07/06/2025

A pair of juvenile Bearded Tits at the ARC this morning

There has been not been much to post about for the last few days, spring sea watching has more or less petered out, with the exception of a trickle of Manx Shearwaters an a couple of pulses of Arctic Skuas.

This morning with more strong SW winds and rain I went straight to the ARC just in case Red-necked Phalarope had pitched in overnight with little expectation of seeing one, so I was not disappointed when I didn't see one. I was delighted to see a family of Bearded Tits up close, but more delighted to see a Redshank chick on the long island, it was totally unexpected after the Avocets and Black-headed Gulls all deserted there nests there, at least the Avocets look as though they are trying again on a different island. 

I had just left the hide when Ray O'reilly put out a message that the female Red-crested Pochard had reappeared after being missing for some weeks and she had 4 newly hatched ducklings, representing the first breeding on the Dungeness peninsular.

Around the reserve 17 Hobbys hunting together over the Hookers viewpoint, a couple of Black-tailed Godwits and Sanderling on the Hayfields and Burrowes. A Purple Heron was reported over the New Excavations thgis afternoon.

Juvenile Bearded Tits at the ARC this morning

Adult male Bearded Tit at the ARC this morning

A female Red-crested Pochard with 4 ducklings at the ARC this morning

Adult and juvenile Redshank at the ARC this morning

 

03/06/2025

2 Sea watches today, this mornings watch was not particularly exciting, but 2hrs this afternoon produced 10 Arctic Skuas including a flock of 5 all East, also 12 Manx Shearwaters 7 East 5 West, so much better but birds were not flooding past.

Around the reserve the Red-crested Pochard remains at the ARC, usually asleep on the centre islands from Hanson, also 1 pair of Avocets look as though they are trying nest there.

Burrowes was very windswept producing 3 Little Gulls of note all 1st Summer birds.

Yellow Wagtail Lydd Fields

A walk out onto Lydd Fields yesterday found 3 pairs of Yellow Wagtails and 2 pairs of Corn Buntings, in the evening I found many more pairs of each around Scotney and Walland. I checked the Tree Sparrow boxes whilst I was there and most looked as though they have been used or are still in use 🤞for a good season. On the minus side I did not encounter a single Barn Owl which I would have expected to be out hunting to feed young, I'm hoping they are late laying and hatching this year.

A Pale Tussock a new moth for my VC15 trap

While out in Lydd Fields I came across many of these Whit-Satin caterpillars 

30/05/2025

As the sea watching has been so disappointing lately I couldn't bring myself to suffer again today, instead I did my moth traps which were surprisingly good, then went to the reserve starting at the ARC where the Red-crested Pochard continues to reside along with the 3 Wigeon. Common Tern numbers seem to picking up so I'm hopeful of some breeding. It appears that all of the Avocets have abandoned there nests along with most of the Black-headed Gulls. Richard did a sea watch and it was every bit as poor as I thought it would be.

On Burrowes  a Little Ringed Plover, a Curlew Sandpiper, a Little Stint, 6 Sanderling, 6 Dunlin and c15 Ringed Plovers. aA flock of at least 19 Black-tailed Godwits was on the hayfields. Hobbys were everywhere around the reserve with estimates of up to 30 being present.

Little Ringed Plover on Burrowes this morning

A poor distant image of the Curlew Sandpiper on Burrowes this morning

Black-tailed Godwits on hayfield 1

This afternoon at the ARC a Little Gull and my first Spoonbill of the year along with more Hobbys, also a Norfolk Hawker by the Pines.

A 1s Little Gull at the ARC this afternoon

Spoonbill at the ARC this afternoon

1 of the 20-30 Hobbys around the reserve today

 

 

Rained Off

This mornings sea watch was as expected rather poor with just a few each of Common Scoter, Gannets and Sandwich Terns, then the rain and stronger winds set in and that was the end of birding for the day.

There was absolutely no other news from today.

