Weather break

Lade - cold, frosty, sunny, light airs - After two days of gale force winds the morning dawned bright, and thankfully still, although crossing the welded shingle ridges was fun. Around the local patch raptors were making the most of the pause in the poor weather with Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard and Kestrel all noted. On south lake the Long-tailed Duck and Slavonian Grebe were still present along with 10 Goldeneyes across both waters. There appeared to be an increase in Woodpigeons with the bushes around the willow swamp shrouded in grey.
Dungeness - On the bird reserve the Bouldwall fields were full of birds, mostly Wigeon, Lapwing, Stock Dove, corvids, Coots, feral geese and a few Golden Plovers. On the drive out a small flock of Bewick`s Swans flew over towards Cockles Bridge. Burrowes held the usual ducks, Cormorants and gulls, while there was no sign of the Long-eared Owl behind the Dipping Pool. From Hanson hide the usual egrets, wildfowl and waders, plus a Bittern creeping around a reed bed margin. Elsewhere, two Dartford Warblers remained in scrub by the Britannia pub at Dungeness (DW).