Hobbies

Cold, cloudy, NE 3-4 - With a rasping wind out of the north, that picked up through the day, it was far from ideal weather for a guided tour for Clare and Peter from London. However, we started at the Kerton quarry where six Dunlins and two Ringed Plovers showed well, while from the Tavern viewpoint 12 Curlews, 10 Bar-tailed Godwits, four Dunlins and a Sanderling were amongst 100 plus Oystercatchers. At Lade pits hundreds of hirundines and Swifts swirled over south lake in the chill air. Moving onto Dungeness where we mopped up on Wheatears, Black Redstart, Linnets, Skylarks, Stonechats and Meadow Pipits, along with two parties of Bar-tailed Godwits and several Sandwich Terns from the seawatch hide. 

                                  Dunlins, Kerton quarry

                                   Wheatear, Dungeness

                                  Common Sandpipers, ARC

                                  Lapwing chick, hayfields

                                  Avocet, Redshanks & Bar-tailed Godwits, hayfield2

The rest of the day was spent on the bird reserve where hundreds more Swifts and hirundines (mostly Swallows) were present. At ARC several pairs of Black-headed Gulls had settled on a shingle island along with a pair of Avocets, plus four Common Sandpipers, Shoveler, Pochard, Teal, a Bearded Tit, calling Cuckoo and Lesser Whitethroat. Highlights around the main body of the reserve included several Great White Egrets and Marsh Harriers, a booming Bittern, up to ten Hobbbies over Dengemarsh, Lapwing chicks and Barwits on the hayfields, two Whimbrel, another Cuckoo, a Yellow Wagtail and a Little Ringed Plover on New Ex. A decent day`s birding then, considering the brisk, cold wind, in fine company, during which we rattled up a respectable 81 species of birds.  

Heronshaws of Lydd

Friday/Saturday -Warm, dry and cloudy, N 2 - The past couple of days have seen further signs of spring with my first Swifts of the year high up in the sky above Folkestone on Thursday evening, and on Friday two Painted Lady butterflies along the old railway line track south of Lade. On Saturday morning I called in at ARC where a pair of Avocets were on territory on a shingle island along with two pairs of Common Terns, a drake Pochard and a Ringed Plover. A distant Cuckoo called towards Tower Pits. On the walk back to the car park from Hanson hide a Ring Ouzel flew over heading towards New Diggings and a Garden Warbler sang from cover. A pair of Great White Egrets on Cooks included one in breeding plumage, while more Common Terns were on Burrowes, plus two more Great White and ten Little Egrets, a pair of Shelducks, a Common Sandpiper and a Shoveler. Good to see that the Sand Martins were busily coming and going in the nesting wall. A one hour seawatch from the hide at Dungeness, in hazy light, produced singles of Gannet, Common Scoter, Arctic Skua and a few Sandwich Terns. On Saturday morning five species of moths were in the garden trap.

                                  Painted Lady, Lade

                                  Common Terns, ARC

                                 Great White Egrets, Cook`s Pool

                                  Bright-line Brown-eye & Muslin Moth

Monday - cold, dry and cloudy, NE 4-5 - There was a dramatic drop in temperature over the weekend (by ten degrees) as a cold northly airflow swept down from the Arctic - perfect then, for a trip up All Saints Lydd church tower to view the Grey Herons this morning! However, a steady procession of visitors enjoyed close views of the heron action from six nests in the Holm Oaks below the tower, but more distant views of Little Egrets. Many thanks to Les and Pat Carter for organising the event, while it was good to see Ian Roberts up the tower and have a natter with him about the West Hythe heronry

