Wednesday 12th January 2022: Pett Level and Rye Harbour
We made a last minute decision to spend a few days in East Sussex and Kent, starting with a fabulous morning at Pett Level. This is a great area with pools viewable from the roadside, marshy fields which can be scanned form the sea wall and turning southwards, a panoramic view across Rye Bay. With such a range of habitat and excellent viewing opportunities it is a great place for birds, although in winter the wall can be very windy and extremely cold. However, today we were lucky with mild conditions, little wind and glorious sunshine.
The damp fields contained good numbers of Curlew probing the ground with their ludicrously long bills and plenty ofLapwing, their purple and green iridescent hues glinting in the sunlight. On the pools we found a good variety of regular wildfowl including Wigeon and Gadwall, such an underrated duck, with stunning plumage details when seen close up. Several Pochard were at close range, with shining conker heads and bright red eyes contrasting with silky grey backs. Powder-puffed Little Grebes dived constantly and a group of three elegant Pintail flew in.
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| Lapwing |
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| Gadwall |
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| Little Grebe |
In the reed-beds adjoining the pools we were delighted to spot a single male Bearded Tit with spectacular drooping moustache, which showed very well for a minute or so, before disappearing from sight. A male Reed Bunting with jet black head and a stripy Snipe were also lurking in the reeds.
On the far bank, a tight group of Redshank were roosting, amongst them a single Ruff, my first of the year. In the fields beyond we saw a Great Egret fly in, and we scanned the flocks of Canada and Greylag Geese in search of White-Fronteds which are regular here in winter. I managed the briefest glimpse of a white bill base before a stunning male Marsh Harrier appeared, and they all took off and circled in the air before landing in a hollow out of sight. Most unsatisfactory. However as compensation, the air was suddenly full of birds, with flocks of Lapwing rising up and previously unseen Golden Plover swirling across the sky, sparkling like diamonds as the sunlight momentarily caught their white bellies as they swerved and soared in new directions. Spellbound, we observed this murmuration for several minutes before they swooped gracefully to earth and melted out of sight, their golden backs blended with the landscape, providing perfect camouflage.
Turning to face the sea, a distant raft of Common Scoter bobbed on the gentle waves and a number of Great-crested Grebes swam reasonably close to the shore. We managed to pick out a few Red-throated Divers too, although at some range and with the habit of diving regularly, they were not easy to locate.
Eventually we managed to tear ourselves away from this wonderful site and continued on to Rye Harbour. Unfortunately the late afternoon sun made viewing difficult on the beach pools here, but we managed to find a small group of Ringed Plover and some Dunlin to add to our day list and on the beach picked out a few Sanderling scurrying clockwork-like along the shore line. A few Meadow Pipit and Skylarks were feeding in the saltmarsh and several Stonechat popped up to make sure we noticed them. As we returned towards the car park in fading light we managed to find a Spoonbill sifting through the mud.
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| Spoonbill |
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