Rye waders

Rye Harbour NR - 0830hrs - cold, sunny, sw 3 - Spent Thursday morning at Rye with CP checking out the Beach Reserve and sifting through the hundreds of waders on the high tide roost. Good numbers of Avocet, Redshank and Ringed Plover were the highlight, plus a supporting cast of Oystercatcher, Curlew, Turnstone, Bar-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, seven Knot, four Grey and 200 Golden Plovers on Harbour Farm.  On the wildfowl front plenty of Sheldduck and Shoveler were present alongside a few Gadwall, Teal, Wigeon, Tufted Duck a pair of Pintail and two laggard Brent Geese.

                                Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls

                                Redshanks from John Gooder`s hide

                               Sandwich Terns, Ternery Pool

  On Ternery Pool around 150 Sandwich Terns and 120 Mediterranean Gulls were making their presence known amongst 500 or so Black-headed Gulls, some of which were already on nests. The cacophony of noise from all three species was a joy to behold and so typical of early spring on this famous old nature reserve.
  Also noted around the site Dabchick, Skylark, Meadow Pipit and Linnet. As we got back home on the Marsh the first spots of rain arrived heralding a wet afternoon.

First Sand Martins

Lade - cold, overcast, showery, NW 2 - A grim morning to be out in the field with light rain throughout. On south lake the two immature Long-tailed Ducks continued their stay and a Black-necked Grebe was present. Several Chiffchaffs sang from the willow swamp and a Black Redstart flitted amongst the caravans by the aerial mound.
Dungeness - A Slavonian Grebe could be seen from the causeway road on New Diggings, while at least one White Wagtail was amongst the Pieds on the margins of Cook`s Pool. The Boulderwall fields attracted a host of Curlew, Oystercatcher, Lapwing and Golden Plover to probe the saturated ground for invertebrates. At the VC feeders at least four Bramblings put on a marvellous show, despite the drizzle, alongside a number of Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Reed Bunting, Tree Sparrow, Blue and Great Tits, a Moorhen and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

                               Bramblings and Chaffinches under the VC feeders

Against my better judgement I did the circular walk which started off dry but soon deteriorated by the time I reached Dengemarsh. However, on Burrowes the highlights were several Ringed Plovers, three Goldeneyes and a pair of Marsh Harriers briefly soaring over the Oppen pits, plus singing Chiffchaffs and a Firecrest by Christmas Dell and displaying Lapwings on Hayfield 1/2. From Dengemarsh hide a Bittern uttered a single series of `booms` from Hooker`s reebed and our first four Sand Martins of spring briefly appeared over the lake. The small pit by the bend attracted the trio of wintering Smew.
  Sitting in Makepeace the Sandwich Tern tape lure was playing in an attempt to attract terns to the fenced off cluster of islands in front of the hide. Yet again no egrets were seen during the circuit.

                                Pair of Egyptian Geese, Christmas Dell

Dolphins

Dungeness - 0830hrs - mild, dry, sunny, light airs - Strolling down to the seawatch hide on a warm spring morning I could not have guessed what awaited me. Approaching the hide I noticed a flat calm sea with nothing much happening bird wise, although the regulars were intently `scoping an area off to the south-west where a couple of dolphins were swimming around. Over the next hour we watched as they moved steadily eastwards as the Range Boat approached, and at one stage were briefly joined by a much smaller Harbour Porpoise. They appeared to be fishing, judging from the nearby plunge-diving Gannets, and would submerge for several minutes followed by a bout of action on the surface, during which time they twice leaped almost clear of the water.
  The dolphins were obviously large, heavy looking cetaceans with an erect dorsal fin, greyish above and pale below, and at least once I caught sight of a yellowish streak which left me confused as to their specific identity. They were also quite a way offshore which didn't help, but were probably either Common or Bottlenose Dolphins, both of which would`ve been new for me off Dungeness, although "dolphins" are often reported in the Channel by fishermen.
  During the watch Gannet, Sandwich Tern, Red-throated Diver, auks, Great Crested Grebe and Common Scoter were all noted in variable numbers, plus four Mergansers, two Teal and a Fulmar.
  Another hour this afternoon at the boats delivered similar fare feeding offshore, but no real  movement.
Lade - Not much change from the weekend on the lakes with the wintering ducks and grebes. On the bay a flock of 15 Ringed Plovers was noteworthy.

`Booming` Bittern

Lade - mild, dry, light airs - A quiet weekend on the birding front with pretty much the same birds on station as last week, including the two Long-tailed Ducks which were particularly showy yesterday. However, in the stillness this evening my first Bittern of spring could be heard `booming` from across the Desert, somewhere over by the bird reserve, probably in Tower Pits.
  A notable feature of this early part of spring has been the arrival of large numbers of Sandwich Terns on the bay. At low tide they sit on the sands, moving onto the shingle beach at high tide. This weekend there`s been a flock of around 70, but numbers topped out at twice that in the week. If the islands on Kerton Road pit were clear of scrub I feel sure there`d be a good chance of them nesting, as it is so close to the sea and almost mirrors their breeding site at Rye Harbour.

