Juvenile Wheatear at Jarmans this morning

 Juvenile Mediterranean Gull and juvenile Black-headed Gull

Not a great deal at The Patch this morning, but my first of the year there of Juvenile Mediterranean and Black-headed Gull. Once again the boil was just a few ripples so very Gulls present and even less Terns. Surprisingly in the calm conditions I didn't see a single Harbour Porpoise. Many Painted Ladies were between The Patch and the car park. 

Garganey

This afternoon at the ARC it seems as though there are 5+ pairs of Black-headed Gulls nesting, my first returning Greenshank, a single Hobby, an eclipse Garganey and the usual Warblers and Wildfowl. Late this afternoon 2 Bee-eaters flew around The Point, even though I was just a couple of minutes away I still didn't get there in time to see them.

 Just the 2 Black-tailed Godwits on Burrowes this evening

 Little Egret from Firth this evening

1 fo very few ducks among 100s of drake Pochard on Burrowes this evening

Little Gull!

A profusion of Vipers Bugloss at Dengemarsh

 1st summer Little Gull

A brisk cool easterly wind across Dengemarsh this morning made for difficult birding conditions, as most birds were keeping their heads down. 2 1st summer Little Gulls were hawking over the lake along with a few Swallow and House Martins, several Common Terns were fishing the lake. I couldn't find anything interesting among the many eclipse ducks and hoards of feral geese. By the ramp a couple of Bearded Tits were giving glimpses as were the Reed Warblers and a Cetti's Warbler. As the morning warmed up the first Hobby appeared, eventually there were 4 of them catching Dragonflies over the reed bed, at least 3 Great White Egrets were present.

 Common Tern at Dengemarsh

 Hobby over Dengemarsh

 A rather tatty Painted Lady enjoying the Bugloss

 5 Black-tailed Godwits at Firth this evening

A visit to Burrowes this evening saw of note 5 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Dunlin, 5 Ringed Plovers and a Whimbrel.

Fox opposite Firth Hide this evening

Evergestis limbata in the trap this morning

Short-toed Treecreeper, Guinnes.

On Thursday 20th I joined Chris , Tony and Paul for an excellent day out around Calais, the only image I took mainly because I was being lazy in not carrying my camera, was of a Short-toed Treecreeper. A full account of the trip can be found at HERE. 

Friday 21st most of the day was spent on domestic stuff, a visit to the reserve in the evening found a flock of 35 Black-tailed Godwits in front of Firth Hide, which I think is the biggest flock I have seen at Dungeness, also a single Dunlin and 5 Ringed Plovers. On the ARC a 1st summer Little gull was hawking and a minimum of 5 Cuckoo's were chasing around. 

 Wheatear and Black Redstart by The Patch hide

This morning at The Patch there was barely a ripple at the boil, it was no surprise that very few Gulls were present and no Terns. On the way to The Patch there were 3 Black Redstarts and a Wheatear, along c15 House Sparrows, 6 Linnets and 2 Meadow Pipits all busily picking the numerous insects off the sparse vegetation.

Tree Sparrow on its unusual nest site 

A long walk out the back of Scotney, saw of note good numbers of Yellow and Pied Wagtails, several Corn Buntings including juveniles, a few Tree Sparrows, 4 Little egrets, 2 Marsh Harriers and 2 Common Buzzards. It looks like all the Avocets failed as not a single one was present today, there were at least 14 sitting birds a few weeks ago.

Black-tailed Godwit from Firth this evening

4 Little Terns in front of Firth Hide this evening

 Little Owl Lydd Camp Yesterday

Green Sandpiper at Dengemarsh Yesterday

On Burrowes this evening c40 Lapwing,  4 Redshank, 6 Ringed Plover 2 of which were this years young from nearby probably, a Little Ringed Plover and a Green Sandpiper were noted. The Common Terns seem to have weathered last nights storm, the lone drake Wigeon was still present among the many Gadwall and Pochard loafing on the islands.

