Sixteen members of the group enjoyed this shared car trip. The weather had warmed up slightly from the snowy start the previous day.
Having parked in the car park next to the church in Cliffe village, we set off on the 4 miles walk around the perimeter of the reserve. We were met by the warden and told that the RSPB had only purchased the site in late 2001. The RSPB were not publicising their acquisition yet as there were major problems with motor cycle scrambling, fly tipping and car dumping on the land. A gate and car park are being installed, the pools are to be filled to make the water shallower to suit waders. The RSPB plans to make this one of the top reserves for birds & visitors in the country.
The first birds that we encountered were large flocks of Goldfinch & Chaffinch. Mistle thrushes were seen in the field nearby. We arrived at the saline pools, where there were many Pintail and Ruddy Duck. Some of us had never seen so many Ruddy Duck in one place ever before; there were 40 – 50 of them. Walking on towards the Thames we saw a Peregrine Falcon, which, unfortunately, was flying away from us. We also saw and heard many Skylark. Eventually we arrived at the river bank where we had our packed lunches and just as we were finishing a hail shower hit us. There was very little shelter and we got quite wet in the ten minutes that it lasted. Fortunately it was soon over and the sun came out to dry us off.
We continued along the Thames wall to a muddy inlet where there were lots of Redshank and a pair of Avocets. We watched a fox stalking the gulls & ducks to no avail. Nearby on one of the saline pools we had good views of several Goldeneye.
Our final bird count for the day was just over fifty species.
The best time to visit the reserve is at high tide when the waders come in off the Thames. On the day of our visit, high tide was at 5pm, consequently bird numbers throughout the day were relatively low.
This reserve is not a pretty one, but it was good to witness it in its infancy and it will be very interesting to watch its development in the future. We are looking forward to going again in a year or two.
Dave Jones
SPECIES RECORDED DURING THE DAY
| Great Crested Grebe | Little Grebe | Cormorant | Little Egret | Grey Heron | Mute Swan |
| Greylag Goose | Canade Goose | Mallard | Gadwall | Pintail | Wigeon |
| Teal | Shovelor | Shelduck | Tufted Duck | Pochard | Goldeneye |
| Ruddy Duck | Peregrine Falcon | Kestrel | Pheasant | Moorhen | Coot |
| Oystercatcher | Lapwing | Ringed Plover | Snipe | Curlew | Redshank |
| Avocet | Great Black-Backed Gull | Lesser Black-Backed Gull | Herring Gull | Common Gull | Black-Headed Gull |
| Woodpigeon | Collared Dove | Green Woodpecker | Skylark | Rock Pipit | Dunnock |
| Starling | Magpie | Jackdaw | Rook | Carrion Crow | Wren |
| Robin | Blackbird | Mistle Thrush | Blue Tit | Great Tit | House Sparrow |
| Chaffinch | Brambling | Goldfinch | Greenfinch | Reed Bunting |
59 species