Balearic Shearwaters

Saturday Lade - warm, dry and sunny SW 5 - A breezy, humid morning for a circuit of the local patch where 52 Cormorants, 38 Great Crested Grebes, 27 Grey Herons, 15 Little and six Great White Egrets were counted around south lake, such is the volume of fish on offer combined with a series of low islands and shallow margins suitable for the long-legs to hunt from. The habitat has been fairly similar from late summer onwards as the drought kicked in and lowered the water table; in over 20 years of watching this site I have never seen anything quite like it for numbers of herons and egrets.

                                   Grey Herons and Great White Egrets - south lake

                                  Kingfisher - Dengemarsh

                                  Pintail - ARC

Visits to the reserve since my last post have delivered distant views of a second White-winged Black Tern on ARC plus a few passage waders such as Ruff, Greenshank, Dunlin and Blackwit and a Spotted Flycatcher by the gate in the car park. The fishing boats produced up to 10 Balearic Shearwaters on Thursday with two more on Saturday plus a host of Sandwich and Common Terns, Kittiwakes, Gannets and Arctic Skuas along with single figures of Black Tern, Little Gull and a Red-throated Diver

Sunday - mild, dry, W2 - Spent the morning birding with Albert my grandson. We started at the gully which was relatively quiet apart from a Wheatear, several Chiffchaffs and Stonechats, plus a light overhead passage of Meadow Pipits. A tour of the bird reserve delivered all the usual suspects and we eventually rattled up a respectable 70 species including Greenshank, Ruff, Cattle Egrets, Sparrowhawk and a large mixed flock of common tits and warblers by the ARC car park. We missed a Pec Sand that was found on Dengemarsh before relocating to the Xmas Dell wetlands.

Clouded Yellows

Dungeness - warm, dry, sunny, NW2 - Spent the morning guiding for RSPB guests around the circular trail during which time we saw a typical range of resident and migrant species. The viz mig spectacle was provided by large flocks of hirundines coming and going over Burrowes and Dengemarsh numbering in their thousands and comprising mostly House Martins. The weather conditions were also suitable for BOPs moving through and we noted up to ten Buzzards, six Marsh Harriers, four Kestrels and a Sparrowhawk during the morning. Waders included seven Dunlins, four Black-tailed Godwits, a Ruff and a Greenshank while Cattle Egrets were seen at three locations numbering 14 in total (inc four from the access road by the bend feeding on crickets). Also noted: a Kingfisher, several Bearded Tits and Cetti`s Warblers, a Whitethroat and a Stonechat, plus all the usual gulls, feral geese, ducks, egrets and Grey Herons. Migrant Hawkers were numerous and we saw at least six Clouded Yellow butterflies along the way.

                                  Clancy`s Rustic

                                       Vestal

                                  Frosted Orange

At home the garden moth trap has been busy with the first Clancy`s Rustic and Vestal typical autumn highlights

Bonelli`s Warbler

Dungeness - humid, drizzle, light airs - We started off along the beach by the fishing boats this morning where plenty of Sandwich Terns fished offshore alongside several Arctic Skuas. The bushes around the point held a few Willow Warblers and Blackcaps plus a Whinchat and Wheatear in the desert and pulses of Swallows and Sand Martins through in the murky weather conditions. Just as I was thinking of moving on news broke of a Bonelli`s Warbler found by Tom and friends at the southern end of Long Pits where it had attached itself to a large flock of Willow/Chiffs and tits. It showed reasonably well at times atop the sallows and appeared noticeably silky off-white underneath with a greenish wing panel, pale face and eye-ring; its call confirmed it to be of the Western race. Whilst there a Sparrowhawk and a calling Golden Plover were noted overhead.

                                 Bonelli`s Warbler - Long Pits

Moving onto Kerton quarry and Lade for the WeBS count where 62 Great Crested Grebes was noteworthy along with declining numbers of diving ducks and dabblers. The margins continue to attract a host of egrets and Grey Herons, gulls, terns and Cormorants plus at least three Common Sandpipers. Large numbers of Swallows and Sand Martins pulsed through both sites as the drizzle came and went including a pure white albino Swallow. 

Elsewhere today a White-winged Black Tern was seen on ARC earlier, before moving to Burrowes where the Red-necked Phalarope is still present. Over the weekend the seawatchers struck gold with a Brown Booby (first for Dungeness) off the fishing boats, while the moulting adult American Golden Plover remained within the Golden Plover flock at Jury`s Gap.

Yellow Wagtails

Lade - warm, dry and sunny, W2 - Once the rain cleared (just after 8am) we headed down to the local patch where there had been a noticeable drop in of migrants particularly on the desert section. Along the main track at least 50 Yellow Wagtails (one of which was ringed) had paused along the fence-line to feed on the myriad of flying insects emerging from the sward and broom. Also present were at least 100 Starlings, 50 House Sparrows, 10 Stonechats, 20 Meadow Pipits, three Wheatears and a scattering of Robins, Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers. At the ponds the bushes were alive with mainly Chiffchaffs, Willow and Reed Warblers (some in song), plus a few Blackbirds, Blackcaps, Lesser and Common Whitethroats, a Garden Warbler and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. The lakes held good numbers of common wildfowl, grebes and egrets with several Common Sandpipers and a Greenshank on south lake.

                                  Yellow Wagtails - desert

                                  Garden Warbler - ponds

We then moved onto the point for a wander along the foreshore from the new lighthouse to Penn Bars where at least 12 Wheatears and three Black Redstarts (two singing from A station) were present along with several each of  Linnet, Stonechat, Pied Wagtail and Meadow Pipit. Offshore a trickle of Sandwich Terns headed into Rye bay along with a few Gannets fishing further out.

