Lade - warm, dry and sunny, E2 - The drought continues and with it falling water levels showing previously unseen islands (certainly by me) at the back of south lake attracting large numbers of wetland birds along with the typical late summer build-up of waterfowl. The eutrophic ecology of the lake has resulted in an algae bloom, combine that with shallow margins and deep trenches full of carp and its little wonder that some of my counts over the past week have been off the scale. For example today on south lake alone: 52 Mute Swan 220 Coot, 460 Pochard, 210 Tufted Duck (inc six broods of ducklings), 55 Shoveler, 82 Gadwall and 25 Mallard along with 42 Great Crested and 12 Little Grebes, many with juveniles The islands at high tide this morning held 180 Sandwich and 20 Common Terns, c300 Black-headed and 20 Mediterranean Gulls, 50 Cormorants, plus around the margins 26 Little and four Great White Egrets, 18 Grey Herons, six Common Sandpipers and two Greenshanks. Passerine wise a steady passage of Sand Martins drifted through yesterday while today there was an up-tick in Willow Warblers and Chiffs around the ponds (some in song) among a host of Sedge and Reed Warblers, Common and Lesser Whitethroats. On Friday several Wheatears and a Whinchat were on the desert, plus a grounded Whimbrel this morning and a light overhead passage of Yellow Wagtails.
At Kerton Quarry another 50 Sandwich Terns and 200 Black-headed Gulls were at roost along with 550 Oystercatchers on the far bank and 280 Curlews on the desert. Hundreds more wildfowl were present including a mixed flock of 100 Greylag, Canada and Egyptian Geese.
Yesterday morning I went in search of Saturday`s Monty`s Harrier outback at Scotney where numerous Yellow and Pied Wagtails, Reed Buntings and Linnets were noted along with two Wheatears and three Stonechats, but no sign of the harrier. Elsewhere, the Hammonds Corner Little Owls have successfully raised two juveniles and a `kettle` of six Buzzards over New Romney Saturday afternoon kept the Herring Gull`s occupied!
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