                                  All Saints Church, Lydd

                               Grey Herons, Lydd

    Dungeness from the tower

A Brief History of Lydd Heronries
As far as I can ascertain Grey Herons have nested at the Grange/Glebe site since 1962 with a peak of 28 nests in 2001 and an average of about 20 nests since, with Little Egrets first reported in 2009. Prior to this period there were scattered breeding records from Westbroke, Lydd, Snargate in the 1950`s and from Walland Marsh, Dengemarsh and the Oppen Pits in the early part of the 20th Century.
  However, the heron`s association with Lydd goes way back into the mists of time. According to the Account Book of the Chamberlains of Lydd (1428) the sending of young heronshaws to officials of the Confederation of Cinque Ports was payment for favours rendered, as heron flesh was held in high regard and featured on the menu at many a great feast.
  The site of this ancient heronry was situated on what is today part of the Lydd Army Ranges where a Holly wood was planted on the shingle wastes during the 12th Century, the hardwood timber being used in the construction of sea defences, quays and the like, while the early spring flush of soft, new leaf growth was cut and fed to stock. By the 15th Century the mature wood was known as the Holmstone and supported a substantial heronry, a great asset to the Corporation of Lydd who obtained young birds for the table just prior to fledging when at their fattest. The Holmstone heronry was also used for sporting purposes by falconers and archers using longbows to bring down adult birds.
  As the gun eventually replaced the longbow and falcon, heron numbers declined rapidly, along with the felling of trees during the Napoleonic period to prevent smuggling. Human pressure finally sounded the death knell for the Holmstone heronry and by 1909 Dr Norman Ticehurst writing in the Birds of Kent decreed that the heron had ceased to breed at this site.
  Thankfully, in these slightly more enlightened times the Lydd town centre heronry looks safe from molestation, although being only a relatively small colony (23 nests this year) its presence remains tenuous.

Ring Ouzel

Dungeness - warm, dry and sunny, E2 - Another unseasonably warm morning for our Ted walk around Long Pits and up to the seawatching hide. The highlight was a smart male Ring Ouzel on the turf on the eastern side of the lakes for a couple of minutes before disappearing into a thicket. Otherwise it was just the usual mix of singing warblers, including a Garden Warbler, and a showy pair of Black Redstarts on the power station wall. We joined the seawatchers for half an hour gazing out across a calm, hazy sea during which time three very distant Pomarine Skuas and four Avocets went up-Channel. On the walk back through the Trapping Area plenty of Small Coppers and at least two Grizzled Skippers were on the wing.

                                  Grizzled Skipper

                                  Small Copper

                                  Ted cooling off in Long Pits

Passage Waders

Dungeness - warm, dry and sunny, E 3 - A guided walk for seven Naturetrek clients commenced at the point this morning in fine spring weather conditions. On the land we had cracking views of Black Redstarts on the power station and Wheatears along the beach, plus inbound Swallows, Common and Lesser Whitethroats, Stonechats, Linnets, Meadow Pipits and Skylarks. A Red Kite flew over and received the usual `welcome` from the local gulls and corvids, while a party of five whistling Whimbrels circled over the Desert. The hazy light made for difficult viewing across the sea and by 9am most of the regular seawatchers had given up as there were few birds on the move. However, during the half an hour we were by the hide a flock of seven Velvet Scoters, two Little Terns and an Arctic Skua went up-Channel, along with three Bar-tailed Godwits, six Sandwich Terns and a distant Gannet and Kittiwake, while several Harbour Porpoises and a Grey Seal were noted offshore. NB: a flock of 26 Poms went through mid-afternoon, per MC.

                                   Wheatear, Dungeness

We then moved to the Kerton Road quarry for the high tide wader roost where 150 Oystercatchers were joined by 80 Bar-tailed Godwits, six Dunlins, four Ringed Plovers and a Whimbrel, plus all the usual breeding Lapwings, Oystercatchers, Redshanks, Shelducks and feral geese on the main island. Whilst there several more Whimbrels went over calling as well as two Little Terns, a lone Sandwich Tern and a Sparrowhawk heading towards Lade.

                                  Dunlins and Ringed Plovers, Kerton quarry

                                  Bar-tailed Godwits and Whimbrel, Kerton quarry

We then spent the remainder of the afternoon on the bird reserve walking the circular route where the highlights were six Greenshanks across Burrowes and the hayfields, four Curlews and a Whimbrel on New Ex, six Redshanks, a Great White Egret, a pair of Shoveler on Burrowes and at least four Marsh Harriers, including a stunning male from the ramp. Also noted along the way 10 Little Egrets, two Grey Herons, Sedge, Reed and Cetti`s Warblers, Reed Buntings, Sand Martins, Lesser and Common Whitethroats. A most enjoyable day in the field in fine company and memorable for the superb views we had of passage waders; while a not too shabby tally of 71 species of birds were logged. 

