Deserted Dunge

Pulling in to an empty ARC car park this morning with a bitter NE wind blowing across the pit a Great White Egret flew over towards Boulderwall Farm. From Hanson 3 red head Smew and still several hundred of Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall and Shoveler. A plod around the Willow Trail was birdless except for flushing a Marsh Harrier from the reed bed from the viewing mound. 

 From the causeway on New Diggings 12 Smew including 2 drakes and 6 Little Egrets tucked up in the NE corner. At the south end of the ARC 2 red head Smew and a Peregrine over.

 On the sea still plenty of Auks, Grebes, Kittiwakes and a fed Red Throated Divers tooing and froing off shore but I was unable to find the Glaucous or Caspian Gull.

 On the reserve my first Goosander of the year a fine drake and 1 Avocet both on Burrowes. At Christmas Dell  2 Stonechats and 4 Marsh Harriers. Denge Marsh held 8 Little Grebe and 150+ Greylag and Canada Geese. Early afternoon on Hookers pit a surprise in the form of a Long Tailed Duck. Presumably the long staying ARC bird.  

 After a chat with SB in the reserve centre he prompted me to take the short trip to Dover to try for the 2w Kumlien's Gull.

 As I walked down the pier I could only see 2 fisherman and no other birders, looking east into the harbour I could see 6 other birders on the inner pier scoping a flock of gulls on the ramp. Great I got the wrong pier, as I turned a white winged gull came out of the sun and grabbed a fish thrown by one of the fisherman and promptly disappeared. A short while later the fisherman threw another fish back and the bird appeared again but sat on the sea with its fish tight to the pier wall. The only way i could get a shot of it was to lay on the wall and hang over the side, stupid really but it had to be done hence the shaky images. When it flew it stuck tight to the wall and disappeared. I waited around for a while and a Kittiwake landed beside me in perfect light but as the pier shuts at 1600 I had to go. Walking round the circular bit in the middle, there is a trough with 2 taps and as i got a few feet from it I suddenly saw the gull the other side of it. I was to close for any shots so I backed off and managed to fire 3 quick shots as the gull dropped over the edge out of sight.