Jack Snipe, Black-necked Grebe and Smew

Phew what a title, but for me three great birds that deserve equal billing. The product of two days unashamed tick and photograph hunting. Jack Snipe has been top of both our lists for some time, a bird that I have seen before but never had the opportunity to photograph. Martin had been tracking this bird for some weeks and today was the right time to venture up to a most incongruous venue. The Greenwich Peninsular Ecology Park lies adjacent to the Thames and has to be the most unlikely place to find a Jack Snipe. The park is a small wetlands oasis in the middle of huge residential and industrial development. Anyway, we arrived just after opening time and the volunteers made sure that we were in the right hide. 

Scanning the reeds and bank resulted in a blank  and we sat down in preparation for a long wait. Presently one of the wardens arrived and asked "Have you seen it yet?" - three birders stared back and shook their heads. He then opened a side window, thrust out a finger and indicated the position of the subject. Now, I have pretty good eyesight for my age  yet I couldn't discern anything that looked remotely like a snipe, until I put my bins up and the best camouflaged bird that I have ever seen sprang into vision - binoculars down and yet again I could see nothing. Bear in mind that the bird was probably no more than fifteen feet from the end of my nose.

A queue formed and we took turns to record the bird in various poses, mostly of a sleeping and bobbing nature. Unfortunately at no time did the bird emerge from cover, even the close attention of a Water Rail failed to flush it to a more open location.

Some idea of how the reserve is located.

A "bijou" hide

Next tick was the easiest, the Black-necked Grebe at Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, information gleaned at the visitor centre was spot on and we found the bird without effort. A tad distant but recorded for posterity.

The Smew were a result of the previous day's trip to Dungeness,  a venue we visit regularly to get the year list off to a good start. Targets for the day included the long staying Long-eared Owl by the dipping pond, unfortunately a no show, probably due to the very keen westerly winds that were chilling anything that ventured forth. At Scott hide we located the Smew but they didn't hang around long, being spooked by other wildfowl and decamping to the lake in front of Christmas Dell hide, where they remained at a fair distance.

On the way home we gave Horse Bones Farm, Scotney Pits and Pett Level the once over but failed to find any of the reported highlights. I think the westerly which was gathering sufficient strength to deter all but the keenest birder had something to do with it.

Final venue was Horse Eye Level at dusk, looking for any unusual raptor or perhaps even an owl. Sadly nothing save a perched Kestrel and a pair of squabbling Buzzards, one very pale juvenile had us puzzled for a while. The record shots of which were taken in appalling light.

Smew

At long last a day out where the camera came out of the bag. With the weather set fair Martin suggested a day out at Dungeness, a tempting list of possibles - Hooded Merganser, Smew, Ring-necked Duck and Garganey made it a no-brainer - a trip to the far east was just what we needed.

On the A 27 it seemed as if all the traffic was heading in a westerly direction and we made good time. First stop was the pit outside Camber, just a possibility of a grebe of some description - and that's exactly what we got - a Great Crested Grebe but precious little else.
Next, Scotney Pit where, yet again, it was obvious that most of the wintering waterfowl had departed for their summer residences.

On arrival at Dungeness we stopped at Tanner's Pit and scanned briefly for the Ring-necked Duck, plenty of Tufties in evidence and a single likely candidate that was snoozing at the back of the pool. With no chance of any improved snaps it was on to the visitor centre to check the sightings board. Luckily the board was being updated as we came in through the door - Drake Smew - Christmas Dell Hide/New Excavations. A nod is as good as a wink and we were hotfoot out the door heading for Christmas Dell.

We did manage a very brief look for the long staying Long-eared Owl, but as it wasn't posing out in an obvious position, we ignored it.

Five minutes spent in the Makepeace hide was long enough to ID a single Ruff out on one of the islands, important as a year tick, as waders have been in short supply so far this year. But there was a bird waiting for us further round the reserve and we just couldn't spend any more time scanning the vastness of Burrowe's.

As we entered Christmas Dell hide a kind birder indicated to us a white blob some distance from the hide - drake Smew - Woo Hoo! Not only could we record a stunning bird but it started to swim closer and finally it was joined by a charming red-top.

 

 

 

 The birds were feeding happily together when it became obvious that the female was up for more than companionship - she displayed to the male - tail in the air and head low to the water. He was having none of it - though at one stage he made an effort at preening but not a single spark of response.

Finally they flew off to the far side of the pit so with little chance of any closer shots we carried on with our circumnavigation of the reserve - the only highlight being a couple of Bearded Tits adjacent to the viewpoint.

Reports of Black Redstarts on the beach were enough to have us make a visit. Sure enough the easiest tick of the year as on the walls of the garden around the old lighthouse were at least four specimens, probably five. Alas I couldn't get close to any of them and most of the shots I took had pretty awful backgrounds.

We broke the journey home with calls to Scotney and Pett but it was more of the same - very little to be seen.

Meanwhile, in the garden, I managed to capture the 79th species of my garden list. What I thought was a pair of feral pigeons turned out to be Stock Doves. Unfortunately recorded on a dull day and snapping through glass. Another bonus was the return of the Greenfinches to the feeders and two Goldcrests passing through.

Black and White Birds

I am conscious that if two birders with cameras visit the same place and that if they both blog then there will be a lot of similarities.No apologies - just read both. However, my blog is a diary, not all photographs will be good but at least will record where, when and how I have seen birds. Also, Martin has encouraged me to work harder to rescue shots that I would have previously discarded. Thanks be to Photoshop and his skill.

Today we visited Dungeness and the birds were all at a distance, but Smew are difficult to find and even harder to record. We were delighted to find seven in view at the same time, five red tops and two fine drakes. We could have waited all day and they would not have come any nearer, in fact after about half an hour of frantic displaying they all went to sleep on one of the small islands.

Birds were thin on the ground and in the air, I suspect the chilly northerly wind being the reason.

 

A visit to Dungeness beach was like being in a vast wasteland and trying to find a single Glaucous Gull was akin to "mission impossible"

 

We returned via Rye harbour, visits to the hides at Ternery and Quarry pools confirmed that we were a tad early in the season. Plenty of vociferous Black-headed Gulls already occupying sites on the islands, but no early terns. On the way back to the car park we counted nine Avocets, a pleasing sight as they are obviously all paired up, bar one of course!!

Well this one has some grey in it. Finally a ringed Herring Gull at Pett Level, A4DC, which I suspect is a RSPCA Mallydams rescue bird. It would be intereresting to know when it was released. I have received advice on several occasions to report the sightings on the BTO website, fine, but I have yet to receive any replies.