Terns and a couple of Poms!

This mornings early morning sea watch was very poor, the highlight for me was as I got out of the car a Jay came in off the sea and headed for the trapping area.

Mid morning a Melodious Warbler was seen and photographed in a private garden but eluded all who looked for it.

A quiet day around the peninsular in general with a few Hobby's being the highlights. 

Wheatear

Sparrowhawk

An early afternoon wander along the beach found 3 Wheatears, 2 Skylarks and a male Sparrowhawk of note. With little to see on the land I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon sea watching from the fishing boats, where I was joined by MH,AJG,BH,CT,PT and Barny. 

There was a steady stream of Commic Terns with a few other bits and pieces, enough to keep the interest going. By 16.30 just myself and PT remained watching when a dark phase Arctic Skua flew past followed by a pale phase, a few minutes later 2 Pomarine Skuas sailed majestically past making PT a very happy man. Full species account below.

A record of this afternoons 2 Poms!

13.30-18.00 from the fishing boats:
Common Scoter: 113E
Red-Breasted Merganser: 2E
Red-throated Diver: 1E
Fulmar: 1E  1W
Gannet: 62E  21W
Oystercatcher: 38E   16E
Turnstone: 3E
Sanderling: 8E
Dunlin: 4E
Bar-tailed Godwit: 9E
Whimbrel: 22E
Arctic Skua: 3E
Pomarine Skua: 2E
Little Gull: 1E 1st summer
Kittiwake: 42E
Little Tern: 8E
Sandwich Tern: 226E
Commic Tern: 1027E      I thought about 30% were Arctics
Guillemot: 6E    1 on sea
Auk sp: 5E   41W
Swallow: 2 in
Harbour Porpoise: 5+

At last a few moths in the Plodland trap.

 Pine Hawk Moth

Powdered Quaker

Wild and very slow!

A slow 2 hours 06.00-08.00 from a very windy and at times wet sea watch hide:

Common Scoter: 73E

Red-throated Diver: 2E

Fulmar: 7W

Manx Shearwater: 2E

Gannet: 113E

Oystercatcher: 4E

Whimbrel: 1E

Great Skua: 3E

Arctic Skua: 3E

Sandwich Tern: 33E

Common Tern: 126E

Auk sp: 9E

Swift: 3 in

Swallow: 28 in

This afternoon was even slower from the fishing boats 13.30-14-45:

Common Scoter: 1E

Fulmar: 1W

Gannet: 2W

Turnstone: 2 on beach

Hobby: 1 in

A few Common and Sandwich Terns heading west into Rye bay.

15.00-16.00 from the sea watch hide, which was shaking in the gale and rather damp due to the sea spray not a single notable bird was seen.

My old Vista lap top finally ran out of steam, so I am now struggling to get to grips with a shiny new one with windows 8.1 that seem to have a mind of there own, or it may be that I am rubbish computers. As there was nothing to point the camera at today, I thought  I'd post another of  one of the Cattle Egrets that entertained me for the last 6 months. 

Gone but not forgotten!

A Few Poms!

Totals for 8.5 hrs of sea watching today (05.00-08.30 + 11.30-16.30)

Brent Geese: 8E

Shelduck: 3E

Common Scoter: 538E   6W

Red-throated Diver: 2E

Black-throated Diver: 3E (in a single flock)

Great-crested Grebe: 35 off shore from the fishing boats

Fulmar:  11E   6W

Gannet: 136  around

Oystercatcher: 5E

Ring Plover: 1E

Turstone: 1E

Sanderling: 12E

Whimbrel: 2E  4W

Great Skua: 7E

Pomarine Skua: 6E

Arctic Skua: 12E

Kittiwake: 5E

Sandwich Tern: 309E

Common Tern: 658E another c300 over The Patch

Guillemot: 2 on sea

Auk sp: 31E

Swift: 9 in

Swallow: 36 in

Harbour Porpoise: 4+

Probably the only Early Spider Orchid on the Peninsular

Dolphins put on a show!

9.75hrs of sea watching starting at 05.00 did not disappoint. The stars of the day were the 6+ White-beaked Dolphins that put on a brilliant show just 400 mts off shore. Many thanks to AJG for collating the numbers.

 Black Terns 6 of a party of 9

Brent Goose: 116E
Common Scoter:  345E
Red-throated Diver: 3E
Fulmar: 100E
Gannet:  192E   202W
Cormorant: 79 around
Oystercatcher: 29E
Knot: 25E
Sanderling: 32E
Greenshank: 1 in
Bar-tailed Godwit: 74E  1W
Whimbrel: 6E
Great Skua: 6E
Arctic Skua: 11E
Lesser Black-backed Gull: 7E
Little Gull: 7E
Kittiwake: 8E
Little Tern: 12E
Sandwich Tern: 253E
Common Tern: 1826E
Arctic Tern: 1E
Black Tern: 31E
Auk sp: 15E
White-beaked Dolphin: 6+
Harbour Porpoise: 5+

Black Terns, 5 of a party of 7

May 2nd!!!!!!!

