Dungeness - mild, cloudy, showery, SW 6 A very windy, showery day for a guided tour for Clare and Peter from London. We kicked off at the fishing boats with a 90 minute seawatch (0900-1030hrs) where good numbers of Gannets and terns were on the move offshore, mostly Sandwich and Common Terns, plus at least 20 Black Terns while we were present. Ten Arctic Skuas harried the terns and a lone Grey Plover moved down-Channel. Most seabirds were distant though, including three Sooty Shearwaters and two Balearic Shearwaters. We picked up a Greenland Wheatear opposite Jarmans, but passerines were in short supply due to the weather. At Lade three Black-necked Grebes were on south lake along with hundreds of Sand Martins over the water. On the bird reserve from Hanson hide the usual dabblers, including a Garganey, was about the best of it. From Firth lookout on Burrowes a mixed flock of 50 Common and Sandwich Terns on a sand bar contained a smart juvenile Black Tern, plus three Ruffs, two Little Ringed Plovers, a Ringed Plover, a Sanderling, a Common Sandpiper and brief views of a Little Tern. After some hefty showers around noon the sun eventually broke through enabling us to note Marsh Harrier, Peregrine, Kestrel, Great White and Cattle Egrets across the site.
We ended the day in some style at Littlestone Green scanning for waders with a whopping drop-in of over 400 Ringed Plovers, the most I`ve ever seen on the bay - and that was very much a minimum count! One or two birds appeared much larger than the rest but all seemed to be of the nominate race hiaticula. In total nine species of waders were logged from the shelter including 150 Dunlin, 50 Sanderlings, six Knot, two Grey Plovers and hundreds of Curlews and Oystercatchers. In summary, a strange day`s birding with 70 species noted but plenty of quality, while the Ringed Plover count was off the scale.
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