ARC

The ARC is probably the best place to see birds on the reserve at the moment, The 4 Glossy Ibis and the 3 Egret species, Bittern, Marsh Harriers, Hobby's, Common Buzzards, Black-tailed Godwit, Avocet, are all regular there along with the wetland warblers and usual wildfowl and Grebes with the occasional Black-necked Grebe..

Around The Point a few Black Redstarts, Wheatears and Stonechats. I was lucky yesterday jamming in on a Serin flying around courtesy of Dave Bunney. The sea is still very quiet though not unexpected for this time of year.

Common Buzzard getting the Herring Gull treatment over my garden while I was going through the moth trap.

My local Robin serenading me while doing the moth trap.

The hay fields have now mainly dried out so that there is very little avian interest to be seen there 

Norfolk Hawker at Dengemarsh

The only image I managed of a brief encounter with a Lesser Emperor dragonfly at Dengemarsh

A Cherry Bark Tortrix new moth for the garden, although common throughout England there is very little of its food plant on the peninsular

Scott adelphella seems to becoming regular in my garden

20/06/2022

Spoonbill put in a brief appearance at the ARC before flying off towards The Point

From Hanson in 3 visits today 3, Glossy Ibis, 32 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Ringed Plovers, 4 Avocets, 2 Common Terns, a Mediterranean Gull, the first 2 juvenile Black-headed Gulls, c30 Swifts, House and Sand Martins along with the usual wildfowl and warblers.

A very brief visit to Burrowes as Dennis's hide is now also shut because of a Bees nest, also the view points would be hopeless in the blasting NE gale, saw just a single Grey Plover of note from Dennis's picnic area.

A visit to the observatory paid dividends when the Gulls at the power station started alarming, myself DW, SC, GH and Jacob immediately started scanning the skies, thanks to Jacobs young eyes, he spotted 2 mega Honey Buzzards over the power station and got us all onto them as they drifted off West.

Mediterranean Gull next to the nesting Avocet from Hanson

The relentless NE gale washed out the Great-crested Grebes nest in front of Hanson Hide, the eggs could not have been far off ready to hatch.

19?06/2022

The Glossy Ibis seem to be a regular feature at the ARC

Grey Heron from Hanson

Little, Cattle and Great White Egrets can all be seen around the reserve, the Bitterns seem to have gone a little quiet. Avocets, Black-tailed Godwits, Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Lapwing, Oystercatchers and Green Sandpiper are all regular on the ARC and Burrowes at the moment, so far just a handful of Common Terns. I think 2 pairs of Kingfisher nested this year with at least one nest fledging. Large numbers of eclipse wildfowl can be seen around the reserve, most looking very scruffy. Marsh Harriers, Common Buzzards and Hobby's can be seen just about anywhere on the reserve.

2 of the 3 short staying Black-necked Grebes came in close to Hanson Hide briefly before being chased off by an aggressive Coot.

These Great-crested Grebes are nesting in front of Hanson hopefully soon the eggs will hatch if they don't get predated.

One of several Honey Buzzards that have graced the peninsular this last week

Sedge, Reed and Cetti's Warblers, Common and Lesser Whitethroats and Blackcaps are all still singing around the reserve.

The overnight storms brought in many Swifts, House and Sand Martins this morning

A visit to Folkstone Warren found a confiding juvenile Peregrine

Fulmar and Rock Pipit at Folkstone Warren

13/06/2022

Hobbys have putting on superb displays around the reserve 

 

These 3 Glossy Ibis dropped into the ARC late morning today

The long staying Glossy Ibis on the ARC

Great White Egrets have started to reappear around the reserve

It was quite pleasant to go out early morning and not get blasted by the the incessant near gale force winds that have plagued the peninsula for the last few days. Hopefully from tonight onwards the moth trap will start catching numbers of moths.

The first Black-necked Grebe of the autumn on the ARC from Hanson

Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits

On my second visit of the day to the ARC mid morning I joined Pete and Pam in Hanson Hide, where among the 100s of eclipse wildfowl they had located 2 Pochard bearing Nasal Saddles, also there were 4 Avocet, 17 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Redshank, a Ringed Plover, Oystercatchers and Lapwings, 4 Glossy Ibis, Great White and Little Egrets, 2 flyover Cattle Egrets early morning, a Kingfisher, 2 Cuckoos,  4 Hobby's and the usual Marsh harriers, Common Buzzards and Reed bed Warblers. It seems that Dennis's Hide has been closed due to a Bees nest, so as there are no other hides for viewing Burrowes I gave the reserve proper a miss.

An adult Common Whitethroat looking rather tatty after its parental duties

2 Common Pochard bearing nasal saddles on the ARC today spotted by Pete and Pam, probably French birds.

10/06/2022

The Ring-necked Duck, taken from Hanson Hide in this mornings drizzle

Female Marsh Harrier trying to join me in the hide

There were 14 Black-tailed Godwits on the Hay fields along with the Glossy Ibis, I didn't see any Cattle egrets or Great White Egrets today though they may have been hunkered down out of the wind. Apart from the resident avifauna it was a very quit day, with a few more like it in the coming weeks.

Nemophora degeerella by the ARC car park this morning

There were at least 8 Hobby's over the reserve when the sun came out this afternoon

Todays oddity were these 2 Greater White-fronted Geese which appeared over Dengemarsh and flew to The Point where they were seen to fly out to sea a couple of minutes later.

Emperor Dragonfly at Dengemarsh

The new Scott Lookout Shelter where one Scott Hide stood

The volunteers have indeed made an excellent job of constructing the new Lookout shelters, I'm sure their  arty design could easily grace one of Chelsea flower show gardens, where things are made for sipping tea on perfect summer afternoons, but not practical every day use. At Dungeness these "Lookouts" provide little or no shelter from the wind and rain. Yesterday evening I was at the Axel shelter when it started raining, I got rather wet as the rain dripped off the roof and blew in, also the rain was blown through the slats of the back of the shelter soaking the bench. In a gentle breeze from the west, I'm sure some it would provide some shelter especially with all the bushes around it, if the wind is any other vector forget it, to be fair there never was any shelter at the end of the Willow Trail, so I guess it is an improvement but a rather expensive and time consuming use of the volunteers undoubted skills.

I cannot see the Scott Lookout shelter being of any obvious use, as even in a Westerly wind like today the wind howled through, seemingly being concentrated through the slats, I can only imagine at the moment what it will be like there in a North, East or Southerly wind. I will now try to never mention them here again unless of course something changes for the better.

The Axel Lookout shelter at the end of the Willow Trail

08/06/2022

A cold, windy miserable morning at the sea watch hide where in 45 minutes I saw just 12 Gannets fly West and 2 East, along with a handful of Gulls.

At the ARC again no sign of the Ring-necked Duck among the many Pochard and Tufted Duck, 4 Black-tailed Godwit were feeding and Kingfisher flashed past carrying a fish.

I walked in from Springfield Bridge this afternoon, at the hayfields Pied Wagtails were feeding newly fledged young, also 2 Yellow Wagtails there, a Hobby was sheltering from the wind and showers, a Glossy Ibis sparkled in the brief sunny spells, 2 Avocet were in hay field 2 which is rapidly drying out, as are all the others. As expected there was nothing of note on a very windswept Burrowes and very few visitors.

Back at the bridge as another shower swept through I surprised a Fox with Vole.

Fledgling Pied Wagtail

Hobby sheltering from wind and showers

Spangly Glossy Ibis

Fox with a Vole

Southern Marsh Orchids by the track to the ARC