Dungeness Dotterel

Dungeness - 0830hrs - mild, overcast, w 2 -We walked the beach this morning in shorts weather with flying insects rising off the broom scrub. A skulking pipit eventually showed well enough to confirm its identity as a Mipit, while a couple of Skylarks and Goldfinches passed overhead. A 30 minute seawatch from the boats between 0930-1000hrs proved productive with a steady westbound stream of 200 Kittiwakes, 150 Mediterranean Gulls, 50 Gannets, five Red-throated Divers, 20 auks and a stunning Great Northern Diver.

                               Broom in flower

                                Skulking Mipit

  A late afternoon find by OL on the beach near the fishing boats meant a return to the point in order to see a Dotterel that had dropped onto a shingle ridge looking tired and a bit out of place. An odd  record this one as not only is it late, but it was on its own and not within a flock of Golden Plovers or Lapwings. Needless to say it was new for 2016 (214) as I don't think there has been one so far locally this year.

                                Dotterel on the beach, Dungeness

  Elsewhere today the Ring-necked Duck and Cattle Egret remained at Boulderwall while a roosting Long-eared Owl was located in the willows behind the dipping pond. In the Kerton Road triangle the eastern Stonechat was present along with a Short-eared Owl.

Ginger Jim

Lade - mild, sunny, nw 2 - After yesterdays gloomy skies it was good to feel the sunshine around the local patch today. The monthly WeBS count didn't yield too many surprises although a flock of 60 filter-feeding Shovelers on south lake was noteworthy. Typically, following a wet day and night, raptors were out in force this morning with at least four Marsh Harriers, three Kestrels and a Sparrowhawk working the Desert and farmland towards the airfield. On the bay a flock of 25 Brents dropped in amongst the waders.
  Elsewhere around the Marsh this weekend the Ring-necked Duck and Cattle Egret were reported from the bird reserve along with all the usual Great Whites, Goldeneyes, a Goosander and the like, plus a Dartford Warbler by Firth hide. Several more of the latter were present in the Kerton Road triangle scrub along with the grey eastern type Stonechat. At Dungeness gulls were the order of the day with a variety of Herring Gull races (oops, I mean`t Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls!) and a brief  Iceland Gull offshore yesterday. Further afield, the Facebook Snow Buntings were on St Mary`s Bay promenade and the Whooper Swan remained with the Mutes near Botolphs Bridge.

  Regular visitors to Plovers will be saddened to learn that Jim the cat passed away yesterday. It was all a bit sudden and upsetting and the place doesn't seem quite the same without him; that`s the down side with pets, they become so entwined in the family way of life that when they go they leave a vacuum. Barney has been mooching about all day looking for his pal whom he grew up with. Jim was a typical aloof ginger Tom who spent most of his time out of doors sunbathing or plaguing the life out of the local Collared Doves, but we loved him dearly.

Whooper Swan

Lade - sunny, mild, nw 2 - With bright sunshine from the off it was the perfect weather for a good old rummage around the local patch. Firstly, Mockmill where a few Reed Buntings and Blackbirds were flushed from cover along with only our third Woodcock of the autumn. Three Stonechats perched atop dead thistles until a Sparrowhawk nipped through, while distant Marsh Harriers and Kestrels hunted the fields by the airport. Small flocks of Starlings continued to come in off the sea, along with a heightened sense of expectation in what appears to be a `Waxwing winter`. Overhead one or two Skylarks, Mipits, Goldfinches, a Redpoll and two Redwings. A late Common Hawker was still active in a sun trap by the ponds which also attracted Cetti`s Warbler and Chiffchaff to a flush of flying insects. On an ebb tide the bay provided nine out of the usual ten species of waders with only Redshank absent, plus huge quantities of beached cockles and razor shells along the tideline.

                                One tired mutt

Botolphs Bridge - En-route to Folkestone this lunchtime we made a pit stop to see a Whooper Swan within a flock of Mutes feeding in a rape-seed field just north of the railway line. This was our first of the year bringing the Marsh list up to 213 species; the month of November just keeps on delivering quality birds.

                                 Mediterranean Gulls, Copt Point

                                The Warren

The Warren -  Before grand parent duties this weekend we had a wander along the Warren where at least 250 Med Gulls were assembled on the rocks at Copt Point. Further along a pair of Ravens flew over hassling a Peregrine, while on the beach Turnstones, Oystercatchers, Ringed Plovers and two Rock Pipits were noted. A tit flock in the bushes contained several Goldcrests and a Great Spotted Woodpecker and Jay broke cover. It always looks good for a rarity along here, one day perhaps...

Snow Buntings

Lade - cloudy, mild, light airs - The local patch was like a birding graveyard this morning with just the usual wildfowl on the water and a few Blackbirds in the scrub.
St Mary`s Bay - However, our fourth attempt at trying to locate the Facebook Five along the coast was far more successful thanks to the presence of several local birders who`d already located the five Snow Buntings (212), which according to social media had been here for a week or more. The flock was feeding on weed seeds amongst a thin strip of rough grass between the walkway and the beach in typical ground-hugging bunting fashion, but when they flew onto the shingle their camouflage was such that they seemed to disappear! Eventually, a few more birders arrived and we all enjoyed superb close views of these little Arctic crackers as they fed only a few yards away.
  Also noted hereabouts several Mipits, Skylarks, Pied Wagtails and a Rock Pipit, plus a few Sanderlings and gulls along the tideline.

                               Snow Buntings, St Mary`s Bay

Boulderwall -Another visit to the pool for the drake Ring-necked Duck was much more satisfactory as this time it was awake and swimming around showing off its stripy bill. The Cattle Egret was also still present, as was the grey Stonechat in the Kerton Road triangle scrub. 

