Lade - warm, dry and sunny, W2 - After a wet and windy weekend, courtesy of Storm Amy, this morning dawned calm and bright. A circuit of the local patch produced a trickle of migrants such as Goldfinches, Chaffinches and Meadow Pipits overhead, but with reduced numbers of Chiffchaffs in the bushes. As we move into October hirundines typically don`t tarry for long on a day like today; when I arrived there were none over the water, but two large pulses of mainly Swallows and Sand Martins eventually appeared, briefly settling on power lines before purposely flying south towards the Channel crossing. On the lakes many of the ducks are starting to moult out of their eclipse plumage, particularly Pochards and Tufted Ducks with drake Shovelers not far behind. The sunshine soon attracted Buzzard, Marsh Harrier and Kestrel into the skies above the airfield. Also noted this morning a Great Spotted Woodpecker by the ponds, two Great White Egrets on south lake and the juvenile Black Tern on north lake which is now into its third week.
Over the weekend I stayed local walking the farmland tracts with Ted around New Romney where there was little of note. However, Neil Burt fared much better, relocating the American Golden Plover within a Goldie flock at Camber and the Buff-breasted Sandpiper in its favoured field at the back of Scotney; where it was also reported today. On the RSPB reserve a Little Stint and Garganey were noted on Burrowes. Hanson hide remains closed due to ongoing renewal work.
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