                                  Wheatears - Dungeness

Red-necked Phalarope

Dungeness - warm, dry and sunny, SW 2 -We spent the morning on the peninsula commencing with a tour of the bushes. A reported Wryneck failed to materialise from its favoured gorse thicket out on the desert where a scattering of warblers included a Whitethroat amongst a few Lesser Whitethroats and Chiffchaffs, plus several Stonechats and a trickle of southbound Swallows, Sand Martins and Meadow Pipits. It was very quiet around the trapping area with only a lone Willow Warbler of note delivering a half-hearted snatch of song from cover along with a tit flock and a few Robins. Moving onto the bird reserve where a handful of Cattle Egrets shadowed the cow herd in the Boulderwall fields and a Greenshank flew over calling. Hirundines continued to filter across the site and a couple of vocal Yellow Wagtails passed overhead unseen. On Burrowes yesterdays Red-necked Phalarope was still present and viewable from Dennis`s lookout, but always distant and a bit flighty. There was little else of note across the lake due to ongoing scrub clearance on the islands at the south end. As the wind picked up we finished the morning at Kerton quarry where another Greenshank called on high and the usual gulls, wildfowl, grebes and egrets were logged from the lifebuoy lookout. On the walk back to the car two Clouded Yellows were on the wing in the warm sunshine. 

                                  Autumn moths

                                  Chiffchaff

Shanks`s Pony

Warm, dry and sunny, SW3 - Since my last post the car has been in dock resulting in many miles of Ted walks around New Romney farmland, plus two visits to St Mary`s Bay along the coast to Greatstone and back into town; no prizes for guessing which area was most profitable... With the harvest now almost complete many of the fields were being turned over and drilled for next year`s crop resulting in mobile flocks of gulls, Woodpigeons and corvids along with a few Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Linnets, Yellowhammers and a pair of Red-legged Partridge. Now that the Reed Warblers have departed the reed-fringed sewer margins were largely devoid of activity, leaving just a few Reed Buntings and parties of House Sparrows to forage the drainage ditches along with the occasional Grey Heron and Little Egret. Buzzards (including a white individual along the New Cut) and Sparrowhawks were much in evidence, some of which were probably migrants, while both Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers appear to have had a good breeding season judging from their presence. The only warblers noted were a few Chiffchaffs and Lesser Whitethroats along Hope Lane, plus House Martins still at two locations in town and several pulses of Swallows south over the weekend.

                                  Buzzard - NewCut

                                  Wheatear - Pirate Springs

                                  Sandwich Tern - Littlestone

Last Friday, in a blasting westerly and a falling tide, ten species of waders were on show from Littlestone Green with Curlew, Oystercatcher, Dunlin and Ringed Plover in their hundreds, along with double figures of Bar-tailed Godwit, Turnstone, Knot, Redshank, Sanderling and Grey Plover, plus 100 roosting Sandwich and Common Terns, four Little Egrets and a Shelduck. This morning I walked the same route at high tide where hundreds of Sandwich Terns were fishing in the bay with at least three attendant Arctic Skuas. At Pirate Springs two Whinchats and four Wheatears were logged with a trickle of Meadow Pipits, Yellow Wagtails and Swallows overhead. Church Lane spinney held a few Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps. Along the way plenty of Migrant Hawkers and Painted Ladies have been noted plus a single Clouded Yellow on the sand dunes at Greatstone this morning. The garden moth trap has been busy over the weekend due to the mild nights.

                                       Centre-barred Sallow

Over the Bank Holiday weekend I spent a day at Pagham Harbour where Spotted Redshank and Curlew Sandpiper were the best waders on offer; unfortunately Ferry Pool was busy with machinery constructing a new anti-predator fence. At Church Norton a few passerines included Spotted Flycatcher and Lesser Whitethroat in the bushes and a roosting group of gulls, terns and Grey Plovers in the harbour mouth. 

 

    Pagham Harbour

Marsh Terns

 Dungeness - warm, cloudy, SW2-4 - Spent the day guiding for six Naturetrek clients. We kicked off at the point where regular pulses of Swallows and Sand Martins streamed south-west. It was quiet around the bushes with just a few Stonechats, a Whinchat, a Sparrowhawk and a Great Spotted Woodpecker of note. A brief seawatch produced plenty of passing Sandwich and Commic Terns, Gannets, a Mediterranean Gull and two Arctic Skuas harrying the terns. The rest of the day was spent on the bird reserve where we did the circular walk, finishing off at the Hanson hide. Ten species of waders were logged including Ruff, Wood Sandpiper and Knot on Burrowes, several Snipes scattered around the wetlands and at least ten Greenshanks, mostly overhead calling. A flock of 15 Cattle Egrets were amongst the cows on Boulderwall fields and at least six Great Whites were seen across Dengemarsh, along with a Marsh Harrier, a Kingfisher and a cracking close Whinchat from the Return Trail. Six Black Terns and the long-staying White-winged Black Tern showed well from Firth lookout, while two Garganeys, six Pintails, three Black-tailed Godwits and an adult Little Gull were the highlights on ARC. Plenty of Red Admirals and Painted Ladies were on the wing this afternoon along with a single Clouded Yellow by Christmas Dell. A most enjoyable day`s birding across the peninsula, in fine company, during which time we racked up a respectable 78 species of birds.

                                  Common Sandpiper - Burrowes

                                  Whinchat - Return Trail

                                  White-winged Black Tern - Burrowes

    Garganeys - ARC