Cold, cloudy, SE4 - We started the day at Lade with a thorough search of the local patch for any passage grebes, bearing in mind the influx of Black-necks and a Slavonian Grebe on ARC last weekend. While there was at least 12 pairs of Great Crested Grebes across both waters and several Dabchicks there was no sign of the scarcer two species. Moving onto Dungeness where a decent passage of Brent Geese was underway involving at least 2,000 birds during the morning (per Martin C) from the seawatch hide. During the hour (1000-1100hrs) I was present c 400 Brents were counted, many close inshore clipping the point, courtesy of the brisk onshore wind. Also noted a steady procession of Red-throated Divers and Common Scoters, a few Sandwich Terns, Gannets and auks, five Teals and two Red-breasted Mergansers. We spent the remainder of the morning walking Dengemarsh where a Water Pipit and two Bearded Tits were the highlights around the hayfields, plus all the usual wildfowl, several Marsh Harriers, 20 Curlews, 12 Redshanks, 10 Lapwings, 10 Little Egrets, 5 Grey Herons and a handful of singing Reed Buntings, Linnets, Skylarks, Cetti`s Warblers and Chiffchaffs.
Over the weekend our Ted walks around the New Romney farmland were largely uneventful apart from a Yellow Wagtail flying over a corn field off Hope Lane, my earliest ever record of this species.
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