Wednesday 3 May 2017

Golden Plover!

Today's early morning sea watch was very slow, just 2 Arctic Skuas, 2 Whimbrel, a Shelduck and small numbers of Commic Terns. The watch was livened up when myself Anna & Charles picked up a wader out at sea flying in straight towards us, we could make out a black belly and from the size deduced it was a Grey Plover, as the bird came in dropped exhausted on the shore where to our surprise we could it was a summer plumage Golden Plover, it sat motionless for about 20 minutes in the rain, no doubt trying to recover it's strength, then it gradually made it's way up the beach towards the hide where it was picking up insects from the Kale. Shortly after reaching the hide it gave a brief alarm call as a Peregrine swooped in. A stooping Peregrine against a very tired Golden Plover was no contest and was over very quickly.
 Golden Plover
 Golden Plover
The inevitable was only a split second away, pity I couldn't get a focus lock!
On the reserve on Burrowes Pit, 5 Turnstone, 20+ Dunlin, 5 Grey Plover, 4 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Whimbrel, a Redshank, a Common Sandpiper, 2 Ringed Plovers, 3 Hobby's, the now ever present Ring-necked Duck, also the 1w Iceland Gull had commuted from The Patch to bathe in the lake.
Slavonian Grebe
On the new diggings late afternoon a summer plumage Slavonian Grebe and 100s of Hirundines but nothing unusual among them.
While I was scanning through the Hirundines I got a text from Lea about a Short-eared Owl in the trapping area, I drove a short distance further down the road where I could view the trapping area, very quickly the Owl made a brief appearance before dropping back into the area. I went back to the Hirundines, where I received another message from Lea this time about a Stone Curlew he had accidently flushed in the The Desert which he had now pinned down. A few minutes later I was viewing the Stone Curlew a very scarce bird here now though once a fairly common breeder. Many thanks to Lea Gregory all the messages.
 Stone Curlew in The Desert

Tuesday 2 May 2017

 1w Iceland Gull after feeding in the scum at The Patch
04.45-09.45 & 11.30-13.00 from the sea watch hide with ML and AJG who collated the numbers, joined by PT et al:

Brent Goose: 6 up
Common Scoter: 66 up   3 down
Surf Scoter: 1 immature up 
Red-breasted Merganser: 2 down
Red-throated Diver: 3 up
Black-throated diver: 2 up
Great-crested Grebe: 39 around
Fulmar: 1 up    1 down
Gannet: 9 up     95 down
Cormorant: 94 around
Oystercatcher: 3 down
Sanderling: 7 up
Knot: 1 up
Dunlin: 6 up
Bar-tailed Godwit: 23 up
Whimbrel: 21 up
Curlew: 1 up
Arctic Skua: 1 up
Mediterranean Gull; 4 up
1w Iceland Gull at The Patch
Little Tern: 17 up
Sandwich Tern: 14 up
Arctic Tern: 21 up
Commic Tern: 952 up
Black Tern: 14 up
Guillemot: 2 up
Auk sp: 1 down
Swallow: 9 in
Harbour Porpoise: 3+
Fox: 1
The Surf Scoter past by with some Common Scoters outside of the bouy, it was quickly picked out of the flock by all present in the hide as something different, but it took Marcus Lawsons quick thinking to realise what it was. I did manage to get my camera onto the flock of Scoters but it was to far out to get any useful images.
1w Iceland Gull feeding in the scum at The Patch



Late afternoon at the ARC a Nightingale singing by Hanson Hide, a Bittern booming from the Tower Pits, a Cuckoo, 2 Hobby's, Sedge, Reed and Cetti's Warblers singing joined by Lesser and Common Whitethroats and Blackcaps.

Monday 1 May 2017

A Few More Poms!

1 of today's Pomarine Skuas 
05.00-11.30 from the sea watching hide with AJG,MB,ML,AL,DW,PB et al

Brent Goose: 11 up
Common Scoter: 158 up
Velvet Scoter: 5 up
Eider: 18 up
Red-throated Diver: 1 up
Great-crested Grebe: 18 around
Fulmar: 24 up  3 down
Manx Shearwater: 1 up
Gannet: 658 up
Cormorant: present n/c
Marsh Harrier: 1 out     1 in c1hr later
Oystercatcher: 4 up
Little Ringed Plover; 1 up
Grey Plover: 2 up
Sanderling: 4 up
Bar-tailed Godwit: 4 up
Whimbrel: 2 up
Great Skua: 18 up   2 down
Pomarine Skua: 11 up
Arctic Skua: 32 up
Mediterranean Gull: 7 up
Little Gull: 6 up
Kittiwake: 51 up
1w Iceland Gull: still at The Patch
Little Tern: 15 up
Sandwich Tern: 68 up
Arctic Tern: 7 up
Commic Tern: 862 up
Black Tern: 7 up
Guillemot: 4 up
Auk sp: 17 up  2 down
Swallow: 4 in
Harbour Porpoise: 4+

