Rain at last

Lade - 0600hrs - humid, rain am, sunny pm - The long awaited rain eventually arrived around dawn but had petered out by mid-morning and by mid-afternoon you wouldn`t have known it had rained, such is the drainage down here on the shingle. Anyhow, the moths weren`t affected and the trap was full of the same old, same old with over 50 each of Silver Ys and Flounced Rustics but nothing to get excited about. Around the coastal gardens there was a sprinkling of Willow Warblers and a Common Redstart (BD). Several Common Whitethroats were lurking in the storm beach scrub, while the willow swamp was alive with Reed, Sedge and Willow Warblers; 2 Whinchats on the Desert were probably stay overs from yesterday. On south lake the Red-crested Pochard was still present.
Dungeness -  1130hrs - An hour from the boats staring at a largely barren sea was notable for a flock of 12 Shovelers and 25 Common Scoters eastbound, while a few terns and distant Gannets milled around well offshore. Four Kestrels by Jarman`s suggested successful breeding locally.
ARC - 1530hrs - Very quiet here wader-wise with just a scattering of Golden Plover, Redshank, Common Sandpiper and Greenshank amongst 100 Lapwings. Also, Marsh Harrier and Sparrowhawk over, 5 Little Egrets, 6 Wigeon, Black-necked Grebe and Garganey. There were plenty more Willow, Sedge and Reed Warblers hereabouts along with Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits, Chaffinch and Reed Bunting. In the car park scrub a Garden Warbler was of note.