Black Redstart

Dungeness - mild, cloudy, light airs - Another very mild morning for a circuit of the estate where the highlight was a cracking adult male Black Redstart on the fence around the new lighthouse; and it even delivered a short burst of song. Elsewhere, three Skylarks, six Stonechats and a Meadow Pipit were in song along the foreshore, plus a Chiffchaff and a Goldcrest in the lighthouse garden and a Snipe flushed by Ted from behind the Sanctuary. We then checked Lade as the rain set in where five Goldeneyes were on south lake along with a Great White Egret. 

                                   Black Redstart - Dungeness

Yesterday, in warm sunshine, after a foreshore walk at Dungeness we walked the track down to Dengemarsh where Lapwings were already displaying over the Boulderwall fields along with a host of wildfowl including two White-fronted Geese and the usual egrets and harriers. From the ramp several Cetti`s Warblers and Bearded Tits were heard, plus a Firecrest in the ARC car park willows.  On the way home the Cattle Egret flock was present at Cockles Bridge and the Whooper Swans in the field opposite; while Owen relocated the drake American Wigeon at Scotney from the S bend.

Spring Birdsong

Lade - warm, dry and sunny, light airs - With the first days of metrological spring upon us it felt good to hear the first real burst of bird song across the local patch this morning, including Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Stonechat, Reed Bunting, Song Thrush, Goldfinch, Cetti`s Warbler and Chiffchaff. Duck numbers were significantly down since my last visit, although five Goldeneyes remained on south lake. Yesterday, a circuit of Dungeness delivered the usual resident species on the land, plus a few dabbling ducks past the fishing boats, most notably Pintail and Shoveler, plus a Sandwich Tern and 40 roosting Sanderlings on the beach by the lifeboat station. The wetlands at Boulderwall looked in fine condition and should prove attractive to passage waders as the spring progresses, while two Firecrest were noted in the willow scrub by ARC car park. At Cockles Bridge the egret flock was present in the sheep fold along with the Whooper Swans in the field opposite. 

                                  Goldeneye - Lade south

                                  

I`ve just finished my two winter projects. The first one was to go through my bird logs dating back to 1968 and decide what to do with them (still mulling that one over...), and secondly to build 20 more nest boxes for the fast-declining Tree Sparrows at Scotney (if there are any trees left to put them on!) and tits across Dungeness. Thanks, in advance to Owen, Jacob and Miles for erecting them this month. 

Hints of Spring

Warm, dry and cloudy, SW3 - A most pleasant couple of days of weather, particularly yesterday with the sunshine elevating temperatures into the low teens. At Lade the Dabchicks were trilling across the wetlands along with soaring/displaying Buzzards and Marsh Harriers over the Desert, while the Boulderwall wetlands was full of activity from wildfowl, Lapwings, Curlews and egrets. Today was cloudier with a blustery wind for our circuit of Dungeness during which I noted at least 10 Stonechats holding territories, plus a few singing Meadow Pipits, Skylarks, Dunnocks and Pied Wagtails. The sea was relatively quiet with just a couple of skeins of Brents moving up-Channel and a scattering of Great Crested Grebes, Guillemots and Red-throated Divers on the sea. Cockles Bridge held a flock of egrets (15 Cattle and seven Little) on the sheep paddock and a pair of Whooper Swans in the cereal field opposite. The wintering Bewick`s Swan flock on Walland has now departed on its long and hazardous journey to their breeding grounds in northern Russia.

                                 Curlew - Boulderwall wetlands

                                  Flood water - south of Trapping Area

                                  Ted 

                                  Demolished Sewerage Plant - A Station

    Cattle and Little Egrets - Cockles Bridge

    Whooper Swans - Cockles Bridge

Sad to say that I`m from a generation of birders that has fond memories of the hey-days of the sewerage farm - Maple Cross, Perry Oaks, Reading and Wisbech spring to mind. Throughout the 1960`s most were upgraded, rendering many not so bird-rich; although I was fortunate enough to have Dunstable Sewage Works as my local patch for nearly 30 years which retained four tertiary treatment lagoons, plus additional ponds and scrapes when part of the site was designated a nature reserve. 

