Bird Tour

Lade - mild, cloudy, ne3, rain later - A decent spread of moths in the Plovers  trap last night including the first Pale Grass Eggar of the season. Also of note, Dark Tussock, Reed Dagger, Scorched Carpet and the smallest Common Emerald ever...
Dungeness - 0900hrs - Wendy from Middlesex down today for a whistle-stop tour of the peninsula. Called in at the Kerton Road Cafe to check out the moths where the highlight was Pale Grass and Oak Eggars, Whitespot and a Brown Hare (no, that`s a mammal, and not in the trap!). A pair of Stonechats, Kestrel and Mipits noted nearby.
At the boats cracking views of Shortie the Glaucous Gull, 2 Meds (one with a Belgium/French colour ring - thanks to Gullman), plus a few passing terns, Gannets, 5 Porpoises and 50 odd Common Scoters from the seawatch hide that landed briefly by the cardinal buoy. Skylark, Wheatears, Mipits and Black Redstart all showed nicely.
RSPB 1300hrs - Moving onto the bird reserve and the highlights here were the GWEgret, Hobby, Wigeon and leucistic Grey Heron on Dengemarsh, plus good flight views of a Bittern. Over the road from Hanson delivered Wood and Common Sands, 10 LRP`s, 6 Dunlins, loads of Curlews and further views of the `pale` heron.
In all a very satisfactory day with 72 species of bird notched up.

Pale Grass Eggar, Plovers, a Dungeness speciality. Shortie, Dungeness, coming into 2nd year plumage. Med Gull (continental bird). Grey Heron, ARC, leucistic bird, easily mistaken in flight for the GWEgret.