Dungeness - warm, dry and sunny, n 3 - After a chilly night it soon warmed up and turned into a gorgeous autumnal day - but not for land birds. They were few and far between this morning across the peninsula with only a handful of Chiffchaffs, Whitethroats, Meadow Pipits and a Black Redstart on the power station wall of any note, while a Grasshopper Warbler was ringed at the Obs earlier. However, there was more action on the sea out from the Patch where a couple of hundred gulls, terns, Gannets and several Arctic Skuas were in action feeding on a shoal of sprats.
It was a similar picture passerine wise at Lade with a just a few common warblers in the bushes around the ponds. The small area of gravel and mud in the Willow Swamp did, however, attract a Greenshank, Wood and Common Sandpipers, six Little Egrets and two Grey Herons. There was no change to the wildfowl and grebe numbers from last week on the lakes, while Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel soared behind the `mirrors`.
An hour at the fishing boats this afternoon delivered more of the same from this morning with plenty of gulls, terns and Gannets fishing offshore, plus 20 Kittiwakes, a Little Gull, four Curlews, a Guillemot and up to ten Arctic Skuas. Grey and Common Seal and five Porpoises also enjoyed the feeding frenzy.
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