Bits & pieces

Lade - 1200hrs - mild, rain, cloudy, nw 2 - Heavy overnight rain continued through the morning with a fine drizzle and a muggy atmosphere. On south lake a Black-necked Grebe was new in along with another Greenshank. A roost of 150 Curlews on the storm beaches were disturbed by a male Marsh Harrier which also contained five Barwits and a Grey Plover. Around 100 Sand Martins and a few Swifts hawked insects over the willow swamp while a Hobby zipped through.
ARC - At the south end from the causeway road two Blackwits and a Redshank amongst a motley collection of Little Egrets, Cormorants and eclipse ducks.

                                Blackwits, ARC

Dungeness - The Patch was quiet this afternoon with singles of Med Gull, Kittiwake and Yellow-legged Gull the only noteworthys amongst a couple of hundred large gulls and 50 Common Terns. On the walk back a Green Sandpiper flew over calling and headed out to sea.
An hour from the fishing boats delivered a handful of terns, Gannets and little else, while a Grey Seal was once again patrolling just offshore.

                                Great Black-backed Gull, Dungeness