Sunday 2 January 2011

Chatham Maritime, Cliffe & (Ito Way), Gillingham

Following a late night we decided to start the new year at a fairly relaxed pace, primarily at Cliffe, dropping into nearby Chatham Maritime on route. It was at the Maritime basins we arrived to good views of a Shag that was swimming and feeding fairly close to the basin wall. Moving onto nearby Cliffe (Alpha Pool), we saw: Velvet Scoter (1), Eider (1 female), Red-breasted Merganser (1 female), Goldeneye (2 female), Marsh Harrier (1), Redwing (2), Scaup (1 male, 1 immature male & 2 females) and a Tufted Duck x Pochard hybrid.

Finally as the light fell away and the weather deteriorated around 15:30, we headed through Gillingham and were fortunate to come across three Waxwings near to where Ito Way meets Sharps Green on the edge of the Medway Estuary.

Shag
 
Great Crested Grebe

Velvet Scoter

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