Mid-week doldrums

Lade/Dungeness - warm, dry, sunny, light airs - The past few days have been much of muchness. After the excitement of last weekend we seem to have hit the birding doldrums; and with clear overnight skies, even the garden moth trap has failed to deliver.
  Being as this is Dungeness though a few bits and pieces can be found around the bird reserve. A Wood Sandpiper seems to have taken up residence on ARC where also several Common Sandpipers, the odd Green, a couple of Blackwits, plus Snipe, Dunlin and Little Ringed Plover coming and going and up to four Garganeys. Bitterns continue to commute between their feeding grounds at Boulderwall and Tower pits to feed young. As yet I`ve not seen any juvenile Marsh Harriers on the wing, but if they have been successful locally they should be out and about soon. Burrowes has also attracted a few common waders while Firth hide is the place to view terns in late afternoon, around 100 Commons, two Blacks and a few Sandwich Terns. The autumn Sand Martin passage is also underway.
  On Lade bay thousands of gulls are present at low tide along with hundreds of Sandwich Terns and the usual large waders. Grey Seal numbers have peaked at 12 on an incoming tide. Around the garden buddleia today up to four Hummingbird Hawk-moths and three Holly Blues, but precious little else.

                               Holly Blue and Hummingbird Hawk-moth