                              Pomarine Skua Flocks and Times
3 @ 06.10,  1 @ 06.40,  2 @ 07.30,  2 @ 08.10,  1 @ 08.34,  2 @ 10.25
 Great Skua
a flock of 18 Eiders, a rare sight these days at Dungeness. 

Sunday 30 April 2017

Nothing compares to spring Pomarine Skuas!

Yesterdays sea watch was brilliant but todays was probably the best I have had in this country, great birds and excellent company.
Pomarine Skuas

Arctic Skua
Great Skua
05.00-18.30 with AJG,LG,SO,MB,AL,ML,PT,GH,DW et al:

Mute Swan: 3 in
Brent Goose: 64 up
Shelduck: 13 up
Gadwall: 10 up
Pintail: 1 up
Shoveler:6 up
Teal: 2 up
Eider: 1 female up
Common Scoter: 1,284 up      24 down
Velvet Scoter: 20 up
Red-breasted Merganser: 3 up
Red-throated Diver: 24 up
Black-throated diver: 5 up
Great-crested Grebe: 16 around
Fulmar:14 up   1 down
Gannet: 689 up
Hobby: 1 up
Peregrine: 1 in
Oystercatcher: 19 up
Avocet: 5 up
Ringed Plover: 2 up
Grey Plover: 151 up
Knot: 76 up
Sanderling: 121 up
Dunlin: 6 up
Bar-tailed Godwit: 160 up
Whimbrel: 48 up
Great Skua: 19 up
Pomarine Skua: 129 up
Arctic Skua: 44 up
Mediterranean Gull: 4 down
Little Gull: 31 up
Kittiwake: 105 up
Little Tern: 54 up
Sandwich Tern: 233 up
Arctic Tern: 87 up
Commic Tern; 1,110 up
Black Tern: 34 up
Guillemot: 2 up
Razorbill: 1 up
Auk sp 8 up   3 down
Sand Martin: 3 in
Swift: 2 up
Swallow: 9 in
Harbour Porpoise: 5+
Grey Seal: 1
Fox
              Pomarine Skua Flock Sizes and Times
1 @ 05.42,     8 @ 05.44,       1 @ 05.50,       5 @ 06.05,
7 @ 06.17,     2 @ 06.44,       2 @ 06.58,       6 @ 07.00,
7 @ 07.05,     6 @ 07.12,       2 @ 07.15,       3 @ 07.25,
4 @ 07.32,     2 @ 07.38,       1 @ 07.50,       1 @ 08.00,
3 @ 08.40,     1 @ 09.03,       1 @ 09.10,       2 @ 09.30,
4 @ 09.40,     1 @ 09.55,       4 @ 09.58,       1 @ 10.16
1 @ 10.25,     3 @ 10.32,       8 @ 11.10,       1 @ 11.15,
2 @ 11.20,     2 @ 11.30,       2 @ 12.20,       7 @ 12.26,
1 @ 12.43,     2 @ 13.18,       7 @ 13.55,       2 @ 14.03,
5 @ 14.13,     1 @ 15.10,       2 @ 15.15,       1 @  15.40,
1 @ 15.49      5 @ 17.52,       1 @ 18.09.
 Pomarine Skuas
 Fulmar over the beach
 Avocets
Female Eider

Saturday 29 April 2017

An excellent days sea watching!

