Monday - Lade - warm, dry and sunny, w 3 - Yesterday afternoon I received a phone call from CP out at St Mary-in-the-Marsh concerning a large movement of Swifts high up in the cloud base moving westwards. Chris said that it was the largest number of Swifts he`d ever seen in this country; 2,000 being a conservative estimate. I`d noticed a few earlier in the day at Dungeness, and then around midday more birds coasting over the beach here at Lade so wasn`t too surprised. Yesterday evening I settled down in the garden and scanned the heavens for a while and over a half hour period (around 1900hrs) at least 500 Swifts flew through my gaze, mostly tiny specks high up in the ether. More west bound Swifts were also reported through DBO airspace throughout the day with 600 logged during the evening. This movement probably involved many thousands of individuals, either feeding or on migration, but the real reason will remain a mystery, such is the wonder of Swifts that most aerial of birds.
Lunar-spotted Pinion - new for the Plovers trap site.
Tuesday - warm, dry and sunny, ne 2 - I rose early this morning and had the garden moth trap sorted and recorded by 0530hrs! Under the last egg tray lurked a small reddish-brown, and unfamiliar noctuid, but with distinctive markings on the leading edge. I tentatively identified it as a
Lunar-spotted Pinion, a local scarce species and had it confirmed as such at the Kerton Road Café; needless to say it was new for the trap site.
There was no change over the local patch although at least one Cuckoo was still calling from the willow swamp. Stopped off at the bird reserve this afternoon where the only wader of note on Burrowes was a Black-tailed Godwit.
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