Glossy Ibis to roost

Dungeness RSPB - 1330hrs - Rain clearing, cold sunny, sw 3 - Picked up Ray and Stuart from Ashford who are down for a three day Birdwatching Break. The conditions on the road were difficult to say the least with a buffeting wind and lashing rain, but once the front moved through the wind dropped, the sun broke through and out came the birds.
The two Black-throated Divers were in the far corner of New Diggings while we had good views of a Peregrine over the causeway road. From Hanson hide a Bittern flew across the lake and at least four different Marsh Harriers came and went. On the water hundreds of common wildfowl, plus eight Goldeneye, three Smew, Goosander and Red-crested Pochard. Great White and Little Egrets were also noted along with Green Woodpecker, Cetti`s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Kestrel and a pair of Oystercatchers displaying over Tower Pits.
Over the road at Boulderwall Tree and House Sparrows on the feeders, plus Chaffinch and Reed Bunting in nearby bushes. Out on the fields the usual Lapwings, feral geese and another Great White Egret.
On Burrowes five Goldeneye, three more Smew, Goosander, several Marsh Harriers and loads of corvids coming to roost at the Oppen pits. From Firth hide two Chiffchaffs, and at 1653hrs the Glossy Ibis flew in to roost from the direction of Lydd-on-Sea; maybe its feeding somewhere along the coast, perhaps the horse paddocks at Greatstone where it was noted in December.

                                Glossy Ibis, coming to roost, Burrowes

Dungeness gulls

Dungeness  - 0845hrs - mild, sunny, sw 2 - At last the wind had dropped, giving a brief respite before the next gale moves through tomorrow. An hour from the boats with DW and PB delivered a trickle of westbound Kittiwakes along with several Med and Little Gulls; there was no sign of the recent Glaucous Gull however. A few Red-throated Divers and Guillemots moved offshore along with all the usual Cormorants and gulls, plus two Fulmars.
RSPB - Around the bird reserve today a single Black-throated Diver on New Diggings, three Smew and ten Goldeneye on ARC and a Black-necked Grebe on Burrowes. All the usual Marsh Harriers enjoying the calm conditions, two Great White Egrets on Dengemarsh and 50 plus Curlews in the fields at Boulderwall.

Velvet Shank?

Lade - 0900hrs - mild, sunny, sw 6 - Another rough old night with heavy rain and gale force winds  dislodging another couple of tiles off the roof. The strong, blustery wind continued through the day making it difficult to cross the shingle towards the pits. Most of the ducks were on the more sheltered north lake where eight Goldeneyes and four Pintails were the highlights.
Beside north lake, in a sunny spot, we came across a clump of orange toadstools growing out of an old rotten stump. Now, my knowledge of fungi is limited to a few species that are edible, most notably horse mushrooms which are plentiful hereabouts in late summer/autumn. However, after a quick internet search the best I could come up with was Velvet Shank, Flammulina velutipes, a common winter fungi that grows out of timber, but I could be persuaded otherwise...

                                Probable Velvet Shank, Flammulina velutipes

Returning along the beach 15 Ringed Plovers picking over seaweed and other rubbish strewn across the beach were the only waders of note close to shore.
Pett Level - On the way back from Hastings this afternoon we dropped in at Pett Level where the wet meadows were packed out with birds. Thousands of Lapwings made up the numbers along with gulls, Starlings, feral geese, Curlews, Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler, 100 Dunlin, 100 Golden Plover, 10 Snipe, 5 Brents, Little Egret and 13 White-fronts. A Peregrine put in appearance, flushing the lot, before perching on a hummock out on the levels.

The Dowels

Lade - 0900hrs - mild, sunny, w 6 - The much forecast rain failed to materialise, apart from the odd light shower, with the main weather feature being the gusty, gale force westerly wind battering the peninsula. On the local patch much the same wildfowl as during the week, most of them sheltering on north lake or in the willow swamp. A Marsh Harrier quartering the back reedbed needed all its flying skills to stay aloft and not be blown inland.
The Dowels  - With blue skies in the offing, and for a change of scene, we headed inland to check out the flooded fields between Snargate and the canal. At 13`6" below the high water mark the Dowels is the lowest point on the Romney Marshes and one of the last section to be inned; even today with modern drainage techniques it continues to flood and as a result remains largely permanent sheep pasture. The sheets of water either side of the railway line are certainly more extensive than I`ve seen and chatting to a local shepherd he confirmed as such. Birdwise there was little of note apart from several hundred Common Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, corvids and Starlings, plus three Little Egrets and two Grey Herons. The walk along from Kenardington bridge yielded few passerines due to the strong wind although we did log several Yellowhammers and Linnets. Barney flushed a Mink from the canal side which duly swam across the cut and scuttled up the far bank like grease lightening.

