2021

Happy New Year to all, hope everyone has a better year mentally and physically

Many thanks to all the locals for phone calls and WhatsApps

Some of the amazing birds I managed to see at Dungeness in 2021

Dusky Warbler 02/01/2021

2nd Calendar year Iceland Gull 17/01/2021

2nd Calendar year Thayer's or Kumlien's Gull depending on your point of view 19/02/2021

2nd Calendar year Glaucous Gull a beast of a bird 13/03/21

Part of a flock of 28 Eider past on 22/04/2021 my largest flock at Dungeness

1 of the ever present Glossy Ibis 22/04/2021

Pied Flycatcher, Long Pits, 22/02/2021

Red-rumped Swallow, Dengemash 26/04/2021 

Wood Warbler, Scotney Copse 27/04/2021

Without doubt the years highlight, 30,000+ Terns past point, Common, Arctic, Sandwich, Roseate and Little an amazing day.

Purple Heron, Long Pits 12/05/2021

Some of the amazing 417 Manx Shearwaters that flew West on 24/05/2021

1 of at least 3 Rose-coloured Starling around the peninsular this year, this one on 05/06/2021

An unprecedented 3 Collared Pratincoles arrived at Dungeness on 6/7/06/2021

Marsh Warbler in a private garden on the evening of the 12/06/2021

A personal favourite this juvenile Bearded Tit 01/08/2021

The superb Sooty Shearwater that  came to bread thrown from the beach and even fought the Gulls for it, a never to be forgotten sight on 08/08/2021

Harbour Porpoises are quite common at Dungeness but seldom give such good views 29/08/2021

Some of the Manx Shearwaters on 01/10/2021 gave superb views from the fishing boats

The superb juvenile Long-tailed Skua at the fishing boats on 02/10/2021

Pectoral Sandpiper on 06/20/2021

Confirmation that there 2 Glossy ibis here on 12/10/2021

Bittern on the top of a Sallow at the Long pits 13/10/2021

Pallas's Warbler trapped on 02/11/2021

Red-breasted Flycatcher trapped on 20/11/2021

29/12/2021

Wind S 4-6 constant drizzle with periods of heavier rain.

08.00-10.30 from the sea watch hide joined by RW

Eider: 4W

Red-throated Diver: 543W      10E        2 on

Great-crested Grebe: 2W  2E    1 on

Fulmar: 5W    3E

Gannet: 102W     33E

Cormorant: c2,000W into Rye bay

Turnstone: 1W

Kittiwake: 166W    

Black-headed Gull: present n/c

Mediterranean Gull: 2E

Common Gull: present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Herring Gull: present n/c

Guillemot: 307W   42E

Razorbill: 117W      15E

Auk sp: 980W    107E

Grey Seal: 1

Harbour Porpoise: 1

The weather made birding difficult today, though I did force myself to go and see the plastic Pochard on Lade North Pit, getting a well deserved soaking for my trouble. On Burrowes this afternoon a single 1w Caspian Gull that flew off in the time it took me get my camera from the car, also a very distant juvenile Little Gull spotted by Richard. There were still 6 Cattle Egrets with the Little Egrets in the Horse Paddocks.

Red-crested Pochard on Lade North Pit today, the first record on the peninsular this year

J11CC Norwegian ringed Great Black-backed Gull seen regularly this winter around Dungeness

A distant juvenile Little Gull feeding on Burrowes this afternoon

28/12/2021

 With the odd domestic chore to do today I was very lazy by having a long lay in this morning, then the rain arrived. It was easy afternoon before I worked up the enthusiasm to go for a wander. The water level on Burrowes is still rising so now more of the islands are submerged, those that aren't are covered in the Black Plague, Cormorants! from Dennis's hide 4 Goldeneye were the highlight, I certainly wasn't going to walk up to Firth or Makepiece in the wind and drizzle, just so I could get a soaking because the hides have deemed unsafe. Elsewhere a Jack snipe on private land, also the 6 Cattle Egrets are still feeding around the Horse Paddocks with some Little Egrets, I didn't see any of the wild Geese today, but I did not really look that hard, they may well be at the back of Dengemarsh. Superb camouflage of the Jack Snipe

27/12/2021

A thoroughly miserable last few days, with more or less constant rain and drizzle

08.00-10.30 from the hide this morning, SE 4-5 with Rain and chilly.