Little Ringed Plovers on the reserve yesterday

Great-crested Grebes on Burrowes Yesterday

3 Wigeon on the ARC from Hanson yesterday, an unusual date.

Brown Argus at the ARC yesterday

 

Day Trip to the Pas de Calais

On Wednesday 27/05/2025 Myself, Chris, Jacob and Richard had a days birding trip to the Pas de Calais, 

we took the 06.15  shuttle to Calais, then a short drive to Guines. The weather was not as good as we hoped but that didn't seem to deter the birds as we started at the wetland board walk. Short-toed Treecreeper was seen and heard very quickly, along with Cuckoo, Blackcaps, Reed, Sedge and Cetti's Warblers, an astonishing 13 mainly singing Marsh Warblers, 2 singing Bluethroats, White Stork, a Honey Buzzard, several Marsh Harriers, Turtle Doves purring along with other common species. A Scarce Chaser dragonfly was a surprise.

1 of 13 singing Marsh Warblers we found at Guinnes

White Stork over the Guinnes Boardwalk

Scarce Chaser at Guines

 Our next stop was very close by at Guinnes Forest

Spotted Flycatcher nesting behind a security light on a building by the car park

Several Lady Orchids were seen by the track in the forest

Honey Buzzard Overload

As we walked along the forest track we spotted a Hone Buzzard displaying and wing clapping. then another appeared and over a period of about half an hour at 6 different Honey Buzzards were seen displaying and play fighting, we were awe struck by this magical sight, just to crown things off a Melodious Warbler was singing beside us which were virtually ignoring due to the awesome sight of all the Honey Buzzards overhead.

Male Honey Buzzard

Male Honey Buzzard

Male Honey Buzzard

Female Honey Buzzard

Female Honey Buzzard

Female Honey Buzzard

2 Honey Buzzards

3 Honey Buzzards

Honey Buzzards Tussling

Honey Buzzards Tussling

Honey Buzzards Tussling

Honey Buzzards Tussling

Honey Buzzards Tussling

Honey Buzzards Tussling

Honey Buzzards Tussling

Wing clapping Honey Buzzard 

Wing clapping Honey Buzzard 

Wing clapping Honey Buzzard 

Wing clapping Honey Buzzard 

Wing clapping Honey Buzzard 

Wing clapping Honey Buzzard 

The first Marsh Tit I have seen for a few years, we also saw and heard several Hawfinches.

Definitely Roe Deer😅

Black-necked Grebe at Oye Plage

A blizzard of Sandwich, Common Terns with a few Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls at Oye Plage

Our last stop was at Oye Plage where due to the dry spring there were very few waders, it is the first time I have visited site in spring and not seen Black-winged Stilts, however we still saw 15 Spoonbills, Egrets, Little Ringed Plovers, Black-necked Grebes. Several Fan-tailed Warblers were seen here along with at least 5 Kentish Plovers and an Icterine Warbler.

We caught the 19.16 shuttle back to Folkstone, many thanks to Chris, Jacob and Richard for there great company and cakes and making this a trip to remember always.

25/05/2025

A brilliant image of the Eastern Bonelli's Warbler in the trapping area today captured by James Dee and published here with his kind permission. Many thanks James.

You will need to turn your volume right up to hear 4 trills of the Eastern Bonelli's Warbler found in the trapping area this morning by James Dee, a brilliant find and much deserved due to all the time he spends scouring The Point looking for birds. It is the first Eastern Bonelli's Warbler to be found at Dungeness and quite possibly the first Kent record.  Although the bird was singing more or less continuously for the several hours I was in the trapping area this morning, I only actually saw it 4 times and only once fairly well, but with no chance of photographing it, I'm sure the strong wind did not help. Fortunately James managed to get some images of it when he first discovered it.

Elsewhere on the peninsula was very quiet avian wise, there was a Ruff on Burrowes, also a few Dunlin and Ringed Plovers. The Red-footed Falcon appears to have gone as well as most of the Hobbys.

At the ARC there are now 3 sitting Avocets and 5 sitting Black-headed Gulls on the long back island viewed from Hanson.