Farlington Marshes in August, Guided Birdwatching Trip Report

A mid-August morning at Farlington Marshes gave a taste of the changing seasons. While it had been a sweltering 32°C a week prior, this day was a more comfortable temperature, if a bit wet at the end!

Walking across the north-western side of the reserve we were accompanied by numerous goldfinches, both young and adult, and several greenfinches. Approaching the stream we caught first sight of some wading birds, black-tailed godwits, and further along the foreshore was a common sandpiper. Bearded tits could be heard pinging in the reedbed. Several teal could be seen, and among the array of ducks was a male wigeon in his eclipse plumage. This was the first wigeon I had seen since the previous winters birds migrated to their breeding grounds; a definite sign of the shifting seasons.

Black-tailed Godwit

A kingfisher flew into view and perched on a distant reed. He then changed positions to a post, and eventually flew towards us. We had watched the kingfisher for probably 10 minutes when a redstart flew and landed on a post, magic! It was a female redstart and she was most confiding enabling us a close and extended view. She regularly flew to the ground to feed and then back to a post or bush, all the while repeatedly flicking her tail downwards.

Redstart

Also seen on the stream was a green sandpiper feeding along the muddy edge. And a short while later one could be heard calling overhead, we watched as it flew off into the distance. A most distinctive wader in flight, they appear somewhat like an oversized house martin.

 

At the northern end of the reserve there was a hive of activity centred around one bush. In this we saw goldfinches, linnets, reed bunting, meadow pipits, whitethroats and sedge warblers. Heading east towards the sea wall it became apparent that a regular fixture of the autumn had returned, an osprey sitting in a large dead tree. This osprey had already caught a fish and we watched as it ate its lunch in the middle of the harbour.

 

Flocks of waders flew around the harbour; it was around high tide and they were looking for a good spot to rest. One of these flocks comprised some absolutely beautiful grey plover in their summer finery.

 

On the Deeps was a young dunlin, and on the surrounding land a whinchat. Autumn is the time to see whinchats along the south coast. If you’re lucky you may see a male in the spring with some lovely plumage, but they are typically more numerous in the autumn.

 

We stopped to watch some waders at their high tide roost and the heavens opened. The almost total lack of wind meant that despite the rain the conditions were still pleasant. We saw a few more species of wader and brought our day’s tally to 64 bird species, 13 of which being wading birds. As they tend to do, the waders started flying away from their roost as the tide receded. With intertidal mud being exposed no time is wasted in getting to valuable feeding grounds. Many of the wetland birds seen will have been on an annual journey to their wintering grounds, and prime-feeding opportunities are not to be squandered.

 

This was my third guided outing to Farlington Marshes in around a week, and each time we saw a different mix of species. Highlights on the previous trips included an impressive flock of several thousand starlings murmurating, a first-summer hobby hunting and feeding on the wing, and a pair of hefty ravens lounging in the grassland.

Raven

If you are interested in attending a guided birdwatching session such as this one, the upcoming events can be seen on the ‘Events’ page of this website. Or to stand the best chance of a space being available, you can get the information emailed to you prior to its publication online by joining my mailing list. To do so simply email me at baggaleyhugh@gmail.com

 

- Hugh Baggaley