Mockmill Sewer

Mockmill Sewer - 0930hrs - cloudy, chilly, sw3 - A local patch is a marvellous thing and allows you to discover and have an intimate knowledge of a birding area close to home that reaches the parts that other birding sites can never hope to achieve. Mockmill Sewer is one such location; a slither of wetness that runs between two storm beach ridges from the airport fields behind the 200 foot `mirror` out onto the dry stony, Desert at Lade.
I don`t visit the sewer as often as I should as its a fair old slog out across the shingle to get to, but once there its one of those places that you think must turn up something good one day, and if it does, for sure I`ll find it, because in six years I`ve never seen another birder out there!
Today was fairly duff with just a few singing Dunnocks and Wrens, a couple of Song Thrushes and flushed Snipe. My first winter down here 3 Short-eared Owls regularly hunted the sewer and I`ve had some pretty impressive falls of warblers and thrushes during the autumn. Scarcities have included Gropper, Dartford Warbler and Rouzel, but I feel sure that one day it will yield an Aquatic Warbler in the sedges or maybe a Roller on a fencepost, well I can dream...

 Mockmill Sewer - a boggy tangle of sedge, reed, bulrush and tussock grass between two gorse, bramble and blackthorn ridges

Barney loves Mockmill Sewer as it allows him to indulge in one of his favourite pastimes - chasing rabbits. But fear not dear reader, carnage rarely prevails as he is the most pathetic of hunting terriers.

RSPB - Called in at the visitor centre this afternoon, more for a natter than anything else. The Long-tailed Duck was still on Burrowes and a Black-necked Grebe on Christmas Dell. Over the road the usual Bitterns, Smews and Great White Egret present. Also year ticked three-wheel birder in Dennis`s hide trying to snap the long-tailed.

Kingfisher

Dungeness - 0800hrs - cloudy, sunshine, nippy, sw3 - A wander along from the boardwalk, aimlessly looking for Snow Buntings, resulted in flushing about 400 Cormorants off the beach. Joined Plodding Birder for an hours seawatch from the concrete road where we noted over 100 Red-throated Divers milling around the Point, 300 Gannets east and hundreds of auks, gulls, grebes and more Cormorants. DW arrived and promptly pointed out a 2nd winter Med Gull just offshore.
ARC - 1330hrs - Plenty of action here with Bitterns flying all over the place and one that walked in front of Hanson, whilst I watched from Screen! A Kingfisher showed well, diving from reed stems in front of the hide for tiddlers. All the usual wildfowl including 3 Smews, 6 Goldeneyes and a Pintail, plus 200 Lapwings, 3 Marsh Harriers, Dabchick, Blackwit and Green Woodpecker. Over the road the Great White Egret was hunting the far bank, while at least 17 Smews (including 3 drakes) lurked amongst a Tufted Duck flock on the open water.

                                           Kingfisher, ARC - always a welcome sight

Penduline Tit

Lade - 0900hrs -chilly, sunny, w1 - At last, nailed a Bittern on the local patch, the first of the winter, sunning itself on the edge of the reedbed just south of the wall` mirror`. Unfortunately I only had bins with me, so distant, but in view for 20 minutes warming up in the sun. A pair of Ravens flew over `cronking` loudly as they headed inland, one with what looked like a shellfish in its beak. Several Marsh Harriers hunting over the airport and a pair of Shelducks on south pit.

                                          Lade  - wall `mirror` 
                     
ARC - 1215hrs Plenty of wildfowl from Hanson including 8 Goldeneyes, 3 Smews and a Pintail, single Blackwit, 3 Marsh Harriers, Water Rail and a Sparrowhawk. Whilst watching a small flock of passerines in the willows, including several Long-tailed tits and Chiffchaffs, was surprised to get brief views of a  Penduline Tit working its way through the top of the bushes. Only had the briefest of views of what appeared to be an adult, but didnt get a look at the legs to see if it was ringed, like the one at the back end of last year. I think this is the first sighting in 2012.

Bunting Hunting

Park Wood - 1030hrs - cold, dry and sunny, n2 - Had a woodland wander with CP and the ladies on a cracking winter`s morning. All the usual timber birds including Long-tailed and Coal Tits, Treecreepers, Nuthatches, Green and Greater peckers, Jay, Bullfinch and a couple of Buzzards over the canopy. Sadly, en-route from the coast, 4 dead roadside badgers.

                                          Park Wood, Appledore

                                           Bewick`s Swans going to roost, Walland Marsh

                                          Lights Out, Walland Marsh

Walland Marsh - 1645hrs - Went bunting hunting this afternoon with CP in search of the 200 plus flock of Corn Buntings noted last week, but all we could find was a measly 30 odd. Anyhow, 19 Marsh Harriers came to roost, plus an odd looking ringtail, small and dull with a narrow white rump a bit like a Monty`s; strange looking thing and would like to have seen it in better light. Also noted singles of Bittern and Snipe, a few Reed Buntings and, in dribs and drabs, 66 Bewick`s Swans to roost on the open water with much yelping and `oop-ooping` in the setting sun.
NB: Other local news included further sightings of the Sea-eagle over Saltwood this morning heading east along the hills towards Dover, and a single Glossy Ibis over Dengemarsh this afternoon flying towards Scotney (SB).

