Two Tree

[Eastside Urchin]

Also,how much is it to park?????

[Dagger03]

Sorry Rob - only just picked up on your post.

 

I usually park along the prom near to the Three Shells - it's something like 80p an hour, but you can park in the large car park behind the amusements (to the east of the pier and behind the main road) for about

[Eastside Urchin]

cheers dagsy,is the train still working on the pier?????

May pop up there tomorrow

[whatsthepoint]

just goes to prove UM you are an anorak, mental never

[Eastside Urchin]

I am both

[Dagger03]

Yes, the train is still working, but it is better to walk up and then ride back - price is the same.

 

Two Tree today - an hour before high tide - slightly misty / hazy and 5 degrees, strongish wind.

 

Not a great deal of variety, but thousands of dunlin, all performing synchronised flying. They came over from Leigh cockle sheds in v-ish formation, landed at the slipway end, then took off en masse, and then more came from the power station (which was hidden in the mist) and more still from Benfleet Creek.

 

A nice flock of linnet came over the salt marsh.

On the mud flat as the tide came in, apart from the dunlin, were a lot of turnstone, and a few oystercatcher, lapwing, redshank, and my own favourite, grey plover. Curlew along the reed area, and numberous b-h gulls.

 

It was quite a low high tide (only 4.5m) but it came in very quickly.

 

The lack of variety was made by by the highly spectacular dunlin formations.

 

Also mallard, pigeon, wood pigeon, crow, magpie, thrush - no brent geese, but the water was very choppy so they might have been hidden.

 

No sign of Rossi at Rossis.

 

[Eastside Urchin]

Had a day in today,went to go over rainham today but got there and forgot my footwear so came home and watched the nadal tennis match which i thought would be over by 11.30 and i would pop over then,but when it finished at 2.15 i decided to stay in.

Going minsmere for the weekend tomorrow!!!

[Dagger03]

Fri - 4pm - very low tide (way out) - hazy

 

A few redshank along the tide line

some shelduck,

mallard,

the inevitable magpie,

crow,

water pipit on the tufts on the mud near to the slipway car park.

flock of wood pigeon

a lot of dunlin doing formation flying

very large flock of knot in the background

turnstone

grey plover

fifteen seals off Rossi's in the usual place

cormorant fly past in line

plenty of black headed gulls

curlew

a few brent geese by not many

 

[Dagger03]

20th Sept - exceptionally high tide (6.1 metres)

 

The marsh was completely submerged.

 

As the tide came in, there was very little on the mud at the end of the slip way - oystercatcher, and over a hundred ringed plover, some turnstone, three little egrets, and a few redshank. And the usual black headed gulls, now all in winter plumage.

 

As the tide rose higher the ringed plover began to leave, and what at first seemed just a hundred began to seem more like 300 as wave after wave went along Benfleet Creek.

 

A skylark took off, and a juvenile lapwing wandered alongside the marsh.

 

Curlew began to make their appearance, and as the tide got higher and took out all of the marsh, so we realised that there were well over one hundred little egret slowly appearing above the tide line. Heron made their appearance, then a few brent geese came in, followed by something of a surprise - a flock of about thirty wigeon - bit early for wigeon and it took a long time to realise what they were.

 

Twenty avocet and some greenshank reported on the lagoon, but of the hundreds of black tailed godwit only a few came in to the east side of the slip.

 

As the tide receded, a largish flock of dunlin tried their usual formation flying, greater black backed gulls came in close, and a very large seal popped up to watch a couple of canoes going by. Lots of small fish on the surface as well.

 

The curlew came back in numbers, likewise oystercatcher and ringed plover.

 

Nothing out of the ordinary, but I have never seen the tide as high as this before.

[Eastside Urchin]

Thats strange,i was unaware there was such a high tide yesterday,never seen the marsh completely under before

[Dagger03]

1st November - just after high tide - heavy rain.

 

Tide was just beginning to recede, and in the creek there was a family of five shoveler, not all that common on Two Tree, followed by teal, mallard, and moorhen. Then the first little egret forced its way through the strong wind and landed.

 

As the mud began to appear the brent geese started to arrive. In the distance, what at first looked like a large flock of knot turned out to be several large flocks of dunlin. These were soon followed by curlew, which came in with the dunlin, then more little egret, one lapwing, and a large turnout of turnstone and ringed plover.

 

A bar tailed godwit started feeding, and an immaculate grey plover turned up. Brent geese were well spread out and not in their usual large flock.

 

Next, magpie, wood pigeon, black headed, common and two juvenile herring gulls, and then it was off to Rossi at Westcliff to look for Rossi - which, right on cue, posed for photographs just a few yards away, in a sideways profile which displayed to perfection the ringed bill.

 

A cormorant was perched nearby, and a large greater black backed gull was almost on the shore.