Dene Park

There weren't many birds around at all in the heat, but I thought I heard a Buzzard calling in the area of the Scambles. The Purple Helleborine is nearly over its flowering period now, and I think I might try to mark the position of this year's flowering spikes. The big spike on the West side of Path 2 is just by a big oak, 100 m from the nearest tip of the triangle at Ringlet Corner. I thought again that I should do something about the Rhododendron and Laurel

The Lesser Spearwort is flowering well in its small regular patch along the dark path, but not the wettest part of the path, and there is a lot of Broad-leaved Willowherb along the dark path as well. The Goldenrod is just about out as well. If anything I think it may have spread a little since last year. Another good yellow is Yellow Pimpernel.

In amongst the Large-flowered Willowherb there was what looked like Purple Loosestrife as well, by the path through Knights Wood just before Sooty Corner. I also saw the clump of Wood Sage along the return path.

I was glad to see some Eyebright in flower on the path through Knights Wood, and also along Path 2. Also seen were Enchanters' Nightshade, Upright Hedge Parsley, Mint, Self-heal, Common Figwort, Hedge Woundwort, Field Scabious, Common Fleabane, Marsh Thistle, Ragwort, Common Nettle, Bramble, Agrimony, Ribwort and also all three of Broom, Perforated St Johns Wort and Woodbine in fruit. There is also a resurgence of Creeping Buttercup, Wood Avens and Herb Robert, together with Coltsfoot in leaf. The Angelica inflorescences were attracting large numbers of flies and wasps.

Samphire Hoe

Wheatears!

This bird was seen to the West of the larger pond, having flown over from the seawall fenceline. I think it is a first winter bird, due to the black centred-feathers on the shoulder and the hint of an auburn cheek - although I worry about the way the photo-processing can alter the hues according to their settings!

There were plenty of chalkland flowers around, including this Melilot, which I think is likely to be the Tall Melilot, Melilotus altissimus, rather than the Ribbed Melilot, Melilotus officinalis, although it is very difficult to be sure. The flowering periods are similar, 6 - 8 for Tall, as opposed to 6 - 9 for Ribbed, so there is no help there!

A biennial or short-lived perennial herb occurring in disturbed grassland and on roadsides, field-borders and waste places, the Tall Melilot has been in the UK since the 16th Century, and is quite well distributed across S and C England. Its original native distribution in Europe is now very difficult to check due to its widespread introduction asa fodder crop, but is definitely an introduction to the UK. The standard, wings and keel all appear to be the same length, the raceme is really quite dense, with a good gold colour to the flowers, and the upper leaflets do tend to be parallel sided, pointing to this plant being Tall Melilot rather than Ribbed:

These are the pods, which are slightly hairy, and clearly do not appear to be strongly ridged as in the quite similar Ribbed Melilot. I think that Rose's suggestion of persistent styles may not be totally reliable, as this is the one character that does not seem to hold for all the pods on these plants, although not the ones in this particular photo. They should ultimately ripen black, not brown, and with two seeds per pod rather than one.

and here is the Common Sea Lavander, Limonium vulgare, with its yellow anthers.

and Common Centaury, found occasionally across the Hoe,

Here you see the lower-lying bifold stigma off to one side of the flower tube, and the higher-lying spirally-listed anthers of the 5 stamens:

Leybourne again by round pond

I was again trying to age the Canada Geese by the watersports area, but they still all look adult to me! There is an interesting Canadian website http://www.peregrineprints.com/zzzz_Article_WCgeese.htm
with some very good pictures on it, also differentiating between the Feral, Todd's and Cackling Geese. The Sibley Guide is also excellent, http://www.sibleyguides.com/2009/10/ageing-canada-geese/.

The juvenile plumage should be quite distinct, with shorter and narrower feathers, tapering to a rounded tip. The differences should be most marked on the scapulars, tail and underparts. However other sources (in particular the book Wild Geese by Ogilvie) seem less sure that these are reliable features!

However BWP suggests that there is a plumage called "first winter" which is intermediate between the juvenile and adult plumages, and this seems quite sensible to me. BWP also states that there should be a post-juvenile partial moult of the head, body and tail in "early autumn".  

Leybourne Lakes

Nice to see the Black-headed Gulls starting to build up numbers in their winter plumage on the lakes.

There were a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls on The Ocean as well, with some Black-headed Gulls out in the middle. Sizes are very difficult to estimate with the naked eye.

I had another go at trying to age the small group of Canada Geese on the lake, and I think these were all in adult plumage by now.

It was nice to see the variety of berries around the lakes, including these Dogwood, Cornus sanguinea berries, first unripe on one bush, and then much riper on the next bush.

There were a few plants of Hawksbeard Oxtongue by the path alongside The Ocean, nice to this probable native instead of the introduced Bristly Oxtongue.

Cliffe Pools

Walked up to Flamingo Pool where there were dozens of Great Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls roosting, together with a possible Whimbrel (very short bill, something of a central forehead stripe), Oystercatchers, Little Egrets, Coot and Great Crested Grebes.

At the start of the path there were perhaps a hundred Goldfinches on the bushes by the side of the track. I could hear Little Grebes calling across the central pool, where there were Redshanks and Lapwings roosting on the islands, and some Coot in the water.

Along the path I think I identified Bastard Cabbage, Rapistrum rugosum, with its clusters of small pale yellow flowers leaving behind long strings along the stems of double-chambered fruit, with the top segments abruptly narrowed into (0.8) 1 - 3.5 (5) mm styles, reminiscent of Chianti bottles. Rose has an amazing clear description - "Fruit with two joints. The upper globular, 3 mm wide, with a long beak like an old Chianti bottle, lower joint like a stout stalk".

Stace has it as subspecies linneanum with long thin appressed pedicels (1.5 - 5 x 0.3 - 0.7 mm) and seedless lower fruit segments. He also states that the fruits are also very variable in hairiness and degree of sculpturing, and these were not noticeably hairy.

It is an erect but well-branched annual, to 1 m., said to be hispid at least below. The leaves are dentate and a little fleshy, and in these plants today quite grey, possibly due to mildew. It flowers May to September.

The plant is introduced/naturalised from S. Europe, casual in waste and arable land, on tips, waysides and open grassland, frequent and increasing in C. and S. Britain. It has been introduced to N. America and it is classed as a noxious weed in Texas at least. It seems to smother other seedlings with its basal rosettes in the early phases but these do die off, as they have in these plants at this stage.

Lots of Bristly Oxtongue and other late summer flowers out.

White-rumped Sandpiper at Oare

Back to Oare, and I THINK I saw the Sandpiper in among the Dunlin on the far side of the ponds - somewhat darker speckles stretching lower down the breast. It was too far away to get a good photo but I thought the bird was a bit slimmer/sleeker and the tail was more pointed, fitting in with the primaries extending beyond the tail. However I didn't see the white rump itself!

I think this might be it, most easily seen, looking at the smaller birds to the back, and, hopefully, the slightly thinner bird with a shorter bill, below and to the right of the Dunlin:

There were a few Knot around, which I particularly enjoyed, here with one Redshank and some Golden Plover,

And there was a seal out in the Swale, popping its head out over the waves.

Oare Marshes - but still no Bonaparte!

Lots of varied Black-headed Gulls, Chroiocephalus ridibundus, though! A Snipe by the tussocks.

At least one Curlew Sandpiper in the middle distance, still with noticeable rusty underparts markings. I think there is one Common Redshank, behind and to the right, with apparently at least one albino feather.