Pett Level
18th August 2006, FridayIn a couple of hours around Toot Rock and at the west end of the marsh I managed to scrape together 76 species.
In the former location, the Pied Flycatcher shared a fence with a lethargic Buzzard – no doubt the one reported nearby a few days ago - and the adjacent blackthorn bushes were lively with Whitethroats and Garden Warblers. Close to the canal, Cetti’s Warblers were feeding young. Though their presence has been increasingly persistent in the last few years, I think this is the first evidence that they have actually bred away from the usual sites.
The rain appears to have replenished Carter’s Flood to the extent that shorter-legged waders have gone elsewhere, leaving only Lapwings and a solitary Black-tailed Godwit in the water, Kingfisher and Barn Owl above it.
Neither are Pett Pools the busy places they were a month ago. It’s interesting that, at this late stage, last year’s white stems still crown the reed beds whereas I’d have expected new growth to have superseded them.
Both Wheatear and Whinchat were nearby but the only overhead migrants were Sand Martins and Yellow Wagtails.
The evening Starling roost is once more a daily spectacle. At about 7pm, thousands of birds stream in from inland and along the coast (how far?) to perform mind-boggling aerobatics before settling in the reeds.