Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 26th August 2025

Date: 26th August 2025

Time: from 9:15 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny, light wind, 19°C to 21°C

I started my visit this morning with little expectation of a large species list or anything unusual.

However, it proved to be an exceptional visit with my first definite site record of Red Kite, a single bird which I saw from the northern section of the site flying slowly and distantly in a southerly direction.

I say “definite” because I did see a Red Kite from my flat in February 2024 (see here) which did appear to be heading in the direction of my St. Nicholas Church local patch site.

Unfortunately, I was only able to get a record photo of this morning’s Red Kite which I have heavily cropped.

Photo: Red Kite

If Red Kite wasn’t enough, I also saw a Common Buzzard (for my fifth successive visit to the site) and a female Sparrowhawk. The Common Buzzard was being continually harassed by a Carrion Crow and I was able to get a few photos. I only had an extremely brief view of the Sparrowhawk as it flew past over the pond at eye level and there was no chance of a photo!

Photo: Common Buzzard

Photo: Common Buzzard and Carrion Crow

Photo: Common Buzzard

The other highlights during my visit were as follows:

Chiffchaff: 3 calling birds including 1 seen in bushes around the pond

Blackcap: 1 alarm calling bird unseen in the area near the pond

Green Woodpecker: 1 (possibly a juvenile) seen as it flew into trees next to the pond

There appeared to be an increase in bird activity, especially in respect of Blue Tits, Great Tits and Long-tailed Tits plus Jays who will doubtless be shortly be foraging for the abundant acorns.

After an exceptionally good spring and summer for butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies, I only recorded Small White (c.5) and Gatekeeper (2) during this visit.

As I arrived at the pond, I had a very obscured view of a Reeves' Muntjac at the edge which obviously had a better view of me since it quickly bolted.

The abundance of autumn fruits and nuts, including blackberries, sloes, hips, haws, acorns and horse chestnut "conkers", is still very apparent.

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Blackcap

Chiffchaff

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Long-tailed Tit

Robin

Wren

Goldfinch

Red Kite

Common Buzzard

Sparrowhawk

Green Woodpecker

Jay

Magpie

Woodpigeon

Herring Gull

Reeves' Muntjac

Small White

Gatekeeper

Here are some other photos from my visit:

Photo: Goldfinch

Photo: Goldfinch

Photo: Goldfinch

Photo: Goldfinch

Photo: Blue Tit

Photo: Blue Tit

Site totals for 2025 to date (2024 totals in brackets):  

Birds = 44 (49)

Mammals = 4 (3)

Butterflies = 23 (17)

Dragonflies and damselflies = 11 (11)

Reptiles = 0 (0)

Amphibians = 0 (0) 

Total species list for the site 

Birds = 69

Mammals = 8

Butterflies = 26

Dragonflies and damselflies = 14

Reptiles = 1

Amphibians = 0

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Trip away from SS15 – RSPB Rainham Marshes – 23rd August 2025

RSPB Rainham Marshes is not far from my home and easily visited by public transport which I do several times a year.

RSPB Rainham Marshes protects 411 hectares of ancient, low-lying grazing marsh in the Thames Estuary. Its complex of wet grassland, reedbeds, scrapes, pools and ditches, together with grassland, scrub and woodland, supports many breeding and wintering birds. Wildlife also includes scarce wetland plants and insects and a key population of the nationally declining Water Vole. 

My main target species this morning was Wood Sandpiper that had been reported in varying numbers up to 5 birds for the last few days. I successfully saw 2 Wood Sandpipers from the Ken Barrett hide, this species taking my UK year list for 2025 to 176 species.

The highlights of my visit were as follows (heard only records in italics): Wood Sandpiper (2), Green Sandpiper (3), Ruff (2), Curlew (6), Common Snipe (1), Black-tailed Godwit (2 flocks of c.50 each), Lapwing (c.25), Great White Egret (2), Little Egret (4), Grey Heron (2), Little Grebe (3), Coot (c.50), Moorhen (c.10 plus 5 juveniles), Mute Swan (4 plus 4 juveniles), Canada Goose (2), Gadwall (c.200), Mallard (c.10), Common Tern (5), Great Black-backed Gull (1), Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Peregrine (3), Marsh Harrier (2), Kestrel (1), Bearded Tit (several birds calling at 2 different locations), Chiffchaff (1 singing male and 1 calling bird), Blackcap (1 alarm calling bird), Common Whitethroat (1), Cetti’s Warbler (3 singing males)

Another birder reported a Spotted Flycatcher near the Ken Barrett hide.