Bonxie over the sea watch Hide
A marathon sea watch today 05.00-19.30 with: AJG,MH,CP, ML,MB,GH,SO,BB, NB et al
Brent Goose: 41 up
Shelduck: 6 up
Gadwall: 2 up
Common Scoter: 1,267 up       4 down
Velvet Scoter: 3 up      4 down
Red-throated Diver: 27 up
Black-throated Diver: 4 up
Great-crested Grebe: 17 around
Fulmar: 6 up   1 down
Gannet: 263 up
Cormorant: present n/c
Shag: 1 up
Little Egret: 1 out
Oystercatcher: 10 up  1 down
Grey Plover: 25 up
Knot: 9 up
Sanderling: 5 up
Dunlin: 2 up
Common Sandpiper: 1 up
Greenshank: 1 in
Bar-tailed Godwit: 614 up
Whimbrel: 48 up
Great Skua: 84 up
Arctic Skua: 25 up
Mediterranean Gull: 9 up
Little Gull: 13 up
Kittiwake: 54 up   9 down
Iceland Gull: 1w still at The Patch
Little Tern: 15 up
Sandwich Tern: 396 up
Arctic Tern: 171 up
Commic Tern: 9,245 up
Black Tern: 3 up
Guillemot: 8 up
Auk sp: 3 up   6 down
Swift: 1 in
Sand Martin: 13 in
Swallow: 11 in
Harbour Porpoise: 6+
Grey Seal: 1
Fox: 1

Friday 28 April 2017

Tern Passage!

Another morning of northerly winds and nothing moving.
05.45-07.15 with AJG who kindly collated the numbers:
Shelduck: 2 down
Shoveller: 2 down
Common Scoter: 23 up
Great-crested Grebe: 24 around
Fulmar: 2 around
Gannet: 15 around
Oystercatcher:  2 up
Whimbrel: 3 in
Oystercatcher  2 up
Great crested Grebe 13 on
Common Tern: 22 up, c100 on patch
Sandwich Tern: 12 up
Harbour Porpoise: 4+
Grey Seal: 1
A very tired and cold Chiffchaff recovering on the power station fence early morning
A walk around the area with AJG found a minimum of 3 Ring Ouzels , 19 Wheatears, 2 Yellow Wagtails and a Whimbrel but little else of note.
 1w Iceland Gull still at The Patch but nothing else of note
A poor shot of a Peregrine dive bombing a Common Buzzard over the power station this morning

This afternoon I went to the fishing boats, minutes after settling down to what I thought was going to be a long slow watch, the wind shifted from a northerly vector to a southerly vector, almost immediately Terns started to appear on the horizon. I was joined by AJG and MH , due to the height of the tide we moved to the Sea watch hide where the Tern passage continued till at least 18.00hrs when I left.
13.50-18.00 with AJG, MH, DW, LG, ML & MB.

Brent Goose: 3 up
Common Scoter: 32 up
Red-breasted Merganser: 2 up
Red-throated Diver: 2 up
Fulmar: 5 up  1 down
Gannet: 53 up    27 down
Oystercatcher: 3 up
Great Skua: 6 up
Arctic Skua: 10 up
Mediterranean Gull: 8 up    2 down
Kittiwake: 26 up          19 down
Little Gull: 76 up
Commic Tern: 5,385 up
Arctic Tern: 64 up under counted!
Sandwich Tern: 73 up       16 down
Little Tern: 1 up
Auk sp: 3 up   6 down

Thursday 27 April 2017

 2 of 7 Ring Ouzels around The Desert this morning
An early morning walk with AJG around the Trapping area, Desert and Beach saw 7 Ring Ouzels, 29 Wheatears, 2 Whimbrel, 2 Swallows, a few Common Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroats and Chiffchaffs.
 Little Owl Scotney Farm
Around Scotney 77 Whimbrel, 15 Bar-tailed Godwits, 36 Avocet, a Greenshank, a Little ringed Plover, 4 Ringed Plovers, 20 Dunlin, a Peregrine, 2 Marsh Harriers,  4 Wheatears, 8 Swifts, the usual Yellow Wagtails, Corn Buntings and a few Swallows.
 Wheatear Scotney Farm

Yellow Wagtail Scotney Farm
A sea watch from the turning circle this afternoon was quiet as expected:
14.10-15.10
Common Scoter: 5 up
Fulmar: 1 down
Gannet: 2 up   1 down
Oystercatcher: 1  up
Great Skua: 1 up
Mediterranean Gull: 3 up
Sandwich Tern: 3 up
Commic Tern: 27 down

Late afternoon on Burrowes the Ring-necked Duck and 2 Pintail still from Makepiece but little else of note. From the causeway between Burrowes and the New Diggings many Swallows, Sand Martins, Hose Martins and some Swifts, also the Summer plumage Slavonian grebe still present.
A short-eared Owl was being mobbed by Gulls opposite Southview Cottage per Dave Bunney.

