Grey Plovers

Lade - mild, overcast, light airs - 0900hrs - After the brightness of yesterday it was back to gloomy, leaden skies with light so poor that, in cricketing terms, there wouldn't be a cat in hells chance of batting. Nothing much doing on the pits with the usual wildfowl and Coot spread out across the mill-pond like water.
A couple of distant Marsh Harriers were working the fields behind the `mirrors` and a flock of 100 plus Starling flew in off the bay.
Littlestone - St Mary`s Bay - 1200hrs - Walked the foreshore looking for the likes of Snow Bunting but without success. Grey Plovers are always welcome and a roosting flock sat tight on the shingle as we walked past. By the concrete blocks at the St Mary`s Bay outfall 3 fat Brown Rats were foraging along the tideline, but soon retreated into cover when Barney got wind of them.

                                Grey Plovers, St Mary`s Bay

Dungeness  - 1415hrs - Together with MH we barely managed an hour at the concrete road, staring at a flat sea which delivered a couple of divers, auks and Kitts, plus the expected raft of grebes.
And now a moan. What is it with some beach fishermen? At the moment its wall to wall anglers due to the chance of Cod and Bass on offer. Most fishermen, of course, are perfectly civilised and once gone you wouldn't know they`d been there, while others leave their crap (literally in some cases) all over the foreshore for someone else to clear up. Still, I suppose all the while the Dungeness Angling Association fail to provide any proper leadership or control then the situation will never improve and it will be up to others, mostly volunteers (who do a fantastic job by the way) to clear up after the selfish few.