Purple Herons

Dungeness - cool, cloudy, NE 2 - The northerly air-flow made for another frigid morning for our Ted walk around the peninsula. Starting at the top of Long Pits we worked our way out across the wigwams and through the Trapping Area noting very little apart from a few Linnets, Skylarks, singing Chiffchaffs a Blackcap and a Grey Plover overhead calling. Two Black Redstarts singing from A station and a Stonechat by the old lighthouse livened things up a little, but the sea was very quiet; so quiet in fact that by 0900hrs even the sea-watchers had given up. I abandoned any hope of finding anything in the Desert due to the wind, so elected to walk back to the car along the more sheltered western side of Long Pit. En-route, a few more Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Sedge and my first Reed Warblers of spring were noted, plus a cracking adult male Marsh Harrier overhead. A pulse of Swallows pushed north at the top of Long Pits as we completed the circuit. And just as I was lamenting what a poor return it had been for two hours slogging across the shingle, from out amongst the rocks burst a Purple Heron! It then flew back down the lake towards the pump house, landing in the long reed-bed twice before flying around again, so I settled down opposite the laboratory on the power station access road and waited... Incredibly, after just five minutes not one, but two Purple Herons flew overhead, one of which landed about 100 yards away in full view on a patch of shingle for about three minutes; just long enough to fumble around with the camera and fire off a few pics. As the pair flew around the pits the locals started to arrive with Martin getting some decent flight shots, which I`m sure he`ll put up on his blog later (ploddingbirder.blogspot.com ).This is the first occurrence of a pair at Dungeness since the memorable events of 2010 when two juvs were fledged from a nest site on the bird reserve, in what was the first proven Purple Heron breeding record in Britain. We can only hope that they find their way to Dengemarsh and settle down for a repeat performance, which would be most welcome.

                                  

                                  Purple Heron, Long Pits

                                  Purple Heron pair over Long Pits

                                  Ringed Plovers, Kerton quarry

Next stop Kerton quarry to check the waders where a pair of Ringed Plovers and two Bar-tailed Godwits where amongst a flock of 80 Oystercatchers. The main island was alive with breeding activity from Oycs, Lapwings and Redshanks, and where an early brood of Egyptian Geese goslings were on the water. There was no change to the wildfowl numbers at Lade where more hirundines were feeding over south lake.