However, I mention this while lamenting the demolition of the small treatment plant in A Station at Dungeness this morning; for those of you not so familiar with the layout, it was the section that could be viewed from behind the seawatch hide just beyond the wall. The circular sprinklers over clinker attracted insects which in turn lured the likes of Black Redstart, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit and Chiffchaff to feed, and where once I saw a Hoopoe! 

Slavonian Grebe

Cold, cloudy, showers, SW3 - After a week away up country, dealing with family matters, it felt great to be back home on the Marsh and out birding with Ted this morning, even if the weather was grim. We took a long sweeping walk around Lade and Kerton wetlands taking in Mockmill and returning via the beach. The five wintering Goldeneyes on the lakes contrasted with at least four pairs of Great Crested Grebes in various stages of their nuptials, along with singing Dunnock, Great Tit, Cetti`s Warbler and Song Thrush on the land. North lake attracted five Mediterranean Gulls while a Marsh Harrier and two Buzzards were noted over towards the airfield. Our next port-of-call was Dungeness where the assistant warden Jacob had returned for another summer season; typically, he`d already found a decent bird - a Slavonian Grebe on the sea, and no doubt may more will follow over the coming months. 

                                    Sanderling and Dunlin - Lade bay

Chiffchaff

Cold and wet, S 5 - A miserable day for the monthly WeBS and harrier counts with a biting wind swirling around from the north. At Lade there was not much change to the wildfowl with six Goldeneyes the highlight and an increase in Great Crested Grebes to 12 as pairs move back in for the forthcoming breeding season. This afternoon I ventured out on Walland with Chris where 21 Marsh Harriers (11 of which were males) came to roost at Cheyne Court. There was little else of note due to the grim weather conditions other than a Peregrine, a Kestrel, c10 calling Water Rails and several Cetti`s Warblers.

                                   Chiffchaff - Lade

On Friday, in much fairer weather, a singing Chiffchaff at Lade was my first of the year, while yesterday at least eight Snipe were disturbed from farmland cover along the New Cutt, plus several singing Skylarks, 20 Fieldfares and four Yellowhammers along Hope Lane.

Barnacle Goose

Dengemarsh - mild, dry and sunny, light airs - A half decent day at last with the sun putting in a long overdue appearance and also being appreciated by the Hammonds Corner Little Owl sunning itself on the corner gutter of a barn. First off we walked the gully which was pretty much devoid of bird life apart from a couple of Ravens overhead and a singing Cetti`s Warbler. We then slogged around a soggy circular route where there was a noticeable increase in Reed Buntings across the wetlands with several already in song, a trio of Stonechats, more Cetti`s Warblers, Bearded Tits from the ramp and a flock of 15 Meadow Pipits on the flood field along with at least one Water Pipit. All the usual wildfowl, egrets and harriers were noted along the way plus a couple of Curlews, a Sparrowhawk and a `jangling` Corn Bunting and two singing Skylarks on the farmland. The Bouderwall fields were packed out with Lapwings, Wigeon and feral geese while a flock of Cattle Egrets flew over the car along the Lydd Road (Martin counted 21 earlier). On the way home I called in at the bay for a look at the lone Barnacle Goose reported by Owen first thing, an unusual record and the first I`ve seen here; many thanks to Dave Scott for forwarding on his superb picture below.

Elsewhere this past week a couple of drives out across Walland have yielded the Bewick`s Swan flock (complete with Nadine from the Novaya Zemlya archipelago) and the Tundra/Pink-feet flock, plus pitiful numbers of passerines such as Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Yellowhammer, Linnet, Tree Sparrow and winter thrushes. Visits to Scotney to search for last weekends Red-necked Grebe drew a blank, but I did note the Whooper Swan family on the old sand pit. The American Wigeon has eluded me since its arrival last Friday, having been seen once on ARC but mainly back around the Scotney complex where it was located by Owen today on the lake behind the farm and right of the track.

