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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Isle of Sheppey tips required (1 Viewer)

wolfbirder

Well-known member
Making my first day trip to this renowned location on Nov 11th. I have read up about this large area, and note that Elmley marshes, Capel fleet, and The Swale are all good for raptors.
I would really appreciate any tips as to which of the 3 is currently most productive for raptors. Hope to see Hen Harrier, peregrine, merlin and SE Owl (am I expecting too much?). It may be too much to get to all 3 places in a day, so I think I will concentrate on one or maybe two of the three. Is a time of day (i.e. roost) most productive to see them or do they favour a specific area for day hunting? I realise raptors can wander and it is purely subjective, but I really want to pin down any Hen Harriers imparticularly, that may be around so any tips would be massively appreciated.
 
Elmely RSPB reserve is always worth a visit. Turn right shortly after crossing the bridge onto the island at the RSPB sign. There is a long track to the car park - keep your eyes peeled as you are driving as good birds can be see from the car. It is quite a long walk around the reserve but usually rewarding for raptors.

After this I would go to Harty/Capel. From Elmley follow the road to Eastchurch/Leysdown. Turn right off the main road where shown on this map http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=600850&y=170450&z=4&sv=600850,170450&st=4&ar=Y&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf&ax=600850&ay=170450
signposted to the Harty Inn. Down this road there is now an official view point where you can pull off. I would get there an hour or 2 before dark. No guarantees but SE Owl, Marsh and Hen Harriers, Merlin are regular. Maybe the wintering RL Buzzard will have returned by then as well.

Let me know if you need more info.

Good luck!
 
I'd second Elmley as a first choice (if that makes sense!). I was there on sunday morning and the first raptor was kestrel, followed by four marsh harriers. The surprise of the day was a common buzzard being bothered by crows, and the final raptor of the day was a beautiful female merlin preening in the sun. She was quite a long way off and I wouldn't have spotted her without a scope but she made my day anyway. I also saw good numbers of grey partridge plus all the usual suspects. I went as far as the car park and orchard looking for the long eared owl, but, once again I failed to locate it, I think it may be a myth that it's there at all...

When driving to the island try going via the 'lower road' (sorry, I don't know what it is properly called). It runs alongside the river, turn left from the A2 and go through Upchurch. I have seen SEO there before and the marsh there is always worth a look for waders etc, also little owl by the road.

Have a great day!

Woody
 
Hi Wolfbirder, Elmley is the place for raptors. I first visited there in February 1982 and bagged SE Owls (male displaying to a female sitting on a fence post on the entrance to the car park). Hen Harrier(f) mobbed by 3 Peregrines! Marsh Harriers seemed to be the commonest bird that day. Merlin hacking over the marsh and landing on a barn. The day was topped off by a fabulous male Hen Harrier trying to grab a sitting Kestrel, on a post next to the hide! On subsequent visits have also seen a real close-up of a hunting Barn Owl and also Little Owl. LEO's have been seen this year in the little orchard (next to the car park). It's also a great place for waders and the odd rarities such as Cattle/GW Egret etc,. As Robinm says, the road to the Harty Ferry Inn is good for RL Buzzard - if they're about this year.
Good luck
 
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really grateful to the 3 of you and it has reallly whetted my appetite. let sjust hope it aint a washout of a day (th eonly thing that could ruin things). Based on the advice the 3 have given I think I shall spen dthe bulk of the day at Elmley Marshes, and then perhaps drive to Harty about 3pm , and ommit the Swale altogether as that wasnt mentioned and also from what have read its a huge area to cover anyway.
Look forward to letting you know how I get on.

Many thanks for your kindness.
 
wolfbirder said:
really grateful to the 3 of you and it has reallly whetted my appetite. let sjust hope it aint a washout of a day (th eonly thing that could ruin things). Based on the advice the 3 have given I think I shall spen dthe bulk of the day at Elmley Marshes, and then perhaps drive to Harty about 3pm , and ommit the Swale altogether as that wasnt mentioned and also from what have read its a huge area to cover anyway.
Look forward to letting you know how I get on.

Many thanks for your kindness.


I was down there two weeks ago. The Marsh Harriers were very abundant, and we saw Merlins. If you head towards Shellhaven abd Capel there is a 'raptor viewing point' that is good. For raptors I think this is better than Elmley Marshes itelf, but things change from day to day. I dont think many Hen Harriers have been seen this season, but there are SE owls around.

Shellhaven is excellent for waders as well.
 
yep, I've often found Capel very productive raptor wise, on occasion get ridiculously close views of Marsh Harriers and SE Owls and very good for Merlin, though as Paul say's things vary from day to day
 
I have reported my day on another thread, but as I got tips on this thread I thought I would give an update to anyone vaguley interested.
The weather was fantastic for the 4 hours I had.
Elmley was excellent - 8 Grey Partridge by the entrance track offered cracking close views, and a wonderful local birder on a bike pointed out the Cattle Egret for me (lifer). I would never have found it. It was weird watching it glue itself to one particular cow. He was full of knowledge and really kind and helpful to me.
Raptor wise, I had several Marsh Harriers, a ringtail hen harrier, female Merlin on the approach track to the first hide, peregrine, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard & kestrels. A lovely male Stonechat posed nicely too. Due to wanting to get to Capel Fleet I only walked as far as the bank by the first hide at Elmley, and scanned for a while from there. It was a trade off - I wanted to explore more but didnt want to miss anything spectacular at Capel fleet.
Round at the Capel Fleet, I watched a Short Eared Owl and sparrowhawk tussle. Kestrels hovered and marsh harriers circled on either side of the road.
As the light faded activity increased with harriers prominant. From the raptor viewpoint most activity was back in the direction of Elmley - perhaps quarter of a mile away, as harriers and several SE Owls circled. And with the setting sun creating a lovely effect but reducing visibility enormously, observation was challenging to say the least. A Barn Owl passed across the field, and I think a distant male Hen harrier was in the roost. A large Buzzard perched for 45 minutes on a fencepost, I identified it as the juv RL Buzzard that arrived a day earlier. It had a pale shaggy head & with my zoom I thought the pale tail was obvious when it preened, others did not. The light was poor, and eventually when it flew it just flew sideways and the tail could not be seen initially. But at distance it twice momentarily banked to reveal its pale rump, and even the wise cynics then agreed. So a cracking way to finish off a great day at a smashing location.
 