In addition, I recorded the following: Ruddy Darter (c.10), Small and/or Large White (c.10)

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Record from my flat - Common Buzzards

This really is becoming a habit now! The sightings of Common Buzzard keep on coming!

This afternoon at 12:15 p.m., I saw THREE Common Buzzards soaring well beyond the houses opposite my flat and almost certainly over my St. Nicholas Church local patch site.

I have seen at least one Common Buzzard on each of my last four visits to my nearby St. Nicholas Church local patch site and this sighting from my flat follows three previous sightings this month and three in July 2025.

After the last sighting just yesterday, I said that it seems reasonable to assume that there is at least one bird resident in the local area rather than all of these sightings being birds just passing through. Having seen three birds together today, I am now speculating as to whether there has been successful breeding of Common Buzzard in the local area with this group representing an adult pair and a juvenile or an adult and two juveniles. 

There has been a significant and welcome increase in sightings recently following a scarcity during the first half of the year.

Sightings of Common Buzzard have been much lower in the last few years after a peak of activity during 2022. However, 2025 is already an improvement on 2024.

Summary of Common Buzzard records during the last 5 years:

2021: 11 dates involving 13 birds

2022: 26 dates involving 38 birds

2023: 8 dates involving 8 birds

2024: 3 dates involving 3 birds

2025: 10 dates involving 15 birds

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Record from my flat - Common Buzzard

 The sightings of Common Buzzard keep on coming!

This morning at 12:50 p.m., I briefly saw a Common Buzzard flying distantly well beyond the houses opposite my flat and almost certainly over my St. Nicholas Church local patch site.

I have seen at least one Common Buzzard on each of my last four visits to my nearby St. Nicholas Church local patch site and this sighting from my flat follows the last on 17th August 2025, another on 13th August 2025 and three in July 2025.

It seems reasonable to assume that there is at least one bird resident in the local area rather than all of these sightings being birds just passing through.

There has been a significant and welcome increase in sightings recently following a scarcity during the first half of the year.

Sightings of Common Buzzard have been much lower in the last few years after a peak of activity during 2022. However, 2025 is already an improvement on 2024.

Summary of Common Buzzard records during the last 5 years:

2021: 11 dates involving 13 birds

2022: 26 dates involving 38 birds

2023: 8 dates involving 8 birds

2024: 3 dates involving 3 birds

2025: 9 dates involving 12 birds

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Record from my flat - Common Buzzard

This morning at 9:30 a.m., I heard a calling Common Buzzard and then briefly saw 2 birds as they flew over the wooded area beyond my flat in a northerly direction.

I have seen at least one Common Buzzard on each of my last four visits to my nearby St. Nicholas Church local patch site and this sighting from my flat follows the last on 13th August 2025 and three in July 2025. This is a significant and welcome increase following a scarcity in sightings during the first half of the year.

Sightings of Common Buzzard have been much lower in the last few years after a peak of activity during 2022. However, 2025 is already an improvement on 2024.

Summary of Common Buzzard records during the last 5 years:

2021: 11 dates involving 13 birds

2022: 26 dates involving 38 birds

2023: 8 dates involving 8 birds

2024: 3 dates involving 3 birds

2025: 8 dates involving 11 birds

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Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature

Record from my flat - Common Buzzard

This afternoon at 3:50 p.m., I heard a calling Common Buzzard and then briefly saw it as it flew over the wooded area beyond my flat.

I have seen at least one Common Buzzard on each of my last four visits to my nearby St. Nicholas Church local patch site and this sighting from my flat follows three in July 2025. This is a significant and welcome increase following a scarcity in sightings during the first half of the year.

Sightings of Common Buzzard have been much lower in the last few years after a peak of activity during 2022. However, 2025 is already an improvement on 2024.

Summary of Common Buzzard records during the last 5 years:

2021: 11 dates involving 13 birds

2022: 26 dates involving 38 birds

2023: 8 dates involving 8 birds

2024: 3 dates involving 3 birds

2025: 7 dates involving 9 birds

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The Inglorious 12th

Today on the #inglorious12th months of hard work by organised criminals wiping our natural heritage comes to fruition.
And all so they can kill yet more animals for fun and profit. pic.twitter.com/tFIiuvgNau

— RareBirdAlertUK (@RareBirdAlertUK) August 12, 2025

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Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 10th August 2025

Date: 10th August 2025

Time: from 9:15 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny, light wind, 19°C to 24°C

Again prompted by the success of recent visits and the very warm early morning weather, I had another visit to the site with butterflies and dragonflies and damselflies in the grassland area and the pond in the northern section of the site being my main targets.

