Rye Harbour NR

Rye Harbour NR - cool, sunny, NE 5 - A guiding day for Mark and Maria at Rye on another windy morning that suppressed the temperatures down here on the coast. As reported the tern situation was grim with just one pair of Little Tern on the beach and not a single Sandwich Tern anywhere, the colony having failed due to a shortage of fish and predation from Med Gulls, although around 20 pairs of Common Terns were nesting and some had juveniles. Fledged Black-headed Gulls were everywhere and at least two Med Gulls were still on site.
  As for waders we didn't see any young Avocets or Redshanks, but did see a few broods of Oystercatchers and Ringed Plovers; also noted, a smart red Knot, three Grey Plovers, three Curlews and 10 Lapwings. Elsewhere around the Beach Reserve: Little Egret, Shelduck, Grey Heron, Wheatear, Skylark, Linnet, Whitethroat, Swift, Meadow Pipit, Little and Great Crested Grebes.
  At Castle Water, three Marsh Harriers were busy hunting over the main reed bed.

                                Wheatear

                                Med Gull

                                Dabchick

                                Juvenile, Black-headed Gull

ARC/Burrowes - Back at Dungeness we checked out ARC where the eclipse Garganey was still present, while on Burrowes yesterdays Curlew Sandpiper and Ruff showed well in bright sunshine alongside three Blackwits and a host of wildfowl and Common Terns.
  During the three days guiding across the region we rattled up a respectable 110 species of birds for our guests.

                               Ruff and Curlew Sandpiper