Up and down the Stangate Strip

During the winter months a rising spring tide from the Chetney sea wall provides one of the best wader spectacles on the estuary. Make the walk out from Raspberry Hill to close where the path cuts east over the Peninsula, and watch towards Slaughterhouse Point. As the waters keep rising to cover the neap roost sites, more and more lines of birds head past you towards Barksore saltings. At first, small groups of Grey Plovers, Godwits, Curlews- then a procession, chains of waders large and small coming off of Greenborough, Burntwick and the Chetney saltings. As the tide tops, large flights of Oystercatcher and Curlew may take to the sky just north of you, joined by big numbers of Lapwing, sometimes pulling the Golden Plover up with them. From then until the safer roosts uncover, wheeling flights of aerial roosters keep tripping overhead. All the excitement of the Stangate Creek complex- without actually viewing very much of Stangate Creek.

Historically, for the birdwatcher Stangate has always been difficult to view from land. Certainly there's a distant sight-line from the right lay-by at Funton, while further away, the panorama from up on the Saxon Shore Way, but as most birders are not content with counting specks these days, few bother (40 months back, still not bumped into a birder up on Tiptree Hill). Searching the various local birding guides very few authors have touched on the importance of the creek.

Starting from the mouth, working clockwise, the eastern flats opposite Burntwick, Sharfleet Creek and the north-east corner of Greenborough run into an unnamed (on the charts I have seen at least) large serpentine creek (A) that cuts into Chetney marshes for nearly a kilometre from low mark to seawall. For my purposes I've called it Chetney Creek (but if anyone can put me right...).

From the angles available up on Tiptree Hill the Creek appears to be a pool. It certainly has a good deal of standing water nearby in the form of dykes and reed-fringed fleets. Flights of duck are up and about as the raptors pass over.

On low waters, many resting wildfowl mainly line these flats, while the majority of the 'local' waders will have moved just north and east along the main channel by Blackstakes (B). Come the rise a number, of these waders move into Chetney Creek, more with any northern/eastern element to the wind. Many Shelduck and geese (wild and feral) will be either side of the wall here throughout the tidal cycle.

As you continue south south relatively little mud is exposed until you reach (the impressively named) Chetney Hill, The old Blackstump Creek (C) is still in good shape and is used by many birds over the tide, even though the sea wall has cut the creek off. Some excellent habitat around the Creek has been further improved with a pool/scrape, sadly obscured from the Chetney footpath (yellow) but is viewable, distantly, from the Saxon Shore way on Tiptree Hill.

The low mound of Chetney Hill is made into a round island by the Chetney canal that surrounds it. To the south and east the canal holds few birds at roost (due in part to the proximity of the public footpath and farm buildings), but the west and north are relatively undisturbed over the tide. The western edge is the site of the Oystercatcher roost birders can scan from the lay-by on the Funton road. Loafing Brent often use the roost (with birds still using it now in Mid-May). The late winter Knot flock, which more usually favour Greenborough or Chetney Creek, sometimes crams itself on here; this past winter the Knot actually usurped the Oystercatchers for a while, who retreated en masse to the old dock by the footpath.

(For any local historians, there is also the interesting story of the Chetney Hill Lazaret.)

Stangate Creek now has a dog-leg to the west. This borders the eastern end of Barksore (G), which has a remnant area of saltings now mainly covered by spartina; larger waders like Curlew can retreat here during a spring tide, and many Little Egret and Grey Heron will also gather, but the biggest numbers are now found at the end of Stangate; on our clockwise journey we now swing north onto Greenborough at the three-way junction with Millfordhope and Halstow Creeks (H) a substantial pre-roost gathering of waders and wildfowl builds, which can hold out spread along the old sea wall as far as Slaughterhouse point on a neap. This is an important shelter when certain winds, or disturbance, hit the Funton complex, and is where some/all of the 'Funton' Avocets will usually be found when reported as 'missing' from their main roost.

For the remaining journey back north out of Stangate Creek the western sea walls are covered by gulleries in the summer months. In winter, many waders are spread along the same walls. On the low tide these birds move, in the main, west to the larger flats such as Ham Ooze. As far up as Sharfleet Creek (I) resting duck and especially Geese will be sat on the western mudflats. The Greenborough shoreline is the more routinely fowled, when the birds drop east to Chetney. It is a similar usage picture for Sharfleet Saltings (J) and on up to the mouth at Stangate Spit (K).

That is Stangate circumvented; within that outline, the waters of the creek keep a good depth over the low tide period, and can be a magnet for birds. In winters when a local notable such as, say, a Long-tailed Duck or Common Scoter take up residence, over the high tide they try to keep to a good feeding depth of water, so move into Funton or Halstow with the tide, but then back out into Stangate on the drop. Any number of Goldeneyes and Mergansers present will follow the same routine, as do the smaller Grebes and the odd Diver. Stangate is a safer haven than the wide open waters of the main river channel along Saltpan Reach.

The distant waters of Stangate Creek at mid-tide
(foreground Barksore and the flats of Funton Creek).

(An aside. I still deliberately remain on land for my birding; the various boat excursions for bird/seal watching nearly always end up in Stangate Creek, invariably turning up a good record or two around there. The birders that travel out on them swear by them. Whilst I can't personally vouch for any, a trawl around Queenborough quayside, Riverside Country Park {and even the 'floating tea room' at Lower Halstow} will find details of several different owners offering sailings.)

