Marsh Harriers

08.00-09-30 at a very gloomy Point this morning with a bitingly cold easterly blowing the sea was positively brimming with birds. 

Red-throated Diver: c150 mainly East

Gannet: c40 off shore

Shelduck: 2w

Common Scoter: 42E  18W

Velvet Scoter: 3E  2W

Red-breasted Merganser: 1E 

Kittiwake: c200 W

Auks: c5,000w   50/50 split Guillemot and Razorbill + many on the sea.

At Greatstone I was unable to find the Snow Buntings but they were reported as being present earlier. While I was there 7 Brent Geese flew East as did 3 Eider and 24 Wigeon. On the shore large numbers of waders mainly Oystercatchers but good numbers of Sanderling, Dunlin and Knot with a few Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Redshank, Turnstone and Bar-tailed Godwits.
New Diggings held 8 red head Smew among the common wildfowl. The ARC held another 8 red head Smew, 8 Goldeneye and 2+ Marsh Harriers. The Willow Trail was full of Redwing, Song Thrushes and Blackbirds with 2 Water Rail and 2 Goldcrest.
Winter Thrushes were in large numbers all over the peninsular. By the track to the VC near Boulderwall Farm 6 Greater White-fronted Geese and 7 Barnacle Geese which could be the real deal unlike the the feral flock at Scotney. Marsh Harriers were much in evidence quartering the peninsular. A Great White Egret from Dennis's Hide but little else of note in very few wildfowl on Burrowes.
At Scotney this afternoon 1000s of Wigeon the feral Barnacle Goose Flock and 100s of Greylags.
Coming back across Walland 160+ Bewick Swans, 2 Whooper Swans, the Black Swan and more Marsh Harriers.     

Goosanders and Whitefronts

Another gloomy day with a biting easterly wind. A brisk walk up to the Willow Trail found dozens of Redwing, Fieldfare, Song Thrushes and Blackbirds under the bushes by the track and in the Willow Trail, also there a Woodcock again alerted to my presence by the thrushes, a Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, 2+ squealing Water Rails, 2 Cetti's Warblers and a party of Long Tailed Tits.
At the south end of New Diggings 8 red head Smew among c100 each of Tufted Duck and Pochard and a Great White Egret.
From the Fishing Boats 08.45-09.55
Red-throated Diver: 160+ off shore
Gannet: c100 E + offshore
Cormorant: c400E + offshore
Common Scoter: 26W   30E
Velvet Scoter: 4E
Red-breasted Merganser: 1 on sea
Kittiwake: c120 E
Auks: c 2000E +100s on sea  70/30 split in favour of Razorbills.

At the Varne Sailing Club Greatstone the 2 Snow Buntings in the car park. On the sands 100s of waders of 9 species and c40 Wigeon west.
At Scotney 1000s of Wigeon, the Barnacle Goose flock but little else of note.

15 0f the 28 Whitefronts that flew west over Dungeness RSPB

On the reserve 100s of Winter Thrushes, also 5 Goosanders from Dennis's hide and 6 Goldeneye. The bushes by the track to Scott hide held 2 Chiffchaff, New Excavation held 2 Great White Egrets with a Raven and 3 Marsh Harriers  over. On the way back to the VC a flock of 28 Greater White-fronted Geese flew west. At Boulderwall Farm 30+ Tree Sparrows round the feeders.
Out on Walland 100s more Winter Thrushes, 140+ Bewick Swans, 2 Whooper Swans, a Black Swan and a flock of c40 Corn Buntings near Midley. At the feeding station 20+ Tree Sparrows, 30+ Chaffinches, 10+ Greenfinches, 4 Yellowhammers and 2 Common Buzzards. The seed dump in Tickners Lane held another Common Buzzard, 6 Yellowhammers and 8 Corn Buntings. Another good day with 90 species recorded on the peninsular.  

Thawing Out

First thing this morning at the ARC Pit. Walking out to the Willow Trail a Merlin sped low over the track flushing some of the many Redwing and fieldfares. In the Willow Trail dozens of Redwing, Blackbirds and Song Thrushes all seemingly alerting a single Woodcock to my presence, the Tit flock held a Chiffchaff and and 2 Goldcrests. As the lake was still largely frozen wildfowl numbers were low but 8 Goldeneye were notable. A walk up to The Pines  found 3 more Chiffchaffs, 2 Green Woodpeckers, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 8 Common Snipe over and 2 Marsh Harriers.

A Mallydams bird by the fish shop

 At The Patch c1000 Black Headed Gulls, with lesser numbers of the big Gulls and a few Kittiwakes. Further out 100s of Guillemots and Razorbills and a few Red Throated Divers and Gannets.

