A Duck Day

Lade - 0830hrs - cold, sunny, nw 3 - A Stonechat was the first bird of note on the storm beach scrub, while even more ducks seem to have moved on to south lake. A quick tally up revealed 350 Gadwall, 150 Tufted Duck, 100 Pochard,100 Teal, 50 Shoveler, 50 Wigeon, 50 Mallard and 500 Coot. Two Marsh Harrier over the back and a large mixed flock of Lapwing and Golden Plover.
ARC -  A run out with MH this morning and at the south end our first Smew of the winter was in the bay close to the causeway road, plus hundreds of Gadwall and Teal further out on the lake. From Hanson hide 5 Goldeneye amongst hundreds more diving ducks as well as Great White and Little Egret and a close Grey Heron in front of the hide. Also noted Marsh Harrier, Water Rail and Reed Bunting.

                                Grey Heron, ARC

                                Great White Egret, ARC

                                Smew, ARC

Scotney - The duck count continued with all the expected Wigeon and diving ducks, 20 Pintail and feral geese. On the grass a scattering of wildfowl, Lapwing, Redshank and Dunlin. At the entrance to the farm the Long-tailed Duck was hiding amongst a Coot and Tufted flock and at one stage came ashore and sat on the bank. A flock of distant Shelduck on the working quarry completed our suite of ducks for the day.
Caldecote Lane - A distant flock of 35 Bewick`s Swans in a rape-seed field included 5 juvs.
Galloways - All we could muster up here was 3 Stonechat.
Burrowes  - From the vc hundreds more common wildfowl, while another Smew was reported in front of Scott hide and a pair of Hen Harrier earlier.

Thrushes

Lade - 0900hrs - mild, cloudy, w 3 - Following two days of Mordor-like gloom a light wind from the west cleared the murk and the sun even broke through on occasions. There was a noticeable influx of thrushes across the local patch this morning, particularly of Song Thrush with at least two small flocks coming in high off the bay. Blackbird too were prominent with the scrub tops over by the airport alive with `em, and there was even one of two Redwing scattered about. Otherwise it was the same old fare on the pits with 2 Goldeneye on north lake the best of the bunch. Water Rail, Cetti`s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Marsh Harrier and Kestrel all noted.
Dungeness - 1430hrs - An hour from the concrete road with MH delivered an expected trickle of Kittiwake, Common Scoter, Gannet, auks and Red-throated Diver moving around the Point.

Still waiting for Smew...

Lade - 0900hrs - mild, overcast, light airs - A repeat of yesterday weather wise along with dull, misty murky light. Plenty of wildfowl and Coot on south lake with a Marsh Harrier taking no more than a passing interest. It was so still this morning that Water Rail and Cetti`s Warbler could easily be heard calling in the willow swamp over the far side of the lake. On north lake 3 Goldeneye and 5 Mipits passed over south.
ARC - 1500hrs - Checked from Hanson for a reported redhead Smew, but could find no sign of it. At least 5 Goldeneye amongst the diving duck and Coot, a flock of 200 Lapwing looking for somewhere safe to roost for the night, plus Marsh Harrier, Little Egret and Kestrel over. A flock of Long-tailed Tit and 2 Chiffchaff from the willow trail. At the south end a Great White Egret amongst several hundred Gadwall and Teal.

Glossy Ibis

Dungeness - mild, overcast, dull - A milder morning due to thick cloud cover and light airs, but grey and misty. At the Patch just the usual couple of hundred gulls, mainly Black-headed, while offshore a few Red-throated Diver and Common Scoter coming and going, plus 100 scoters on Rye Bay.

