G.A.S

Lade - 0730hrs - mild, cloudy, e 2 - A much better night in the garden mv with 12 species of moths including a Yellow-tail and Cypress Carpet as a reminder of the summer. That theme continued over the pits with Small Tortoiseshell, Small Heath, Common Blue and a Painted Lady on the wing, plus late flowering Bugloss, Catchfly and several Chiffchaffs in song in the warm sunshine. At least 20 Chiffchaffs were present across the site, a Greater pecker and the first two Goldcrests of the autumn, while overhead a trickle of Mipits, Swallows, Reed Buntings and Skylarks moved south.
South lake was smothered in common wildfowl including four Snow Geese types amongst the feral goose collection. Walking back along the beach 15 Pied Wagtails were picking up insects amongst a scattering of Barwits, Turnstones and Dunlins.

                               Snow Geese, Lade, fresh in from their Arctic breeding grounds...

Dungeness -  Joined G.A.S (Gull Appreciation Society) this afternoon down at the boats for a master class in gull identification. With fish guts and popcorn on offer a decent size flock of mainly Great Black-backs and Herring Gulls had gathered on the beach for the aficionados to drool over, along with a few Lesser Blacks. Offshore were a number of Black-headed and Common Gulls, plus an adult and 2nd winter Yellow-legged Gull, eight Meds, four Kitts and a passing Little Gull. Small numbers of Common, Sandwich and two Arctic Terns were also feeding offshore, while three Arctic Skuas came and went. Further out a flock of 20 Common Scoter flew down-Channel.

                                2nd winter Yellow-legged Gull, Dungeness

                                Great Black-back defending fish waste in bucket                               

                                Gulls, Dungeness