Rise of the Curlews

A half-hour before dawn, and a lone Curlew calls over, would you believe it, Curlew Avenue, Lower Halstow. I hurry on down to the sea wall to beat the rising tide. Sixteen more Curlew go south, calling. I scan the flats. A gathering of Curlew are by Twinney Creek. Usually when gathering to roost Curlew gather alongside Millfordhope, never this close to shore. These are going inland. Twenty more take off. Then some singletons, then thirty-one together, and so on until 106 have made the flight to south of the village.

Scanning Millfordhope, just fourteen on the favoured flat. Another 26 around and about the creeks. Roughly 70% of the Lower Halstow Curlew had gone inland. Some would be on the fields at Forge Lane, others will go as far as Gore, or the Rift Valley.

Whilst some of the Curlew to the west of Ham Green head on land at Horsham and Bayford, birds further west have nowhere else to go, thanks to the urban sprawl of the Medway Towns. East of Lower Halstow, birds spread all along the Callum ridge.

This accounts for one of the routine WeBS problems during the winter months; the 'mid-day' counts underestimate the number of birds using the Medway as an evening roost. Unless you count Curlews at dawn, you will lose a fair number inland; a trawl around the fields between Iwade south to Bobbing, west to Newington then Moor Street, will turn up two or three times the number I'd had pass overhead this morning. Many get disturbed as the day goes on, but often they move further inland to keep field- feeding, rather than head for the mud.

Then there's Queenborough. Stand on that wall just before dawn, and you'll soon appreciate how many birds out in the fields around Sheerness use the Medway for their evening roost (mainly heading back over to the Shepherds Creek/Tailness area).

Of course, this won't bring the numbers up anywhere near the nationally important minimum, but explains why the estuary total can be exceeded along the south shore from time to time.
All an excuse to explore inland a bit more I guess..