A party of Eiders

Dungeness - 0630hrs - mild, sunny, sw 2 - Seawatching was much improved this morning with a steady passage of Gannets, terns, divers and scoters moving up-Channel, plus a few auks, 2 Little Gulls and singles of Bonxie, Arctic Skua, Fulmar and Merganser during the hour we spent in the hide. Best of all though was a party of 16 Eiders that passed within the cardinal buoy, the drakes looking resplendent in the bright sunshine. On the land there was a notable arrival of Linnets and Chaffinches with the former twittering away atop gorse bushes across the point. Also noted 2 Wheatears, 2 Chiffs , 2 Goldcrest and a Firecrest.
At Lade and Littlestone throughout the morning several pairs of Med Gulls moving south while on three occasions Whimbrels flew north whistling. Ran the moth trap last night for the first time this year and caught precisely one moth, a clouded drab.
Dengemarsh - 1400hrs - Reports of a probable Dotterel seen flying over the bird reserve around midday had the local bird hounds out checking likely arable fields. Whilst scanning from Cockles Bridge noted a female Peregrine mantling and tearing into feathered prey of some sort or other (probably an exhausted Dotterel!).
Dungeness -  1600hrs - A look at the sea from the boats this afternoon proved largely fruitless with just a few terns milling around off shore, plus a couple of porpoises.