Chambers Wall before work

Thursday 25th August
Warm, dry, cloudy with a S/W breeze.

I decided to make the most of my late shift at work today by paying Chambers Wall a visit this morning for a couple of hours birding. It's tempting to be out really early when i have a late start at work, but it becomes quite tiring by the end of the day, which is an 8pm finish in Ashford, so I had a lay in and didn't get to the Reculver area until just after 7am.

Just after getting out the car, 7 or 8 partridges flew away from me straight into a field, and I really don't know whether they were Red-legged or Grey. I guess I should have been more alert as soon as I opened the car door.

Not a great deal else about today, though there were a few warblers, mostly heard, on a walk from the car park up to the embankment and east towards the Wade crossing, befor ereturning slowly to my car. I had 3 Willow Warblers, 23 Blackcaps and 25 Whitethroats. Both a Greenshank and a Green Sandpiper flew over calling, though I saw neither. I had a Hobby fly fast south over towards Chambers Wall, then another flying high east. A little later there was a Hobby hunting just south of Chambers Wall crossing, which may have been the earlier bird, or maybe it was a 3rd bird. Cracking birds, always good value.

The only other bit of interest were 2 waders, slightly smaller than Golden Plover that flew quite fast, cutting inland dropping down behind me when I was walking along the railway embankment. I really ought to have got more on them, so it wasn't great birding even though I was looking into the sun. They appeared to be landing somewhere near the Wade crossing, but I lost sight of them. I bumped into Marc Heath a little later and he had seen 2 waders which he thought may have been Dotterel fly over. I suspect I saw the same 2 waders as him, but whether I will ever know if I saw Dotterel or not is unlikely.