Serin

Lade  - cool, dry and sunny, s 2 - Despite a cool night with clear spells it was surprisingly busy in the garden moth trap this morning with 15 species including Small Elephant Hawk-moth, Bird`s Wing, Silver Y, White Point and Bordered Sallow. The local patch was quiet apart from a few Swifts and House Martins high over the Willow Swamp.

                                Bird`s Wing

                                  White Point

                                  Bordered Sallow

                                A second Bee Orchid, Lade

  Stopped off at Littlestone late morning to pay homage to the male Serin that continues his lonely lament for a mate atop a clump of fir trees opposite the entrance to the golf club.

                                Serin, Littlestone

  An evening visit to the bird reserve in fine weather, firstly from the Screen hide delivered our first Green Sandpiper of the return passage, plus three 1st summer Little Gulls. Also Cuckoo, Lesser Whitethroat, Hobby, Marsh harrier and a flyover Bittern. No new passage waders on Burrowes, and a Mediterranean Gull bathing in front of Firth hide. 

                                Mediterranean Gull from Firth hide

Odds and ends

Lade - warm, dry, cloudy, light airs - After the gale force winds of yesterday it was good to get out and about in the field today without getting battered. We walked the local patch where Long-tailed Tit and Green Woodpecker were confirmed breeders in the willow swamp, while a female Cuckoo flopped about in the main reedbed presumably looking for suitable Reed Warbler nests. On the water at least 10 broods of Coots were counted along with the first Dabchick juveniles. By mid-morning a mixed kettle of raptors rose into the sky over the airfield comprising four each of Buzzard and Marsh Harrier, two Kestrels and a Sparrowhawk.

                                Southern Marsh Orchid, Lade

  Behind the `mirrors` we walked north towards Belgar Farm and Romney Salts where a few pairs of Yellow Wagtail, Corn Bunting and Tree Sparrow were noted, plus Skylark, Mipit, Stonechat and a trickle of Lapwings heading towards the bird reserve. A few more clumps of Southern Marsh and Common Spotted Orchids were also in flower.
  As the sun broke through insect activity around the ponds included Four-spotted Chaser and Hairy Hawker dragonflies, plus Red Admiral and Speckled Wood butterflies. Three Apache military helicopters flew over from the airfield shattering the tranquillity, followed by two more a while later.

                                Apaches over Lade

                                Speckled Wood

                                Red Admirals on Valerian

  Moving onto the bird reserve where Burrowes was quiet apart from good numbers of Pochard, Gadwall, two Wigeon, four Teal, two Ringed Plovers and the usual Common Tern activity; it was interesting to see how they have colonised the raft with the brush cover still in place, I`ve not seen that before now. There was nothing much of note on ARC, just eclipse ducks, Common Terns and a calling Cuckoo. 

                         Yellow-horned Poppy - the seawatch highlight!

  We finished the afternoon at the fishing boats in a light drizzle with a brief seawatch that delivered a few fishing Gannets and terns.

Curlews

Dungeness - cool and cloudy, showers, se 4 - A cool morning with a few sharp and prolonged showers. After checking a blustery Lade, where once again plenty of low Swifts were the order of the day, we headed for the point and a seawatch from the hide; well, the wind was from the south-east! An hour produced 30 Gannets, 10 Common and five Sandwich Terns, four Mediterranean Gulls, two Common Scoters and two Shelducks eastbound, plus 30 coasting Swifts.
  Moving onto the bird reserve as the rain ceased Swifts were everywhere. Two 1st summer Little Gulls were over ARC from the causeway road, plus a Garganey amongst scores of eclipse Gadwall from Screen hide, where also Cuckoo and singing Lesser Whitethroat. On Burrowes the wader cast included 21 Curlews, four Whimbrels, two Bar-tailed Godwit, one Black-tailed Godwit, two each of Dunlin and Sanderling and a spanking Turnstone in full breeding plumage. Three Sandwich Terns briefly joined the Common Terns, while Cuckoo, Hobby and Little Egret noted from the Access Road.
  The Serin was still present at Littlestone. 

                                Curlews, Barwit and Sandwich Terns on Burrowes

A sky full of Swifts

Lade - cool and sunny, sw 4 - A chilly, breezy start to the day drove down at least 200 Swifts to hawk emerging Mayflies over the lakes and along the main track. Devil Birds or Rain Dodgers, to give them two of their many colloquial names, must surely be in every birders top ten of favourite birds, but trying to capture the spectacle with a bridge camera is another matter...
  As with the past two mornings a trickle of post-breeding flocks of Lapwings and Pochards passed over heading inland and towards the bird reserve.

