Merlin, Bearded Tits and More! At Farlington Marshes. Guided Birdwatching Trip Report 27th Oct 2019

Farlington Marshes is one of my favourite places, and a guided birdwatching trip there in late October highlighted why this is. It was a gloriously sunny and clear day with barely any breeze to speak of. And the birds were even better than the weather!

We started at the lake where there was a golden plover gleaming in the sunshine, a species that is unusual to see at this site. The golden plover was in a mixed group of waders consisting of dunlin, ringed plover, knot, redshank, greenshank, avocet, lapwing and black-tailed godwit. These birds had helpfully arranged themselves in such a way where we could easily compare the differences between them. It was a good day for waders overall, we saw 14 separate species in total.

Around the back edge of the lake were many snipe. With their cryptically camouflaged plumage you would not realise that even a single one was there without careful inspection of the likely habitat. Another delight at the back of the lake was a beautifully coloured water rail. This individual shirked its species usually elusive nature and came completely out in the open for several minutes.

Water Rail. Photo courtesy of Les Phillips

Closer to, a few reed buntings were flying around and calling regularly. From within the reedbed a different call emanated, it was that of a bearded tit. We positioned ourselves in the best spot to give us a chance of seeing the bearded tits. We were not disappointed as soon enough they started flying around regularly. With a bit of patience we managed to see some perched in the tops of the reeds.

These views of the bearded tits were quite satisfying. However, when we were on the return leg of our trip out we were treated to an amazing show by the beardies. For over half an hour we watched a big group of bearded tits happily feeding right in the tops of the reeds at a close distance. Getting the telescope on them yielded fantastic views, and at one stage there were 7 in a single scope view! Most of the bearded tits seen were males, and these are simply some of the most stunning birds that we have in Britain. There was a minimum count of 18 individuals sitting atop the reeds, and there were no doubt more that we didn’t see.

Male bearded tit.

Record shot of 3 bearded tits taken with mobile phone through scope.

Whilst we were on the southern end of the reserve a female merlin gave us a show at close range. This, our smallest bird of prey, is a highly nimble, frenetic, and incredibly fast flier. After a close fly-by she really turned on the speed and shot off out into the centre of the reserve in a semi peregrine-like stoop. There wasn’t any unfortunate small bird that took the merlin’s fancy near us. On the occasion where you do see a merlin chase a small bird it is at least as dramatic as anything you may see on the BBC! Other raptors seen included a peregrine, as well as a few kestrels, making 3 species of falcon for the day. In addition to these a female sparrowhawk flew over the lake, both disturbing the waders and delighting us with her sunlit plumage.

Generally when you see a bird of prey, they are silhouetted against the sky, this results in their plumages being in shadow. However on this day the low sun illuminated most birds we saw nicely, particularly the female sparrowhawk (and the bearded tits, water rail, golden plover, snipe, etc!).

At the back of the lake there is a reedbed, behind the reedbed there is a scrape on which we managed to find a green sandpiper, as well as a number of ducks including wigeon and shoveler. Ducks and geese abounded, there were many pintail on the lake, and with the males having come out of their eclipse plumage this was quite a sight. In the harbour there were a significant number of brent geese, many hundreds and probably into four digits. There was an even larger number of dunlin around; winter is finally coming back! Also in the harbour were 9 or more red-breasted mergansers and a good number of great-crested grebes. Two common seals were hauling-out on the mud, relaxing as the tide lowered.

To include all the highlights would make this post rather too long. Suffice to say that this was a day to remember.

Hugh Baggaley

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