25th April - Elmley Marshes NNR, Kent

After the success with the Nightingales early on we then headed to Elmley.  As usual it was a slow and watchful drive along the entrance track.  Conditions were once again very dry, but there was plenty of activity with many Lapwing close to the car.

And amongst the adults were several chicks, already up and running around, but under the watchful eyes of the parents who could be seen chasing crows off over the marsh.

Another marshland wader that nests here is the Redshank and they were also showing well.

Nice to see them in the grass as well.

Close to one of the pools, a pair of Oystercatcher.

While on the pool a drake Shoveler.

From the car park we headed down the track towards the Brickfields.  We stopped for a young Hare that was in the woodland, but scurried away as we tried to get a better view.  A Green Woodpecker called and appeared in the tree partially obscured by the branches, they are frustrating birds.

Down at the Swale there is an area of old concrete and scrub, it is warm and there were several butterflies that I was pleased to see were Wall Browns.

The underwing is quite lovely with the several swirls and main eye.

Out on the saltmarsh a preening Oystercatcher.

We walked around the sea wall path which had freshwater pools on the inland side and there were several Pochard, two of the drakes displaying to a female by extending their necks.

Reed Warbler were singing in the reeds and every so often there was the "ping" of Bearded Tits and they could be seen flying over the reeds.  By waiting in one place the Bearded Tits slowly came closer and showed through the reeds.

Some gymnastics.

I thought that they might be feeding on the ground or catching insects having changed their diet for the spring and summer.  We also noticed that it was all males.

Then we saw one male collecting pieces of reed, so we had to assume that they were nest building.

Some of the reeds were flattened and it was in this area that I finally managed to get some better views.

The males then seemed to disappear and females were being seen but they were a lot harder to photograph.  They too were collecting nest material.

Eventually we made our way back around the sea wall, a female Marsh Harrier came up out of the reeds and as we walked up the path I picked up a Hobby over the main meadow.  When you consider the views I had at Fishlake this week, not the best photograph, but a record of the Hobby.

It was lunch time and then a walk down the main path towards the hides.  Again there was a lot of song in the reeds.  In the areas where there was small hawthorn bushes there were Sedge Warbler singing, while in the reed beds mostly Reed Warbler and a few Reed Bunting.  On the lake was a lone Wigeon, you had to wonder why it was left behind.

The Sedge Warblers became a challenge for Graham, I managed this one on a reed stem.

The Reed Bunting showed well, this one in a bush, when I thought the Sedge Warbler was imitating it.

This one singing in the reeds.

The Reed Warblers were impossible, staying low in the reeds, but we eventually got an acceptable Sedge Warbler at the top of a hawthorn.

And another Reed Bunting that replaced the Sedge Warbler.

Then a male Reed Bunting on a post with the perfect background.

A Lapwing seemed to be concerned about something close to the ditch on the side of the path and would fly around calling and twisting and flipping over in the air.  Their aerobatics are amazing and it became a challenge to catch some of the performance.

Calling as the tricks were performed either the right way up or upside down.

This must have consumed a lot of energy and it wasn't clear what was making the Lapwing do so.  Here a back flip.

Eventually it settled back to the ground and we will never know why we had been able to witness the display

Graham still wanted the perfect Sedge Warbler and with Mediterranean Gulls calling above us we came across another in a Hawthorn bush.

The Sedge Warbler would sing and then explode into the air, but rather than drop into the reeds as all the others had done it returned to the bush and then did it all again.  This gave me the chance to catch the bird as it parachuted back down to the bush.

Another impressive aerial display.

It was time to leave, but also a chance to explore the entrance track once more.  I was after a Yellow Wagtail and there were two, with one sitting in the open, but the light and heat haze did not help so I was left with only a record shot.

A great day with some excellent birds, it was lovely to experience Elmley in the still warm conditions and of course the Nightingales first this was so special.