If you look very, very hard indeed to the left of this group, you can see a Goosander swimming across, beneath the person clad in red. This freshwater fish-eater has become more frequent in our area in recent years, frequenting first reservoirs, then Main Rivers and now, absurdly, this tiny municipal pond in Alexandra Park. Perhaps not so absurd if you’re a Goosander, because the other birds to be found there (Black-headed Gulls, Egyptian Geese, Moorhens) do not avail themselves of the fish on offer. There have been up to 4 in recent weeks, leading “twitchers” to “flock” there, as new channels always insist on reporting it.
It’s 14 years ago that I first wrote about birds in this excellent park – on a much colder day in late January 2010 – when we saw a very similar number of species including very similar Star Birds and I made the prediction that has never been realised that it would be the ideal setting for a local Bird Group.
https://wordpress.com/post/rxbirdwalks.wordpress.com/594
If you search the blog archive, there are quite a few subsequent reports from the site.
More than 5 years have passed since I followed the suggestion of Phil J to set up an RXbirders Whatsapp group. It now has about 60 members, though with only a minority posting sightings, yet facilitates a group cohesion further aided over the last 2 years by the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre. It occurred to me recently that many of the members knew one another only by name, to which the addition of faces was now due. I’d been dithering about where & when might be suitable until Lee C proposed we meet At The Goosanders.
11 of us met up: some old friends, some old friends who’d not seen one another for ages, some new to the area, new to the group, new to the park and, having twitched the target species and captured cracking shots, we went for a walk. There was immediately so much to share that only two of us, lagging behind, noticed the Kingfisher hurtling across the lawn in front of the also-oblivious latte-drinkers on the café veranda. Other birds were remarkably consistent with those seen over the years, including Siskins & Firecrests, though Grey Wagtails were unusually obscure and Coots sadly missed.
The park on a Sunday morning is busy with families and dog-walkers ( we ticked a new breed: Glen of Imaal Terrier) who nearly always greet you and often show an interest in the birds you’ve seen (earlier on, when there weren’t so many people). In addition – and a great addition – there is now an excellent additional café – the Pump House: clean, bright, interesting menu, good coffee, clean toilets… up at the level of Harmer’s Pond.
Birding Walks in RXland 