04/02/2026

 

Brent Geese passing this morning

A very poor and cold sea watch this morning. 

 08.00-09.00 from the hide with RW,  Wind SE 4 Temp 6º

Brent Goose: 72E     in 3 parties

Common Scoter: 1E     

Kittiwake: 9E    

Black-headed Gull: present   

Common Gull: 38E

Herring Gull: present

Great Black-backed Gull: present 

Auk sp: 73E      12W

Red-throated Diver: 23E       6W

Fulmar: 1W

Gannet: 12E   3W

Cormorant: present

Whilst I was having a late breakfast the Lesser Whitethroat(halimodendri) on the feeders entertained me 

A long walk around the Scotney Complex in glorious sunshine, saw 1,000s each of Lapwing and Golden Plover, Avocet was new for year for me on flat pit also the Little Stint there, the 1w drake Scaup was on the flooded sand pit, there were several Marsh Harriers hunting the game strips but still no Hen Harrier coming in my direction. The 3 Whooper Swans have now moved from East Sussex to Kent and were feeding in fields at the back of Bretts.

Golden Plover, Lapwing and Dunlin on the Scotney Sward

2 adult and a juvenile Whooper Swan at the back of Bretts

Little Owl

2 more Whooper Swans were moving between Cockles Bridge and the ARC, a Black-tailed Godwit on the new Boulderwall flood was my first of the year,

On Walland Marsh the 4 Bean Geese and 3 Pink-footed Geese were moving between Ashentree Lane/Hook Wall and Beaconsfield Flood, the Bewick Swans were still around Ashentree. I heard no reports of White-fronted Geese today.

Jack Snipe

Great White Egret

2 Whooper Swans vacating the ARC as I arrived

02/02/2026

A few Pintails on the move this morning

  07.50-10.00 from the hide with JY, RW, OL  Wind ESE 4 Temp 6º

Brent Goose: 16E

Shelduck: 3E

Gadwall: 2E

Wigeon: 11E  

Pintail: 33E      6W 

Teal: 6W

Common Scoter: 15E     

Dunlin: 95E      150W

Kittiwake: 78E     36W

Black-headed Gull: present

Mediterranean Gull: 1E    

Common Gull: present

Herring Gull: present

Great Black-backed Gull: present 

Razorbill: 548E

Guillemots: 822E 

Red-throated Diver: 356E       22W

Fulmar: 1E

Gannet: 196E   

Cormorant: 4,000+present

Grey Seal: 1 present

Another rather gloomy day on Walland Marsh, but no near as bad as yesterday when Neil Burt found 7 grey geese late afternoon which he thought were Tundra Bean Geese, but due to how far the birds were away from any viewing position and the rain he was unable to certain.

Late this morning the birds were still distant and ID was still uncertain. Early afternoon the Geese moved position and when I re-found them they were nearer to a viewing position allowing us to eventually ID them as 4 Tundra Bean Geese and 3 Pink-footed Geese. There were also at least 13 Whitefronts present. 

3 Pink-footed Geese with Whitefronts and a Greylag, Walland Marsh today

Tundra Bean Geese, Walland Marsh today

Nadine the Bewick Swan bearing a satellite tracking neck collar, this LINK allows you to follow her as she moves, as well as being able to see where she came from, an excellent web site.

Tree Sparrows on Walland Marsh today, there are pockets of them scattered around the marsh.

Lesser Whitethroat (halimodendri ) still in the garden at dusk

Whooper Swans at the back of the sand pit yesterday

31/01/2026

The Lesser Whitethroat (halimodendri) has now survived the all of January in my garden despite the weather and Sparrowhawks.

 07.45-10.30 from the hide with JY, RW, OL  Wind SSW 5  Temp 7º

Brent Goose: 1W      12E

Wigeon:  8W      68E   

Teal: 31W

Common Scoter: 17E     1W

Great-crested Grebe: 1E

Oystercatcher: 1E

Kittiwake: 193W       26E

Black-headed Gull: present

Mediterranean Gull: 6E    2W

Common Gull: present

Herring Gull: present

Great Black-backed Gull: present 

Razorbill: 50W

Auks sp: 1760W        140E  

Red-throated Diver: 25E       464W

Fulmar: 2W     3E

Gannet: 57E     261W

Cormorant: present

Birding the last few days has been very hard work, mainly due to poor weather and the reserve being closed for a couple of days. It was good to get out on my bike today after the sea watch, with the dividend of coming across 3 Whooper swans.

