A Trip to Oare Marshes

23rd July 2025

Our last trip to Oare Marshes was in 2022 so keeping an eye on the water  levels. A few days ago East Flood was virtually dry, but the recent rains had created the perfect habitat with the right combination of water and wet mud. The plan was to start the day looking for our two main targets, Whimbrel and Bonaparte's Gull along the river wall, but we were beaten by an exceptionally high tide which had covered all the mud on The Swale an hour and a half before the published time. So our new plan was to do a counter-clockwise circuit in the hope of finding some Bearded Tits by the sluice.

With Faversham Creek and The Swale still filling up and the west side of East Flood totally devoid of birds, it took a gorgeous male Linnet and Sedge Warbler to keep us occupied.

With such a high tide it was not too surprising there were thousands of Black-tailed Godwits roosting on the flood, the vast majority in summer  plumage. Also a number of Avocets.

I did manage to get a few shots of individuals out on The Swale later in the day.

Avocets can be a little more active during roosts with a few birds finding time for a preen and breaking away for a feed.

There were virtually no small waders in the roost and the few that were on view were by the road. Here is a juvenile Little Ringed Plover.

The only other small waders were two Common Sandpipers, seen here having some form of a stand-off.

So what about the two target species, Whimbrel and Bonaparte's Gull? Well the Whimbrel are normally found walking around on the acres of mud at low tide but today not a single one. The only one I found was behaving in a most peculiar way. Instead of being out in the middle of the mud it was feeding close in to a bank of vegetaion on the foreshore.

Never seen that before!!!

So where is the Bonaparte's Gull? Well I was scanning the outgoing tide when I came across an adult Mediterranean Gull just starting to moult into its winter plumage. Even had a Black-headed Gull for comparison.

But then the famous Bonaparte's Gull came into view in its favourite position just east of the slipway. This is the 13th year this American gull has been coming to Oare Marshes for its summer moult, and nobody has a clue where it spends the rest of the year, almost certainly not in the USA.

Enjoy!!!!

Just look how small it is next to a Black-headed Gull.