 Family of Oystercatchers in front of Firth this evening

 Another morsel for junior

 Bath time for junior!

Cock House Sparrow at Makepiece collecting Damselflies for it young in the roof of the hide

A Flame Wainscot was the highlight of a soggy trap after last nights epic thunderstorms

Seems a good year for the lovely Vipers Bugloss on the peninsular this year

 1 of 2 4th calendar year Yellow-legged Gulls at The Patch yesterday morning

Juvenile Wheatear trapped by Jacques near The Moat yesterday morning

1 of 4 Black Redstarts on the way to The Patch this morning

With barely a ripple on the sea or at The Patch this morning there were very few Gulls around. just 3 Mediterranean Gulls, 9 Sandwich Terns, 5 Common Terns, 3 Great-crested Grebes, a single Harbour Porpoise and a few loafing Gulls, also 10 Common scoter moved east. The walk to The Patch produced  4 Black Redstarts, 2 Wheatears and 2 Swallows came in.

 1st summer Little Gull from Firth hide this afternoon

Fairly quiet on Burrowes this afternoon, the highlights being a 1st summer Little Gull, a single Black-tailed Godwit and 3 Ringed Plovers among the eclipse wildfowl The Hobby's are still putting on a show around the reserve, along with hunting Marsh Harriers, Reed, Seddge and Cetti's Warblers are all still singing, as are many Reed Buntings and Common Whitethroats. There were still a few Swifts over the ARC but the highlight was 2 Cuckoo's chasing one another.

 Hobby beside the entrance track 

1 of 2 Cuckoo's at the ARC early evening

 Some of the Hobby's resting by the visitor centre entrance track yesterday evening

Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella)

As I opened the moth trap this morning clouds of Diamond-back Moths came out, several 100s of them the largest numbers I have seen, unfortunately there were no other migrant moths in the trap.

After sorting the trap out I walked from home down Galloways and around Dengemarsh. Though a pleasant walk 2 Little Owls at the camp, 4 Yellow Wagtails at the chicken sheds, a couple of resting Hobby's waiting for the sun to warm up, a Common Buzzard and a Marsh Harrier were the highlights, many Common Whitethroats and smaller numbers of Sedge and Reed Warbler, also a couple of Cetti's Warblers, just as I got back home a Cuckoo flew into the hedge opposite my house and started calling, the first from home this year.

15.00-16.00 from the fishing boats with AJG:
Common Scoter: 5E
Great-crested Grebe: 2 present
Fulmar: 2W
Gannet: 2E   21W
Cormorant: 4 present
Oystercatcher: 1E   2W
Kittiwake: 5W
Sandwich Tern: 5E
Common Tern: 6E
Swift: 8 out
Harbour Porpoise: 1+ around

 Swifts at the ARC yesterday

Yesterday evening c1,000 Common Swifts were hawking over the reserve along with good numbers of House Martins and attendant Hobby's. The Cuckoo's were still quite vocal and a Bittern was booming from near the tower.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

The Xylostella's landed in my moth trap with there being a minimum of 120, also in the trap a Hummingbird Hawkmoth which is the first that I have found actually in the trap, generally it was again a poor night for macro's
08.15-09.15 from the sea watch hide:
Great-crested Grebe: 3 around
Fulmar: 1E.   2W
Manx Shearwater: 2W
Gannet: 34E   44W
Cormorant: 9 around
Oystercatcher: 1E
Kittiwake: 1E. 2W
Sandwich Tern: 32E
Common Tern: 3 around
Guillemot: 1E
Auk sp: 2E.  1W
Black Redstart: 4 around
Harbour Porpoise: 1+
At Lydd Camp the Little Owl was still in the Elders but little else was seen in the strong winds.

Common Tern at Dengemarsh

This afternoon around Dengemarsh the Hobby's were once again the main attraction, giving superb views, as they jinked around right overhead in the strong wind.

Redshank at Dengemarsh

Great White Egret at Dengemarsh