Wednesday 26 April 2017

 1 of at least 25 Wheatears around The Point today
A cold walk around the The Desert with AJG was surprisingly birdy with 4+ Ring Ouzels, 9 Wheatears, 2 Whimbrel, a Swallow, Common and Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, and Chiffchaffs.
 1w Iceland Gull at The Patch
At The Patch absolutely no up channel passage, though the 1w Iceland Gull was still present c150 Commic Terns feeding off shore, 6 Great-crested Grebes still hanging around, a 1w Mediterranean Gull and 2 Whimbrel there.
 Whimbrel by the access track
On the reserve 4 Whimbrel by the access track,  on Burrowes 3 Bar-tailed Godwits, 10 Dunlin, a Turnstone, 2 common Sandpiper, 6 Swifts over, the long staying Ring-necked Duck and 2 Pintail.
At Denge Marsh 2 Hobby's, the Greater White-fronted Goose and the usual reed bed species.
 Hobby over Denge Marsh
1 of 7 Ring Ouzels in The Desert today
Another wander around The desert this afternoon found 7 Ring Ouzels and more Wheatears making a minimum of 25.

 Hobby chasing Sand Martin's over the ARC this evening
Early evening on the ARC and New diggings the rain showers had bought down many Hirundines, c150 each of Swallow and Sand Martin, c20 House Martins, 8+ Swifts and 2 Hobby's chasing the Sand Martins.
Shelduck in front of Hanson this evening

Monday 24 April 2017

Pied Flycatcher!

05.50-08.30 from the sea watch hide with AJG who kindly collated the numbers:
Brent Goose: 42 up
Shelduck: 5 down
Common Scoter: 143 up
Great-crested Grebe: 4 around
Fulmar: 2 up   1 down
Gannet: 23 up   2 down
Cormorant: present n/c
Grey Heron: 1 in
Oystercatcher: 1 up   2 down
Bar-tailed Godwit: 32 up 
Pomarine Skua: 1 up @07.58
Arctic Skua: 5 up
Mediterranean Gull: 6 up
Iceland Gull: 1 x 1w at The Patch
Kittiwake: 5 up  1 down
Sandwich Tern: 18 up
Commic Tern: 26 up
Guillemot: 1 up   1 on
Auk sp: 3 up
Swallow: 22 in
 Pied Flycather in a private garden
In a private garden a female Pied Flycatcher, Common Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, 4 Willow Warblers and a Chiffchaff. Many thanks to Dave and Sheila Bunney for sharing and allowing access.
 Willow Warbler in a private garden
My first Common Sandpiper of the year
On the reserve several Whimbrel by the access track. On Burrowes a Grey Plover, a Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper, 5 Dunlin, 3 Ringed Plovers, 2 Whimbrel, Ring-necked Duck and a pair of Pintail of note.
A Swift over the ARC was my first of the year but little else of note here. A Slavonian and Black-necked Grebe on the New Diggings looking stunning it their summer dress.
At the old lighthouse this afternoon 3+ Willow Warblers.
Pebble Hook-tip by the MV today

Sunday 23 April 2017

Pomarine Skuas!

 One of todays magnificent Pomarine Skua's
 An Excellent days sea watching at Dungeness:
05.45-09.15 + 10.00-11.00 + 14.00-18.00 + 19.10-20.15 with AJG, LG, SO RW, DW et al.

Brent Goose: 7 up
Shelduck: 10 up
Garganey: 2 up
Common Scoter: 668 up   225 down
Velvet Scoter: 22 up
Red-breasted Merganser: 5 up
Red-throated Diver: 6 up 1 on
Black-throated Diver: 6 up
Fulmar: 15 up
Gannet: 47 up  28 down
Oystercatcher: 21 up
Dunlin: 2 up
Bar-tailed Godwit: 162 up
Whimbrel: 81
Great Skua: 34 up
Pomarine Skua: 25 up
Arctic Skua: 12 up
Mediterranean Gull: 67 up
Iceland Gull: 1 x 1w still at The Patch
Little Gull: 65 up
Kittiwake: 104 up  8 down
Sandwich Tern: 152 up  22 down
Commic Tern: 284 up
Little Tern: 13 up
Black Tern: 1 up
Auk sp: 25 up  3 down
Grey Seal: 1
Harbour Porpoise: 5+
Pomarine Skua times: 3 @ 15.00, 1 @ 15.15, 4 @ 15.34, 2 @ 15.39, 3 @ 16.04, 4 @ 16.30, 2 @ 17.09, 1 @ 17.12, 1 @ 17.17, 1 @ 17.20, 1 @ 17.41, 2 @ 19.50.
Many thanks to Matt Eade for the heads up that the Poms were on there way.
This Fox was on the beach in front of the sea watch hide this afternoon taking no notice of the gallery of sea watchers