17/12/10: No pain, no gain - Bearded Tit on Crayford Marshes

I was perusing the London Bird Club (London Natural History Society, Ornithology Section) Wiki ('Latest news' page)

http://londonbirders.wikia.com/wiki/LatestNews

for the first time in a while yesterday evening, because I fancy seeing my first Waxwings. Sure enough, some had been seen in Old Bexley, also in Bromley.

But what caught my eye were reports of Bearded Tits on Crayford Marshes this week, both by Erith Yacht Club, and also along the Cray by the landfill mound - the latter location being a stone's throw (or three) from Thames Road Wetland ....

Never having seen one of those either, and since they're scarcer in this part of the world at any rate, I ignored the weather forecast and hot (later to become frozen-)footed it down there.

Setting off at 11.15, I took the Colyers Lane route towards Slade Green station. It was overcast, but seemed fairly mild. A couple of Blackbirds, some Starlings and a Collared Dove were seen en route. Another 18 Starlings were along Northend Rd, and 11 more in Barnett Close.

On the recreation ground west of the station 10 Feral Pigeons were feeding on the ground, and a couple of Carrion Crow were seen.

10 Starlings were on a TV aerial at the junction of Howbury Lane and Whitehall Lane, 26 were on aerials on the east side of Slade Green station, mainly on the former pub, about 36 more were on a tall Poplar nearby (some may have moved from one of these locations to the other by now), 38 were seen flying from Howbury Grange west towards the football pitch on the north side of Moat Lane and 24 more were at Howbury Grange itself.

At this end of the Moat Lane footpath were a Song Thrush, a fairly approachable Pied Wagtail, 3 Chaffinches, a Great Tit and a Blue Tit.

A count of Wood Pigeons sitting in the row of large Willows yielded a total of 97, with 8 in small trees further along. 3 male Blackbirds were hanging out together not far beyond.

Three Redwings, my first definite sightings of the year, were in the patch of Hawthorns where Moat Lane rises up to the flood defence embankment on the Darent.

By now it was getting rather colder and it started snowing. Lapwings, Redshank and a handful of Teal were along the river. The ducks seemed to be happy enough ducking under for a 'wash and brush up' in the cold water. 8 Mute Swans evidently saw things rather differently and had decided the best place to be was up on the grassy banks. The eerie calls of waders, piercing the increasingly gloomy conditions, were a potent reminder of just how wild this place once was.

I pressed on past the flood control gate, and the snow was being blown sideways. There was no quick way home from here anyway. The nearer I got to Essex across the big river, the less I could see of it through the streaming white stuff.

50 Lapwing populated the exposed mud where the Darent joins the Thames, along with a lot of Gulls. There were a few Dunlin here too. By now it was getting difficult to focus the bins on account of cold fingers, and problematic with gloves on.

Pressing on towards Erith Saltings, by the Yacht Club, one of the reported Bearded Tit sites, a largish flock of Chaffinches flew up from the rough. There were several Teal and some Wigeon on the water, with Gadwall and Mallard mostly on the mud. A Grey Heron stood sentry. A few Cormorants were in evidence. A single Curlew or maybe Whimbrel (my birding skills are somewhat deficient) was spotted.

Now my feet were really feeling the cold, despite three layers of socks. I set off down Ray Lamb Way, and was rewarded with half a dozen Redwing in trees on the rough verge between the road and houses. In addition, the sun came out. A three-quarter moon appeared, looking unusually large in a blue sky dotted with both grey and white clouds. A small white plane, caught in the sunlight, flew over the moon.

Heading towards Darent industrial estate, the icy conditions, lack of a footpath and heavy-ish traffic created potentially hazardous conditions and I nearly fell too far down the side of a drainage ditch. Just as I got to the first of the buildings, a Green Woodpecker flew over.

I took the footpath which comes back out onto the Darent, a way up stream of the floodgate, then turned right, heading back towards Moat Lane and on to the Cray. I surveyed the view, now lit up in quite the fantastic light of a low winter sun in a clear blue sky, and with the bonus of snow on the ground.

Then there was sun ..... The moon over the QE2 bridge, and Littlebrook power station, looking across Reed bed and the channel of the River Darent from London into Kent.

The view west down Moat Lane, the way I'd come earlier in the day. But now I was heading further south - to the Cray ......

Lapwing dotted the increasing areas of mud on the river bank, and a Fox was seen over on Dartford marsh.

Heading up the footpath flanking the Cray, a flock of around 36 Chaffinches was seen.

Something was noticed in the big embayment of Common Reed on the Dartford side, and after much fiddling about getting my frozen fingers to focus the binoculars, a sighting of one male Reed Bunting became two males and a female.

This was the other area, by the landfill mound, where Bearded Tit had been reported from earlier in the week. But they could have been seen anywhere along this lengthy stretch. For some reason I stayed put. There was a slightly different sort of call. Could that be it (ooops, I hadn't checked what Bearded Tits sound like .....). A heavy-ish movement was seen in the top of some Common Reed. Not, I sensed, the wind-generated sort. I got the bins on the right spot. Shortly, a rear view of something unfamiliar was seen. Two prominent white bands down the back. Again, I wasn't sure what they were supposed to look like from this angle. But it was different. I knew that much. I moved closer. In next to no time I was rewarded with a 3/4 front view of an obliging male Bearded Tit, oblivious to, or unfazed by my presence. And from less than 30 feet away. Fantastic. Moreover it was on the north side of the river, and therefore a legitimate London, and London Borough of Bexley 'tick'. A few yards distant on the other side of the water, and it would have been in Kent. Not to mention hard to see in the gathering gloom.

Reed bed (foreground) where my first ever Bearded Tit was seen this afternoon.

Mission accomplished, but I didn't feel as excited as I would have been if I'd seen one on Thames Road Wetland. But by now it was 15.50, and by the time I got to TRW it was too dingy to see anything much very clearly. There were some calls from the Reedmace/Reed bed, but not being a birder, I had no idea what all of them were .......

Worse than the cold was the walk home. These wellies had been OK on a shorter trek, but they must have a subtle, but untoward effect on leg movement, as the fronts of my thighs were now hurting rather a lot from the unusual strain I presume this had been putting them under. The problem might rule out traipsing around looking for Waxwings tomorrow if I can't find a quick vegan way of keeping my feet both dry and rather warmer! No pain, no gain, as they say .....