12/12/2022

Golden Plover behind the boats this morning

A short and  not unexpectedly poor sea watch this morning

09.00-09.45 from the boats:

Red-throated Diver: 2W       22 on sea

Great-crested Grebe: 47 on

Gannet: c30 feeding 

Cormorant: c1,000 around

Turnstone: 2 on beac

Golden Plover: 1 feeding on road at turning circle behind the boats

Kittiwake: 2 feeding

Guillemot: 4 on sea

The Whooper Swans gleaming in a brief sunny spell at the ARC this morning

From Hanson this morning the usual wildfowl, Herons and Marsh Harriers, a ring tail Hen Harrier was seen before I arrived. 

A couple of visits to Cockles Bridge today failed to find the Dotterel among the Golden plovers and Lapwings, probably due to my incompetence. 4 Cattle Egrets were present.

The glossy Ibis and the Green-winged Teal were still present today per JY.

The Bewick Swans are still on Walland Marsh, also reasonable numbers of Thrushes in the hedgerows there.

On the sward at Scotney I found no wild Grey Geese, just 3 Brent Geese and 12 Barnacle geese of any note.

1 of 4 Cattle Egrets at Cockles Bridge today

The Bewick Swans have relocated back to Baynham Farm where they spent last winter

11/12/2022

The Bewick Swan herd on Walland has increased to 35 including 17 juveniles an excellent number, hopefully more will arrive in the coming days. The family of 6 with adult with the crooked neck that left the ARC the other afternoon  has joined the herd

The Swans in the background are Mutes

Despite the winter weather the juvenile Dotterel was still opposite Cockles Bridge today, usually associating with c200 Golden Plover, the 2 Whooper Swans were at the southern end of the ARC today and the Green-winged Teal was also still present today on Burrowes, where 2 1w Caspian Gulls could be seen. Still no Smew or Goosanders and only small numbers of Goldeneye. With the wind picking up from the east this week hopefully more birds will arrive and the sea watching might be worthwhile.

I was down Galloways before dawn today looking for Owls with my thermal imager but I failed to find any, though I did locate 4 Jack Snipe and numerous Common Snipe.

2 1w Caspian Gulls

A French ringed Cormorant M 16

09/12/2022

 The Whooper Swans on the ARC in the freezing fog early this morning

One of three Cattle Egret at Cockles Bridge this morning

Little Owl on Walland Marsh this afternoon, I would never have spotted it if I hadn't been using my thermal imager

There were 19 Bewick Swans on Walland this afternoon, with at least 5 Pink-footed Geese but all were very distant. The freezing conditions seems to have bought an influx of Thrushes, as Fieldfares, Redwings, Blackbirds and a few Song Thrushes were evident on Walland and at the back of Scotney. 60+ Corn buntings, 20+ Tree Sparrows, 100+ Skylarks were around the back fields of Scotney, also still 3 Little Gulls and 3 Green Sandpipers on the western back lake, with another of each on the main lake. The large Greylag flock now has 14 Brent Geese with it and the Barnacles have increased to 12 but I saw no other Grey Geese there. I went to Galloways from just before sunset to dark, apart from 2 Ravens I saw nothing else of note. Apparently there were still some White-fronts at Dengemarsh today.

This Little Owl was easier to spot, but this is as close as I could get to it

The Whooper Swans in yesterdays glorious sunshine

4 White-fronted Geese with Greylags at the back of Dengemarsh yesterday

Family of Bewick Swans that spent yesterday on the ARC, moving off late afternoon

one of the adult Bewick Swans

Song Thrush a bird I seldom see these days

07/12/2022

Whooper Swans at the ARC today

Goldeneye at the ARC today

A Swan and Goose hunt on Walland Marsh today was relatively successful in that I found at least 8 Bewick Swans and 10 Pink-footed Geese along Hooks Wall, though they were all very distant and mostly hidden behind bushes and reeds. Small numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare were found and a single Missile Thrush but not much else. This afternoon the 2 Whooper Swans were at at the southern end of the ARC.

From Hanson 2 Goldeneye, 8 Black-tailed Godwits along with usual wildfowl and Black Plague.

