Late summer migrants

Dungeness - warm, dry, sunshine/cloud - sw 2-4 - Spent the day guiding for guests from The Netherlands in humid weather conditions. We started on the bird reserve where thousands of Sand Martins and hundreds of Swallows streaming south and feeding over the lakes formed the bulk of passage migrants throughout the day. A late Swift went over Dengemarsh and likewise a Little Ringed Plover dropped onto ARC. Several Wheatears, Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap and Willow Warbler were noted across the reserve, plus Raven, Buzzard and several each of Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Marsh Harrier. Two Black Terns were on Burrowes along with two Common Sandpipers, Redshank and four Black-tailed Godwits, while a mixed flock of several hundred Golden Plovers and Lapwings flew over the access road. Birds from Hanson hide included, Cattle, Great White and Little Egrets, two Garganey, two Ruff, Greenshank, 10 Dunlins, two Common Sandpipers, three Snipes and four Black-tailed Godwits.

                               Kestrel in the moat

  Moving onto Dungeness a circuit of the moat produced several Whitethroats, Black Redstarts and Stonechats, while a brief visit to the fishing boats delivered two Grey Seals, two Porpoises, Gannets, Sandwich Terns and a distant Arctic Skua.
  We finished the afternoon scanning the bay from Littlestone and Romney Tavern where thousands of gulls, terns and waders were present. While Sandwich Terns were nowhere near as numerous as early in the week over 500 were counted along with 50 Common Terns and several Mediterranean Gulls amongst the Black-headed and Common Gulls, plus a single Arctic Skua. Waders included 200 Dunlins, 50 Sanderlings, 30 Ringed Plovers, 20 Barwits, a Blackwit, 20 Turnstones and hundreds of Knots, Curlews and Oystercatchers.
  A decent days birding for our guests then, that resulted in a tally of 92 species.