Wader day!

Lade - mild, cloudy, SW 5 - Another windy but muggy day courtesy of Storm Ali, the first so called named storm of the autumn. A Great White Egret was about the only noteworthy bird on the local patch. Needless to say passerines were virtually non-existent due to the blustery wind apart from a steady trickle of Sand Martins and Swallows south over the Desert.

                                 Eclipse Garganey, ARC

Dungeness - A RSPB `Wader Walk` for a small group of birders this morning was something of a non event due to a shortage of the subject matter. However, we did manage to tease out singles of Common Sandpiper and Curlew on Burrowes, plus two Ringed Plovers and a Lapwing on ARC, it was that grim. Elsewhere three Cattle Egrets showed amongst the cows at Boulderwall and five Great Whites were on Burrowes. Hundreds of hirundines moved south, the majority feeding over the water at ARC along with 10 Common and three Black Terns. From Hanson hide two Garganeys and several Pintails and Wigeons lurked amongst scores of Shoveler, Teal, Mallard, Tufted Duck and Pochard. Plenty of Kestrels hovered over the Desert and three Clouded Yellows were noted behind Firth hide.