A Brilliant Day at The D.B.O.

This morning from the sea watch hide the French coast was clearer than I have ever seen it before. Through the telescope individual trees could be seen and Napoleon was easily discernible, standing on top of his column 49 Kilometres away at Wimereux as the Crow flys. The sea watch itself was very uninspiring.

06.05-08.05 with AJG who collated the numbers. 

Brent Goose: 19 E

Common Scoter: 129 :

Red-breasted Merganser: 2 E

Red-throated Diver:  9 E

Gannet: 32 E

Oystercatcher: 103 E

Great Skua: 2 E

Arctic Skua: 1 about

Kittiwake: 2 W

1w Iceland Gull: 1 flying out to sea from patch area

Common Tern: 19 E  c30 on patch

Sandwich Tern: 304 E

Auk sp: 1 E  1 W

Statute of Napoleon(left hand edge of image) at Wimereux from Dungeness this morning

 Oystercatchers passing this morning

 Ring Ouzels

With such a clear morning it is even more incredible that around 08.30 Blackcaps and Willow Warblers started appearing all around The Point, belying that migrants only appear in numbers in damp overcast conditions.

 Blackcaps and Willow Warblers were recorded in 3 figure numbers, with many Chiffchaffs, at least 3 Ring Ouzels, 4 Common Redstarts, 5+ Common Whitethroats, 2 Black Redstarts, a Pied Flycatcher, a Tree Pipit, a Woodlark, 2+ Redwing, 3+ Song Thrushes and 5 Swallows.

 Common Redstart

 Tree Pipit

 Willow Warbler

 Pied Flycatcher

 A Little Gull dwarfed by the Herring Gulls.

At The Patch this afternoon no sign of this mornings 1w Iceland Gull but a 1st summer Little Gull was some compensation.

Black Redstart(first year male) which finally made its way into the Heligoland Trap rounding a brilliant day at Dungeness.

Blackcaps and a Common Whitethroat

From a crystal clear day this morning to thick fog at 17.00hrs when I left.