Harbour Porpoise

Dungeness - 0830hrs - cool, hazy sunshine, se 2 - Joined DW and PB on the concrete road for a seawatch this morning. A trickle of wildfowl and waders kept the interest going with east bound totals during the hour as follows: Red-throated Diver 15, Gannet 2, Brent 1, Shelduck 3, Common Scoter 30, Oystercatcher 3, Avocet 1, Grey Plover 3, Barwit 45, auk 5. The 1st winter Glaucous Gull also put in an appearance along the foreshore.
We spent another hour wandering across the peninsula the highlight being brief views of the Hume`s Leaf Warbler at the southern end of the trapping area. The only migrants of note were 3 Chiffchaffs and singles of Wheatear and Black Redstart. A Grey Heron near the Sanctuary caused the Herring Gulls to throw a wobbly, eventually driving the heron onto a cottage roof.

                                Harbour Porpoise, Lade

Lade - 1600hrs - Whilst wandering along the tide line collecting fire wood this afternoon we came across a dead Harbour Porpoise, sadly not a rare sight around Lade bay. Most of these little cetaceans are washed up with barely a scratch on them, presumably having been drowned in fishing nets, so called "by-catch" from a shockingly wasteful industry. Often they wash up minus their fins where they`ve been cut out of the nets.