This bird appears to cock its tail most of the time

 The 2 Snow Buntings performed a little better today inAdd caption the Varne Sailing Club car park  at Greatstone, on the sands there 100+ Oystercatchers, and few each of Bar Tailed Godwits, Curlews, Grey Plover, Knot, Sanderling and Dunlin.

 On the New Diggings 12 Smew(2 drakes) and 4 Goldeneye with the usual wildfowl. At the visitor centre a Goldcrest perched in the entrance for a few minutes and a 30+ Tree sparrows on the feeders at Boulderwall Farm.

Back at the ARC from Hanson  the wind had broken up most of the ice but still little of note to be seen  there, walking back along the track a Bittern jumped out of one of the small reed beds taking me by surprise.

At Scotney still good numbers of wildfowl, also a Merlin and a Peregrine also 3 Bean Geese seen by CP before I arrived.
On Walland in the late afternoon gloom 150+ Bewick Swans, The usual Tree Sparrows in the bushes opposite the feeding station, in Tickners Lane at the seed dump 5 Yellowhammers, 6 corn buntings and a Common Buzzard. 86 species today on the peninsular without really trying.

Snow Buntings

As I got out of the car in the ARC car park first thing this morning I could hear Bewick Swans calling as they left the lake. In a couple of minutes 114 left roost on the pit. The bushes along the track to Hanson was alive with Redwings and a few Fieldfares and Reed Buntings also 2 Marsh Harriers over. The Willow Trail was also full of Redwings and Blackbirds. The view from the hide was disappointing with most of the lake frozen and few wildfowl to be seen. Driving to The Point a Great White Egret and 3 red head Smew could be seen on New Diggings.

 From the fishing boats still 100s of Razorbills, Guillemots, Great Crested Grebes and 10s of Red Throated Divers, Gannets and Kittiwakes tooing and froing, also 18 Common Scoter moved west.
Scotney pits were covered in wildfowl, mainly Wigeon and Greylags, but also good numbers of Pochard and Tufted Duck. The Barnacle Goose flock was still present and in the small copse dozens of Redwing and fieldfare and a single Woodcock.
News from PT that he had seen the 2 Snow Buntings in Greatstone Dunes first seen Saturday by OL. I was joined on the beach by the dunes at Greatstone by CT and SB where we saw a few Reed Buntings and Meadow Pipits, on the shore Sanderling, Dunlin, Knot, Bar Tailed Godwits, Grey Plover, Curlew and Oystercatchers but no Snow Buntings. I decided to walk along the dunes to the sailing club and saw a few more Reed Buntings also a few winter Thrushes but Snow Bunting. I was half way back when SB called to say the Buntings were just east of the sailing club. Another hike back and I could see them. They were uncharacteristically flighty not allowing close approach and flying several hundreds of yards each time a dog walker came near.    

On Burrowes Pit 2 Great White Egrets from Dennis's Hide, from Scott a red head Smew, a Raven 2 Marsh Harriers and a Peregrine. Along the track 200+ Golden Plover and 20+ Common Snipe over.
On Walland near Midley I counted 162 Bewick Swans but there may well have been more as they were distant and the light was failing, also a Merlin dashed over a ploughed field putting up a flock of c40 Corn Buntings. Driving through the lanes winter Thrushes were much in evidence.

Orlestone Again

Orlestone Forest

By 11.00 hrs and the snow still falling I had to get out into the woods. A couple of hours wandering    along the forest tracks not really seeing much. Once again 3 rear end views of Woodcock, plenty of Redwings and Blackbirds with a few Fieldfares and a couple of Tit flocks, 2 calling Tawny Owls. Getting back to the car I parked up near a feeding station and let the birds come to me.  

In the Forest

Note how the snow has built up round the ring on its right leg

I spent a pleasant 3 hours this morning wandering around Orlestone Forest which was totally devoid of human life. Not many birds away from the feeding stations, but I did see the back end of 4 Woodcocks, 4 Bullfinches, 6 Goldcrests, a Long Tailed Tit flock, dozens of Redwing and 2 calling Tawny Owls. Still no Crossbills, Siskins or Redpolls.
This afternoon a wander round Hothfield Common which was like a Winalot advert found a flock of 30 Siskins at last, but the star bird was a Grey Wagtail.

What Snow?

A Woodcock beside the road as I drove through Orlestone Forest this morning on my way to The Point.

 At The Point 100s of Razorbills and Guillemots and scores of Red Throated Divers Tooing and Froing off shore. A steady trickle west of Kittiwakes c160 in 1.5hrs, c200 Wigeon west + 4 Pintail, 6 Mallard and 3 Mediterranean Gulls. On the beach the Glaucous Gull kept itself cool by standing on the ice, nearby the Great Black Backed Gull with a deformed tail.

