Shore Lark

Lade - cool, cloudy, E 4 - Another nippy day with the wind coming in off the sea from the east. We flogged around the local patch for little reward other than two late Swallows over south lake - heading north! A check of the Kerton Road pit section of the Desert for yesterdays Stone Curlew drew a predictable blank.
Dungeness - Anyhow, things picked up somewhat around noon following a call from MC saying that yesterdays Shore Lark had returned to the puddles by the fishing boats. Shore Larks are magical little birds that you don't see very often, and certainly not down here on the south coast where their status is one of a rare autumn/winter visitor. Infact in my time on the Marsh I`ve only seen one before; the  Rye Harbour bird that wintered by the red-roofed hut amongst a flock of Skylarks about ten years ago. This was my first at Dungeness as the last one in the recording area was in 2005, although I seem to remember Steve Broyd having a flyover at ARC on the bird reserve some years ago.
  My first one ever was on a YOC trip to Staines Reservoir sometime in the late 60`s when we bumped into a bird on that famous tatty, old causeway. I thought it so exotic and in a way still do, whether encountered on the high tops of Cairngorm, the salt marshes of north Norfolk or Lincolnshire - or even by a muddy puddle on Dungeness!
  However, I digress... Ten minutes later I was on site and enjoying this cracking little ground-hugger with a yellow and black face as it was becoming surrounded by local birders in cars, also enjoying our rare visitor from across the North Sea as it fed on weed seeds. I had second dibs later in the afternoon when there were fewer birders present and concluded it to be the bird of the autumn, for me at least, in this rarity-starved year.

                                Shore Lark, Dungeness

Stone Curlew

Dungeness - cool, cloudy, E3 - A wander around the point first thing with a brisk wind out of the east produced a scattering of migrants, particularly within the power station complex where several each of Robin, Wren, Goldcrest, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, and a Black Redstart were noted. More were seen elsewhere between the old lighthouse and the moat, plus two Chiffchaffs, Stonechat, two Firecrest, several Blackbirds, five Redwings and two Mistle Thrushes in and two late Swallows out.
  At the Patch a mix of common gulls included five Mediterranean Gulls and two Kittiwakes. In the Channel, Brent Geese were on the move in good numbers as confirmed by the seawatchers who`d logged a couple of thousand past the hide.

                                Stone Curlew, Desert (pic by Colin Turley)


  News this afternoon of a Stone Curlew found out on the Desert shingle ridges between the water tower and Mockmill had me slogging out from Lade to join a group of locals for brief flight views of what is a scarce migrant down here. There was no chance of a picture from the views I had, but Colin Turley managed a fine one from earlier. On the walk back a Wheatear flew across the shingle, probably my last of the year.
  Other local news today concerned a brief Shore Lark at the puddles by the fishing boats.

Goldcrest in the kitchen!

Lade  - cold, dry and sunny, N2 - The first frost of autumn was on the garden shed this morning, although it was a fine, bright day with a few birds of interest on the local patch. Several parties of grounded Reed Buntings were scattered across the shingle scrub along with what seemed like an influx of Wrens. Two Dartford Warblers skulked amongst the shingle ridge broom and bramble between the cattery and the south end of the main track. Overhead passage was once again very light with only a few Skylarks, Chaffinches, Goldfinches and Meadow Pipits on the move.
 

 

                                Reed Bunting

                                Goldcrest perched on the telly
 
  Back home a neighbour delivered an exhausted Goldcrest in a small box to our front door. After a short while in the kitchen the sprite soon recovered and spent some time perched on the telly and in a pot plant between flitting around the kitchen, preening and generally looking a lot perkier. It was then released into the garden fir trees where it joined its fellow crests.

Lesser Redpolls

Lade - cold, dry, cloudy, sunny later, NW 2 - Despite the wind and rain of last night it was mild so I ran the garden moth trap; maybe for the last time this season, what with colder nights ahead in the forecast.  Five species of macros came to light with Black Rustics the most numerous and one tatty Delicate the highlight.
  Before the rugby we walked the local patch where the overhead passage of passerines was once again pitifully low with double figures of Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Meadow Pipit and single figures of Skylark, Reed Bunting, Siskin and Redpoll. Two Ring Ouzels dropped in to join a scattering of grounded Blackbirds and Robins along the main track, with another two high over towards Mockmill, while two Lesser Redpolls fed on birch seeds in the ponds, a rare sighting here on the ground. Plenty of egrets and Grey Herons were around the reedbeds and several Marsh Harriers enjoyed the dry, calm weather conditions whilst hunting over the willow swamp.

