Broadsands and Passage House Inn, 6th February 2005 by Richard Swinbank

Broadsands and Passage House Inn, 6th February 2005 by Richard Swinbank

Since taking over from Ray as outdoor meetings organiser a few months ago, this field trip was the first that I had both planned and led. The day started well - bright and sunny, if a bit cold - which was a good omen. The car-sharing arrangement worked well, when I picked up Roger at Sowton, en route to Broadsands.

We started off in the car park, examining the trees for any sign of the Firecrest or the Siberian Chiffchaff - which we had heard had been seen in the area. No sign of them, but we did see a few Goldcrests, several Goldfinches and some Dunnocks. I saw a Bunting in one of the trees, but not well enough to tell whether it was a Cirl Bunting or (perhaps more likely) a Reed. In an effort to find a definite Cirl Bunting we scoured the fields behind the beach. We found a lonely Moorhen, but every likely-looking bird seemed to be a Dunnock on closer inspection. It was getting to be the Day of the Dunnock.

Meanwhile, out to sea, we had hoped to see all sorts of different grebes and divers, but all we could see were several Great-crested Grebes. We worked our way back around to the next cove. From the top, Ray spotted a distant group of Red-breasted Mergansers. Then, at last, we found a pair of Black-necked Grebes. On the path back, we heard - and eventually saw - a male Blackcap trying to be inconspicuous. I got a glimpse of what looked like a Chiffchaff, but it flew off before anyone else could take a look - let alone decide whether it looked “Siberian”. And, although we scanned the fields in hope, we never did find the Cirl Buntings.

Then, it was on to Passage House Inn for lunch. Ray managed to get a ring-side seat in the car park, to get the best views of a Greenshank parading along the river bank. After lunch, we all gathered to take a look at the mudflats, before the tide came in to cover them. On the riverside walk to Hackney marshes, we kept an eye out for a Common Sandpiper that often seems to spend the winter along there, but there was no sign of it. Suddenly we saw not one, but two, Kingfishers - chasing one another around the reeds.

Passing through the railway bridge, we had excellent views of two Reed Buntings living up to their name by feeding on reed seeds. Then, we had a walk around the Hackney Marshes reserve, adding a few more species such as Wren, Starling, Collared Dove and Bullfinch to our tally. Not forgetting several more Dunnocks. We had had a good day, seeing some 50 different species. We were feeling quite happy with the trip, when Ray capped it all by spotting a Common Sandpiper on a small grassy island, just as we returned to our cars.

In all 52 species were seen:

Birds seen, in BOU order or alphabetic order

BOU order

Shelduck

Wigeon

Mallard

Red-breasted Merganser

Great Crested Grebe

Black-necked Grebe

Fulmar

Cormorant

Little Egret

Grey Heron

Sparrowhawk

Buzzard

Moorhen

Oystercatcher

Lapwing

Curlew

Redshank

Greenshank

Common Sandpiper

Turnstone

Black-headed Gull

Common Gull

Herring Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Feral Pigeon

Wood Pigeon

Collared Dove

Kingfisher

Rock Pipit

Pied Wagtail

Wren

Dunnock

Robin

Stonechat

Blackbird

Song Thrush

Redwing

Blackcap

Goldcrest

Long-tailed Tit

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Magpie

Jackdaw

Carrion Crow

Starling

House Sparrow

Chaffinch

Greenfinch

Goldfinch

Bullfinch

Reed Bunting

Alphabetic order