24/08/2022

Sea watching is still poor at Dungeness but I feel it will pick up noticeably very soon. Good numbers of Willow Warblers have been making up the bulk of the birds birds being trapped and ringed, with smaller numbers of Common and Lesser Whitethroats, Blackcaps, Garden Warblers, Reed and Sedge Warblers. Several Pied flycatchers, a Spotted Flycatcher and a Redstart have also been caught. There have been several Wheatears present and a couple of Whinchats, a Black redstart was singing from the power station fence today. Sand martins and swallows with a fewer House Martins are continuing to dribble through, a Ring Tail Hen Harrier flew put to sea yesterday.

I went all around the reserve this morning, I saw very little on Burrowes, I can't understand why the waders are not coming there, the islands are looking good and I honestly don't believe the issue with the hides is the reason the waders are not coming to Burrowes. While I was at Makepiece Jacob called to say a Honey Buzzard was over the trapping area, from my position I had a great view of the area in good light, but after several minutes of constant scanning I was unable to spot it.

The hay fields are unsurprisingly bone dry so there was no real avian interesting them apart from a flock of c20 Yellow wagtails among the cattle.

Dengemarsh now has some nice islands and muddy margins, there I saw 2 Wood Sandpipers, 3 Green Sandpipers, 5 Common Sandpipers, 4 Greenshank, several Common Snipe, 4 Glossy Ibis and 4 Great White Egrets of note.

The ARC Pit viewed from Hanson Hide has undoubtedly been the best place to see birds on the peninsula,  with 17 species of wader noted in the last 2 days including Little Stint and Spotted Redshank, also 6 species of Heron including Glossy Ibis. The views of some of the birds have quite superb with many visitors enjoying the views.

The Glossy Ibis have been superbly confiding in front of Hanson

Little Egrets enjoying the mud in front of Hanson

The Snipe have also been confiding showing there wonderfully cryptic plumage

Flocks of 4 and 5 Spoonbills were short staying visitors 

Green Sandpipers have been frequent visitors to Hanson

Common Sandpipers have been quite numerous at times

The Black-tailed Godwits have been very entertaining with their constant chattering

At Least 2 Ruff are usually present from Hanson

4 Greenshanks did a tour of the reserve today 

! of the 8 Cattle Egrets that are usually at Boulderwall but drop into the ARC to roost

21/08/2022

Wood Warbler at the observatory

The trapping area was busy yesterday morning, Willow Warblers and Common Whitethroats provided the numbers , Wood Warbler, Pied Flycatcher, Spotted Flycatcher provided the quality with a few Reed and Sedge warblers.

Pied Flycatcher at the observatory

Polish ringed Black-headed Gull TJVV back for its 3rd winter the fishing boats

The sea was again unproductive. Around the reserve the usual Egrets and Ibis, Wood, Green and Common Sandpipers, Black-tailed Godwits, Ruff, Little and Ringed Plovers etc.

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull

Juvenile Herring Gull with a Whiting

Pied Flycatcher in a private garden this afternoon

Pied Flycatcher in a private garden this afternoon

Not so many birds around the trapping area but at least 2 Pied Flycatchers, a Redstart and an Osprey provided some quality. The reserve was also less bird but most waders and Herons could still be found.

Osprey over the beach this afternoon on its way across the channel

19/08/2022

1 of 13 Wood Sandpiper at Dengemarsh yesterday, at least 1 still present today 

4 Spoonbills flew around the ARC last night before roosting on Burrowes. At least 2 were colour ringed but I was unable tor read them.

Juvenile Arctic Tern

An hours sea watch this morning was a little better than of late, with my first Arctic Tern of the autumn going west, however I gave up to soon and when I left Jacob had a couple of Balearic Shearwaters and 9 Black Terns.

Juvenile Little Gull on the ARC this morning

Ruff

The ARC continues to be the most productive , with 13 species of Wader there todays well as Ibis, Egrets, Garganey, Water Rail and the usual wildfowl and now joined by the White Stork this evening.

                                                                         Redshank

Green Sandpiper

Black-tailed Godwit

White Stork

Juvenile Water Rail

Reed Warbler

Fox looking into Hanson Hide

17/08/2022

 This mornings sea watch was again very meagre. A single Fulmar west was the highlight, c60 Sandwich Terns feeding off shore, 23 Gannets East, 4 juvenile Mediterranean Gulls west and 2 Harbour Porpoises, 24 Common Terns were feeding over The Patch which was just about rippling the surface. Hopefully soon the Shearwaters, Skuas and Terns will start to appear.

The White Stork has again spent most of the day around Lade Pits.

Common Redstart at the observatory courtesy of Jacob

Around the trapping area small numbers of the common warblers and not much else.

Yellow Wagtail Lydd Fields

At the ARC from Hanson this evening despite all the disturbance from the on going works to the islands, Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Knot, 2 Ruff, Common and Green Sandpipers, Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers, Dunlin, Garganey, Bittern, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Glossy Ibis and the usual wildfowl were seen. The White Stork is again roosting at Lade Pits.

Black-headed Gull X93J roosting in front of Hanson

Life History of Black-headed Gull X93J

16/08/2022

One of the Cockles Bridge Common Buzzards. The muddy feet are from catching frogs in the ditch.

GBA2 White Stork atop Lade mobile phone mast today. A bird from the Knepp reintroduction.

 Ibis's, Herons and Waders were all giving superb views from Hanson Hide at the ARC. Hopefully when the work is complete on the islands in the next few days they will be back.🤞

Dengemarsh looks quite good now but was little disappointing today as I was hoping all the birds disturbed from the ARC today would move to there.

The bushes were busy with common warblers this morning, another Pied Flycatcher was seen, also 5 Common Redstarts with 1 ringed. Galloways held 5 Whinchats and the usual Wheatears.

A short sea watch this afternoon was predictably poor, the highlight being a single Arctic Skua chasing Sandwich terns off shore.

Little Egrets

Juvenile Grey Heron

Black-tailed Godwits

Green Sandpiper

Ruff