6.5 hrs of sea watching with AJG between 05.00 and 17.30 produced the following:
Common Scoter: 38E  16W
Red-throated Diver: 2E
Black-throated Diver:  5E in a single flock!
Great-crested Grebe: 17 around
Fulmar:  4E  7W
Gannet:139E  8W
Cormorant: 27 around
Oystercatcher: 17E
Grey Plover: 2E
Turnstone: 2E
Dunlin: 2E
Bar-tailed Godwit: 36E
Whimbrel: 5E
Arctic Skua: 4E
Little Gull: 1E
Kittiwake: 49E
Little Tern: 12E
Sandwich Tern 561E
Common Tern 1862E
Guillemot: 3W
Razorbill: 1W
Auk sp: 12W
Swallow: 14 in
Crow: 1 in
Harbour Porpoise: 5+
Grey Seal: 1
Apart from scanning the Hirundines over the lakes I did not do much else as I was so cold a needed to sit in a hot bath to warm me up!

Spoonbills!

Yesterday (30/04/15) was so quiet at Dungeness that 3 of us went off to Somerset to see the Hudsonian Godwit. I wont embarrass my self by posting any images of the bird as they are all so poor.

 Painted Lady about the only notable thing at Dungeness yesterday.

This mornings sea watch was interesting for the number of Terns moving:

05.40-08.40 with AJG who collated the numbers.

Common Scoter: 10E   35W
Fulmar: 3W
Gannet: 174E
Peregrine: 1 in off the sea
Whimbrel: 8E
Bar-tailed Godwit: 1E
Dunlin: 18E
Oystercatcher: 16 E
Great Skua: 1E
Guillemot: 3W
Auk sp: 9W
Kittiwake: 4W
Sandwich Tern: 337E
Common Tern: 947E
Little Tern: 3 E
Swallow: 2 in

 At Scotney 5 immature Spoonbills located by CT & BH, but did not stay long, appearing to fly off towards Rye, were probably the 5 that were at Cuckmere Haven yesterday. Also at Scotney a Common Sandpiper, 8+ Avocet and the usual Yellow Wagtails and Corn Buntings.

 Spoonbills at Scotney

Bar-tailed Godwits past the fishing boats!

Another sea watch 15.00-17.00 from the fishing boats with MH and AJG:
Red-throated Diver: 2E
Gannet: 5 around
Oystercatcher: 4E
Bar-tailed Godwit:  406E
Whimbrel: 14E
Knot: 31E
Grey Plover: 2E
Common Tern: 38E
Sandwich Tern: 33E
Swallow: 4 in

A bit of movement!

A hectic day of sea watching and domestic stuff.  

4 separate watches 07.00-09.20, 11.00-12.00,  13.30-14.00,  17.00-18.00 as I have mislaid my notebook the the following numbers are from my failing memory. The majority of the birds were seen in the first watch.

Brent Goose: c250 E

Shelduck: 2 E

Eider: 2 W

Common Scoter: c200 E

Velvet scoter: 2 E

Red-throated Diver: 7 E

Black-throated Diver: 1 E

Great-northern Diver: 1 E

Fulmar: 2 E  2 W

Manx Shearwater: 2 E

Gannet: c50 E

Oystercatcher: c5 E

Whimbrel: c20 E

Great Skua: 8  E

Arctic Skua: 5 E

Little Tern: 2 E   2 W

Common Tern: c200 E

Sandwich Tern: c 100E

Auk: c50 E

2 Pomarine Skuas were seen by the very early starters.

2 Spoonbills were new in this morning on Burrowes, then on the ARC this afternoon but had gone by early evening. 100s of Hirundines on the lakes failed to produce a Red-rumped Swallow, a Great White Egret was on The New Diggings and 2 Cuckoo's and 3 Egyptian Geese were at the south end of the ARC. It would seem after no confirmed sightings of the Cattle Egrets for several days that they have departed.  

 Spoonbills on Burrowes from Makepiece

 The same Spoonbills on the Cormorant Island ARC

Egyptian Geese south end of the ARC

Cuckoo!

As I parked by the power station this morning, DW was standing by the red and white gates looking less than enthusiastic, as he had checked the bushes for migrants and drawn a blank. As we started to walk to the sea watch hide, the door opened and AJG came out which told us all we needed to know about today's off shore passage.