Would the raptor viewpoint at Capel be accessible to a wheelchair user (manual wheelchair or powered)? I'm thinking of going to Sheppey tomorrow.

Steve
 
Hi Steve,

I'm pretty sure that it would be.

I've only been there the once, but from what I can recall, there is just a short, not particularly steep, ramp up from the car park.

To be honest, all that the viewpoint gives you is a slight bit of elevation from the surrounding area, so the car-park would do almost as well.

Main priority is to be able to get the car off of the road, which can be easily achieved.

Good luck if you do go.


Rgds... Ruby
 
SteveDimond said:
Would the raptor viewpoint at Capel be accessible to a wheelchair user (manual wheelchair or powered)? I'm thinking of going to Sheppey tomorrow.

Steve

Pretty sure it is Steve; access is by a shallow ramp which has a firm, gravelly surface.
Couldn't find the rough-legged buzzard there on Monday though. Plenty of other raptors (and short-eared owl) and there are whitefronts and Bewick's swans in the area, though often distant. Also three short-eareds at Harty Ferry (viewable from the car park below the pub)

Sean
 
Went to the raptor viewpoint yesterday for the first time. Got there at 8am (earliest I possibly could) and stayed for half an hour. Returned for another half an hour just after 4pm. Very disappointing - only saw Marsh Harriers and Kestrels, no owls at all.

Spent the rest of the day at Elmley, where we saw more of the same as well as a female Hen Harrier. Never seen one of those before, so the day goes down as a success. Not sure about Capel Fleet, that's all.
 
GrumpyEagle said:
Not sure about Capel Fleet, that's all.

That's a shame as Capel Fleet nearly always produces the goods. You might want to consider another spot further along the road much closer to the Harty Ferry inn. Park in one of the small lay-bys 300-400 yards before you reach Mockett's farm, or, park off the road on the grass near the farm and walk back. On the right hand side (ie, looking towards Elmley) is a broad footpath. This is apparently a new path and it has replaced an older one (so I heard). Walk halfway down the hill and start scanning. I had excellent views of the RLB, Merlin, Peregrine, Hen harrier, MH, SEO etc here last year. If you walk to the botom of the hill and turn right, you should see Common Buzzards sat on fence posts. Good luck!

I seem to remember that you asked about New Hythe a short while back? Well you may be interested to know that Martin Coath, the Chairman of the Kent Ornithological Society (a society that is incredibly cheap to join at £12 a year) is leading a walk at New Hythe on the 6th January. The Ferruginous Duck has returned so there's a good chance of seeing that. I'm going to get there half an hour before the walk to see if I can stake out the Bitterns.
 
I was at Capel Fleet on Saturday afternoon, and yes, it was unusually quiet. I suspect Sheppey doesn't yet have its full complement of wintering raptors. I had just one merlin and a common buzzard in addition to the usual large numbers of marsh harriers.
I had ringtail hen harrier, peregrine and short-eared owl at Elmley on Monday, along with my first lapland bunting at that site since the early Nineties.
Sheppey will get better... indeed, I note there have now been two reports of rough-legged buzzard at Capel Fleet.

Sean
 
I've only made a summer visit here so far, but i'm really looking forward to the winter visit. I only just managed to get around three sites in the summer daylight hours so it could be a struggle in the winter.

I'd definately go to Elmley and Chapel fleet though.

Don't forget that there may be some good birds on the far east of the island at the NNR i think its the combined swale/sway?
 
andrew lawson said:
That's a shame as Capel Fleet nearly always produces the goods. You might want to consider another spot further along the road much closer to the Harty Ferry inn. Park in one of the small lay-bys 300-400 yards before you reach Mockett's farm, or, park off the road on the grass near the farm and walk back. On the right hand side (ie, looking towards Elmley) is a broad footpath. This is apparently a new path and it has replaced an older one (so I heard). Walk halfway down the hill and start scanning. I had excellent views of the RLB, Merlin, Peregrine, Hen harrier, MH, SEO etc here last year. If you walk to the botom of the hill and turn right, you should see Common Buzzards sat on fence posts. Good luck!

I seem to remember that you asked about New Hythe a short while back? Well you may be interested to know that Martin Coath, the Chairman of the Kent Ornithological Society (a society that is incredibly cheap to join at £12 a year) is leading a walk at New Hythe on the 6th January. The Ferruginous Duck has returned so there's a good chance of seeing that. I'm going to get there half an hour before the walk to see if I can stake out the Bitterns.

Cheers Andrew, but I'll be working overseas for 3 months from next week, so I won't get to New Hythe until late Feb. I hope the Bittern is still there when I get back, as I will definitely be looking for it.

Wednesday was my last trip of the year, shame that we didn't reach 50 species, but seeing a Hen Harrier for the first time was fantastic. Might have a chance of sneaking out for an hour when I come back for a weekend visit if there have been any interesting sightings in the area, e.g. Waxwings. Unlikely to get to Sheppey again for at least a year though.
 
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