ST MARY’S MARSH
Winter meets spring on the North Kent marshes
Bird-rich habitats along this section of the coastline include tidal mudflats and creeks, the Thames channel, plus adjacent farmland bisected by drainage ditches, reedbeds and scrub. The route partly follows the Saxon Shore Way coastal footpath and also takes in hinterland orchards and paddocks, plus a section of Northward Hill RSPB woodland reserve. Viewpoints across the estuary from the sea wall and the inlets overlooking Egypt and St Mary’s Bays are often productive for waders and wildfowl and may yield an early Wheatear along the track. Sightings of wintering birds are often tide dependent. At low tide the mudflats attract considerable numbers of shorebirds and wildfowl, particularly Curlew and Dunlin, Brent Geese and Wigeon, while sea ducks and grebes are frequently noted at high tide including a chance of Red-breasted Merganser, Common Scoter, Eider and Slavonian Grebe. Raptors can be encountered just about anywhere along the way, while the intertidal strip sometimes hosts a small flock of Snow Buntings, but rarely Shore Lark and Twite. Farmland fields and paddocks can yield Corn Buntings and check out any feral goose and swan flocks for something rarer in their midst, such as White-fronted and Bean Geese or a wild swan. While the birds will be mainly winter in flavour, there is always a chance of a first spring migrant, such as a Sand Martin or Garganey, while the Thames estuary has delivered Kentish Plover in the past.