Bar-tailed Godwits

Dungeness - cloudy, mild, light airs - 0600 - 0730hrs - The weather gods got it wrong again as it was supposed to be a brisk south-easterly this morning, instead we were confronted with a mill-pond like sea and hazy light with few passage seabirds on offer, at least first thing, most of which were distant. However, being as this is Dunge at the end of April there was a trickle of terns, skuas, auks, divers, scoters, Fulmars, Gannets, Kittiwakes, Whimbrels and Med Gulls on offer; but after yesterdays tern fest I guess it was too much to expect two good seawatchs on the bounce.
  A midday visit to the bird reserve produced small flocks of grounded Bar-tailed Godwits and Whimbrels from the access road and in the Boulderwall fields. The adult male godwits looked splendid in their breeding finery; surely one of our smartest passage waders. The Black-winged Stilts performed a fly past and were seen throughout the day commuting between the Hayfields, Cook`s Pool and the southern end of ARC. The scrub was alive with Whitethroats and Sedge Warblers, while Cattle Egret and Garganey were also reported today.
  A late afternoon visit to Lade in drizzle and a brisk south-westerly resulted in a few hirundines over south lake, mostly Swallows, plus more Whimbrels and Med Gulls over calling. With heavy showers forecast overnight and tomorrow we could be in for our first large scale dump of hirundines and terns of spring, perhaps...