Grey Phalarope

Lade - warm, dry, sunny - A cracking autumn day with warm sunshine throughout and light airs. There was plenty to see on the local patch first thing with a viz mig delivering a trickle of Mipits, Swallows, House Martins, Pied Wagtails, a few Goldfinches and Skylarks and a Grey Wagtail. Large flocks of Mipits, Starlings and Linnets were feeding on the Desert along with several Wheatears and Stonechats, where also five Kestrels, Sparrowhawk and Buzzard. Plenty of Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs could be heard around the ponds along with common finches, Cetti`s Warbler, Long-tailed Tits and Reed Buntings. The Greylag Goose flock made a spectacular return to south lake following their nocturnal foraging out on the Marsh, all 820 of `em!

                                         Peeka-boo Chiffy by the ponds

                                Wheatears enjoying the morning sun

Dungeness - An afternoon visit to ARC was a pleasant return to form with plenty of waders on show including 200 Lapwings, 80 Golden Plovers, five Dunlins, two each of Ruff, Snipe and Blackwit, plus Common and Green Sandpipers. Everywhere you looked there was egrets: eight Cattle, six Great White and five Littles. Also noted, Pintail, Garganey, Wigeon, Goldeneye, Marsh Harrier, Bittern, Hobby, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and more Chiffchaffs around the Willow Trail.

                                Cattle and Little Egrets

                                Great Whites in front of the hide

  News came through from ML concerning a Buff-breasted Sandpiper within a plover flock at Scotney. A scan of the front fields failed to deliver although I could see the flock distantly over towards the wind farm. All the usual feral geese on the front fields plus a few Curlews, Redshanks, Blackwit and a Whimbrel.
  An evening visit to the fishing boats produced distant views of a Grey Phalarope found earlier by the regular seawatchers, plus a couple of Arctic Skuas and a few Gannets on a flat calm sea.