                                  Barnacle Goose - Lade Sands (by Dave Scott)

American Wigeon

Mild, overcast, drizzle, SW 2 - The wet weather continues... We started the morning at Lade where a couple of hints of spring comprised a passage of 60 Meadow Pipits over the desert and a sky-high calling Sandwich Tern (my first of the year) that headed out towards the bay. There was nothing new on the lakes apart from a pair of Great Crested Grebes on south. Moving onto the reserve where the highlight was a Kingfisher and a Great White Egret in the same field of view on Cooks, plus two Yellow-legged Gulls on Burrowes. As I was leaving site news came through on the local WhatsApp group (from DB and NB) of an American Wigeon reported at Scotney, a long-expected rarity and as far as I`m aware a no-show in the past twenty years that I`ve lived here. I was soon on site to confirm that indeed it was a smart adult drake American Wigeon within a large flock of Wigeons. I didn`t have my scope with me but managed to get at least one record shot pic with the camera; and thanks to the trio of birders from Thanet who stopped enabling me to have good scope views through their optics.

                                 Kingfisher and GWEgret - Cooks Pool

                                 Drake American Wigeon - Scotney

 

Pintails

Dungeness - warm, dry and sunny - For once a superb day and a relief to be out in the field after the dull, dreary wet weather of late. We started at Lade to give Ted a bit of leg room out across the desert towards the water tower and back along Mockmill behind the `mirrors` where two Buzzards and a Kestrel were hunting the wet fields. There was no change to the duck numbers across both waters with five Goldeneyes and a drake Pintail still present. Moving onto Dungeness a 30 minute seawatch from the boats delivered plenty of auks, Kitts and Gannets moving offshore plus a party of five east-bound Pintails. Next stop the bird reserve where hundreds more wintering wildfowl were on ARC from Hanson hide including two more Pintails, four Shelducks and two Goldeneyes. The wet fields across the road at Boulderwall looked superb in the bright sunshine and perfect habitat for the wader passage this spring, for which I`ve got high hopes... However, today c500 Lapwings and a couple of Curlews were present along with a hundred or more feral geese and three cracking drake Pintails that dropped in on what was formerly Tanners Pool. Across the wetlands down to Dengemarsh at least six Great White Egrets were noted along with `pinging`  Bearded Tits from the ramp, several Marsh Harriers, Buzzards, Kestrels and a Sparrowhawk, and a Water Pipit on the flood. We finished the day off checking the bay waders where eight species were logged. Bird of the day though was the Pintail, surely the smartest of ducks.

Elsewhere this past week the two wintering Whooper Swans are still around Walland, although mobile; this morning they were reported from Cockles Bridge. On Monday I saw seven distant Tundra/Pink-footed Geese and 42 Bewick`s at Midley, plus hundreds of Fieldfares and a few Redwings, Yammers and Tree Sparrows along the remaining hedgerows that have survived the ravages of the landowners. The small grey goose flock containing White-fronts, Tundra/Pink-footed Geese was also reported on Walland today from Beaconsfield fleet by SM. 

                                  Boulderwall Wetlands

    Pintails - ARC   

Cormorants

Mild, cloudy, showers - A seawatch from the boats this morning in a fine drizzle was notable for the great skeins of Cormorants coming out of the bay; at least 6,000 birds but probably many more were on the move. Also noted on the sea, feeding on a shoal of fish amongst the Cormorants, were hundreds more auks, Kittiwakes, Gannets and a few Red-throated Divers.

                                  Cormorants off the fishing boats

                                   Mockmill flood

                                  Lade north

This past week has been taken up mostly with family matters but when I`ve been out birding with Ted at Lade, Dungeness and around New Romney nothing much has changed; Lade still has up to five Goldeneyes and a Pintail, while a few Snipe have been disturbed from the wet fields behind south lake and Lade north. The bay continues to attract good numbers of shorebirds.

