Mild, overcast, SW3 - With the worst of named Storm Eowyn passing to the north of the British Isles the main weather event down here has been another dollop of rain. This morning we checked along the foreshore at Dungeness where a large mixed flock of gulls loafed by the lifeboat station and hundreds of Cormorants remained offshore and along the tideline into Lade bay. Lade south held five Goldeneyes, with another 13 on Burrowes, plus the wintering Long-tailed Duck on New Diggings, although I could find no sign of the divers. The reserve was largely deserted and the visitor centre closed, something that will become more regular no doubt, but it was good to see the replacement Makepeace hide under construction.
Elsewhere this week our Ted walks have taken us across the farmland around New Romney where birds were few and far between, which is hardly surprising considering the way the `custodians of the countryside` are performing. I fully understand that the sewers have to be cleared out to drain the land, but is it really necessary to dump all the slurry over a well-used public footpath, smother turf-field entrances and lanes with mud and grub out hedgerows. These are just a few examples from around Romney, although it`s going on right across the Marsh. On a positive note Firecest and Chiffchaff have both been seen again in and around our town garden.
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