More waders & raptors

Dungeness - 0900hrs - cool, overcast, dry, nw3 - A seawatch from the hide delivered a few Gannets, Sandwich and Common Terns plus a couple of Arctic Skuas duffing up the terns. At The Patch at least 8 Black Terns and 3 Little Gulls amongst the Common Terns and gulls. Best of all though was a Merlin in off the sea and powering inland.

                                Greenshank, Burrowes

Burrowes - Cracking afternoons birding commenced with a good cross section of migrants and resident species alike. Waders included 6 Ringed Plover, 4 Ruff, 2 Greenshank, 2 Dunlin and a Barwit. Elsewhere around the pit 20 Pintails, 4 Black-necked Grebes, Little Gull, Black Tern, Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk and Hobby, plus plenty of hirundines, 2 Chiffchaffs and a Whinchat by the Discovery Pond. From the access road the Great White Egret flew towards Dengemarsh and another Whinchat was in the scrub by Boulderwall, plus 10 Tree Sparrows around the feeders.
ARC - The combination of a Peregrine a Spitfire and a Hurricane kept the waders and wildfowl on the move. Eventually they came down with 150 Goldies and 200 Lapwings on the shingle ridges infront of Hanson where also, 18 Blackwits, 2 Greenshanks and an adult Little Stint. There were 4 more from Screen hide plus 2 Snipe, 6 Blackwits, 2 Curlews, a Dunlin and 4 Garganey. Around the water tower a late Swift with the Sand Martins and Swallows, several Chiffchaffs and a Blackcap in the pines, while 2 Hobbies were hawking insects along the railway line.