Having seen a probable flock of Corn Bunting last week from the eastern gate, I was keen to see whether they were indeed out on the marsh. Whilst I count birds I see from the gate, I don't often wander that far on to the marsh. Having only seen 1 Corn Bunting in 5 years of observing here, I thought I would walk out for a while to see whether I could encounter any signs of them. It was pleasing to see a few Yellow Wagtail, Reed and Sedge Warbler and constant scanning did reveal a flock of likely birds which went down into the wheat field. I made my way through the long grass but on reaching the area, there was no sign of any birds. I needn't of worried as a few minutes later 8 Corn Bunting (109) flew over calling. I was now pretty confident that the c60 birds I saw last week were indeed Corn Buntings. As I walked back quite happy, a familiar call had me looking up as 3 Common Tern (110) flew over in the direction of Reculver. This I believe equals my best ever year total at Nethergong. Other birds noted today included 1 Bittern booming from the Stour Valley, 8 Whitethroat, 4 Chiffchaff, 1 Mistle Thrush, 2 Cuckoo, 8 Reed Warbler, 4 Blackcap, 6 Swallow, 6 Stock Dove, 2 Great spotted Woodpecker, 2 Grey Heron, 2 Cetti's Warbler, 5 Yellowhammer, 3 Sedge Warbler, 2 Linnet, 3 Reed Bunting, 2 Lesser Whitethroat and the 3 Common Tern flying back towards Stodmarsh with a fish each. There were 2 Long tailed Tit, 1 Green Woodpecker, 2 Kestrel, 2 Mute Swan, 2 Skylark, 2 Lapwing, 4 Common Buzzard, 1 Jay, 2 Bullfinch, c30 Swift, 6 Sand Martin and 1 Marsh Harrier. A few night sessions recording during the week turned up very little but this morning at 03:32am, 1 Oystercatcher (111) flew over calling. This is a new bird for the patch and makes this year so far, the best recording total in my five years of recording here. Hopefully there will be a few more birds to be seen and heard throughout the year and maybe 115 species is a reality.
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