Guiding

 Dungeness - cold, dry and sunny, NE4 - Spent the day guiding for Jill, Liz and John from Dorset. We kicked off on the bay from the Tavern viewpoint where at high tide 200 Bar-tailed Godwits provided a fabulous spectacle, plus 20 Oystercatchers, five Sanderlings and a Grey Plover. We then joined the seawatchers at the point for an hour where more Barwits and Whimbrels trickled through along with a few Red-throated Divers, Brents, Common and Sandwich Terns, Gannets, Common Scoters, two Curlews and two Arctic Skuas. On the land we picked up Black Redstart, Wheatear, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit and Skylark in their usual locations, plus Kestrel, Whitethroat and Linnet. Following a tip off from OL we had distant views of a Ring Ouzel at the top end of the desert along with a probable second bird and another Wheatear.

                                  Early Purple Orchids, Dungeness

                                  Wheatear on Sea Kale, Dungeness

                                   Sedge Warbler, Dengemarsh

Crossing the causeway bird we had brief views of a perched Black Kite on the ARC side of the road which by the time I`d turned around at Boulderwall then flew over the fields towards Dengemarsh and beyond to the Ranges; apparently it was seen earlier from Springfield Bridge coming in off the sea. At Cooks Pool, Wigeon, Shelducks, Teal, Lapwings, Whimbrels and Bar-tailed Godwits were all noted plus four Garganey on Tanners pool. Highlights around the reserve included six Black-tailed Godwits, Dunlin and a Ringed Plover with young on Burrowes; Marsh Harriers, booming Bittern, Great White Egret, Raven and Hobby, Dengemarsh; Redshanks, Teal, Shelducks, Shovelers and Little Egret on the Hayfields; and two more Great White, six Little Egrets and three species of hirundines on ARC from Hanson hide. A pretty decent days birding then during which time we racked up 87 species.