Forty sanderling were on the beach and the offshore island at Waldegraves on Monday, six Mediterranea gulls were in a small gull roost while forty curlew were feeding in a wheat field behind.

The overwintering greenshank was seen at the Rewsalls side-lake on Monday during the high tide period. Other waders on the Rewsalls marshes were 110 redshank, 70 turnstones, 20 dunlin and fifty curlew. Three little grebes were on the side-lake and six great crested grebes were offshore.

One avocet was feeding on the side-lake at Rewsalls during the high tide on Monday.

A kingfisher was seen along the back of the Rewsalls marshes over a ditch on Monday. A Cetti's warbler sang briefly beside the boating lake car park and a rock pipit was on the beach in front of the Youth Camp.

A barn owl and two chiffchaffs were seen at Maydays farm by Martin Cock on Monday.