                                Flooded pasture, The Dowels

Walland Marsh - Back over the Rhee Wall we worked our way across Walland, via a flooded Fairfield and Midley, seeing very little apart from Tree Sparrows, Goldfinches and Greenfinches on the bird feeders. Near Lydd the Bewick`s Swan flock numbered 50 birds.

                                Bewick`s Swans, Walland Marsh

ARC - Called in at Hanson hide where I had cracking flight views of Kingfisher and Bittern. A large mixed flock of ducks were sheltering close to the willows until flushed by a Marsh Harrier, while three Smew and eight Goldeneyes were noted further out on the lake.

                               Fairfield Church, Walland Marsh

Dungeness RSPB

RSPB - 1030hrs - mild, sunny, sw 3 - Once the early morning murk had cleared it turned out to be a pleasant day with plenty of warm sunshine. Parked up at Boulderwall, where up to 15 Tree Sparrows were on the feeders, and walked to Dengemarsh checking the wet meadows along the way where c2,000 Lapwing, 100 Golden Plover, 50 Curlew and hundreds of gulls, feral geese, Starlings, Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler, two Great White Egrets, Peregrine, Common Buzzard and several Marsh Harriers including the distinctive `yellow` adult female. The spinney by Hookers held a few passerines: Great and Blue Tits, Dunnock, Wren, Cetti`s Warbler, Tree Sparrow and Reed Bunting, nothing special, but just nice to a see a few small birds. Also on the open fields two Brown Hares `boxing`.
A flooded field opposite the Corral attracted a Green Sandpiper, while Bearded Tits, Water Rail and Cetti`s Warbler were all in good voice from the ramp. More feral geese, Lapwings and three Shelducks in the back field.
On Burrowes three Smew and singles of Goosander and Black-necked Grebe amongst the common wildfowl, gulls and Cormorants.
From the causeway road two Black-throated Diver on New Diggings and another Smew on ARC.

                                Dengemarsh/Hookers

Dungeness - 1415hrs  - A seawatch from the fishing boats with MH this afternoon yielded all the expected auks, grebes, gulls and Cormorants feeding offshore, plus a couple of divers, but there was nothing on the move. Along the foreshore were scores of dogfish washed up in the afternoon sunshine. These unfortunate sea creatures are probably a result of so called by-catch from the fishing industry, although some may have been washed up by the recent storms. Known as `rats of the sea` by fisherman many are caught around the British coastline and being inedible are simply chucked over the side dead or dying. Just seems such as waste to me.

                                Lesser-spotted Dogfish, Dungeness

More weather

Dungeness  - 1000hrs  - cold, overcast, sw 5 - Another shocking day with low cloud and, by midday, heavy rain being driven on by a blustery south-westerly veering easterly. From the boats up to 200 Great Crested Grebes on sea, plus a scattering of Guillemots, gulls and Cormorants. Rounding the point were small numbers of Red-throated Divers, Gannets and Kittiwakes while the 1st winter Glaucous Gull was still present along the foreshore.
The afternoon was a write off, better tomorrow, hopefully...

Another day, another gale

Lade - 1000hrs- mild, sunny, sw 5 - With the wind picking up through the morning south lake was largely devoid of wildfowl as it began to resemble the sea. Most of the ducks had shifted onto north lake and were sheltering behind the causeway including eight Goldeneye and a pair of Pintail.

                                Stormy Lade

RSPB -We continued onto the bird reserve where the usual fare was on offer. From the causeway road three Smew and a Goosander amongst the usual ducks, plus the two Black-throated Divers viewable from Dennis`s hide. The fields at Boulderwall continue to attract hundreds of Lapwing, Curlew, Wigeon, corvids, gulls, Stock Doves and feral geese, plus Great White Egret and a hunting Peregrine. Several Marsh Harriers were grounded around the site due to the gale force winds, apart from a spanking adult male bird that crossed low over the access road heading towards Dengemarsh. Called in at the VC for a natter and a look at Burrowes which looked even more like the sea, and as the rain arrived we called it a day.

                                Grounded Marsh Harrier