                               Two immature Long-tailed Ducks remained on south lake

                                Sandwich Terns on the beach from Lade boardwalk

Dungeness - Yesterday we had a scoot around the point and the bird reserve where it was pretty much the same fare as Friday. The White Wagtails were still on Boulderwall fields and there was a steady flow of twitchers paying homage to the Bluethroat in the gully. Other reported migrants included a Red Kite over Lydd and the first Sand Martins of spring on Burrowes.

Weekly Summary

Lade - cold, sunshine and showers, SW 4 - A mixed day weather wise with warm sunshine around noon sandwiched between cloud and drizzle. Firecrests were prominent today with two in the Plovers garden, another in the willow swamp and three in a Littlestone garden. Black-necked Grebe, Long-tailed Duck and six Goldeneyes continue to be faithful to south lake.
Dungeness - An afternoon visit to the bird reserve yielded the wintering trio of Smew on Tanner`s Pool, two White Wagtails on Cook`s Pool, (thanks to MH for the tip-off), juvenile Glaucous Gull on Burrowes and another Firecrest at the pines by Tower Pits.

Weekly Summary
Its been a case of typical early spring fare across the Dungeness peninsula this week as spring begins to give winter a nudge. Firecrests have been showing well in good numbers, particularly in the old lighthouse garden and Dengemarsh gully, while Black Redstarts, Meadow Pipits, Linnets, Reed Buntings, Chiffchaffs and Wheatears have begun to trickle through. In contrast wintering Dartford Warblers can still be found in the Kerton Road triangle and at Lade.
  On the sea parties of Brent Geese are still on the move up-Channel, although its been a largely disappointing week for other species of wildfowl and waders. Auks, Gannets, Common Scoters and Red-throated Divers are still coming and going, along with east bound Sandwich Terns and Little Gulls plus an incoming Osprey. A juvenile Glaucous Gull is still being seen at the Patch, or on Burrowes, while Mediterranean Gull sightings are steadily increasing.
  Lade sands has been the place for waders with 11 species recorded this week including several pulses of 100 plus Knot and Bar-tailed Godwit amongst many hundreds of Sanderling and Dunlin, plus a brief Little Ringed Plover on Lade south. Sandwich Tern numbers reached 130 at low tide on the sands mid-week.

  And so to the bird of the week, initially two and now one male White-spotted Bluethroat continues to show well, off and on, in Dengemarsh Gully as of Friday afternoon. RSPB have asked visiting birders to view the bird from the road side of the gully and not drop down and walk along the sewer margin as several inconsiderate bird photographers have been seen to do this week. The bird is easy to see from the trackside bank or from the sluice, all that is required is a little patience. Sermon over. Good birding to one and all.

Little Ringed Plover

Lade - 0630hrs - cold, sunny, nw 2 - At last the wind relented and the sun broke through making for a terrific early morning session on the local patch. Walking down Taylor Road we followed a pair of Black Redstarts until the cattery where they spent some time snapping up insects in the bungalow garden and posing for the camera. Three others were noted around the site in back gardens and in the caravan park.
  Scanning south lake from the interpretive signs the distinctive flight call of Little Ringed Plover was heard as one swooped down over the lake, briefly touching down on the shingle and then flying off towards the bird reserve. It was the first of spring.
  Out on the water six Goldeneyes, a Black-necked Grebe and two Long-tailed Ducks were the highlights; surely the Long-tails can`t stay for much longer... Two more Goldeneyes were on north lake along with 50 Pochard and 30 Shovelers.

                                Cattery Black Redstart

                               

Dartford Warbler and Dunnock from the footpath

However, in the calm conditions passerines were in the ascendancy singing from every available perch: Great and Blue Tits, Robin, Wren, Blackbird, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Cetti`s and Dartford Warblers, Reed Bunting and Greenfinch. Elsewhere across the site, Green Woodpecker, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Buzzard , Curlew, Redshank and Mediterranean Gull all noted.

Ringed Plovers

Dungeness - cold, sunny, N 5 - Another bitter cold day throughout, although the sun broke through during the afternoon making it feel a little more spring-like. A wander around the Kerton Road triangle and down to the pits delivered a Sparrowhawk that flushed a Dartford Warbler from cover, plus Stonechat, Meadow Pipit and Skylark.
  By the lifeboat station at least two Wheatears popped up briefly on old winches before hunkering down out of the wind amongst the broom, while a Black Redstart was foraging in the garden of one of the cottages opposite. Down at the Patch the regular Glaucous Gull was present amongst the gulls on the beach and a Little Gull over the boil.
Scotney - To and from Rye a pit stop along the road produced a flock of 21 Ringed Plovers on the flooded field and the usual Barnacle Geese by the double bend. At East Guldeford two Ruff were within a large mixed flock of Golden Plovers and Lapwings.