Grey Ghost

Galloways

 At last a still sunny morning so Galloways first thing seemed a good choice. Once there 2 Stonechats, 4 Mippits and 6 Red Legged Partridge was all that was on offer till just as I got back into the car a Short Eared Owl popped up hunting the rough. MH had good views this afternoon.

 After Galloways I met MH at the ARC at Hanson where we saw the first Drake Smew of the winter at Dungeness with up to 4 red heads. A Cetti's Warbler showed well in front the hide but i was to slow with the camera to get publishable shots and again with a Bittern that flew across in front the hide. 2+ Water Rails were squealing by the hide and 2 Marsh Harriers flew by.
On New Diggings 1 Great White Egret and a Black Necked Grebe was new.
Dengemarsh held another Marsh Harrier and 6 Little Grebes and little else. A look at Hookers for Bearded Tits was a failure. Beside the path to Dennis hide several Tree Sparrows were sun bathing and from the hide the Long tailed Duck could be seen.

On Walland the 32 Bewick Swans still near Midley Barns and 200+ Golden Plover over.
At the Harrier roost near The Woolpack 50+ Fieldfare were in the Hawthorns, a Merlin sat on gate post, a minimum of 16 Marsh Harriers roosted and late on a superb adult male Hen Harrier ghosted in over the reed bed, spending a few minutes picking his roosting spot and being buzzed briefly by a Peregrine ,before dropping into the reeds to roost. A brilliant end to a good day birding.

Stormy Dungeness

On the beach at Dungeness in gale force winds birding was some what difficult even from the shelter of a rocking car. Among the hundreds of gulls sheltering on the beach was the Caspian Gull and the Glaucous Gull also a Kittiwake.
At sea many Auks, Kittiwakes and Gannets with fewer Red Throated Divers were flying up and down and still several hundred Great Crested Grebes on the sea.
On New Diggings 2 Great White Egrets and 8 Little Egrets on the sheltered side.
On the ARC from Hanson most the islands have disappeared but 300+ Lapwing, 300+ Wigeon, 100+ Teal, 3 Pintail and a Marsh Harrier.
A thrash around the Tower Pits for Mondays Jack Snipe was fruitless but at the pines 15+ Long Tailed Tits and a Chiffchaff.
Back on the beach no change.
The ARC from the causeway mid afternoon and the Long Tailed Duck appeared as did 2 red head Smew and a Kingfisher.
At Scotney the feral flock of Barnacle Geese, 300 + Greylag Geese and a few Wigeon, Pintail and Marsh Harrier.
On Walland still 32 Bewick Swans near Midley Barn.
    

Wild at Dungeness

Taken at Faggs Wood car park at ISO 2500

The Caspian Gull was doing its best to shelter behind some scant vegetation with the other Gulls but sea watching was a wash out due to the visibility in the gale force winds. 2 Great White Egrets could just about be made out on New Diggings but most birds were hidden in shelter.
A stop at Faggs Wood added a few new passerines (Bullfinch, Lesser Redpoll and Nuthatch) for the year and a confiding Great Spotted Woodpecker would have made a much better picture in reasonable light.  

Snipe Surprise



Leucistic Grey Heron

Still plenty of Auks, Gannets, Kittiwakes, G C Grebes and R T Divers off the point today. The Caspian Gull showing in the roost and the Glaucous Gull on the exposed sand.
On the ARC from the causeway 3 red head Smew, the Long Tailed Duck, 6 Goldeneye and a Marsh harrier. Opposite on New Diggings1 red head Smew, 2 Great White Egrets and the Leucistic Grey Heron.
By the Water Tower I flushed a Jack Snipe and a Chiffchaff in the bushes.

Damp at Dunge

A quick look around the peninsular today found Still plenty of Guillemots, Razorbills, R.T.Divers, Gannets, Kittiwakes and G C Grebes on the sea. On the beach the Caspian Gull in the roost, a very bedraggled Merlin sat on the beach briefly and a Kittiwake posed by the concrete road.
From the causeway the ARC and New Diggings were virtually invisible in the heavy rain but at least 1 Great White Egret and 3 Litttle Egrets could be made out on the New Diggings.
On Walland still 32 Bewick Swans at Midley and 100+ Fieldfares in the hedges. 

3 Great White Egrets at Dunge!

On Walland this morning 32 Bewick Swans(2juvs), 100+ Fieldfare, 2 Marsh Harriers, 1 Common Buzzard and 20+ Tree Sparrows on and around the feeders.

Taken on my mobile phone

 On the beach a Razorbill came ashore and eventually made its way up the beach to settle between my feet out of the wind. Sadly on close inspection the bird does have a lot of oil on its underparts and will probably end up dinner for a Great Black Backed Gull.

The beach fisherman were catching Whiting and when they through them back the stunned fish were soon picked off by the Gulls.

Down in one

 In c2hrs this morning 2000+ Auks moved SW as did c250 Red Throated Divers, 200 Gannets, 50+ Kittiwakes, 3 Brent Geese, 4 Common Scoter, 2 Bonxies, and 1 Balearic Shearwater. On the sea still several hundred Great Crested Grebes being joined by 100+ Cormorants and many Auks dropping in to feed for a while. The Caspian Gull was again showing well though the Glaucous Gull is sometimes more elusive but showed in the end.


Caspian Gull presumably bringing up fish bones

On the ARC Pit from the causeway 4 red head Smew, 2 Marsh Harriers, 1 Great White Egret and on New Diggings 8 Little Egrets and 2 more Great White Egrets, with all 3 on view at the same time.