Seabirds

Dungeness - mild, cloudy, SE 3 - The past few days have been predictably quiet around Lade and on the RSPB reserve where the Great Northern Diver continues its winter sojourn. While time spent walking the bay checking for Snow Buntings along the strandline has been fruitless it has enabled me to clock-up all 11 species of wintering shorebirds, including three Black-tailed Godwits from Littlestone Green. On Monday, together with Chris P, we checked the foreshore at various points between Hythe and Dymchurch for Purple Sands and a 1st winter Glaucous Gull (reported from Willop Basin) without success; although we did note a few Teal on the bay, plus Kittiwakes and a Little Gull at Hythe. Also noted along the way two decomposing Harbour Porpoises and a piece of flotsam complete with Goose Barnacles. On Tuesday an hour at the fishing boats in the morning proved productive with the brisk onshore wind delivering hundreds of close Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes and Gannets, several Red-throated Divers and a party of 30 Brent Geese and five Little Gulls heading up-Channel. This morning we walked the foreshore at Dungeness down to the Patch hide (which is now a sorry old sight) where plenty more auks, Gannets, gulls, Red-throats and a couple of Fulmars were rounding the point. 

                                   Sanderlings - Lade beach

                                  Kittiwake - fishing boats

                                 Goose Barnacles - Lade beach

    Brents - fishing boats

    Patch hide

Wildfowl and Harriers

Mild, cloudy, light airs - Perfect weather for counting birds, being calm and dry with good light. The monthly WeBS count at Lade and Kerton wetlands produced low numbers of ducks now that Friday`s flock of c400 Teal had moved on. The highlights were five Goldeneyes and a single drake Pintail, while only Pochard, Tufted Duck and Coot reached three figures. Also noted two Buzzards, Kingfisher, Green Woodpecker and several Meadow Pipits. Called in at the reserve where the Boulderwall fields held the usual feral geese but little else. However, Burrowes was stacked out with large gulls, Cormorants, common ducks (including two Goldeneyes and four Pintails) and Lapwings, plus the wintering Great Northern Diver in front of Coward hide, two Kingfishers and at least five Great White Egrets scattered around the margins. At Cockles Bridge the field opposite hosted the regular pair of Whooper Swans amongst the Mutes.

                                  Goldeneye - Lade

                                  Great Northern Diver - Burrowes

This afternoon I joined Chris for the harrier count out on Walland Marsh where 16 Marsh Harriers came to roost along with a stunning adult male Hen Harrier. Also noted from our watchpoint: c100 Fieldfares, 57 Corn Buntings, 50 Linnets, hundreds of flighty Lapwings, 10 Snipe, two Buzzards, three Kestrels and several calling Golden Plovers, Water Rails and Cetti`s Warblers. On the walk back to the car in the dark the Bewick`s Swan flock left Midley, wooping loudly, as they flew to roost on the reservoir 

Water Pipit

Dengemarsh - Dry and sunny, light airs - A decent day at last; although it looks as though the rain is back tomorrow. However, we started at the gully where the highlight was a Firecrest amongst very few passerines but did include two Redwings, three Ravens and a singing Cetti`s Warbler. From Springfield Bridge several Marsh Harriers were making the most of the fine weather quartering the wetlands with good numbers of common wildfowl and gulls on the lake, plus three Great White Egrets and calling Bearded Tits. The Flood held around 20 Pied Wagtails, 50 Starlings and a single Water Pipit, presumably the over-wintering bird; 50 more Pied Wagtails were also noted along the range road near Galloways. Next stop Scotney where Owen had earlier reported a Little Stint on the roadside sward opposite the lay-bye, which took some relocating over by the edge of the lake amongst several Redshanks, four Ruffs and hundreds of nervy Lapwings and Golden Plovers as the shepherd was moving the sheep flock. The main lake was heaving with hundreds of Coots and ducks; mostly Wigeon, Teal, Pochard, Tufted Duck and Shoveler, plus five Barnacle Geese and an array of feral Greylags and Egyptian Geese. At Pigwell the Little Owl was enjoying the sunshine from its usual perch atop the broken barn.

                                   Little Owl - Lydd

Elsewhere this past week we`ve had the two Whooper Swans and various numbers of Bewick`s Swans (max of 20 from Caldecote Lane) at several locations around Lydd; 12 Cattle Egrets along the Airport Road; a few Redwings, three Goldeneyes and a Pintail at Lade; and a Firecrest in our New Romney garden and also in the holm oaks at Sainsbury`s.

