Saturday - Dungeness - cold, overcast, se 4 - We started the day with our usual circuit of the local patch at Lade where there was little of note and no sign of yesterdays reported Red-crested Pochard. However, with a brisk south-easterly wind underway the sea was always going to be a better bet, even at this time of year, and so it proved to be. On the high tide a decent number of Kittiwakes even made it into the bay, but for the full impact of what was an impressive movement of Kitts throughout the day, involving many thousands of birds, you had to be at the point (the morning seawatch estimated 8-10,000 through in two hours, plus a Little Auk).
At the fishing boats this afternoon Kittiwakes continued to pulse down-Channel, some passing close to shore, and where a ten minute count by MC tallied 588 birds; it was also good to see a number of juveniles amongst the flocks. Also noted were plenty of auks (mainly Guillemots), Cormorants, Gannets and a lone Bonxie, but it was the Kittiwakes that stole the show providing a fabulous birding spectacle throughout the day, thanks mainly to the onshore wind and the abundance of available food in the form of sprats.
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