                                Stonechat, Corral

RSPB - From the causeway road at least 350 Gadwall at the south end of ARC plus 3 Goldeneye on the open water. We parked up at Boulderwall and after a natter with the staff walked Dengemarsh. The wet fields behind Cook`s were full of birds; Goldies, Lapwing, Stock Dove, Wigeon, Shoveler, feral geese, corvids, gulls and the like, plus a Kingfisher and flight views of the Glossy Ibis as it moved between Gun Club pit and the horse paddocks. Two Stonechat were at the Corral and raptors were much in evidence with 6 Marsh Harrier, 2 Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and Common Buzzard. Hookers was quieter with just Reed Bunting, Cetti`s Warbler, Water Rail and a flock of Long-tailed Tit of note, plus 5 Dabchick on Dengemarsh. Burrowes was stacked out with hundreds of wintering wildfowl including 20 Pintail and 4 Goldeneye.
ps: The only other local news concerned a Tawny Owl (rare down here) calling opposite the church in Lydd last night.

Crossbills

Hemsted Forest - 0900hrs -  cold, cloudy/sunny - Had a run out with MH this morning to look for crossbills in the forest. During a three hour stakeout we had upward of 20 Common Crossbill, some of which showed well through the `scope, but most were too distant for the camera. There was a wide range of plumages on offer with one or two stunning brick-red males, plus another with a stout, Parrot-type bill, but no sign of either Parrot or Two-barred Crossbills. Nonetheless, crossbills of whatever type are always well appreciated.
Also noted, a Raven being hassled by crows, plus 6 Redwing, 4 Fieldfare, Bullfinch, Goldcrest, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Coal and Long-tailed Tits, Jay and Siskin. 

                                Common Crossbill, Hemsted Forest

PS: News from Dungeness today concerned a Black Kite seen flying out to sea, while the Glossy Ibis was reported on the bird reserve.

Black Kite, Lade

Lade - 0800hrs - dry, sunny, nw 2 - A stunning morning with bright blue skies and only a light wind. We walked Mockmill again where the scrub was full of Blackbirds, several Song Thrushes and Robins plus 2 Stonechats at the northern end of the sewer. Whilst scanning behind the `mirrors` the Black Kite flew over from Romney Salts and was soon mobbed by a gang of crows, diverting it back towards the airfield. Three Marsh Harriers, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk also noted plus all the usual corvids, gulls, Woodies, doves and plovers.
On south lake 2 redhead Goldeneye were amongst the duck and Coot flock.

                                Mockmill Sewer

Hythe - Had to go to the big metropolis today so checked the sea front defence blocks for Purple Sandpiper around midday. The sun was against me and it was low tide, so not great conditions, but managed to find one at the bottom of Stade Street amongst several Turnstone.

Woodcock & Fieldfare

Lade - 0900hrs - cold, sunny, n 4 - Following last nights moshing at the Bellowhead gig the old body felt a bit achy breaky this morning making for a late start. I try not to get tempted away from the local patch at least one day a week, normally a Sunday, and go shanks pony birding, which makes me feel good not burning any fossils in pursuit of birds. Also, Barney loves this kind of walk as it gives him licence to snuffle about in all sorts of nooks and crannies, and fair play to the old boy, for the second day running he flushed a good bird...
We started off in high spirits with a single Fieldfare over the cottage, a bird (along with Goldcrest) that has been largely absent this autumn. The trudge across the shingle to Mockmill Sewer was worthwhile as it was here that Barney disturbed a Woodcock from a damp, grassy patch. Further along the sewer several Song Thrushes and Blackbirds were noted plus a Stonechat. Scanning across the airport fields yielded several Marsh Harriers, Kestrel and Common Buzzard but no sign of yesterdays Black Kite (although it was reported towards New Romney today). Birds were everywhere with large numbers of Black-headed and Common Gulls, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Woodpigeon, Stock Dove and corvids swirling over the fields as the raptors looked for a meal.
On south lake a wide range of wildfowl including 2 Pintail (scarce here) while a drake Goldeneye was the best return on north lake. Cetti`s Warbler, Water Rail, Chiffchaff and Green Woodpecker all noted around the willow swamp.
The final section of the walk back along the beach from Greatstone was not so profitable as the land yachts and kite-surfers were out in force in the bright sunshine. However, we still managed Curlew, Oyc, Barwit, Dunlin and Sanderling on the mud plus a few Turnstone and Pied Wagtail along the foreshore. All in all a satisfying morning in the field in bright sunshine and with a brisk northerly airflow guaranteed to blow away the cobwebs.