End of week summary

Lade - cool and cloudy, sw 3 - Yesterday was pretty much a write-off due to strong winds and heavy rain, although a diver flying around over the cottage when I came in about noon was most unusual; perhaps the Black-throated Diver that was seen briefly on Burrowes this afternoon (MH). On south lake three Shelducks and a pair of Goldeneye were the pick of the few ducks present.
  There was no change to the birding scene across the bird reserve with plenty of activity on Boulderwall fields including large flocks of Wigeon, Lapwings and Golden Plovers, plus Great White Egrets and several Marsh Harriers. On Burrowes the Black-tailed Godwit flock was in front of Firth hide while Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls have been noted this week on the gradually receding islands along with thousands of Cormorants.
  Elsewhere the two Whooper Swans were still amongst the swan and goose flock along Dengemarsh Road near the dung heap, while a few Bewick`s Swans have been reported from Walland Marsh this week.

High-flying Bittern

Lade - clear, dry and sunny, light airs - After the gale force battering of yesterday today dawned still and calm for a change enabling a search for any passerines active around the site. Crossing the shingle ridges towards the lakes a pair of Stonechats sat atop the gorse and a couple of Meadow Pipits broke cover. The margins of south lake beside the main track are covered in bulrushes and with not a breath of wind I checked the full length resulting in eight Reed Buntings, two Blue Tits, Robin, Wren, Dunnock and Cetti`s Warbler. The ponds yielded more tits and Chaffinches, a few Blackbirds and a Chiffchaff.

                               Black-tailed Godwits, Burrowes

Dungeness - A guided walk around the circular route this morning for 16 RSPB guests took place in variable cloud cover with an increasing wind, although we did manage to avoid the rain. Burrowes was smothered in several thousand Cormorants and hundreds of gulls, mostly black-backs, plus the usual wildfowl including a Goldeneye and a flock of 15 Black-tailed Godwits in front of Firth hide. Just past Scott hide we picked up a high-flying Bittern which seemed to come in off the sea and eventually dropped down on Dengemarsh. It was in view for about five minutes, so everybody managed to get onto what may have been a bird arriving from the near continent for the winter. The guests also enjoyed good views of up to 10 Marsh Harriers, two Great White Egrets, hundreds of Lapwings, Golden Plovers and Wigeons, four Ravens, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel, plus vocalising Water Rails, Bearded Tits and Cetti`s Warblers.

Short-eared Owl

Lade - mild, windy, sunny, w 4 - Around the local patch this weekend there was more than a hint of winter about the place. Yesterday morning two Goldeneyes on south lake, an adult Little Gull, 10 Mediterranean and an adult Caspian Gull on north lake being the highlights, while in the afternoon two drake Goosanders (seen earlier on Burrowes) dropped in on south before being flushed by the SAR helicopter. A stake out at dusk behind the `mirrors` at last delivered a Short-eared Owl quartering the rough ground by the airport, plus hundreds of corvids and Woodpigeons to roost and five Marsh Harriers.
  Over the years I`ve noticed all sorts of beached corpses, but a sheep was new for the dead list, presumably the one seen on Friday at Dungeness, along with a deer carcass. The theory is that most of these dead `uns get washed down the river Rother and out to sea before drifting east along the coast on the prevailing winds and currents.

  This morning we called in briefly at the seawatch hide and joined the regulars where hundreds of Gannets and Red-throated Divers rounded the point into Rye bay, along with a few auks, Kittiwakes and a couple of Fulmars. Called in at the bird reserve around midday when a Glossy Ibis had just dropped onto the pools and ditches at Boulderwall where it continued to give mostly brief flights views on and off through the afternoon in a blustery wind. The wet fields were packed out with the likes of gulls, Starlings, Lapwings, Golden Plovers, Wigeons, egrets, feral geese and swans.
The two Whooper Swans remained in the field by the dung heap along Dengemarsh Road although the four Bewick`s were reported on Walland Marsh by Swamp Crossing. The Slavonian Grebe was still on the gravel pit to the west of the caravan park at Pigwell, Lydd.

Wild swans

Lade - cold, dry, frosty - Yet another stunning winters day with a hoar frost turning the shingle vegetation into a winter wonderland. A red headed Goldeneye fishing close to shore showed particularly well and kept resurfacing with tiny fish fry.

                               Goldeneye, Lade
 
 News came through around noon of, presumably yesterdays, two Whooper and four Bewick`s Swans from Walland Marsh having decamped to the fields along Dengemarsh Road near the well established and large dung heap. Its always nice to see the two species of wild swans together as they fed amongst a large mixed flock of Mute Swans and Egyptian Geese.

                                Whooper and Bewick`s Swans, Lydd

Purple Sandpiper

Lade - cold, dry and sunny, light airs - The only change on the local patch was a small influx of 10 Reed Buntings in amongst the reedbed along the margins of south lake by the main track.
  I had to go to Folkestone this afternoon, so called in at Hythe seafront en-route to check the sea defence blocks for Purple Sandpipers. The blocks opposite the fish restaurant were barren, but the ones outside the Hythe Imperial held one very secretive bird that was roosting tight down on the rocks and only just visible.
  A pair of Whooper Swans were noted by CP on Walland Marsh this afternoon and were the first of the winter locally.

                                Purple Sandpiper, Hythe
 

Slavonian Grebe

Scotney - cold, dry and sunny, light airs - This afternoon we decamped to Scotney to have a look at a Slavonian Grebe found by DS yesterday, on the lake to the left of the entrance into the working quarry. Surprisingly this was the first of the year as none were recorded last winter on local waters.

                               Slavonian Grebe, Scotney

Elsewhere today it was a case of as `you were`, with no change to the birds around Lade and Dungeness RSPB reserve. Late last night on the way back from a Van Morrison gig in Brighton (which was superb, by the way) we had good views of a Barn Owl at Jury`s Gap as well as umpteen foxes along the way.

Beach watch

Lade - cold, dry, cloudy, ne 5 - After a day in London yesterday it was good to get out and about around the local patch and clear the tubes of the foul air, albeit with a biting north-easterly rasping in off the sea - a proper winters day! It didn't seem to deter the kite-surfers though who were out in force, while Barney just loves this type of weather; it`s what his breed was made for in the North.

  We checked the tide line down to Greatstone and back in search of Snow Buntings and the like, but could only manage to find a few Turnstones, Starlings and a Pied Wagtail foraging in the wrack. Some of the waders were constantly on the move due to a combination of kite-surfers and some moron with an uncontrollable Staffy Terrier chasing the larger shorebirds. Two Shelducks came in high off the bay as we left the beach at the boardwalk.
  On the lakes a Goldeneye was the only duck worthy of mention, but a large mixed passerine flock roving the sallows around the ponds took some time to check through, the highlights being 21 Long-tailed Tits and two Chiffchaffs. Another late afternoon look at the farmland behind the `mirrors` for owls drew a blank, although a light drizzle had set in which didn't help.
  Elsewhere this weekend across the Dungeness peninsula there wasn't much change to the birding scene, although the Cattle Egret flock at Boulderwall had increased to four birds. For gull afficiandos high tide at Burrowes and the Patch attracted the usual assortments of Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls amongst the throng, while several Short-eared Owls have been noted in the Lydd ranges and Galloways area. The first four Bewick`s Swans of winter were reported on Walland Marsh from a field near the Woolpack, Brookland (NB).