Monday 03/02/2020

With a stiff WSW wind blowing I joined AJG who kindly collated the numbers in the sea watch hide, I was pleasantly surprised by the numbers of birds moving West, all too soon the passage dropped away.
07:35-09:15 from the sea watch hide:
Common Scoter: 17W
Red-throated Diver: 104W      2E
Fulmar: 16W
Gannet: 149W
Cormorant: c500 o/s
Knot: 40W
Kittiwake: 348W
Black-headed Gull: many present n/c
Common Gull: c400W
Herring Gull: many present n/c
Great Black-backed Gull: small numbers present n/c
Guillemot: 11W
Razorbill: 43W
Auk sp: 991W    37E

 1 of 2 Firecrests seen by the track to the pines

Mid morning along the track to the pines at the ARC produced 2 Firecrests, a Chiffchaff, a small Tit flock, several calling Cetti's Warblers, 3 Marsh Harriers over. On the lake the usual wildfowl and 2 Goldeneye of note.

Late morning at Boulderwall Fields and Tanners Pool produced the drake Smew and the now usual large numbers of Golden Plover, Lapwing and Wigeon, just a handful of Curlew and a single Great White Egret.

I had a look at Lade, Greatstone and Littlestone hoping to find some for Waders and Gulls but didn't linger due to the overwhelming numbers of dog walkers, probably if I had persevered I would have seen a few, but seeing the dogs running around the the sands flushing the birds, their owners bellowing at them to come here was too much for me put up with.

Golden Plover coming in to Scotney

Another walk at Scotney this afternoon where huge numbers of Golden Plovers, with only slightly fewer Lapwings and Wigeon in the 100s put on some superb aerial displays.

This image does not convey the huge numbers of birds that were present this afternoon

 Some of the Golden Plover flushed by a tractor

 I managed to find a single Ruff on the Sward

Barnacle Geese at Scotney

There seems to be 2 distinct flocks of Barnacle Geese at Scotney. The largest flock c180 contains the 4 Emperor  hybrids and are fairly skittish, where as the smaller flock c40 birds are quite tame. By the time I got back to the car the rain had set in.