Pink-footed Goose

Scotney - cold, misty, drizzle, light airs - We spent the morning at the Scotney complex in grim light with a dank atmosphere which apparently, according to the weather forecast, was the calm before the named Storm Goretti sweeps in off the Atlantic this evening delivering gale force winds and a bucket load of rain. At the sand pit the immature Scaup was still present amongst a flock of Tufted Ducks and various skeins of geese flew over, being moved around by gas-guns; mostly hundreds of Greylags, several White-fronts and a lone Pink-footed Goose within a flock of 20 Greylags that flew off towards Camber. Waders present around the sheep fold included Lapwings and Golden Plovers, a Green Sandpiper and Redshank plus several Snipe and a Little Stint. The roadside lakes were stacked out with large numbers of wintering ducks, feral geese and Coots, plus two Black-necked Grebes at the Sussex end. Whilst scanning from the double bends a Spoonbill flew in from Camber direction and landed on the back of the main island but was only viewable from the road down to the farm. At Dennes Lane 40 White-fronts and 50 Egyptian Geese were close to the road and on the way home at least 10 Corn Buntings were noted along Caldecote Lane.

                                  White-fronted and Egyptian Geese - Lydd

 

Frozen!

 Lade - Cold, dry and sunny - Following several nights of sub-zero temperatures (-6 C last night) it was no surprise that both lakes and the willow swamp were entirely frozen over. The only birds present were a few flocks of Common and Black-headed Gulls along with a handful of dabbling ducks roosting on the ice. However, several Water Rails were noted along the causeway and around the frosted margins. We walked Mockmill disturbing four Snipes while three Buzzards and two Kestrels were on patrol behind the `mirrors`. 

                                  South Lake

                                 North Lake

                                  Pale morph Buzzard

Elsewhere over the weekend before the freeze-up a drake Pintail was on south lake along with three Goldeneyes, while a Short-eared Owl and a Red-breasted Merganser were also reported. Farmland walks around New Romney yielded Water Rail, Snipe and Kingfisher along the New Cut, plus Firecrest and Chiffchaff in the garden.

Spoonbill and Bittern

Rye Harbour NR - cold, dry, sunny, N3 - Had a run down to Rye this morning with Pat and Ted taking in the long circular walk beside the fishing lakes and returning back along the Beach Reserve. The highlights were a distant Bittern enjoying the sunshine on the edge of a reed-bed on Long Pit and the `resident` Spoonbill (asleep, as usual) on Ternery Pool. A wide range of common shorebirds and wildfowl were also noted along the way. En-route to and from site the regular Little Owl was on the old barn at Pigwell and the flock of 32 Bewick`s Swans were still in the field by the triangle at Midley.

                                  Bittern - Long Pit

                                 Spoonbill - Ternery Pool

                                 Bewick`s Swans - Midley

    Rye Harbour

New Years Day

Cold, dry and sunny, NW 3 - A nippy old day of weather for a NYD outing in the fine company of Chris and Phil. Over the years we`ve adopted a tried and tested route commencing in the Wealden woods and farmland around Appledore before dropping down onto the flatlands via the canal zone and on towards the coastal hotspots at Scotney, Lade and Dungeness. Highlights this year included 32 Bewick`s Swans at Midley; 30 White-fronts at Lydd; four Black-necked Grebes and a Scaup at Scotney; a Great Northern Diver on Burrowes; seven species of shorebirds on the bay; Red-throated Divers, Common Scoter, Razorbill and Kittiwake off the boats; Kingfisher, Bittern and Bearded Tits from Screen hide, plus all the usual raptors, egrets and common wildfowl along the way. Even though there was a paucity of farmland birds we still managed to record 101 species during the day before finally wrapping things up with a spectacular Starling murmuration over ARC. It was also great to see so many local birders out and about enjoying the birds and having a catch-up; and many thanks to Chris for driving the 63 mile circuit and Phil for listing. 

                                  Bewick`s Swans - Midley

                                  Great Northern Diver - Burrowes

                                  Black-necked Grebes - Scotney