Highlights from a Farmland Survey at RSPB Medmerry, Oct 2019

This post is about some highlights from the most recent farmland bird survey at RSPB Medmerry. Myself and another surveyor, Mike, do these surveys fortnightly throughout the year. This one took place on a gorgeous sunny day in October with barely a breath of wind, and represented somewhat of a changing of the guard in regards to the bird species we recorded.

There were several firsts for the winter on this reserve, and these began with two jack snipe in a soggy area of rough grassland. There were also 25 common snipe in the same area. The jacks behaved much as normal, in that they didn’t move until we nearly trod on them! These are always a treat to see as they have brilliant markings. They don’t breed in Britain but a number spend the winter here. What that number is, is hard to say, as they are very difficult to census. It is thought that around 110,000 overwinter in the UK. The difficulties in counting them are due to their fantastic camouflage and habit of trusting in that they won’t be seen, therefore generally not flying away when approached until a person is right on them.

The next first was a goldeneye on an area that is now a saltwater lagoon. It flew in from my right to left and I saw the white patches on the inside of the wings. I wasn’t expecting a goldeneye so didn’t immediately recognise it. Once found on the water we could see that it was repeatedly diving, and its identity soon became clear as we observed.

The final first came after lunch in the shape and sound of a Dartford warbler. I heard its rasping call, and then fortunately a few seconds later it popped up to perch on top of a gorse bush. Darties, as they are often referred to, are a distinctive warbler in the genus Sylvia. Possibly our most colourful warbler, they are much beloved by most birdwatchers. There are usually one or two that spend the winter at Medmerry, having moved down to the coast from their breeding sites further inland. They haven’t yet bred at Medmerry, probably due to a lack of suitable ground cover plants. It is a developing reserve however, so there is a chance they could breed there in the future.

Alongside the firsts for the winter, there was a bird that was probably the last one of its species that I will see this year. It was another Sylvia warbler, this time a common whitethroat. This was quite a late individual and took us both by surprise.

All in all it was a very enjoyable day with great weather and plenty of interesting birds seen.

Hugh Baggaley