Swifts

Dungeness Peninsula - cool, cloudy, sunshine, sw 5 - Another blustery day with the threat of showers throughout, which as usual failed to materialise. I`ve completely lost faith in the weather forecasters as every day this past week they have predicted rain down here and apart from yesterday morning its been largely dry.
Anyhow, bird of the day was most definitely the Swift, or rather Swifts, as there was literally hundreds, maybe thousands, across the peninsula hawking over not only gravel pit lakes but along the foreshore and over the storm beaches. They are undeniably fabulous birds, the supreme evolutionary example of an aerial flying `machine`, and eminently watchable, even if there wasn`t one with a white rump..., but not great in the hand as I recall from ringing days, as they often harboured parasites in the form of blood-swollen ticks.
Checked out a gullery at a private site where amongst the numerous Bhgs were two pairs of Med Gulls proudly displaying their well grown juveniles. Also, confirmed breeding of LRP, Oystercatcher, Shelduck and Kestrel, plus a passage Common Sandpiper.
RSPB - 1400hrs - A spin around the bird reserve this afternoon delivered Hobby and Green Sandpiper at ARC amongst loads of eclipse wildfowl, gulls and Common Terns. At Dengemarsh, Kestrel, Marsh Harrier, Hobby, Cuckoo, Common Terns and Bearded Tits. Nothing much of note from the VC apart from a single LRP.
ps: My nipper has set Plovers blog up on Twitter, in for a penny and all that...