Roseate Tern

Dungeness - cool, cloudy, wet E 2 - A wander around the point first thing produced the usual breeding Wheatears and Black Redstarts, plus the Peregrine screeching away atop the power station. Jacques was busily catching Stonechats around the moat while a Sparrowhawk nipped over chasing a Starling. Offshore a few Gannets drifted by and a flock of 10 Common Scoters flew into Rye Bay. The Patch was devoid of birds.

                                Juvenile Stonechat

  Called in at Littlestone this morning where the Serin was holding court from its usual stand of pine trees opposite the golf club entrance; House Martins and Goldfinches also noted. By mid-morning a welcome band of rain moved up from the south and carried on until early evening
  Late morning at Burrowes and a host of waders on the islands included 14 Sanderling, four Barwits, two Common Sandpipers, six Curlews, 10 Dunlins, five Ringed Plovers, Grey Plover, Greenshank, and Turnstone. Two Sandwich Terns also dropped in front of Firth hide amongst the Common Terns where conditions look superb for waders and loafing terns and gulls, while scores of Swifts were driven low by the rain.

                                Bedraggled adult Grey Plover

  An evening visit to look for a Roseate Tern seen this afternoon on Burrowes almost drew a blank after searching from Firth and Makepeace hides, but was eventually located from Dennis`s on a distant island alongside Common Terns. A little while after a thick bank of fog rolled in off the sea reducing visibility to about 100yds. Over the road a Bittern `boomed` eerily in the sea fret.