Oare Marshes & Conyer

                                February  5th :  Oare Marshes     

Water Pipit.

On the 5th February i called into Oare marshes in the hope of finally seeing the Water Pipits that have been seen on the New Excavations (having dipped on 2 occasions already) , well this time it proved third time lucky with no fewer than 7 Water Pipits seen.

They were not easy to see even then as they fed in the long grass and always quite distant.

Knot & 2 Bar .T. Godwits roosting with Black .T. Godwits.

The wintering Long Billed Dowitcher was feeding on the other side of Faversham Creek and looking over towards Shellness i saw 100+ White Fronted Geese which were added to my Oare Marsh bird list.

Back on the East flood i saw the usual mix of waders plus a single Knot & 2 Bar Tailed Godwits roosting in with Black Tailed Godwits.

February  12th  :  Conyer

4 of the 10 Shorelarks.

On the 12th February i went to Conyer keen to see the 10 Shorelarks that have been spending their time either on Sheppy or Conyer, so with positive news of them being at Conyer and the weather being good i took my chance.

Shorelark

It's quite a walk out to the outflow and if the weather isn't kind to you it's pretty exposed to say the least , luckily today was a good day and i saw all 10 Shorelarks in the grassy field  , they spent most of the time in these fields foraging with 2 Stonechats keeping an eye on them from various fence posts.

Shorelark on sea wall.

Late in the afternoon the Shorelarks all flew towards the sea wall and showed fairly well although with their backs to you they were very well camouflaged , however when they faced you with their incredibly bright yellow faces they were easy to see.

Face-on.

There was also 2 Snow Buntings along the sea wall and to say they were very tame is an understatement. Here are a small selection of photos that i took.

Snow Bunting.

There were lots of waders & ducks out on the Swale plus plenty of Dark Bellied Brent Geese moving back & forth , a really enjoyable birding session.