Cattle Egrets!

I joined AJG who kindly collated the numbers in the sea watch hide 06.00-07.30:
Common Scoter: 11 up
Gannet: 146 up
Dunlin: 2 down
Arctic Skua: between 14 and 24(?) max flock size 9, so much harrying of Sandwich Terns very difficult to be sure, almost certainly some overlap.
Kittiwake: 5 down
Little Tern: 1 down
Sandwich Tern: 1574 down   51 up
Common Tern: 3 down

Juvenile Peregrine on Power station pylon this morning

A walk around the lighthouse bushes and The Desert area saw of note 4 Whinchat, 14+ Wheatear, 2 Redstarts, 20+ Common Whitethroat, 7+ Lesser Whitethroat, 6+ Blackcap, 8+ Willow Warbler, a Chiffchaff, 2 Black Redstarts, a Sparrowhawk and an adult and juvenile Peregrine on the pylons.

 Cattle Egret with a Water Vole

As MH had seen 4 Cattle Egrets drop into Denge Marsh I called into the reserve on my way home for breakfast. From the entrance track 5 Cattle Egrets could be seen. I watched an adult bird catch a what I believe was a Water Vole, it shook it violently, and beat it on the ground before swallowing it whole.

In several visits to the ARC the Pectoral Sandpiper was still present, 4+ Common Sandpipers, 24 Black-tailed Godwits, 6 Dunlin, 2 Common Snipe, 3 Garganey, 22 Little Egrets, 4 Great White Egrets, small numbers of Hirundines and a single Swift. In the Willow Trail 2 Spotted Flycatchers and a Great-spotted Woodpecker.

 Cattle Egret

 Cattle Egrets

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull

14.15-15.15 from the fishing boats with AJG

Gannet: 18 up

Arctic Skua: 6+ around

Yellow-legged Gull: 1 juv/1w around

Little Tern: 1 down

Sandwich Tern: 98 down

Common Tern: 26 down

Whinchat: 1 around

Wheatear: 3 around

Grey Seal: 1 

Harbour Porpoise 8+