Purple Sands & Snow Bunting

Dungeness - 0900hrs - cold, grey, ne 5 - Another grim old day weather wise, but one that was full of birds for the visiting birders to enjoy. Kicked off with an hour at the fishing boats where plenty of auks, gulls, Cormorants, Great Crested Grebes, Red-throated Divers, Kittiwakes and Gannets coming and going around the point. Bonus birds included 35 Common Scoters, 2 Fulmars and a drake Goosander (very unusual here on the sea). On the beach all the common gulls plus a Kittiwake, but no sign of the Glaucous Gull.
Littlestone  - The single Snow Bunting showed well by the boat ramp and afforded good value for the photographers in the group. On the beach waders included 5 Ringed Plovers, 25 Redshanks, Turnstones, Knot and Sanderling (NB: Beware, was asked to move on by a member of the Varne boat club as the car park is private).

                                Snow Bunting, Littlestone

                               Purple Sandpipers, Hythe

Hythe -  The sea defence blocks opposite the Imperial Hotel held 3 roosting Purple Sandpipers with 3 more at the Stade Street end, plus 15 Turnstones on the beach.
RSPB - From the causeway road the usual Shovelers, Gadwall and Goldeneye. At Boulderwall 10 Tree Sparrows, Reed Bunting and several Song Thrushes. On the fields nearby hundreds of Lapwings, Curlews, Stock Doves, Wigeons, 7 Barnacle Geese, Greylags, 6 Marsh Harriers, 2 Common Buzzards, Kestrel and Great White Egret. Whilst thawing out in the visitors centre 13 redhead Smews swam into view on Burrowes, where all the usual wildfowl. At Dengemarsh more harriers, a flight view of a Bittern, 3 Bearded Tits, Dabchick, Great White Egret and a Raven on the access road. From Hanson hide 4 Smew, 12 Goldeneyes more harriers, Sparrowhawk and Green Woodpecker.