Humpback Whale!

Saturday - mild, cloudy, S2 - Now there`s a header I never thought I`d put up on the blog! Nursing a heavy cold and feeling sorry for myself I committed to doing very little today apart from watching the lunchtime kick-off concerning a struggling QPR on the telly away to Watford. Engrossed in the match I didn`t bother to check my phone until full time (a decent, goalless draw and a valuable point for the R`s) but when I did the local grapevine told of a Humpback Whale - off the fishing boats at Dungeness! It took me a few seconds to compute the enormity of this information and after checking whether or not it was still present with DW (which it was) 15 minutes later I was on site and watching this incredible leviathan from the boats, and a short time later (and much closer) in front of the sea-watch hide. Moving swiftly underwater it blew spray into the air before breaking surface to show a small, rear back fin on an enormous body and occasionally revealing a grooved throat as it swam westwards, before turning back towards Dungeness. I`m not much of a twitcher these days, and I think the last time I reacted with such alacrity was in 2015 after receiving a garbled phone message from MC concerning a famous American flycatcher on the beach! I`ve been fortunate enough in the past to have seen Humpbacks in the north Atlantic and Southern Ocean, but never thought I would see one on my doorstep, a sight I shall not forget. Unfortunately, I didn`t manage any photographs with my bridge camera, but MC did, so checkout the ploddingbirder blog.

Sunday - mild, overcast, drizzle, SW4 - Had another go at scrutinising the gulls along the beach at Dungeness this morning just in case last week`s Glaucous Gull had lingered, but the best I could do was a smart 1st winter Caspian Gull amongst the high tide roost. A brief sea-watch from the boats produced a steady procession of Gannets, Kittiwakes and auks into the brisk westerly, plus an incoming Woodcock that flew rapidly inland. A cursory circuit of the moat in heavy drizzle drew a blank for the Hume`s Warbler heard earlier in the Obs garden.

                                 Gannets off the fishing boats

                                 Dungeness lifeboat

Great Northern Diver

Warm, dry and sunny, light airs - A superb day for a walk along the foreshore with Ted at Dungeness, concentrating on the section between the fishing boats and the lifeboat station, and where a brown Merlin, a Raven and a Rock Pipit were noted; there was no sign of this week`s Glaucous Gull, although `hundreds` of distant large gulls were out on Lade bay at low tide. However, I did connect with a rather smart Great Northern Diver heading down-Channel, plus a few Red-throated Divers, Gannets and Kittiwakes. Two of at least five Grey Seals feeding close to shore exhibited strange behaviour when they briefly leaped out of the water, maybe it was some sort of courtship display?

                                  By-catch, Dungeness

                                 Ted, Dungeness

Last weekend was spent off the Marsh so I missed a few seabirds (eg. Sooty Shearwaters and Leach`s Petrel) blown up-Channel by Storm Bert, but I did get down last Monday around noon, narrowly missing a Great Shearwater, a great rarity at this end of the Channel. There has been little else of note this week during visits to Lade, Pirate Springs and my usual farmland haunts with Ted. 

Shorebirds

Cold, cloudy, NW 2 - A day in the field guiding for Clare and Peter from London commenced with 16 Cattle Egrets from the airport road, followed by a hail shower at the Scotney sandpit and a right good soaking! However, a murmuration of 500 Golden Plovers sweeping over our heads was ample compensation, although there was little else of note along the front gravel pits apart from a pair of Egyptian Geese with two goslings about a month old. A tour of Walland Marsh delivered several large flocks of winter thrushes, Lapwings, Golden Plovers, corvids and Stock Doves, plus at least 20 Buzzards. Moving onto the bird reserve where the highlights were a Common Scoter and a ringtail Hen Harrier on Dengemarsh; two Avocets, a Slavonian Grebe and two each of Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls on Burrowes; and a Black-necked Grebe on ARC. We finished the afternoon in some style at the Tavern viewpoint where nine species of waders were logged including c500 Oystercatchers and c300 Curlews, 50 Knots and 20 Grey Plovers, plus a Sandwich Tern, a Mediterranean and two Little Gulls. In summary, a decent days birding in fine company with 80 species logged.

                                  Common Scoter, Dengemarsh

                                  Snipe, Dengemarsh

                                 2nd winter Caspian Gull, Burrowes

                                 Adult Yellow-legged Gull, Burrowes

                                  Shorebirds, Lade bay

Hen Harrier

Dungeness RSPB - cold, dry and sunny, NW3 - Spent an interesting afternoon filming with the BBC Countryfile team, mostly from the viewpoint overlooking Hookers from where we had superb views of up to four Marsh Harriers and a cracking adult female Hen Harrier that eventually drifted off towards the army ranges. All the expected reedbed birds were noted including Bearded Tit, Cetti`s Warbler, Water Rail, plus a most unexpected female Common Scoter in the reed-bed channel. For the final hour around sunset we moved over to ARC for the Starling show, but only a small flock came to roost in the reed-bed in front of Screen hide. However, we had distant views of a large murmuration comprising several thousand birds - back over the road at Dengemarsh! On the walk back to the car park 22 Cattle Egrets flew to roost. 