7 White-fronted Geese were at the back of Dengemarsh presumably the same birds as yesterday, there was no sign of the Dotterel today, though I may have unknowingly seen it last night when I was out around Dengemarsh using a thermal imager, the fields were alive with feeding Lapwing and Golden Plover, also many Rabbits, 4 Foxes, 2 Badgers a Barn Owl and a Grey Heron were spotted with the thermal imager.

 

04/12/2022

Whooper and Bewick Swans back on Walland Marsh,  hopefully more will join them in the coming days forecasted Arctic blast.

I've not been sea watching for a few days but hope to remedy that in the coming days, though those who have spent time sea watching found it rather underwhelming.

There were still at least 16 Little Gulls on Scotneys western most back pit which is all in East Sussex, the sand pit also East Sussex held 2 Green Sandpipers and a Common Sandpiper. 2,000+ each of Golden Plover and Lapwing with at least 8 Ruff can be found at the back of Scotney, along with Ravens, Common Buzzard, Merlin, Marsh Harriers and a ring tail Hen Harrier that has been touring the peninsula, 100s of Greylag, Canada and Egyptian Geese, with 4 Brent and 6 Barnacle Geese, so far just the 11 Pink-footed Geese have joined them but I expect more in the coming days.

A poor image of the Green-winged Teal on Burrowes Pit, hopefully better will be achieved in the coming days

Newly arrived Pink-footed Geese at the back of Scotney GP

28/11/2022

A Pallas's Warbler in the garden of Southview yesterday afternoon,  looking gorgeous despite the gloomy conditions and constant rain. Many thanks to Dave and Sheila Bunney for letting us look in there garden.

Yesterdays sea watch was one of the best I have ever experienced at Dungeness. The night before the weather forecast looked perfect for a good sea watch, though plenty of rain was forecast of which there duly was, quite often torrential. I was joined at the boats by BW, AL & RW shortly after they arrived BW spotted a Leach's Petrel, followed by AL spotting a Puffin among the steady flow of Razorbills, Gannets, Kittiwakes and Little Gulls. Late morning at the reserve the Green Winged Teal was showing albeit distantly. At lunchtime the Pallas's Warbler turned up, while watching that the news came through that an adult Sabine's Gull was lingering at the fishing boats, a couple of minutes later I was watching it when the Long-tailed Skua appeared along the beach. The light was quickly fading but as I drove across the causeway I could just about make out through the rain the Great Northern Diver on the New Diggings.

Fantastic views of an intermediate phase juvenile Long-tailed Skua that made a brief but very memorable visit to the fishing boats this afternoon.

Long-tailed skua feeding just off the beach

A superb adult Sabine's Gull at the fishing boats yesterday

Little Gulls at the fishing boats yesterday

1w Caspian Gull on the beach yesterday

Alas no sign of the Pallas's Warbler today nor the Sabine's or Long-tailed Skua. The Great Northern Diver was still present as was the Green Winged Teal. On Scotney a minimum of 33 Little Gulls could be viewed from the double bends, still no wild grey geese there.

Great Northern Diver on the New Diggings today

26/11/2021

The Glossy Ibis have taken to feeding in the pony field.

Today the Ibis were joined by 13 Cattle Egrets

Sea watching has been rather poor for the last few days apart from a trickle of Little Gulls, Kittiwakes, Gannets and Auks, so when a message from Stephen Message came through late this afternoon, saying he had seen a Green Winged Teal from Dennis's Hide but had lost it, I and Richard were quite happy to leave the fishing boats to look for the Teal. Fortunately on arrival at the the hide Stephen was able to put us straight onto the Teal in the fading light, an excellent find by Stephen.

I have spent much time wandering around Scotney lately looking for wild grey geese so far to no avail, I will keep looking. Up to 5 Little Gulls have been on the main lake with 3 more on the back lakes where I have seen c2,000 Golden Plover, Barn and Little Owl, Ravens, Marsh Harriers, Common Buzzards, Merlins and handful of Tree Sparrows.

Drake Green Winged Teal found by Stephen Message late this afternoon from Dennis's Hide