Glaucous Gull heralds a return to winter

Dungeness - cold, low cloud, rain, N 5 - A shocker of day to start a Birdwatching Break for Clare and Peter down from London. The rain continued throughout the afternoon with a biting wind out of the north and the temperature barely getting above 5C, so it was most apt when DB texted through news of an immature Glaucous Gull he`d just found on the beach opposite. When we arrived on site the polar beast was slumped on a shingle ridge asleep, adjacent to the Fish Shack. Eventually it took flight towards the fishing boats where the waves crashed over the foreshore with Gannets overhead.

                                Glaucous and Great Black-backed Gull, Dungeness

  A brief look from the seawatch hide produced plenty of Gannets, Sandwich and Common Terns and two Fulmars. At the Patch around 200 Common and one Little Tern, while a Wheatear showed well on the sea defence blocks, as did the beach Fox in front of the hide.

                                Bedraggled Wheatear

                                Beach Fox

Moving onto the bird reserve where we concentrated on Burrowes from the shelter of the hides. Singles of Little Tern and Little Gull both showed well from Dennis`s hide. On the islands a range of passage waders included six Barwits, two Greenshanks, two Turnstones, several Ringed Plovers, Dunlin and Redshank, plus Egyptian Goose, Teal, Pochard, Gadwall and Shoveler on the wildfowl front. A large flock of hirundines over the lake, mostly Swallows, were struggling to feed on emerging insects in the cool conditions. Very little noted from Dengemarsh hide.
  To be fair it was one those days when it felt good to get back indoors with a mug of hot tea.