Finch Flock

New Diggings - 0945hrs - mild, cloud and sunshine, sw4/5 - A blustery start to the day. Plenty of wildfowl from the causeway road including 19 Smews (3 drakes), 6 Goldenyes and a drake Goosander, plus single Great White and Little Egrets. Over the road on ARC, 200 Wigeons, Shovelers and Gadwalls.
Lydd Airport - 1015hrs - A large flock (well, large by todays standards) of 150 Chaffinches near the farm deserved a scan through for a Brambling, but all I could find was 4 Goldfinches and a Greenfinch. In the pine trees Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, while on the farmland hundreds of Woodpigeons, Stock Doves, Starlings, corvids and Common Gulls, plus a covey of 6 Red-legs.
Walland Marsh - 1100hrs Spent a couple of hours driving across the Marsh scanning for the eagle but to no avail. 35 Bewick`s were back in the field at Midley and Tree Sparrows were noted at two regular sites, but as usual there were few small farmland birds to be found. Three Marsh Harriers, Buzzard and Kestrel noted.
Scotney - 1330hrs A good selection of geese at the Sussex end with 9 Brents on the water and 9 close White-fronts amongst the plastic Barneys, Grey Lags and goodness-knows-what, Emperor/Snow/Bar-headed hybrid types (given up trying to work out their parentage so propose to create a new species: how about the Scotney Goose Anser scotneus ). At the Kent end, 500 Wigeons, Lapwings, Goldies and Starlings, 10 Dunlins and singles of Redshank and Ringed Plover.
Boulderwall - 1430hrs With the wind picking up and drizzle in the air scanned the fields but all I could find was 15 Curlews, 3 Marsh Harriers and a Blackwit over. The Long-tailed duck remained on Burrowes and there was a report of 5 Snow Buntings at the Point earlier. Had a quick look from the boats in fading light without success.

                                          Bewick`s Swans - Midley

                                           White-fronts - Scotney

                                          Barnacle Geese - Scotney

                                           4 Scotney Geese - Scotney!

After the Lord Mayor`s Show...

Lade - 0930hrs - mild, 11C, cloudy w2 - After the excitement of yesterday it was back to more normal fare today. Was surprised to see several deep snow drifts still intact at the back end of south pit and 100 Wigeons and Teals sat on ice by the reedbed; much of the middle section of the pits was still iced over too.
Dungeness - 1500hrs An hour seawatch from the concrete road with MH, in poor light and with the foghorn blasting away, revealed a steady flow of gulls, Cormorants, Gannets, Kitts, Red-throated Divers and auks around the Point, or feeding just offshore. There was no sign of the Glaucous Gull.

Walland Marsh - Sea-eagle!!!

Walland Marsh - 0930hrs - mild, cloudy, nw2 - A phone call from an excited Marshman this morning necessitated a rapid change of plan for the day ahead... He`d had a phone call from a local farmer telling of a "vulture" at large on Walland; only to discover a Sea-eagle feeding on a fox carcass in a turf field by the Cheyne Court windfarm - now that`s what I call a memorable start in any day! By the time I arrived the eagle was a distant blob perched up in a small clump of trees south of the Rye road.
A brisk walk out from the Woolpack delivered much better views and as a small group of us watched from a safe distance the mighty bird shuffled its feathers, had a crap, turned into the wind and flew back towards the Rye road and over the heads of the waiting locals. We had breathtaking views of this flying monster with the double-barn-door wings, diamond shaped tail and massive pale bill; an immature bird, liberally sprinkled white on the back and breast.
We watched as it landed briefly in a field to the north of the Guldeford Levels before heading towards Oxney in Sussex (attracting the attentions of a pair of Peregrines en-route), where it eventually landed in a tree on the `Isle`. A dash around to the Rye-Appledore road delivered further views as it thermalled off the hillside with a pair of Buzzards looking like Starlings in comparison and was last seen high over Walland Marsh at about 12.30hrs
Having not seen a Sea-eagle for ages I`d forgotten just how massive they are. A superb bird and a first for the Romney Marsh apparently. Credit must go to CP for following up the lead, locating it and getting the news out quickish - well done that man. Let`s hope it sticks around so a few more birders can enjoy this magnificent raptor, which does look very much at home down here on the flatlands.
Other raptors seen on Walland this morning included a ringtail Hen Harrier, 4 Buzzards, 3 Marsh Harriers, 2 Peregrines, 2 Kestrels and a Sparrowhawk. At Midley the Bewick` s Swan flock totalled 60 and 11 Corn Buntings were by the drying barns.

                      White-tailed Eagle, imm - Walland Marsh - poor record shots

                               Great White Egret, ARC - skating on ice!

ARC - 1500hrs Called in at Hanson this afternoon where the amusing sight of the GWE skating on  ice! Also, 10 Smews, including a drake, 8 Goldeneyes, singles of Blackwit, Kingfisher, Bittern, Little Egret and hundreds of Wigeons, Teals, Gadwalls and Shovelers.