Dengemarsh - mild and cloudy, SW 5 - Despite a buffeting wind around the Dengemarsh circular walk there was a welcome increase in insect activity since my last visit, particularly from Black-tailed Skimmer dragonflies and Red Admiral butterflies, both of which seemed to be everywhere. Corn Bunting, Yellow Wagtail and Skylark were all noted feeding juveniles on the farmland section, plus Reed Warbler in the reedbeds and Linnet and Common Whitethroat in the scrub. The hayfields were almost dry apart from a large muddy puddle on hayfield 2 that attracted several Little Egrets, a couple of Lapwings and a flyover Glossy Ibis. Also noted across the site several Swifts, two Marsh Harriers, a Great White Egret and 120 Gadwall on the lake by the Hookers ramp. Across the road on ARC a Little Stint joined the expected plovers and Redshanks. An afternoon seawatch from the fishing boats produced a steady trickle of gulls around the point, including 10 Mediterranean and a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull, plus 10 Sandwich Terns and two Grey Seals.
An early morning walk across farmland to the north of New Romney yesterday delivered hundreds of Swifts feeding on flying insects rising from the drainage sewers. In their midst were a few Swallows, House and Sand Martins; whether or not any of these birds were on migration was difficult to tell, but the Sand Martins most probably were. The garden moth trap continues to deliver with a 30 species haul yesterday attracting a Clancy`s Rustic, new for the trap site.
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