2 adult and a juvenile Whooper Swans on the flooded Jurys Gap sand pit

2 adult and a juvenile Whooper Swans flying out to the fields to feed

                             2 adult and a juvenile Whooper Swans feeding in the fields

1w drake Scaup asleep on Scotney main pit from the double bends

Ruff on the Scotney Sward

26/01/2026

Birding arouns the peninsula was hard work today in the grim conditions. A cold SE wind with mist/drizzle made walking around unpleasant which I didn't do for very long. Unsurprisingly there was very little local news,

A beautifully camouflaged Jack Snipe 

 

1 of 2 Water Pipits that kept there distance in the gloom

A party of 16 Reed Buntings were feeding at the top of hayfield 3, along the bridleway which is very muddy and pretty much impassable without wellies due to vehicles and diggers.

A 1w Caspian Gull at Dengemarsh

The Lesser Whitethroat is still present today. This image taken on the 24th when we had a few minutes of sunshine.

23/01/2026

Guillemot and a Razorbill from the fishing boats

 08.00-10.00 from the hide with RW & 13.30-16.10 with DW from the boats Wind SSE 7  Temp 6º

 

Teal: 3W

Common Scoter: 4E     1W

Little Gull: 1W

Kittiwake: 286W   124E

Black-headed Gull: present

Common Gull: present

Caspian Gull: 5W

Herring Gull: present

Yellow-legged Gull: 1W

Great Black-backed Gull: present 

Lesser Black-backed Gull: 1W

Black Guillemot: 1E

Razorbill: 184E      84W

Guillemot: 1845E     1596W    

Red-throated Diver: 2E       27W

Fulmar: 4E

Gannet: 1782E     168W

Cormorant: present

Grey Seal: 11 present 

Some of the c3,000 Cormorants off the fishing boats this afternoon

A feeding frenzy at the fishing boats this afternoon

1w Caspian Gull

3w Caspian Gull

2w colour ringed Polish Caspian Gull and a 3w Caspian Gull

There are 3 Caspian Gulls in this image

Jack Snipe at the ARC late morning

My garden Lesser Whitethroat was still present lunchtime

22/01/2026

Todays sea watches were virtually a repeat of yesterday and I dare say tomorrow will be the same, but you've got to keep trying if you want to see the odd gem or two.

1 0f 8 Grey Seals present at the fishing boats this afternoon photobombing a Gannet

 08.00-10.00 from the hide with RW & PE 13.00-14.45 with RW from the boats Wind SSE 5  Temp 7º

Brent Goose: 48E

Wigeon: 2E   

Teal: 9W

Common Scoter: 14E     1W

Red-breasted Merganser: 2E

Little Gull: 1E

Kittiwake: 146W  

Black-headed Gull: present

Common Gull: present

Herring Gull: present

Great Black-backed Gull: present 

Razorbill: 33E      157W

Guillemot: 325E     1367W    

Red-throated Diver: 42E       283W

Fulmar: 3W     5E

Gannet: 17E     325W

Cormorant: present

Harbour Porpoise: 1

Grey Seal: 8 present which seemed to be getting frisky.

Guillemots from the fishing boats this afternoon

A very distant Whooper Swan at the back of Scotney Farm late morning

A brisk walk late morning to the back of Scotney saw 1,000s each of Lapwing and Golden Plover and 100s of Wigeon, a Whooper Swan was the best find, a very distant bird in with some Mute Swans.

There was no news of anything else around the peninsula, we seem to be in the winter doldrums.

9 Teal west past the fishing boats this afternoon

Normandy rung Great Black-backed Gull 4A4 at the fishing boats this afternoon a fairly regular bird

The Lesser Whitethroat still surviving in the garden today

20/01/2026

 Most of my day was taken up with sea watching and witnessed the first push of 2026 of East bound Brent Geese with a minimum of  429 individuals, also 1,000s of Razorbills and Guillemots moving between Rye and Lade Bays, along with several 100s of Kittiwakes.  

Brent Geese

 07.45-09.45 from the hide with PT & RW. 12.50-14.50 from the boats Wind SSE3  Temp 7º

Brent Goose: 429E

Wigeon: 7E    6W

Teal: 2W

Common Scoter: 5E     2W

Great-crested Grebe: 1E

Dunlin: 1W

Kittiwake: 479W    486E

Black-headed Gull: present

Mediterranean Gull: 2E   2W

Common Gull: present

Herring Gull: present

Great Black-backed Gull: present 

Razorbill: c1,1200E         c1,100W

Guillemot: c1,200E        c1,800W    

Red-throated Diver: 279E       128W

Fulmar: 1W     1E

Gannet: 443E       72W

Cormorant: present

Harbour Porpoise: 1

Grey Seal: 4 present

Common Seal: 1

There was very little change around the peninsula, the Great Northern Diver, Bewick and Whooper Swans were all insitu, there was no news on any wild Grey Geese today.

Guillemots and Razorbills

Guillemots

Razorbills

Gannets

Kittiwakes

One of 5 Seals at the fishing boats this afternoon

Yes, the Lesser Whitethroat is still in the garden today