March migrants

Dungeness - 0800hrs - mild, cloudy, sw 2 - A stroll down to the Patch delivered yesterdays 1st winter Iceland Gull still hanging around on the beach with hundreds of its commoner congers. Offshore 100 Red-throated Divers moved between the bays.

                               Iceland Gull, a typical spring passage migrant

Lade - Moving onto the local patch where the Herring Gulls along the coastal strip went into meltdown as we approached south lake. Up went the Jackdaws, Crows, Starlings and Feral Pigeons joining the gulls in a great swirling mass and noise of birds. Eventually, I located the cause of their actions, a stratospheric Red Kite that drifted steadily northwards over New Romney.
  On the lake a large gull roost had assembled comprising at least 500 Common Gulls, another typical spring migrant. The Long-tailed Duck put in a brief appearance as did a Dartford Warbler, while Grey Wagtail (rare here), Snipe, Redshank, Cetti`s Warbler, Green Woodpecker and Marsh Harrier were all noted.

                                A few of the hundreds of Common Gulls present

  This afternoon we checked out the Kerton Road quarry where a couple of Skylarks sang from on high in the warm sunshine. Shelduck, Oystercatcher and a pair of Stonechats also noted.