First Wheatears

Dungeness - 0730hrs - cold, cloudy, misty, nw 2 - After two days in old London town was good to breathe the fresh, clean air of Dungeness once more. Despite today being the spring equinox the weather remained wintry with a northerly airflow. Kicked off at The Patch where no sign of the recent races of Herring Gull (tee-hee); infact apart from a Kittiwake there was little of note amongst the hundred gulls present. Up to 20 Mipits and 2 Linnets came in off the sea with one of the former getting a warm welcome from a Merlin. A pair of Kestrels by the old light and a Raven over was about it on the land. At sea a cursory look delivered a steady flow of divers and mostly Gannets plus 10 Sandwich Terns and several Harbour Porpoises.
ARC - 1300hrs - Had a look at ARC with MH this afternoon. From the causeway road a Great White Egret on New Diggings, while in front of Screen hide a pair of Great Crested Grebes briefly performed the weed dance before returning to nest building in the reedbed. Four redhead Smews and Goldeneyes noted amongst the few remaining ducks. From Hanson a few more Smew and Goldeneye plus a pair of Peregrines high over the lake, stooping and talon-grappling one another was most impressive.

"He keeps dragging me out here on this stony wasteland where there ain`t no rabbits to chase. Now, where are those damm Wheatears he keeps searching for?"

 

 

                                First Wheatears, Dungeness


Around mid-day a couple of Wheatears (143) were found by PB near the lifeboat station, which were eventually relocated opposite Jarman`s where they showed well, perched on concrete blocks and old winches as they do, to a small crowd of rarity-starved locals. True harbingers of spring are White-arses and let`s hope there are plenty more to come.
NB: Also reported this morning was a Red Kite over St Mary`s-in-the-Marsh heading north (CP).