Rain, hail and snow!

Dungeness - cold, sunny followed by showers, sw 5 - A bitterly cold morning, unusually so  considering the wind was from a south-westerly vector. We joined PB in the hide for a token seawatch which produced two each of Common Scoter and Red-throated Diver in half an hour, followed by a circuit of the bushes where very little was noted apart from a few Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Reed Buntings, Mipits and a Chiffchaff in the lighthouse garden.
  Back at the Light Railway Café I got chatting to one of the builders working on the refurb who reckoned that it was running well late and wouldn't be finished much before May; worth bearing in mind if you`re visiting and need a brew, or are desperate for the loo this coming spring.
  Whilst scanning the beach from the lifeboat station 4 Ravens came in off the sea cronking loudly before drifting down the coast towards Lade.

                               Light Railway Café, Dungeness

                                Smews, Burrowes                                

                               Long-eared Owl, Discovery Pond

RSPB - A guided walk for a group this morning was more memorable for the weather. We commenced in sunshine, still with a brisk wind, and then a near cloud blackout ensued shrouding the peninsula in mist and murk, luckily whilst we were in Scott hide, followed by torrential rain, sleet and then snow before it returned to hail. The temperature drop was also dramatic, but by the time we got back to the VC the wind had relented and it was blue skies again!
  All the expected wildfowl were noted around Burrowes, including 2 redhead Smews that briefly dropped in front of Scott hide, where Goldcrest and 12 Long-tailed Tits also noted. We finished off back at the Discovery pond where one of the wintering Long-eared Owls showed like a good `un, much to the delight of the guests.