Glaucous Gull!

A quick stop at the southern end of the ARC on my way to the fishing boats saw at least 13 Bewick Swans and 2 Great White Egrets of note.

At the fishing boats the sea was covered in birds, 1,000s of Cormorants and smaller numbers of Great-crested Grebes, Guillemots and Razorbills with Gannets diving in among them all feeding on what must have been a huge shoal of fish very close inshore.

 Atmospheric image of 1 of many Gannets at the fishing boats this morning

08.00-09.00 from the fishing boats:

Brent Geese: 48 up
Red-throated Diver: 108 down    18 up
Great-crested Grebe: c300 around
Gannet: c150 around
Oystercatcher: 3 up
Dunlin: c200 in a single flock in
Turnstone: 5 on beach
Caspian Gull: the regular 1w bird
Glaucous Gull: the regular 1w bird
Kittiwake: 14 down
Guillemot: c400 around

Razorbill: c200 around 

Unusual to see a Flock of c200 Dunlin at Dungeness 

 1w Glaucous Gull performing at the fishing boats in very poor light

 Incoming

The Patch late morning was fairly quiet but very wet in the constant mizzle, though there was c1,000 Black-headed Gulls and c500 Herring Gulls with at least 10 colour ringed birds among them. A Peregrine was on the power station and 3 Meadow Pipits were feeding by the track.
2 visits to Scotney drew a blank on the Red-necked Grebes and the wild Geese. At Pigwell 2 Chiffchaffs and a Goldcrest by the sewage works were the best I could find there.
At Lade the Long-tailed Duck, Slavonian Grebe and Dartford Warbler were still in residence today per BD, also The Long-eared Owl was actually showing at the Dipping Pool today.