Caspian Gull Posing Again!

 On the beach by the fishing boats the Caspian Gull was posing for the camera in the gloom. At sea 08.45-0945 837 Great Crested Grebes were off shore, good numbers of Auks, Gannets, Kittiwakes and Red Throated Divers were moving up and down the channel, 19 Wigeon flew E and a Merlin came in off. The Glaucous Gull was in the roost.

On the ARC from the screen the Long Tailed Duck was at the SE end, 1 Kingfisher, 2 Marsh Harriers, 9 Goldeneye and a Sparrowhawk flew through.

Chile 04/12/11

We finally arrived in Santiago on the evening of 03/12/11,after flying from Mount Pleasant Airport Falkland Islands via Punta Arenas to Santiago. We then headed to our hotel after our luggage had been x-rayed for at least the sixth time that day and they still did not find the knife that was in one of our hand luggage .
Next morning at 04.00 we had breakfast, then our guide for the day picked us up at 04.30 and we headed for Cachagua approx 90 minutes away. We stopped on the way as dawn broke for a comfort break and managed to see a Stiped Woodpecker.
At Cachagua we saw Fire Eyed Diucon, Giant Hummingbird, Rufous Collared Sparrow, Austral Pygmy Owl, Chilean Mockingbird, Common Diuca Finch, Thorn Tailed Rayadito, Plain mantled Tit Spinetail, Southern Lapwing, Chilean Seasde Cinclodes, Chilean swallow, Grassland Yellow finch, Austral Thrush, Austral Negrito, Eared Dove, Hudsonian Whimbrel, American Oystercatcher, Peruvian Pelican, Neotropic Cormormorant, Kelp Gulls and our target species Humboldt Penguin making 9 species of Penguin for the trip. Also had great views of a Sea Otter.

Fire eyed Diucon

Common Diuca-Finch

Thorn Tailed Rayadito

Plain-mantled Tit-spinetail

Rufous-collared Sparrow



Chilean Seaside Cinclodes

Humboldt Penguins

Sea Otter

Neotropic Cormorant

Hudsonian Whimbrel

Peruvian Pelicans

 Sadly all to soon we had to leave Cachagua to travel to Valperaiso for our next target species. On the way we stopped at a small marsh for wildfowl and where we saw  a pair of Coscoroba Swans, Chiloe Wigeon, Red Shoveler, Cinnamon Teal, Lake Duck, White Winged Coot, Red Gartered Coot, Red Fronted Coot, White Tufted Grebes, Franklin's Gulls, Speckled Tyrant and very elusive Many Coloured Rush Tyrants.

White Tufted Grebe

Guanay Cormorants

 Just a couple of Kilometres from Valperaiso the local police had shut the road because of a marathon run taking place. Our brilliant driver drove up to the road block and told the policeman we were official photographers as we waved our cameras around and he waved us through. Finally we arrived and glimpsed our last target species Inca Terns. These were joined by Guanay Cormornts, Red Legged Cormorants, Ruddy Turnstones, Peruvian Boobys, Peruvian Pelicans and a few very distant Grey Gulls.

Red Legged Cormorant

Inca Tern

 As we had to back at the airport for 15.00 we could only spent ashort time with the Inca Terns. On the way back we a very brief stop at marsh where we had better views of Many Coloured Rush Tyrant and also had good views of Black Skimmers, Franklin's gulls and Southern Lapwings. A superb end to fantastic holiday.

Many Coloured Rush Tyrant (Worst image ever of a stunning bird)

Franklin's Gull

Black Skimmers and Franklin's Gulls

Dungeness



Caspian Gull

In 45minutes sea watching near the fishing boats 647 Auks(mainly Guillemots) flew NE into Hythe Bay along with 107 Red Throated Divers, 200+ Great Crested Grebes, 70+Gannets, 50+Kittiwakes. 1 Red Breasted Merganser flew SW as did 14 Common Scoter.
The 1W Caspian Gull was again showing well on the beach as did the Glaucous Gull.
On the ARC 2 Great White Egrets, 3 Red head Smew at the SE end of the pit 12 Goldeneye, 2+ Marsh Harriers but unable to locate the Long Tailed Duck. The Leucstic Grey Heron was on New Diggings. c20 Tree Sparrows were at Boulderwall Farm.
Possibly a third Great White Egret was on Denge Marsh with a fly over Bittern and 2 Marsh harriers.
On Walland the local hunt was out, the Bewick Swans had increased to 29 only 2 of these were juveniles, 200+ Fieldfare were in the Hawthorn hedges and a Common Buzzard was perched in its usual bushes.
  

A Grey Morning at Dunge

Caspian Gull

This morning by the road to fishing boats the Caspian Gull posed unlike the Glaucous and Yellow Legged Gull which buried themselves in the middle of the roost.
Off shore 738 Great Crested Grebes and 284 Cormorants were impressive, 112 Red Throated Divers moved SW in an hour as did 48 Common Scoter, 2 Red Breasted Mergansers and 2 Eider also many Auks, while good numbers of Gannets and Kittiwakes were feeding off shore.
At the ARC 3 red head Smew were at the southern end from the causeway and from Hanson 1+ Great White Egret, 2+ Marsh Harriers several hundred Lapwings were on the diminishing islands, 1 Black Tailed Godwit, 10 Dunlin and much increased numbers of Wigeon and Teal.