                                Drake Ring-necked Duck, Boulderwall
 
Tower Pits - A late afternoon wander down to the pines and out back delivered a tidy flock of 20 odd Long-tailed Tits with two each of Goldcrest and Chiffchaff in the mix, plus a few Blackbirds, Great Tits, Cetti`s Warblers and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. On ARC two Great White Egrets and all the usual ducks and Lapwings.

                                Long-tailed Tit, Tower Pits

Ring-necked Duck

Dungeness RSPB - heavy rain followed by showers, cold, e 3 - Not a particularly inspiring morning with rain throughout and an increasing wind from the north-west. However, yesterdays drake Ring-necked Duck (211) was still on the Boulderwall pool, asleep within a Tufted Duck flock, while the Cattle Egret was far more obliging, being close to the track and feeding amongst the suckling herd.
  A circular walk for a visitor from north Kent delivered a good range of raptors as they came out to hunt in a rain break, with up to 10 Marsh Harriers, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Buzzard all noted. On Burrowes three Blackwits, Dunlin, 20 Pintails, 500 Shovelers, seven Goldeneyes, a Goosander, Great White and Little Egrets, while at Dengemarsh 200 Golden Plovers, Linnets, Goldfinches, two Stonechats, two Ravens, Snipe and Kingfisher were the highlights. Along the return trail at least 10 Blackbirds were flushed from cover and we finished off back at the car park with a Great Spotted Woodpecker on the feeders.
  On the way home the pale, eastern Stonechat was still present in scrub in the corner of the quarry and the two Bewick`s Swans from yesterday were in fields along Dengemarsh Road.

                               Ring-necked Duck and Cattle Egret, Boulderwall

                               Kingfisher, Dengemarsh

St Mary`s Bay - 1400hrs - Following a tip off from a local dog-walker we walked the foreshore from Littlestone to the St Mary`s Bay outfall and back searching for a small flock of Snow Buntings, but drew a blank. However, a short while later a flock of five Snow Buntings was seen by BB near the car park, although they were flighty.

10 ducks and a Stonechat

Dungeness - 0815-0945hrs - cold, cloudy, n 3 - We joined PB and MH at the fishing boats for a very enjoyable seawatch during which time several hundred ducks of 10 species moved down-Channel. Wigeon and Teal comprised the bulk with lesser numbers of Shelduck, Pintail, Gadwall, Mallard and Common Scoter, plus the icing-on-the cake, four Goldeneyes, three Red-breasted Mergansers and, just as we were leaving, two Long-tailed Ducks (thanks for the shout out fellas!). Also noted, a steady procession of Brents and Gannets, two Red-throated Divers, 10 Guillemots, five Razorbills, 10 Kittiwakes, 10 Dunlins, 15 Golden Plovers, a Bonxie and two Med Gulls. A succession of Starling flocks also came in totalling over 1,000 birds.

                               Daybreak, Dungeness

Kerton Road Triangle - News came through around midday of a juvenile/1st winter `Siberian` type Stonechat found by OL in the triangle scrub, alongside several Common Stonechats and Dartford Warblers. In the bright sunshine the said bird appeared very pale, cold grey-brown overall when compared to the adjacent Commons with a conspicuous whitish supercilium (although it didn`t look quite so obvious as the light faded). The breast was plain, lacking any orange wash, but with a few streaks on the flanks and the back was heavily streaked with a broad white wing-bar. The rump appeared mostly plain buff with a few streaks lower down, while the all black tail had a thin white outer edge. In flight, although difficult to detect, the underwing seemed to be darkish, but not black.

                               Stonechat, Kerton Road Triangle

  Having gone through the literature back home and checked pics on the internet `our` bird didn't  seem to fit the typical Siberian type as it appeared to show some features of an eastern race, but not all (the closest image I could find is the pic on page 402 of the new Britain`s Birds ID guide). I suppose it could be of another race entirely with which we`re not familiar, or an aberrant bird, I just don't know, but it was certainly a strikingly pale Stonechat of the like I`ve not seen before. 
  However, my bridge camera pics don't do the bird justice and there will be some good shots from PB, DW, et al with the long lenses, which should hopefully shed a bit more light on its identity, along with a bit more digging online.

Winter has arrived

Lade - There was definitely an end of season feel to proceedings this weekend as the dreaded north-westerly wind delivered a chilly blast of air across the peninsula. It really felt as though winter had arrived. Starlings were checked for Waxwings, Dunnocks for rare accentors and the foreshore flotsam for Snow Buntings lurking amongst the Pied Wagtails, Mipits and Turnstones, but all to no avail; things were that desperate I even started interrogating Stonechats and Herring Gulls for those dreaded racial splits...
  However, the weather was the main talking point of the weekend as following weeks of near drought conditions the heavens opened on Friday afternoon/evening delivering a veritable deluge; infact, according to the Kerton Road Café Weather Station an impressive 45mm of wet stuff was recorded in the rain gauge.
  Another oddity of an odd weekend went to a trio of `golfers` hacking golf balls into south lake from the aerial mound scattering the Coots and ducks. After a polite word informing them that the lakes are now a part of the RSPB nature reserve and not a driving range (followed by a more strident one after receiving a volley of abuse) they eventually moved on...

                               A selection of Lade Bay waders

  Sunday kicked off with a frost and glorious sunshine, but by afternoon the cloud returned and the cold north-westerly steadily increased. Mrs PT joined us for a circuit of the local patch where the highlight belonged to a clutch of close waders on the sands and an inquisitive Marsh Harrier that gave Barney the once over!
  Elsewhere locally the Cattle Egret remained on the fields at Boulderwall, Great Egret White Egrets hit a record 17 in number at the roost and a couple of Jack Snipes showed intermittently from Firth hide, along with a variety of Caspian Gulls.