Cuckoo for Cliffe

I had planned to go the badger demo at Millbank on Saturday morning but as it was, when Saturday morning rolled around the last place I wanted to be was central London. I spend enough time there. I think it's great that it went ahead, also that we remember how things used to be before 38 Degrees came along; friends tell me it was fun and 'the vibe' was positive so that's all good. But if I was there in spirit, my body was 30 odd miles down river, drifting around Cliffe Pools.

There's no doubt that Black-headed gulls are ruling the roost at Cliffe this spring and the noise and commotion across the causeways is really something. Numbers certainly look higher than the last 2 years at least, somewhere north of 600 individuals perhaps. There were a good few chicks on show already. In among them, Avocets are conspicuous with a lot of calling, general aggro and a couple of fledglings already learning the ropes on the mud. The other noisy neighbours are the Common terns, again in strong numbers (c50 pairs) on the radar islands. Throw in a couple of Mediterranean gulls and it's a pretty amazing sight at the moment.

Further round, Allen's pond was fizzing with activity too. Best of the lot was a Nightingale behaving like a Spotted Flycatcher, continually darting out from the cover of a Buddleia with a flash of its reddish tail. In fact, all the birds were at it - Robin, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, a female Blackcap looked like she'd bitten off more than she could handle with a damselfly though. The only thing missing from this party was a Spotted Flycatcher behaving like a Spotted Flycatcher.

The highlight of the afternoon though was probably this Cuckoo perching happily on brambles along the track by the Black Barn viewpoints:

This was one of at least three birds present, with two more together in scrub briefly near the Thames VP  - one of which flew straight across in front of me, over the sea wall and presumably across the river to Tilbury. There was one more nice surprise, this female Wheatear lurking in the grass along the no entry track:

Get a move on love..! 

Between tides and the mid-afternoon lull, it was a pretty good couple of hours really. And thankfully nothing like central London.

Which way to Millbank?