Farlington Marshes Trip Report, Guided Birdwatching 19th September 2020

A big tide in September can result in a wader extravaganza at their roost sites. So it was on such a day that I led a group around Farlington Marshes.

Over the grassland an impressive murmuration of 3,000+ starlings swooped and continuously changed form before landing back down on the ground. A northeasterly breeze kept most other small birds in hiding but the song of robins emanated from the bushes dotted around the site. They were not the only songsters. For Cetti’s warblers, never to be outdone, exclaimed their punchy notes from deep within the bushes.

Some dapper shelducks flew in to land behind the reed bed having recently returned from their late-summer moulting grounds. A few juvenile shelducks remained, but hadn’t yet achieved the same level of crispness to their plumages. Other ducks around were in various shades of brown, for the males were either fully in, or moulting out of, their camouflaged eclipse plumages. Thus they go somewhat incognito, but with careful observation each species can be confidently identified. The majority of ducks along the stream section were teal, and in with the teal was a shoveler sporting its characteristic bill.

Grey plovers flew overhead and swooped down towards the lake. Having been flooded out by the incoming sea, wading birds headed to the sanctuary within the sea wall. A water rail squealed from within the reed bed. Akin to the Cetti’s, easy to hear and difficult to see! Beyond the reeds a couple of stonechats and a single whinchat perched on some dead bushes. Around the noses and feet of the grazing cattle yellow wagtails hurriedly moved to and fro searching for insects disturbed by the cows. Skylarks whizzed around while making their evocative trilling calls, they soon landed back on the ground and disappeared from sight.

Yellow Wagtails. Photos by Les Phillips.

Upon reaching the sea wall we were greeted by a sheet of water. The amount of islands and land visible was considerably lower than typical and as such, flocks of waders wheeled around in the sky. The first flock seen was of grey plover, but within them was a single golden plover, slightly smaller with a golden sheen and lacking the black ‘armpits’ of the greys.

On a muddy section of the marsh a juvenile little ringed plover was a surprise. Some breed in Britain and then spend the winter in Africa. They are one of the earliest species to arrive in spring, and likewise typically leave fairly early too. Not many are left here in the middle of September. Whilst watching the plover a great white egret flew in. Dwarfing the numerous little egrets close by it landed down fortuitously in plain sight, so we each had the chance to admire this tall white bird.

Great Egret. Photo by Les Phillips.

A kingfisher flew towards us low over the water and placed itself just behind a bank of reeds; a typically tantalising view! We got lucky later on as he reappeared but this time perched on the slope of the sea wall. An extended view of a kingfisher is always a delight; he caught a few fish and happily sat on the wall for several minutes before being disturbed by someone walking by. While he was sitting on top of the wall he would lift his head and raise his tail every so often.

Kingfisher. Photos by Les Phillips.

Walking towards the lake another whinchat put in an appearance, perching on a low piece of vegetation. Several hundred waders flew off the lake. They split up into separate flocks and went high and low, left and right. In these were a number of species including grey plover, bar-tailed godwit and dunlin amongst others.

Once at the lake a healthy population of waders and ducks remained. Two golden plover were a delight to see, as well as two snipe hunkering in the background. We spent some time separating the redshank, greenshank, black-tailed godwit, grey plover, dunlin, knot, ringed plover and more here! The level of elegance was high with an avocet and a few pintails gracing the lake.

As we started to leave more waders poured off the lake and headed outwards to their feeding grounds. The tide was lowering and soon the food-rich mud would be exposed. Recalling what was seen and heard on the afternoon tallied up to 57 different bird species. 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