Oliver Hardy
So with the promise of Turtle Doves I headed West....further west than the west pit at Whetsted. Way, way out west....almost to Tonbridge....!
A fine start, Cuckoo overhead....and the first warbler....Lesser Whitethroat....which was soon followed by Blackcap, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff...and a second Lesser Whitethroat.....a couple of Reed Warblers joined the throng.
Two Buzzards were wheeling around slightly further north....
After walking a little way the fabled 'wires' came in to view...and no sooner had MG said 'we should hear or see them from here' than the purr purring was located....
...yes....it is a Turtle Dove...
We were most fortunate in finding at least 3 Turtle Doves....great birds to see....
With that a Nightingale joined in, not wishing to be left out of the action.....there was also a second occasional entrant....a Willow Warbler and Garden Warbler were soon added to the list. And Bullfinches seemed to be trailing us for a while.
At one of the locks we found this juvenile Grey Wagtail....
....the adults weren't too far away and, as usual with adult male Grey Wagtails, it was looking superb.
We managed to find some Egyptian Geese, fabulous numbers of Swifts and Swallows with House and Sand Martins sprinkled with them. A Common Sandpiper was nice to see too.
2 or 3 hours spent meandering along the Medway was a great way to start the day....with some nice birds to see and hear....a real treat....
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