Ingrid and I were due to be off to Georgia tomorrow so I came up to my parents' a day early and caught up with Kevin McManus at Creekmouth - a prospective new patch for him. As we searched for somewhere to park, I was glad I was out of London. I don't use the term lightly: the industrial area was desolate.
However, this switched to nostalgia and a little patch envy when we actually entered the little park at Creekmouth. It's a perfect little oasis: a tiny but high quality pocket of habitat (scrub and a reedbed) alongside the River Thames with wide views and relative peace and quiet. It's the sort of place you can be confident you've found every migrant on site merely by walking to the viewpoint and back, you can scan through gulls and waders, watch for raptors and small migrants overhead, and be in prime position for displaced seabirds flying along the Thames. In short, all round birding from one bench.
Today's visit was short but we saw the juvenile
Iceland Gull which has been frequenting the area, and a creamcrown
Marsh Harrier flew through low, while three
Peregrines were good value. Other stuff included singles of
Curlew,
Oystercatcher,
Redshank and
Cetti's Warbler, 38
Teal, 36
Shelducks and 20
Gadwall, as well as a leucistic
Black-headed Gull (I think this bird is known locally).
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| 2cy Iceland Gull |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| adult Peregrine |