                               Ring Ouzel, Mockmill (pics by David Scott)

                               Long-tailed Duck, Burrowes (pic by David Scott)

  An early afternoon walk along the foreshore between Littlestone and St Mary`s Bay, in warm sunshine, brought forth the crowds and as a result few birds were noted - and certainly no Snow Buntings! On the golf course a small flock of grounded Skylarks hugged one of the fairways and several Stonechats perched on wire fences. Roosting Turnstones and Ringed Plovers were the only waders seen along the beach. A Black Redstart flicked off a garden fence by the old water tower, while more were present on the Dungeness Estate today.

                               Skylarks, Littlestone golf links

Great Spotted Woodpeckers

Lade - mild, cloudy, showers, light airs, sw 4-5 later - Started the day with a one hour viz mig from the aerial ramp overlooking south lake in decent weather conditions with a light south-westerly. Numbers of birds overhead were, once again, pathetically low as follows: Skylark 3, Swallow 1, Meadow Pipit 21, alba wagtail 12, Grey Wagtail 1, Song Thrush 2, Blackbird 5, Chaffinch 51, Greenfinch 5, Goldfinch 72, Linnet 32 and Reed Bunting 2. However, it was slightly better on the ground with one each of Dartford Warbler and Ring Ouzel along the main track scrub and four Great Spotted Woodpeckers around the ponds. Also noted a couple each of Goldcrest and Chiffchaff, Cetti`s Warbler, two Great White Egrets and three Marsh Harriers.
  A wander down to the pines and behind Tower pits wasn't much more inspiring as the wind had picked up; plenty of Robins, a few Blackbirds, another Ring Ouzel and two more Great Spotted Woodpeckers was about it. Over the road the Red-throated Diver and Long-tailed Duck remained on Burrowes and two Cattle Egrets were in the Boulderwall fields.  

                                Rainbow over Lade

Swallows

Dungeness - mild, cloudy, ssw 2 - A mild, murky day with drizzle throughout commenced for us at the point where we briefly joined the seawatchers at the fishing boats overlooking a calm sea. A few Gannets and Sandwich Terns drifted by along with several rafts of Razorbills and one or two Guillemots, plus 25 Wigeon and a Grey Plover. On the land five Swallows raced south while a wander around the foreshore and the Sanctuary delivered plenty of Wrens and Robins, 10 Stonechats, two Black Redstarts, 50 Goldfinches, two Skylarks, 20 Meadow Pipits, a Grey Wagtail over, a Merlin, 20 Goldcrests, two Firecrests, plus a Fieldfare and two Continental Coal Tits in the pines. It was also good to see a Brown Hare bounding across the shingle.
  Back at Lade 20 Swallows and a House Martin coasted along the beach towards Dungeness. There was no change to the regular birds on the pits this afternoon.
  It was similar fare on the bird reserve with the Long-tailed Duck and Red-throated Diver still present on Burrowes from Makepeace hide while island clearance work was underway in front of the visitor centre.

                                Great White Egret in front of Hanson hide

Crests

Dungeness - mild, overcast, e3 - A brief seawatch from the hide proved fruitful with a few passing Gannets, Kittiwakes, Med Gulls and Sandwich Terns, plus four Common Scoters, two Brents, two Wigeon, Red-throated Diver and a superb pale phase Arctic Skua that did a double pass. Plenty of auks came and went, mostly Razorbills, and some settled on the sea inside the buoy. Several Swallows went out and small flocks of Goldfinches and Meadow Pipits came in.
  On the land more Goldfinches and Mipits noted, plus Robins everywhere, five Black Redstarts around the power station perimeter, a few Blackbirds, Chiffchaffs and Stonechats and a Peregrine over. A scattering of crests included a flock of five feeding on the rim of the moat and a Firecrest in the hand at the Obs.

                               Firecrest, DBO

  We finished the Birdwatching Break for Clare and Peter in some style with thousands of birds on the bay, including ten species of waders from Littlestone on the outgoing tide - 410 Knots and three Black-tailed Godwits being highlights, plus a Little Egret a species rarely seen here on salt water.
  In summary across the three days 108 species were recorded with the highlights being a Merlin, closely followed by Hen Harrier, Long-tailed Duck, Ring Ouzels, Firecrest, Brambling and loads of waders on the beach.

                                Knots on the bay