Dungeness - 0900hrs - Cold, sunny, nw 2 - The first proper frost of the winter last night and a cracking sunny morning to follow. Kicked off at the Point where a short seawatch delivered a superb flight view of a knuckle-headed Great Northern Diver alongside a Red-throated for comparison. Plenty more Red-throats, Great Crested Grebes, Guillemots, Kittiwakes coming and going and on the sea, plus 12 Common Scoters, 8 Shelducks and a few Gannets down-Channel.
New Diggings - Found a diver close to the causeway road, looking into the light, which eventually showed well enough to be identified as a juv Black-throated Diver. Loads more wildfowl on ARC, particularly Gadwall and Pochard of which there must have been several hundreds. In the car park at least 20 Tree Sparrows, 15 Chaffinches and a Brambling.
Walland Marsh - A drive across the Marsh delivered hundreds of winter thrushes feeding on hawthorn berries and in the stubble fields. Ten Corn Buntings at Midley was noteworthy, plus small flocks of Linnets, Mipits and Chaffinches. Raptors included 2 each of Kestrel and Common Buzzard.
Scotney - A text from PB told of a Slavonian Grebe at the western end of the pits. All the usual feral geese, ducks and plovers here plus a Merlin overhead chasing a Mipit.
ps: Five Waxwings were reported in the lane opposite Cheyne Court triangle last thing this afternoon, (TH, PB). Elsewhere today, Smew and Great White Egrets on the bird reserve, Glaucous Gull at Dungeness and more Waxwings in Folkestone.
Promises to be an interesting weekend ahead ...
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