So, that's birds around Stangate, birds on Stangate, and now birds over Stangate. The mouth of the Stangate is the preferred arrival/departure for many of the breeding Terns that, in the main, prefer to head out to the open waters of the Greater Thames to fish. The southern end of the creek is directly below the flight-paths from Millfordhope/Halstow for waders/wildfowl en route to safe roosts. All the time birds are switching east to west to east over the rest of the creek. When breeding, the gulls routinely follow Stangate out south for feeding, or simply 'hop over' onto the Chetney fields to loaf/feed. The Marshes here are also used, pre-breeding, as gathering sites for returning birds, a time when counts of Mediterranean Gulls can reach three figures just inside the Creek.

Meds 'n' Black-heads, Chetney, April 2015

Human usage is, in the main, as an overnight mooring for small craft during the summer months, mainly along the western edge of the deep water channel. More than a dozen boats can be anchored at a busy weekend, in the main seen as little threat by the roosters/nesters (it is the smaller craft, sailing close to colonies on the high tide, that cause most disturbance (landings are mainly limited to the unsigned Burntwick island, but most going ashore soon realise not to go near the colonies).

Of course, this guide is for the benefit of anyone seeing the seaplane playing on the 'runway' designated by Peel Ports; it is easy to appreciate the disturbance caused when on the strip, but disturbance to birds alongside, beyond the seawall as the plane banks low will be apparent to any observer.

One lives in hope Peel Ports may yet see the problems for this internationally protected and internationally important area.

Coming into land in south-west Stangate, over Chetney Hill, July 2015

Chetney

By the time I reached my destination, the viewpoint up on Raspberry Hill, the cold had set in (for about the first time this winter), and I was torn between risking the cold seat or standing and stamping. I opted for the latter as, even through the dawn mist it was clear the birds were not settled and I had to watch all directions.

Birding the Chetney Peninsula can be daunting to those who do not know it. It has just the one main footpath, which as it crosses the land bisects it rather neatly; according to the OS maps to the south (closest to the viewpoint) is Chetney. To the north of the path are Chetney Marshes (the farm buildings in the picture are just north of this border). A good telescope is a must if you want to pick out the flocks on Chetney Marshes, but Chetney is much easier from the viewpoint, while the footpath can make a pleasant birding walk. For ease of recording I always note birds as being either on Chetney or on Chetney Marsh.

This morning five or six long lines of Lapwing were up at any one time over the marsh, with smaller clusters of Golden Plover mixed among them, tending to settle distantly on the Marsh.
Every now and then, from either Stangate or Millfordhope Creeks, a higher-flying flock of Knot would arrive, forming more tightly, often in a ball. They were clearly unsettled this morning. One group, two hundred or so strong, made their way down Funton Reach to Funton Creek where they gathered height to circle, almost as if they were looking for missing congeners. After ten minutes or so, they gave up on this circling and moved back to the Reach. Another species disrupted by the fireworks last night perhaps, looking to regather in numbers?

Many of the Pintail that are usually found on the Funton mud were out on Chetney. The pools closest to the seawall afford good drinking and bathing, and receive many visitors at the start of the day, but birds visiting here are always cautious. The seawall is part of the Saxon Shoreway footpath, one of the more popular footpaths locally, meaning walkers and joggers could be expected to appear shortly. To add to the birds' state, the land here is a commercial shoot. It specialises in game, but does have some wildfowling and the birds know to be wary.

To give them time this morning I decided not to disturb them by taking the circular walk myself. If I approached the pools most will be put back onto Funton Reach before time so I left them be to go back at their own pace instead.

The Pintail were intermixed with Shelduck, Teal and a handful of Coot. I carry out my usual pointless scan for diving duck. Pochard and Tufted Duck ignore these pools in winter, preferring deeper, more open waterbodies, and both can be hard to find along the south Medway just now. A few Gadwall and Shoveler will sometimes be found, but not this morning. Mallard are about, mainly on pools closer to the cottages at the foot of the hill. Many of them were released there and have not seen fit to wander far,remaining quite tame.

A Green Sandpiper rose up, calling incessantly. This is one of the more regular sites for these birds in the winter months.  In general terms, Sandpipers always find freshwater more attractive than other waders (a reason why wintering Common Sandpiper are rare here on the estuary compared to, say, further up the tidal Medway past Rochester Bridge, where the salinity is much lower).

A fair number of Wigeon were assembled on the short grass alongside the pools. The are happiest grazing close by water, for safety from smaller predators but, at the sight of a large threat, will also take flight for the mudflats. The sward is a mixed length, being mainly grazed by horses and cattle. There is shorter turf on the marshes, favoured by the Golden Plover and Lapwing and further still fields for the Geese.

One historic factoid concerning the the grass of the North Kent Marshes- when large areas were managed commercially, the quality was so good the cut turf was used by many professional sporting arenas in the south and east, including many of London's old Greyhound tracks and football pitches. The most famous client was the home of English football, Wembley. The pitch for the old stadium was usually cut from fields on Sheppey. Our North Kent Marshes are hallowed turf indeed.