Vagrant Photo Failure

A lazy day today with a visit to The Midrips where the only notable birds were 18 Avocet. So went back to Springfield Bridge to try and photograph a Vagrant Emporer Dragonfly. After a couple hours of dismal failure despite the Dragonfly showing well from time to time i gave up went for lunch. As 1 walked back to the car a Grass Snake, 1 of 3 seen today, slithered across the path.  

 Arrived at the beach for sea watch late this morning to be told by Bernard and Bert  that nothing was passing. They were going to look for yesterdays Ring Ouzel at the ARC Pit and then go to Galloways for a reeling Gropper so i joined them. At the ARC Bernard quickly found the Ouzel which showed well for a few minutes before flying into the Sallows.  Also of note we saw a Grey Partridge there. Galloways was alive with Whitethroats and Sedge Warblers, but no Gropper. Also there of note 2 Stonechats, 4 Wheatears and 2 Med Gulls. On my way back to the beach the Ouzel was showing very well again so more pictures were taken. On the beach by the fishing boats the juv Glaucous Gull was very obliging for the camera. Wondering what to do next i headed for Denge Marsh Gully. As drove down the road i could see several birders on Springfield Bridge staring into the dyke so i stopped to take a look and was told that a Vagrant Emporer Dragonfly was present but had just flown to the far end of the dyke on private property. Fortunately it flew back down and gave good flight views so no pics for me but Dave Walker got some good ones earlier when it was perched. 

Superb Ouzel

 An early start at the point was not wasted with a Pom going through at 06.20 though the rest of the morning watch was a little slow. With 2 Arctic Skuas , 1 Little Gull, a few Whimbrel,Sanderling, Red Throated Divers, Oystercatchers,Common Scoter and Red-Breasted Mergansers and the usual Common and Sandwich Terns and Gannets. After a few  hours i decided to look at the bushes which apart from the now resident Wheatears and Whitethroats held nothing new, so i went to the ARC Pit to try and relocate yesterdays Ring Ouzel fortunately as i pulled up it hopped out from the Sallows and showed well. The RSPB is still alive with Sedge, Cetti's and Reed Warblers. At Hookers pit the Bittern is still booming , 4 Bearded Tits gave tantalising views and 4 Marsh Harriers Tussled overhead. I went back to the beach at 13.30- 15.00 and in that time the passage picked up with 360 Whimbrel, 226 Common Scoter, 11 Velvet Scoters, 2 Bonxies, 2 Arctic Skuas, 3 Red Breasted Mergansers,4 Bar-Tailed Godwits, 2 Red Throated Divers, 6 Med Gulls and a Merlin along the beach. On the way home i looked for yesterdays Turtle Dove to no avail but had compensation in the form of a Cuckoo and 2 Common Sandpipers on th Military Canal.

Whimbrel and 1 Barwit this afternoon



Whilst watching the Little Ringed  Plovers at the ARC Pit in a brief visit on my way back to the office this afternoon a superb male Ring Ouzel appeared. I had just grabbed my camera when a male Sparrowhawk swept through and the was the last i saw of the Ouzel. On the dead tree opposite Hamstreet Garden Centre a Turtle Dove was purring.  

An evening stroll around Dungeness RSPB found 15 Yellow Wagtails by the visitor centre, numerous Reed Warblers, Sedge Warblers, Cetti's Warblers, Whitethroats, Reed Buntings singing, 1 Slavonian Grebe on Burrowes Pit, 32 Whimbrel around the reserve, a flock of 13 Greenshanks over, 2 Stonechats, 4 Marsh Harriers, a Little Ringed Plover, 1 Cuckoo, only 2 Swallows, 2 Bearded Tits all accompanied by the booming Bittern. 

Another quiet morning

Very quiet again at Dunge early morning today but kept amused for the 2 hours i watched by 6+ Harbour Porpoises that were off shore the whole time. Bird wise  1 Bonxie, 35 Common Scoter, 1 Fulmar, 1 Kittiwake, 12 Eider, the first BLACK TERN of the year  at The Patch, 6 Guillemot, 18 Great Crested Grebes, 1 Red Throated Diver, 1 Whimbrel and the usual Common,Sandwich Terns and Gannets back and forth off shore, 2 Peregrines were tussling overhead and a Black Redstart on the power station fence. In the lighthouse garden a pair of Linnets were busy building there nest.  

A Blank Sea

 A Little Owl on the derelict building half a mile before Lydd Golf Club on my way to Dungeness this morning. Ithe sea was blank this morning with virtually no migration at all. The story was the same on the land around the point, so i went to the Midrips where 12 Avocets were paired up for breeding as were 8 Redshank and 12 Lapwing, 37 Shelduck, a lone drake Pintail, 2 Gadwall, 4 Brent Geese, 2 Marsh Harriers, 6 Meditteranean Gulls (5 ads & 2w), 2 Swallows through, 6 Northern Wheatears, a stunning Yellow Wagtail, several Skylarks and Meadow Pipits displaying, 4 Great Crested Grebes off shore with 3 Red-breasted Mergansers and a Kestrel posing on the wires at Jury's Gap. I spent the afternoon at Dungeness RSPB where the reed beds and bushes were alive with singing  Cetti's Warblers, Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers, Reed Buntings, 3 Bearded Tits and a Bittern Booming every few minutes. Also there 2 female type Goldeneye, 2 Greenshanks (my first this year), 6 Yellow Wagtails (all males) 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 4 Marsh Harriers and 2 ad Med Gulls over. This evening there is a Nightingale singing a few hunder yards from my home in the community wood. 

Warblers Galore

Spent a couple of hours at Stodmarsh this morning. No sign of the Wood Warbler but plenty of Blackcaps, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs. The Reed beds and  pathside bushes were full of Cetti's Warblers, Reed Warblers and Sedge Warblers. A pair of Marsh Harriers gave a brilliant display from the Lampen Wall.
This evening i spent a couple of hours in and around Orlestone Forest with estimated 15+ Nightingales singing around the forest also seen 6 Bullfinches and plenty more Blackcaps, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs.

More of the same

Only 2 Garganey at the ARC Pit first thing this morning with 2 Little Ringed Plovers and the Curlew. The sea was very quiet just a few Common Scoter and a light passage of Common Terns and 3 Harbour Porpoises? off shore. On the land migrants were very sparse with just 4 Swallows, 2 Sand Martins and 2 Northern Wheatears. A Peregrine was around the power station briefly. Of interest a Crimson Rosella was in one the gardens and even that escaped my lens. 

Blue Skies and Strong Winds

 At the ARC Pit from the road this morning 4 Garganey, Spotted Redshank, 2 Little Ringed Plover, the Curlew still present and a Slavonian Grebe. The Sea was very quiet in a short watch a flock of 6 Avocets went by , 15 Common Scoter and a steady stream of Gannets and Sandwich Terns with a few Common Terns. On the land birding was difficult due to the wind but my first Common Whitethroats of the year were singing and very little else. The reserve held more Common Whitethroats and at least 12 singing Sedge Warblers and 9 Cetti's Warblers were singing.  Once again the wind spoiled the birding.