                                  Redshank, New Ex

    All Saints, Lydd and Marsh Harrier

Bar-tailed Godwits

Dungeness - warm, dry and sunny, E2 - In warm, spring sunshine a cracking morning for a Ted walk along the foreshore at the point from the lifeboat station to the power station and back across the Desert. At least four pairs of Wheatears were on territory along with several pairs of  Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Stonechat, Linnet, Whitethroat and a Reed Bunting. A steady trickle of Swallows came in off the sea, with some briefly settling on overhead power lines before pushing inland. Two male Black Redstarts were singing around the old light and A station while a male Peregrine was perched atop a pylon. A cursory look across a hazy sea from the hide produced a few distant Gannets and Sandwich Terns, plus five Curlews up-Channel. Two Brown Hares, Red Fox, Common Lizard and Harbour Porpoise also noted as well as plenty of Small Copper butterflies on the wing.

                                 Wheatear, Dungeness

                                  Swallows, Dungeness

                                 Linnets, Dungeness

With high tide beckoning we moved to Kerton quarry where a large mixed flock of waders was already at the roost site. The spring migration of Bar-tailed Godwits through Dungeness is one of the highlights of the year for me, but it varies annually in quantity depending upon the weather. While we get small numbers wintering on the bay, at the end of April and early May we receive thousands of godwits on passage from the south, mostly seen passing off Dungeness and heading up-Channel en-route to their breeding grounds on the Arctic tundra. These birds are record-breaking long-distance migrants capable of flying thousands of miles in one go, having wintered along the western seaboard of Europe and Africa. This morning`s flock of 95 comprised the usual mix of non-breeding birds, adult females and gorgeous males resplendent in their brick-red breeding plumage. Also present: 210 Oystercatchers (inc an aberrant bird), five Whimbrels over, 10 Lapwings, four Redshanks, a Ringed Plover, a Black-tailed Godwit, a pair of Red-crested Pochard and the usual wildfowl. 

                                  Red-crested Pochards, Kerton quarry

                                  Aberrant Oystercatcher, Kerton quarry

    Bar-tailed Godwits, Kerton quarry

Turtle Doves and Nightingales

Great Heron Wood - warm, dry and sunny, light airs - For today`s Ted walk we headed to the woods to check out the bluebells before the leaf cover smothers them for another year, and most spectacular they were too, great swathes of redolent blooms in dappled sunshine. Across the wood at least three Nightingales were in song with another one over the lane in a copse, plus two Garden Warblers and a host of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps alongside the resident species. On the way home we paused at the Kennardington crossing where a Turtle Dove `purred` from cover with another flying overhead, while at Snargate a Red Kite flew over the road by the church.

 

                                   Bluebell vistas, Appledore

                                  Ted in the woods

Greenshank

Dungeness RSPB - cool, cloudy, E3 - An overcast morning for a guided walk around the circular trail for a group of 15 Kent councillors. Most were not birders and did not have bins, so good views of common stuff was the order of the day. The warbler tribe duly obliged, particularly Sedge Warblers, which seemed to be everywhere, and Common Whitethroats, plus several Reed Buntings and a fine male Marsh Harrier from the ramp, while the hayfields delivered a flock of five Bar-tailed Godwits, my first Greenshank of spring, four Teal, four Shelducks, four Lapwings and two Redshanks. Also noted during the circuit: 10 Little Egrets, several Lesser Whitethroats, `pinging` Beardies, a calling Cuckoo, a pair of Ringed Plovers, over-flying Med Gulls, a Swallow and a host of Sand Martins toing and froing around `their wall`. 54 species in total.

                                 Bar-tailed Godwits, Hayfield 2

                                  Reed Bunting, Dengemarsh