                                Swifts over Lade


  Called in at Littlestone this morning where the Serin was still present in the fir trees opposite the golf club entrance.

Roseate Tern

Dungeness - cool, cloudy, wet E 2 - A wander around the point first thing produced the usual breeding Wheatears and Black Redstarts, plus the Peregrine screeching away atop the power station. Jacques was busily catching Stonechats around the moat while a Sparrowhawk nipped over chasing a Starling. Offshore a few Gannets drifted by and a flock of 10 Common Scoters flew into Rye Bay. The Patch was devoid of birds.

                                Juvenile Stonechat

  Called in at Littlestone this morning where the Serin was holding court from its usual stand of pine trees opposite the golf club entrance; House Martins and Goldfinches also noted. By mid-morning a welcome band of rain moved up from the south and carried on until early evening
  Late morning at Burrowes and a host of waders on the islands included 14 Sanderling, four Barwits, two Common Sandpipers, six Curlews, 10 Dunlins, five Ringed Plovers, Grey Plover, Greenshank, and Turnstone. Two Sandwich Terns also dropped in front of Firth hide amongst the Common Terns where conditions look superb for waders and loafing terns and gulls, while scores of Swifts were driven low by the rain.

                                Bedraggled adult Grey Plover

  An evening visit to look for a Roseate Tern seen this afternoon on Burrowes almost drew a blank after searching from Firth and Makepeace hides, but was eventually located from Dennis`s on a distant island alongside Common Terns. A little while after a thick bank of fog rolled in off the sea reducing visibility to about 100yds. Over the road a Bittern `boomed` eerily in the sea fret.

Bee Orchid

Lade - hot, dry and sunny, S 3 - Spent the morning mooching around the local patch, until it got too hot around 11am. Along the foreshore a few Barrel Jellyfish amongst clumps of beached Whelk and Squid eggs, while further out on the sands a couple of red Bar-tailed Godwits amongst a host of Curlews and Oystercatchers.

                                Barrel Jellyfish

  On the lakes the first Mute Swan cygnets were on show along with a brood of Gadwall on north lake, but while there were plenty of Coots out on the open water few of the early brood youngsters appear to have survived predation yet again. Several Cuckoos were active around the Willow Swamp attracted to the numerous Reed Warbler nests.

                                          Bee Orchid

  Once we`d moved through the mass of rotting, stinking Valerian around the site entrance I spent some time searching for Bee Orchids along the old railway line track, eventually locating a single plant in pristine condition. The Southern Marsh Orchid patch is now restricted to just two plants beside south lake with another clump behind the wall mirror. Great Lettuce has sprung up across the shingle, in places six feet tall.

                               Great Lettuce

  I had high expectations from the garden moth trap last night, but I fear the wind sprung up suppressing the catch. However, we had our first White Spot and Small Dusty Wave of the season.

                                             White Spot

Marsh backwaters

Royal Military Canal - hot, dry and sunny, light airs - Pat joined us this morning for a tour of some of the quieter reaches of the Marsh with particular attention to the area around Warehorne and Kennardington. The weather was stunning, but a little too hot to be in the field by noon. Turtle Doves were noted at five different locations totalling eight birds, while a Spotted Flycatcher near Warehorne bridge was our first of the year. It was good to see plenty of Yellowhammers, Linnets and Common Whitethroats in the canal side bushes, plus one or two of Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Cetti`s Warbler, Reed Bunting, Bullfinch, Goldfinch, Long-tailed Tit, Green Woodpecker, Cuckoo and Kestrel. Also in adjacent fields, Skylark, Mipit, Tree Sparrow, Little Egret, Grey Heron and Common Buzzard, Fox and Hare.

                                Royal Military Canal

                                Yellowhammer

                                Marsh Frog

  Grass Vetchling was also in flower beside the canal along with plenty of laughing Marsh Frogs in the weedy shallows and a Grass Snake; evidence of Mink probably accounted for not a single waterfowl sighting. There was also a good showing of common butterflies and dragonflies including a pristine female Broad-bodied Chaser that looked as though it had just emerged from its final larval stage.

                                Broad-bodied Chaser