Dungeness Seawatch

Seawatch Hide - 0715-0815hrs - cold, grey, drizzle, sw3 - With the wind swinging round to a more promising vector thought I`d try a seawatch this morning. Pretty poor return for an hour with a couple of hundred Brents the highlight, plus a trickle of divers, Gannets, scoters and a single Eider. On the land a few more Mipits in with one in full song along the power station wall.

Penduline Tit...

Lade - 0900hrs - Cool, sunny, SW1 - At long last the wind has veered round after a fortnight of biting easterlies. The sun had some strength and encouraged 2 Marsh Harriers and a Sparrowhawk into the thermals. Twelve head-shaking Goldeneyes on south pit.
Hookers - 1400hrs - Spent a couple of hours looking for the reported Penduline (seen earlier from the ramp) without success. Several Beardies `pinging` and a Peregrine over was about it. Elsewhere around the reserve there was Rock Pipit, Slavonian Grebe, Merlin, Red-throated Diver, Bittern and Smew. Yesterdays Scaup appear to have moved on.

                                          Hookers reedbed, somewhere there`s a Penduline...

Scaup

Dungeness RSPB - 1000hrs Four visitors from London enjoyed a wide range of wildfowl on the bird reserve today, in bracing weather conditions, the highlight being three Scaup (two drakes and a duck) which pitched down on Burrowes around midday. As far as I`m aware these are the only records of Scaup on the pits this winter. Large numbers of Shoveler were noteworthy; I counted at least 300 on Burrowes alone, plus a scattering of Shelduck and Goldeneye. Several Marsh Harriers on the wing and the Ravens seen flying towards the power station. Behind Christmas Dell 50 Wigeon in the wet fields and at least 6 Dabchicks and Great Crested Grebes on Dengemarsh. Several flocks of Curlew and Lapwing overhead.
Over the road at ARC a flock of 20 Pied Wagtails contained 2 Rock Pipits, one of the Scandinavian race, littoralis. A `ringtail` flapped out across Tower pits and several more Marsh Harriers, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk noted. On the pit 9 Smew, 5 Goldeneye and a Slav Grebe. Chiffchaff from the Willow Trail.

                                         Two of the 3 Scaups on Burrowes.

Osprey and Peregrines

Lade - 0730hrs - cold, cloudy, ne2 - As I walking back across the storm beaches towards Plovers all the Herring Gulls were creating merry hell along the coast road. I scanned, expecting a Grey Heron to be the target of their ire, but was totally gobsmacked to see an Osprey heading north about 100 feet above the bungalows. Needless to say this is the earliest record I`ve ever had of this summer migrant.
ARC - 0930hrs - Marshman called round and dragged me out birding. First stop the causeway to check the southern end of the pit where a `redhead` Smew, two Shelducks, a singing Reed Bunting, Chiffchaff  and a stunning adult male Marsh Harrier noted. Over the road on New Diggings a drake Smew with 6 ` redheads` plus a lone Little Egret.
Dengemarsh - 1000hrs - The flood had the same waders and wildfowl as yesterday plus a Snipe. Bearded Tits `pinged` from the reedbed while the lake held plenty of trilling Dabchicks, head-shaking Great Crested Grebes and at least one small, wipe-me-out-if-you-can-stiff tail, amongst the regular wildfowl.
Galloways - 1130hrs - Ten Corn Buntings and still no Stonechats.
Scotney - 1145hrs - Lots of handsome, "declining in numbers", Herring Gulls about to breed on the islands.
Pigwell Pit - 1215hrs - Seven Avocets up to their bellies on the washout pit, plus a flock of 25 Chaffinches and a Mipit.
Walland Marsh - 1230hrs - The pic below sets the scene for a grisly encounter with a pair of Peregrines. It appeared that the male had nailed a Woodpigeon which had then retreated into the bush to the left, minus many feathers and most of one wing. Sensibly, it decided to remain out of sight as the hooked beaks were waiting. A half hour stand off ensued whereby the male flew around showing off to the female. This soon attracted the attention of a pair of crows and a Buzzard, which all got the `push off` treatment from the falcon. Half a dozen or so Marsh Harriers also noted, plus several hundred White-fronts, Goldies, Lapwings, Wigeon, Teal and the like. A flock of 10 Song Thrushes flushed by Barney from a hedgerow.
Elsewhere, 10 Bewick Swans and a Snipe at Midley.
Burrowes -1400hrs - Ended up in the warmth of the visitor centre where the pit was full of Shoveler, Gadwall, Wigeon, Shelduck plus a scattering of Goldeneye and a Smew. Out in the car park there was, `funny goings on`, between a lens man and a scantily dressed 2nd winter female...

                                          Peregrines waiting for lunch (no, not the sheep!)
  

Galloways and Dengemarsh flood

1400hrs - sunny, cold, ne2 - A quick drive and scan down the Galloways Road to the sea revealed very little apart from a tight flock of 6 Corn Buntings atop an elder and male Kestrel enjoying the sunshine.
From Springfield Bridge walked the flood which looked in great shape with a decent sprinkling of waders and wildfowl. Ten each of Ringed Plover and Dunlin, Redshank, Lapwing, Curlew and a mix of 50 Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler and Shelduck. Looking very nice indeed and a plum spot for the first LRP or Garganey. Two Ravens looked guilty as charged over on the shingle ridges where rabbit was firmly on the menu.

                                          Dengemarsh Flood

Tudeley Woods and Pembury Heath

0900-1145hrs - cold, cloudy, ne3 - Headed inland to recce a couple of woodland sites on the High Weald for forthcoming magazine articles. Marshman and the Joker came along to keep me and Barney company and ensure we didnt get lost. The highlight was a flock of 70 odd Redpolls in the birch canopy at Tudeley, complete with 3 pale Mealy types and a couple of Siskins. Also, several groups of Redwings and all the usual tits, 2 woodpeckers, Nuthatch and Goldcrest. The heath was quieter with only crests and tits of note. Some nice habitat though, which looks suitable for Woodlark, Tree Pipit and the like later on in spring.
Called in at a windy and largely birdless Bewel Water on the way back (well, it is in Sussex).
Scotney - 1300hrs - Phew, Marshman breathed a sigh of relief as he returned to his beloved flatlands - think he had a touch of altitude sickness! However, even the Joker and I agreed that there were far too many trees up north; must be morphing into a local (mental note to check feet for webbing). Anyway, no birds at the Sussex end (typical) of Scotney, while the grass at the Kent end was full of birds; well at least 100 Wigeon, several Curlew, Dunlin and Redshank, plus 20 Linnets.

                                              Tudeley Woods, High Weald

Gulls and Waders

Dungeness - 0800hrs - Cold, grey, ne4 - The biting north-easterly wind continues to make for difficult birding conditions across the Peninsula. An hours seawatch produced a pitiful return of one distant diver, half a dozen Gannets and a few auks - even Barney looked fed up. The Patch wasnt much better either, although there were two Kittiwakes on the beach amongst a couple of hundred Black-headed, Common, Herring, Lesser-black and Great-black Back Gulls. A brown Merlin did a circuit round the old light before heading out across the Desert and the wintering Glaucous Gull was on patrol along the foreshore by the boats.
Littlestone - 1500hrs - The sun finally broke through but if anything the wind speed had increased. Could only find six of the usual ten species of shorebirds here: Oystercatcher, Curlew, Barwit, Redshank, Dunlin and Sanderling. The rest were probably hunkered down behind the groynes towards St Mary`s Bay.

                                                     Curlew, Littlestone