More Skuas and Waders

Dungeness - 0600-0800hrs - cool, sunny, ne 5, sea  choppy - Arrived to find the seawatch hide already full but managed to squeeze in out of the brisk north-easterly wind. A good watch with the highlight being 10 Poms and 6 Black-throated Divers. A decent supporting cast of 10 Arctic and 1 Great Skua, 2 Red-throated Divers, 20 Little and 1 Black Terns, 1 Little Gull,1 Fulmar, 50 Common Scoters, 2 Tufted Ducks, 100 Barwits, 20 Knot, 5 Grey Plover, 5 Sanderling, 1 Ringed Plover and a steady flow of auks, Gannets, Common and Sandwich Terns, plus incoming Swallows.
The Cathedral of the Marsh - 1000hrs  Spent a couple of hours atop the Lydd church tower for RSPB showing the heronry to visitors on the annual open day. Ten occupied nests all had 1-3 `branchers` clinging on in the strong north-easterly wind. The views across the Marsh on a bright sunny morning were spectacular.

                                          Lydd heronry in holm oaks

                                         4/5 week old `Branchers`
Rye Harbour - 1400hrs En-route to Rye 200 Barwits in the fields at Scotney and by Northpoint Pit. Little, Common and Sandwich Terns, Med and Black-headed Gulls, more Barwits and Whimbrels, Greenshank and Grey Plover on the reserve.
Denge Marsh - 1700hrs Rounded the day off in grand style with cracking views of a Red-rumped Swallow that had been feeding around the corral all afternoon. A bevy of locals on site when I arrived including Fairweather Birder (aka Lord of Hooker`s) who relocated the swallow.
ARC - During the course of the day there was a steady flow of waders coming and going at the southern end of the pit, including Whimbrel, Barwit, Spot Shank, Greenshank, Ringed and Little Ringed Plover, Redshank, Lapwing and Oyc, plus a flock of 6 Arctic Terns. Burrowes also had more of the same, plus Turnstone and Knot.