Passage migrants

Lade - warm, dry and sunny, light airs - Fine weather across the weekend delivered a decent range of common passage migrants through the local patch including Willow Warblers and Lesser Whitethroats, Swallows and Sand Martins, Wheatears and Whinchats, Yellow Wagtails and Meadow Pipits, along with a few Grey Wagtails and Tree Pipits, plus the first Black-necked Grebe of autumn on south lake amongst hundreds of diving ducks, grebes and Coots. The margins attracted several Little Egrets and a couple of Redshanks and a Common Sandpiper, while a Kingfisher `whistling` around the willow swamp was also the first of the season. Bird of the day though was distant views of a Short-eared Owl quartering the shingle ridges before disappearing behind the `mirrors` towards the airfield.

                     Wheatear, Lade Desert

                      Little Egrets, Lade bay (by David Scott)

  The bay continues to attract plenty of passage waders and Sandwich Terns. Little Egrets are not a bird normally associated with salt water, although in the past I have noted them feeding along the gryones at Littlestone. However, three off Greatstone beach on Friday was unusual, as seen and photographed by DS.