I decided to wander around The Desert where a few Common Whitethroats, 2 Sparrowhawks, a Kestrel, several Swallows and an over flying Greenshank were of any note.

On the beach opposite Jarmans at least 6 Wheatears, another 7 Swallows and 2 Skylarks were seen.

At the south end of the ARC I was sifting through the Hirundines, when a Cuckoo flew in and landed in some Sea Buckthorn, where it ate a minimum of 43 Brown-tail Moth caterpillars in about 15 minutes, before it flew off to the other side of the lake. 

Cuckoo swallowing another Brown-tail!

 Next stop Springfield Bridge where I walked around the Hayfields seeing a Greenshank, 2 Ringed Plovers on 3, 2 flyover Mediterranean Gulls and 2 Bearded Tits. On the approach to Dengemarsh Hide a Reed Bunting and a Cetti's Warbler posed briefly and Bittern Boomed. From inside the hide where MH was already ensconced, the 2 Tundra Bean Geese flew in (their credibility a cause for some debate), 2 more Cuckoo's, 3+ Marsh Harriers and several Swifts of note. On the return to the car a Great White Egret flew over reed bed and a Raven flew over.

 Reed Bunting

 Cetti's Warbler

 A sea watch at The Point this afternoon was very disappointing with nothing of note.
I then joined MH in Hanson to check the Hirundines again but they were all at the south end, so we abandoned that idea and went to Scotney where 2 Ruff were the highlights. A drive around Galloways failed to locate the Cattle Egrets but we did see 2 Stonechats.

The Weekend

Both the early morning sea watches were very poor, with small numbers of Gannets, Terns, Divers, Brent Geese and Scoter. The highlight was a pod of at least 8 White Beaked Dolphins that passed up channel on Saturday.

Around the ARC a Bittern was booming both days near the tower, also the Marsh Harriers were displaying, a Cuckoo there this morning with plenty of singing Sedge, Reed and Cetti's Warbler with the occasional Yellow Wagtail over. This afternoon 100s of Hirundines over the lake, despite much searching no sign of a Red-rumped Swallow but 3 Common Sandpipers flew through.

At Scotney an adult Little Gull was hawking over the eastern pits, a couple Egyptian Geese flew in and several Whimbrel could be seen, while around the farm at least 16 Corn Buntings and c20 Yellow Wagtails, on the back lake a pair of Little Ringed Plovers and possibly 10 pairs of Avocet, there was probably more waders there but visibility was very poor. 

 1 of at least 16 Corn Buntings at Scotney Farm

 Little Gull, Scotney eastern most pit.

The 2 Tundra Bean Geese at Dengemarsh.

On the reserve w Whimbrel by the entrance track, a Grey Plover and Wood Sandpiper flew over Dennis's hide, a Wheatear was at Christmas Dell, at Dengemarsh the 2 Tundra Bean Geese still present with 8 Egyptian Geese, a Peregrine, 3+ Marsh Harriers, 2+ Hobby's, 8+ Swifts, another Cuckoo from the ramp, where a Bittern was booming and several Bearded Tits could be seen. The Hayfields have now been re-flooded and look good, a Greenshank was on 3 this afternoon.

Baie de Somme! 23/04/2015

Another brilliant day across the channel with Tony and Trevor.

This Bluethroat was posing buy one of the hides being ignored by most the visitors.

Arriving at Calais around 06.00, I drove straight to the Parc de Marquanterre arriving soon after 07.00 despite getting a puncture on the A16 motorway. We then walked around the woods outside the park hoping and failing to see Black Woodpecker, though there were plenty of other birds to occupy us until the park opened at 10.00.
Inside the park it is very well laid out and managed, with apparently knowledgeable nature guides in most hides, though the design of the viewing holes in the hides leave alot to be desired. This probably does not matter to most the visitors and there are many of them, as very few seem to have binoculars or have much interest  However you can get good views of the birds, of which there are plenty.

This Stork nest is right beside the footpath!

Storks and Black-winged Stilts were plentiful, as were Spoonbills, all 3 Egrets, Greenshanks also seen Spotted and Common Redshanks, Common Sandpipers, Little Ringed Plovers, Garganey, a Smew, a Common Crane. In the bushes along the footpaths, Blackcaps, Common and Lesser Whitethroats, Willow Warblers, Sedge, Reed and Cetti's Warblers. A super reserve which we will definitely visit again. 

This Black-necked Grebe was posing on the roadside pools at La Bassee along with 6 Little Gulls, more Garganey, nesting Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls.

By the time we got home we had clocked up 100 species with out really trying to hard.

One of 2 reeling Savi's Warblers we found around the Baie de Somme!