Slavonian Grebe

Mild, overcast, light airs - Spent the morning guiding for Eric and Jim from south London. We started off with a 90 minute sea-watch from the hide in far from promising weather conditions for seabirds. However, there was a steady trickle of Gannets moving up-Channel, most way-off shore and plunge diving for fish. A handful of closer Sandwich Terns flew by and three distance Kittiwakes were logged along with two Mediterranean Gulls, several Great Crested Grebes and Red-throated Divers on the sea, four distant Guillemots/auks, a Common Scoter, five inbound Starlings and, best of all, a brown Eider heading down-Channel. At least six Grey Seals were also feeding offshore. Along the power station wall a flurry of close birds included three Black Redstarts (one a smart male) two Meadow Pipits, a Chaffinch, a Pied Wagtail, a Robin and a Grey Wagtail calling overhead. On the way in earlier I`d seen a Dartford Warbler by the new lighthouse, which we failed to relocate but did see a Kestrel and a Blackbird. 

                                 Spot the Sandwich Tern!

                                  Great White Egret from Firth

 

                                 Shoveler and Slavonian Grebe, Burrowes

At the bird reserve car park a flock of eight Greenfinches by the feeders was of note along with the usual tits and a Great Spotted Woodpecker calling from cover, while a pair of Whooper Swans flew over trumpeting loudly. On Burrowes the Red-throated Diver, three Black-necked and a Slavonian Grebe were still present along with the usual wildfowl, Cormorants and gulls, plus four Pintails, five Goldeneyes, a Great White Egret and a perched Kingfisher. All in all a productive morning in great company with 62 species of birds recorded.     

Counting birds

Warm, dry and sunny, W3 - A glorious day to be out and about in the field for the monthly WeBS and harrier counts. We spent most of the morning at Kerton quarry and Lade pits counting wildfowl, of which there were very few, as is typical this time of year, and where no species reached three figures; a lone redhead Goldeneye on south lake and at least six Water Rails calling from the willow swamp were the only noteworthy birds. On north lake a 300 strong gull flock comprised roughly equal numbers of Black-headed and Common Gulls, plus 10 Mediterranean Gulls. On the bird reserve the Red-throated Diver and Slavonian Grebe remained on Burrowes, along with two Black-necked Grebes, while at least 10 Cattle Egrets were in a horse paddock set back from the airport road. It was a sorry old sight in the Dungeness RSPB car park where a coach load of birders from Watford were peering through the door into the temporarily closed visitor centre. I explained to some of them that the shop would be permanently closed early next year, along with others across the country, unsurprisingly, it was not well received...  

                                  Redhead Goldeneye, Lade south

                                Foxes sunbathing on the mirror apron

This afternoon I joined Chris P for the harrier count on Walland Marsh where 17 Marsh Harriers came to roost. A pair of Whooper Swans and a Bewick`s Swan disturbed by shooters at the fishing lakes took flight along with a vocal, mixed flock of 500 Greylags and Canada Geese with at least four White-fronts. Also noted several large murmurations of Starlings heading for the bird reserve, hundreds of Lapwings, six Cattle Egrets, seven Great Whites and five Little Egrets at roost, eight Corn Buntings, 10 Fieldfares, four Kestrels and a Common Buzzard.

                                 Starling murmuration

                                 Sunset over the wind farm

Bearded Tit

Dungeness RSPB - mild, cloudy, N 2 - An OK sort-of-a morning weather-wise for my monthly guided walk around the circular route for five guests. During the three hours we noted a wide range of classic wintering species including Red-throated Diver, Black-necked Grebe and Goldeneye on Burrowes; two Snipes, three Marsh Harriers, two Great White Egrets, 100 Wigeon and 200 Lapwings on Dengemarsh; and a stunning cock Bearded Tit on the grit tray at Hooker`s ramp. Migrants included plenty of Robins, a few Blackbirds and Chaffinches in the bushes, several flocks of inbound Starlings, three Redwings and two Chiffchaffs. A thousand feral Greylags provided a noisy spectacle tumbling out of the sky over Dengemarsh, while a dozen more Snipes were seen from Christmas Dell hide. Also noted: several Kestrels, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Sparrowhawk, a Buzzard, Grey Herons, Reed Buntings, Goldfinches, Cetti`s Warblers and calling Water Rails.

                                  Red-throated Diver, Burrowes 

                                 Snipes, Christmas Dell

                                 Snipe, Lapwing and Dabchick, Dengemarsh

                                 Bearded Tit, Hooker`s

Its a wonder to me that the intensive farmland around New Romney manages to support so many  Buzzards. I see them on a near daily basis, and not only on the farmland but also flying over the town where I`m often alerted to them by the raucous alarm calls of Herring Gulls. Part of the Buzzards` success, of course, is their ability to survive on a wide variety of prey as shown by the two pictured below that I watched the other day hunting earthworms (and squabbling over them!) following a rain shower. 

                                  Buzzards, Hope Lane, New Romney