The ARC Pit was disappointing with few birds and little of note. Burrowes was also disappointing, apart from 1 red head Smew and 1 Great White Egret.
At Scotney 2 Slavonian Grebes, increased numbers of Wigeon and the feral Barnacle Goose flock has returned.
Out on Walland Marsh 100s of Winter Thrushes on the fields with 100s of Golden Plover and lapwing,  c30 Tree sparrows in the bushes opposite the feeding station at midley. From the triangle at Cheyne Court 72 Bewick Swans, 2 Whooper Swans, 21 Greater White fronted Geese, a ring tail Hen Harrier and 3 Marsh Harriers.
At the spoil heap in Tickners Lane 2 Yellow Hammers, 8 Corn Buntings, c40 Chaffinches and a Common Buzzard.

RIP Les Hemblade

A trip back to West Sussex to see my old birding mate Les Hemblade, with whom I spent many weekends birding round Sussex and beyond off on his final twitch. 

 As I arrived early I spent an half an hour at The Burgh watching from the triangle. Where a flock of 20+ Corn Buntings were in the hedge by the paddock along with several Yellowhammers and several Song Thrushes. Across the fields a covey of c15 Grey Partridges could be seen and others that were hidden could be heard heard. 4 Common Buzzards soared over hill with Red Kite and 2 more Red Kites flew down the Arun Valley. On the way back to the A27 30 Bewick Swans could be seen in the fields between Wepham and Warningcamp.  

After seeing Les off  I made a brief visit to Shoreham fort where 8 Purple Sandpipers were on the wooden pier. On the sea nothing worth mentioning.

More of the same

First thing this morning at the ARC Pit found 1 Great White Egret, 2 red head Smew and 4 Goldeneye among the common wildfowl. In the Willow Trail the Tit flock still had 1 Chiffchaff and 3 Goldcrest also a Woodcock flushed from the sallows and a Marsh Harrier over. At the south end another Great White Egret and 2 Chiffchaffs. The other side of the road on New Diggings 3 Smew (2 drakes) before they relocated to Burrowes.
At The Point several hundred Guillemots and Razorbills tooing and froing with a few Red Throated Divers, a flock of 5 Pintail came in as did c20 Skylarks.
At Scotney I was unable to locate the 2 Slavonian Grebes I missed yesterday, 2 Marsh Harriers flew through upsetting the Herring Gulls and Wigeon and despite spending along time going through the Greylag flock I could find nothing interesting amongst them. By the concrete road to Scotney Court Farm 30+ Fieldfare and 2 Redwing.
On Burrowes from Dennis's hide another 2 Great White Egrets along with 6 Smew, 6 Goldeneye and an elusive Goosander. From Scott Hide a Kingfisher, 2 Chiffchaffs and 2 Marsh harriers were the highlights.  
Late afternoon on Walland 9 Bewick swans with the Mutes opposite Midley barns, 30+ Tree Sparrows and 4 Yellowhammers in the bushes opposite the feeders. By the spoil heap in Tickners Lane 2 Common Buzzards, 6 Yellowhammers, 8 Reed Buntings, 14 Corn Buntings and c40 Chaffinches.  
  

A plod along the beach

 Mid morning at the ARC Pit: In the Willow Trail 2+ squealing Water Rail, a Cetti's Warbler, a Green Woodpecker and in the  Tit flock, still 1 Firecrest, 2 Goldcrest and a Chiffchaff. From Hanson 3 Smew (1 drake), 5 Goldeneye and a Marsh Harrier. At the south end a single Great White Egret and much reduced numbers of the common wildfowl.

At the fishing boats far fewer Razorbills, Guillemots, Grebes and Red Throated Divers on a rough sea than of late, but the ever present 3w Glaucous Gull was on patrol. 

 With little moving at sea I walked along the beach to the lifeboat station. On the way a party of 10 Brent Geese, 18 Teal and 5 Wigeon flew east.

Dozens of dead Dogfish littered the high tide line and were much appreciated by the Gulls and Turnstones.

 250+ Oystercatchers, 8 Bar Tailed Godwits, 2 Grey Plover and 6+ Dunlin were in a high tide roost by the lifeboat station.

 The reserve was disappointing with the reduced numbers of wildfowl. The highlights were a single red head Smew on Burrowes, a party of 10 Snipe over and 2 Marsh Harriers.
Scotney was also disappointing with little of note present.
On Walland all I could find was 2 Bewick Swans in the potato field and a family of 5 with the Mute swans opposite Midley Barn, nearby the usual Tree Sparrow flock and 2 Common Buzzards.