It proved to be another very successful visit and I recorded another new species for the site for 2025: Clouded Yellow

I was just leaving the northern section of the site when I noticed a bright yellow coloured butterfly. I initially thought it was a Brimstone although it didn’t seem quite right for that species. Fortunately, it landed and I was able to identify it as a Clouded Yellow.

The Clouded Yellow is one of the truly migratory European butterflies and a regular but uncommon visitor to the UK. Although some are seen every year, the species is famous for occasional mass immigrations and subsequent breeding which are known as ''Clouded Yellow years''.

I can not remember the last time that I saw a Clouded Yellow and I certainly haven’t recorded this species in my SS15 area before.

Photo: Clouded Yellow

Photo: Clouded Yellow

Photo: Clouded Yellow

During my visit, I recorded 7 butterfly species. The number of butterfly species that I have recorded in 2025 (23) is already well in excess of that recorded in 2024 (17).

Sightings of birds were generally few, as expected during the summer months, but, for the fourth successive visit to the site, I did see a Common Buzzard. As I walked along the access track from Larkins Tyres, I could hear a loudly “mewing” bird which I assumed was in flight. Unfortunately, due to the tree canopy, I could not see it. However, as I emerged form the wooded area into the northern section of the site, a Common Buzzard flew out of the large oak tree and away from me in a northerly direction.

The other highlights during my visit were as follows:

Chiffchaff: 3 calling birds

Blackcap: 3 calling birds

Stock Dove: 1 again heard calling in the northern section of the site

Green Woodpecker: 1 heard calling in the northern section of the site

Great Spotted Woodpecker: red-capped juvenile heard and then seen as it flew into a tree bordering the church car park

Butterflies (in addition to Clouded Yellow):

–    Common Blue (1)

–    Peacock (1)

–    Gatekeeper (at least 50)

–    Meadow Brown (at least 5)

–    Green-veined White (2)

–    Small White (3)

Dragonflies and damselflies:

–    Common Darter (mating pair plus 2 other males)

–    Unidentified “hawker” species (2)

–    Unidentified “blue” species (1)

There is already an abundance of autumn fruits and nuts around the site: blackberries, sloes, hips, haws, acorns, horse chestnut "conkers".

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Blackcap

Chiffchaff

Blue Tit

Long-tailed Tit

Robin

Wren

Song Thrush

Goldfinch

Common Buzzard

Green Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Jay

Magpie

Stock Dove

Woodpigeon

Clouded Yellow

Common Blue

Small White

Gatekeeper

Meadow Brown

Common Darter

After watching a couple of instructional videos from Roger Hance and Steve Hedges on YouTube, I tried some butterfly flight photography using Pro-capture on my OM-1 camera. It is very difficult! There were 100s of binned efforts but a few were OK and I have included them below:  

Photo: Peacock

Photo: Peacock

Photo: male Common Blue

Photo: male Common Blue

Photo: male Common Blue

Photo: Green-veined White

Photo: Gatekeeper

Photo: Gatekeeper

Photo: Gatekeeper

Photo: Gatekeeper

Photo: Gatekeeper

Photo: Gatekeeper

Photo: Gatekeeper

Photo: Gatekeeper

Photo: Gatekeeper

Photo: Gatekeeper

Photo: Gatekeeper

Photo: Meadow Brown

Photo: Meadow Brown

Photo: male Common Darter

Photo: male Common Darter

Photo: Sun Fly

Photo: Lesser Hornet Hoverfly

Photo: Dock Bugs

Site totals for 2025 to date (2024 totals in brackets):  

Birds = 43 (49)

Mammals = 4 (3)

Butterflies = 23 (17)

Dragonflies and damselflies = 11 (11)

Reptiles = 0 (0)

Amphibians = 0 (0) 

Total species list for the site 

Birds = 69

Mammals = 8

Butterflies = 26

Dragonflies and damselflies = 14

Reptiles = 1

Amphibians = 0

Love nature .... act now

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