Kent next week (arriving 12/04/2025) (1 Viewer)

[Annerather]

Hi Kent birders,

Will be on a family trip to Kent from Germany. I (hope that I) will get a couple of days off for birding. Any "must dos" in that area? I have eyed the RSPB reserves, but would appreciate local knowledge on what would be most rewarding.

I will also bring my scope for some Seawatching. Currently planning on mornings from beachfront Broadstairs (where we will stay). Any better places?

Cheers,
Martin

 

[Richard D]

RSPB Dungeness is very good but a fair drive from Broadstairs. Oare Marshes just outside Faversham is much nearer and pretty good. For Seawatching, I'd head two or three miles along the coast from Broadstairs to the North Foreland.

 

[Stuart Goodwin]

Evening.

How about Stodmarsh/ Grove Ferry. There is also Reculver.

Regards
Stuart

 

[Annerather]

Thanks Stuart and Richard. Those places look promising on Google Earth. Dungeness is probably a bit too far, but I will try to check out the other places!

 

[Annerather]

I have been to Stodmarsh / Grove Ferry and Reculver today while my girls broke my credit card in London shopping. 57 species at Stodmarsh with at least two booming bitterns, great showing Marsh Harriers and 20 Cattle Egrets in a meadow with (surprise!) cattle. I am not at all disappointed (although I wanted to see Bearded Tits, which were elusive on the windy day). Reculver despite looking a bit desolate gave me my first Merlin and Wheatear of the year (both male) with 37 species in total (well worth the detour).

 

[Richard D]

I have been to Stodmarsh / Grove Ferry and Reculver today while my girls broke my credit card in London shopping. 57 species at Stodmarsh with at least two booming bitterns, great showing Marsh Harriers and 20 Cattle Egrets in a meadow with (surprise!) cattle. I am not at all disappointed (although I wanted to see Bearded Tits, which were elusive on the windy day). Reculver despite looking a bit desolate gave me my first Merlin and Wheatear of the year (both male) with 37 species in total (well worth the detour).

I would say Oare Marshes is better for Bearded's but they are a weather dependent bird - and never any guarantee with birds!

 

[Stuart Goodwin]

I have been to Stodmarsh / Grove Ferry and Reculver today while my girls broke my credit card in London shopping. 57 species at Stodmarsh with at least two booming bitterns, great showing Marsh Harriers and 20 Cattle Egrets in a meadow with (surprise!) cattle. I am not at all disappointed (although I wanted to see Bearded Tits, which were elusive on the windy day). Reculver despite looking a bit desolate gave me my first Merlin and Wheatear of the year (both male) with 37 species in total (well worth the detour).

Morning.

Glad you got to see some good birds. Dungeness is/ can be even more desolate than Reculver, but has great habitat.

Regards
Stuart

 

[Annerather]

Good evening.

When I ask questions, I like to close it off with a short feedback on how it went. Tomorrow we will be heading back to Germany and we had a great time between birdwatching, culture and family time. I went (twice) right after sunrise to North Foreland and had a wonderful birding time with the folks that bird there every (!) morning after sunrise. Guys, if you read this, it was really nice to meet you! Unfortunately the days did not prove so productive, which was probably due to the calm weather. In the last couple of days wind was much stronger from East, turning North-East. I thought to give it a try from our rented seafront appartment in Broadstairs (in the warmth behind windows) and it turned out with really decent results (lots of gannets, sandwich terns and common scoter, but also little tern, arctic skua, great skua, red-breasted merganser, and bar-tailed godwit). I saw red-billed chough at Dover castle after the guys at North Foreland pointed me to the possibility (although they called them "plastic choughs" as they were recently re-introduced). Today, after a very nice Easter Pub Lunch, my family and I walked around Oare Marshes. Given the wind, I did not expect bearded tits, but hurray, they did do a short fly-about after my wife heard the calls, which I played to them beforehand. Overall my eBird trip report shows 114 species with 2 lifers (Great Bittern, Bearded Tits), I am very happy with the result for a family trip.

Thanks for your advice!

Martin

 

[Richard D]

Glad you caught the Bearded Tits - Oare is pretty reliable. Good birding back in Germany!

 

[Stuart Goodwin]

Evening.

I’m glad you had a good break and saw some good birds.

If you are visiting again, there are other gems around Kent.

Best wishes
Stuart