East Tilbury to Mucking Flats

Ok, so maybe it wasn't quite a dawn visit, but I did get out early to look for owls. Inevitably this was a total waste of time, so I moved on and instead opted for a walk I've been interested in for a while now, from Coalhouse Fort up to Mucking Flats.

 

When I got there the car's thermometer read 1 degree, but in the thick fog out on the marsh it felt a few degrees colder than that. I set out from the fort along the old outer seawall and the visibility was awful; I could hardly see the mud, let alone the river or Kent. While this meant I didn't see a lot of birds, it also meant that for the next few kilometers I didn't see anybody. Not one person. Not even an ambitious dog walker. It was brilliant. With the weather and lack of people it felt like I was somewhere significantly more remote than East Tilbury.

Looking towards Mucking Flats

A large flock of linnets and reed buntings were loosely flocking along the old seawall and as the fog started to lift, meadow pipits and skylarks appeared along with five, maybe six stonechats. Inside the seawall I picked up a few little grebes on the channels, winter thrushes, a water rail and a green sandpiper that flushed short distances repeatedly as I made progress.

It was never going to be a good trip for photos as all I could see was fog and reed buntings and stonechats that didn't come close enough. These are all what a competent photographer would call "record shots", if competent photographers took record shots of non-breeding common birds. Me, though? I'm happy enough with a couple of them. But I am a very bad photo-er.

Up at Mucking Flats I immediately regretted leaving the scope in the car on the basis that I couldn't see far enough for it to be of any use. By now the visibility was much better and there, out on the mud, were thousands of waders. I gave up counting the avocets when I hit 350. My conservative estimates for black-tailed godwit and dunlin numbers are 1100 and 800 respectively, in several huge flocks. Serious numbers of birds. I'm going to have to go back on a better day. 

Expertly stitched view of one of several big wader flocks.

The weather cleared as I headed back and once I could see the water I picked up 25 common scoters heading upriver. The Girl didn't see them go past the flat, so either they stopped somewhere or she didn't look hard enough.

As a kind of kick-in-the-balls back to reality, dog walkers were out in force when I got back to Coalhouse, letting their darling dogs shit on the paths and in one case, much to the hilarity of dad and associated chavling, off the edge of the path into the moat. Now I'm not one for generalisations - haha - but seriously. Dog walkers suck.

---

Back at Grays I had a quick scan for the scroters, but they weren't there. I did, however, pick up my second flat tick in two days - a male shoveler, hanging out with a record 62 teal and 200 lapwings. I love this flat.