First thing this morning there were 100s of Gulls at The Patch, despite careful scrutiny all I could find were 3 Mediterranean Gulls among the many Herring and Black-headed Gulls. 2 of the Herring Gulls had colour rings, North Thames F3XT a Dungeness regular, Yellow ringed Y:701 a Yorkshire ringed bird that I last saw in November 2018. Off shore the sea was littered with 100s of Guillemots, Red-throated Divers and Great-crested Grebes, also a slick of c300 Cormorants feeding with a few Gannets diving in among them.
Adult and juvenile Bewick Swan
On Walland Marsh between Midley and Coldharbour there are now 24 Bewick Swans but only 1 Juvenile. I was unable to find the 2 Whooper Swans today in the Swamp Crossing/Caldecott Lane area, winter Thrushes were noticeable by there absence today.
Long-tailed Duck at the Kent end of Scotney
At Scotney the 2 Long-tailed Ducks remain very mobile flying up and down the lake, flitting from County to County, a female Goldeneye was also present.
Stonechat at back of Scotney
A very disappointing long walk out the back of Scotney found no Skylarks, no Corn Buntings and no Tree Sparrows, the only small birds I found were 3 Stonechats, a Wren, a Robin and Starlings. The was just a single Mute Swan and just 8 Greylag Geese, though there were spectacular numbers of Golden Plover, Lapwing and Wigeon mainly being flushed by Marsh Harriers and Common Buzzards
One of several Marsh Harriers at Scotney
Common Buzzard on the roof of Scotney Farm House
Late afternoon CP saw a Grey Male Hen Harrier at the wind farm which flew over Scotney to the ranges.
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