Brent Goose: 1E

Teal: 54W

Common Scoter: 7W   1E

Red-throated Diver: 560W      65E

Great-crested Grebe: 8W  3E    4 on

Fulmar: 2W    2E

Gannet: 342E      64W

Cormorant: c2,500E into Lade Bay

Oystercatcher: 7E

Sanderling: 2E

Kittiwake: 136W       44E

Black-headed Gull: present n/c

Mediterranean Gull: 5E

Common Gull: present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Herring Gull: present n/c

Great Skua: 2E

Guillemot: 669E     203W

Razorbill: 227E     102W

Auk sp: 1,480E     539W

Grey Seal: 1

The 6 Cattle Egrets are still feeding in the Horse Paddocks along with a few Little Egrets, Late this morning some Greylag and Canada geese flew in to feed in the fields in front my house, bringing with them up to 27 Russian White-fronted Geese and 3 Brent Geese that I don't often see there. Late afternoon from Dennis's Hide the 2 Glossy Ibis flew in and eventually settled in front of the Firth thing, 4+ Goldeneye were on Burrowes with a few Pintail but little else apart from the hordes of Cormorants. 

5 Red-breasted Mergansers at Scotney viewed from the double bend yesterday, I don't remember seeing a Merganser there before, certainly not 5.
 

24/12/2021

 Early morning at the fishing boats, the sea was black with 1,000s of Cormorants feeding on what must have been a huge shoal of fish, 100s of Guillemots and Razorbills, smaller numbers of Red-throated Divers, Great-crested Grebes and Gannets joined the throng, while Kittiwakes, Black-headed Gulls and Common Gulls cleared the scraps and Great Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls robbed them all.

               A Dutch ringed Caspian Gull scratching its head, a red ring marked KT just visible

From Dennis's Hide 4 Caspian Gulls today 3 x 1w and a 2w bird, also and adult Yellow-legged Gull there.

On the lake 3 Goldeneye, a few Pintail and 2 Great Egrets were the pick of the bunch, sadly still no Smew, it is now looking like that 2021 will be the first calendar year on record without a Smew sighting at Dungeness. 

 2w Caspian Gull

There were 6 Cattle Egrets at Cockles Bridge today

Cattle Egrets at Cockles Bridge

9 Russian White-fronted Geese on Scotney 

Early afternoon at Scotney found 9 Russian White-fronted Geese among the hordes of feral Geese, several 100s of Wigeon, c1,000 each of Lapwing and Golden Plover and 3 Curlew.

At Dengemarsh the 5 Tundra Bean Geese very distant at the back of the field behind the White-fronts

The Pink-footed Goose was no closer even at the front

22/12/2021

A bitterly cold sea watch this morning, the obvious highlight being the Slavonian Grebe that flew in and settled by the bouy. (only the second one I've seen this year) 

Before going home for breakfast I stopped at Cockles Bridge where the 3 Cattle Egrets were still feeding in the horse paddocks, then I joined CT at the dung heap where the Bean Geese could be seen with some White-fronts, although I did not see the Pink-footed Goose it was still present per CT & RW  also at least 2 Great Egrets there.

After a quick coffee and scrambled eggs I went to Scotney where another 16 White-fronts were grazing by the puddles on the sward with the Greylags, Barnacles, Canada's and a couple of Brent Geese. There were 100s of Wigeon on the lake and a Green Sandpiper geeing along the far bank, but no sign of yesterdays reported Slavonian Grebe on any of the lakes.

White-fronted Geese

White-fronts with Barnacle Geese

A very obliging White-front

As I was driving towards the ARC I spotted 8 Swans flying quite high that definitely were not Mute Swans, my apologies the occupants of the car behind me as I swerved up onto the verge to get the Swans in the binoculars, I was fairly sure they were Bewick Swans and fortunately they seemed to go down onto the ARC allowing me to get there and confirm the identification.

Bewick Swans on the ARC this afternoon

This afternoon on the reserve on Burrowes Pit 2 1w Caspian Gulls were the highlight, another look late afternoon at Galloways failed to see any Short-eared Owls.