New Years Eve

Lade Pits - 0900hrs - mild, bright, sw2 - Had a thorough search of both pits this morning with tomorrow in mind. All the usual wildfowl including an influx of Wigeon and Teal, plus 5 Goldeneyes. In the willows 2 Chiffchaffs, Cetti`s Warbler, Green Woodpecker and a Kingfisher, which have been few and far between this year.
Happy New Year to one and all and good luck to anybody doing a NYD Bird Count tomorrow.

Rye Bay

Galloways - 0900hrs - cold, grey, w3 - Checked the bay from the bottom of Galloways road where a large flock of scoters (c200) were well offshore, plus the usual comings and goings of grebes, divers, auks, Kitts and Gannets crossing the bay.The rough ground inland was quiet, but did manage a pair of proper partridges and a pair of Stonechats. The chicken sheds along Dengemarsh Road were once again bereft of Little Owls but the Black Redstart was still present (mental note for NYD).
ARC - Plenty of birds here including Long-tailed Duck, Gwegret, Bittern, 2 Blackwits, 3 Smews and 2 Kingfishers.
Dungeness - The 2nd winter Glaucous Gull was by the boats, with the usual melee of auks, Kitts, grebes, divers and Gannets offshore.  

Lade

Lade - cold, showery, breezy, sw4 - A couple of forays out to check the pits and the bay yielded little of note apart from a Peregrine barrelling after a Woodpigeon (without success) behind the `mirrors` and a couple of Med Gulls on the sands amongst the legions od waders and gulls. Most of the wildfowl on the pits were hunkered down around the willows trying to avoid the scudding wind.

Dungeness

Fishing Boats  - 0930hrs -  mild, overcast, sw4 - The Glaucous, Yellow-legged and Caspian Gulls were on the shingle gull roosts. Offshore, stacks of auks, grebes, Kitts and Gannets, plus several Razorbills and Red-throated Divers milling around the Point and a single Bonxie west.
On the bird reserve the usual protagonists included GWEgret, 3 Smew and the Long-tailed Duck at the southern end of ARC, while the Penduline Tit was reported from Hanson.

ARC

ARC - 1000hrs - mild, overcast, light airs - During 2011 the ARC pit has consistently been one of the best birding spots on the Marsh. I couldn't say how many species have been recorded on site this year but I reckon the wader tally alone is 31 species. Once again this morning proved the point with a cracking two hours full of birds - and I didnt even make it to Hanson hide! A thorough check from the causeway road eventually located that tricky Long-tailed Duck, which as usual spent more time under the water than on top, plus a Bittern sat on the edge of a reedbed. A White-front mingled within the Greylags and a `redhead` Smew came and returned to New Diggings over the road. Large numbers of Wigeons, Teals, Shovelers, Pochards, Gadwalls, Mallards, Tufteds, 20 Goldeneyes, 20 Great Crested Grebes, 6 Shelducks and 4 Pintails were on the mill-pond lake.
From Screen hide hundreds of Lapwings, Wigeons and Teals on the islands, plus 2 more Bitterns flying around, a Great White Egret, 6 Little Egrets, 4 Grey Herons, 3 Marsh Harriers, 2 Blackwits, calling Water Rails and Cetti`s Warbler and singles of Dunlin, Sparrowhawk and Reed Bunting. Around the car park, 10 Tree Sparrows, 15 Lottis and a Goldcrest. A quality session.
Lade - 1600hrs - Finished up at the aerial mound for a roost count. Disappointing really with 35 Magpies being the only count of note. A cracking sunset  was some compensation.

                                          White-front, ARC

 

Lade South Pit

Dungeness

Dungeness Boats - 1100hrs - mild, cloudy, sw3 - Hundreds of roosting gulls on the shingle including an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a 1st winter Med Gull, while the Glaucous Gull was playing `peeka-boo` on a winch. Close to shore plenty of seabird activity around a shoal of fish with scores of Cormorants, Gannets, auks (including 3 Razorbills), divers and grebes plundering what looked like sprats. Further out a steady flow of Kittiwakes plus two flocks of 50 odd Wigeon west.

                                        

Lade & Littlestone

Lade - 1000hrs - mild, bright, breezy, sw3 - Enormous numbers of gulls pouring onto south pit on a rising tide; at least 2,000 Black-headed and 1,000 Common Gulls, plus hundreds of Herring, Lesser and Great-black Backs. Several Marsh Harriers hunting over the airfield and a Sparrowhawk reduced the local Starling population as it impressively snatched one from a flock over the beach.
Littlestone - 1300hrs - A single Short-eared Owl hunting over the golf course in a strengthening wind. Along the shore several small groups of Turnstones and 3 Grey Plovers.