Swifts

A couple of hours sea watch 08.00-10.00 was rather slow this morning with:

Diver sp.: 1E

Gannets: N/C but small numbers mainly moving west

Common Scoter: 26E

Merlin: 2 in off

W£himbrel: 4E

Arctic Skua: 2E

Little Tern: 1E

Arctic Tern: 1E

Common Terns: c170 off shore

Mediterranean Gull: 1W

Swift: 5 in off

Black Redstart: 1 Singing behind the hide.



 On the reserve 6 Whimbrel by the entrance track. On Burrowes of note 9 Swifts, 20+ Swallows, 10+ House Martins and 2 Wigeon. A northern Wheatear at Christmas Dell. On Dengemarsh 2 Garganey, 1 Ruff, 1 Black-tailed Godwit and the Bittern could be heard booming.

 Another hours sea watch this afternoon produced 4 Arctic Skuas in one flock, and a few Kittiwake, Gannets, Common and Sandwich Terns.

At the south end of the ARC Pit this afternoon 2 Ringed Plovers, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Oystercatchers, 14 Yellow Wagtails, 5 White Wagtails and a Little Egret.

A Soggy Dungeness Seawatch

From the seawatch hide 07.00- 15.00:
Black-throated Diver: 6E
Diver sp: 3E
Fulmar: 3E 16W
Manx Shearwater: 7E  9W
Gannet: 224E  248W
Brent Geese: 20E
Common Scoter: 342E
Shelduck: 6E
Oystercatcher: 2E
Knot: 1E
Bar-tailed Godwit: 243E
Whimbrel: 10E
Arctic Skua: 30E
Great Skua: 58E
Kittiwake: 24W
Little Gull: 22E 1 flock
Black Tern: 4E
Sandwich Tern: 122E
Common Tern: 1194E
Guillemot: 1 on sea
Razorbill: 1 on sea
Auk sp.: 129W
Swallow 1 in off
Harbour Porpoise: 3+ off shore

Another Plod

I arrived at the Military Canal at Warehorne at 05.00 for a dawn start of this tetrad which drew a blank for Nightingales yesterday. By 08.00 I had plodded around all the suitable habitat and still no Nightingales. I did find my first Lesser Whitethroat of the year, but for some reason the dawn chorus was very quiet and short lived. I feel sure I will find Nightingales there some time next week.
A sea watch from the hide 10.00-11.15 was very poor:
Gannet: 17E  6W
Common Scoter: 48E
Bonxie: 2E
Swallow: 1 in off
Linnet: 4 in off
Harbour Porpoise: 2 off shore.

At the ARC Pit a drake Garganey at the south end with a pair of Teal.
In the car park several Tree Sparrows, a Common Whitethroat and a Sedge Warbler. From Hanson the Long-tailed Duck, 1 Little Ringed Plover, a singing Reed Warbler, 2 Marsh Harriers and a Sparrowhawk.
In the Willow Trail a Chiffchaff, 2 Cetti's Warblers and 4 Speckled Wood butterfly's.
By the track to the reserve 6 Whimbrel and 2 Marsh Harriers. The car park at the centre was packed, so I drove round to Dengemarsh Road and walked the path round the flooded fields, where little was seen but to more Garganey on Dengemarsh.
Driving back across Walland 2 Marsh Harriers, 2 Common Buzzards, several Tree Sparrows, 4 Corn Buntings and 3 Yellowhammers by the rubbish pile.

Nightingales

I arrived at Orlestone Forest at 04.15 in the dark this morning to do the first offical visit for the Nightingale survey. As I opened the car door Nightingales could be heard along with a couple of Tawny Owls. I made my way to the furthest end of my tetrads slipping and tripping in the mud and streams that were the clean dry footpaths a week ago. As dawn broke the forest came alive with bird song Mistle and Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, Robins, Wrens, Blackcaps, Nuthatches, Green Woodpeckers, a Cuckoo called from the top of conifer in the growing light and most importantly Nightingales. I arrived back at the car at 07.15 after covering the first tetrad having located 18 singing Nightingales. The second tetrads habitat is not nearly as good for Nightingales but I was still very disappointed not to find any Nightingales. I will have to go back for another go round it at dawn another day.
At Dungeness a seawatch from the hide 09.30-12.00 was not very productive:
Red-throated Diver: 1E
Black-throated Diver: 1E
Manx Shearwatewr: 1W
Fulmar: 1W
Gannet: 22E  7W
Brent Geese: 5E
Common Scoter: 182E
Guillemot: 1 off shore
Mediterranean Gull 1st W: 1W
Bonxie: 1E
Arctic Skua: 3E
Common Tern: 200-300 off shore
The only other birds of note were 8 Whimbrel by the reserve entrance track.

A Disappointing Day at Dunge

I made the choice today having a lay in, with the last 2 mornings bringing excellent sea watches, it could not happen again today, and it didn't. When I arrived at the hide the occupants informed in no uncertain terms that there was sea passage today.  Just a few distant Bonxies and a couple of Divers and the Terns and Gannets tooing and froing off shore. 

At least the Wheatears like the anti predator fence!

A plod around the reserve found little of note. A northern Wheatear at Christmas Dell, a Green Sandpiper and a Common Tern on Dengemarsh, a few Swallows and the obligatory Marsh Harriers.
On the ARC Pit from Hanson the Long-tailed Duck, 2 Little Ringed Plovers and little else. At the south end 2 more LRPs, 2 Yellow Wagtails and a Common Snipe.
Another hours sea watch from the fishing boats produced just a few Terns and Gannets.
A look at Scotney on the way found nothing of note.   

Bonxie day record for Dungeness

A superb day long sea watch mainly from the hide 06.30-17.00:

Red-throated Diver: 7E
Black-throated Diver: 24E
Diver sp.: 2E
Fulmar: 28E 22w
Manx Shearwater: 65w
Gannet: 814E   381w
Brent Geese: 108E
Eider: 6E
Common Scoter: 428E
Whimbrel: 7E
Arctic Skua: 53E
Great Skua: 267E   A day record for Dungeness
Mediterranean Gull: 3E
Kittiwake: 27E  5w
Sandwich Tern: N/C  Several hundred off shore and past
Common Tern: N/C  several hundred off shore and past
Auk sp.: 8+

Bonxies

Bonxie

Arctic Skua

Black-throated Divers

Skua's come with the storm

Dungeness Sea Watch Hide 07.30-13.00    14.00-15.00 The Point:
Red-Throated Diver: 9E
Fulmar: 18E  7w
Manx Shearwater: 2E  1w
Brent Geese: 191E
Common Scoter: 287E  29 w
Velvet Scoter: 6E
Eider: 1 drifted E
Red-breasted Merganser: 8E
Oystercatcher: 1E
Kittiwake: 8E  3w
Arctic Skua: 18E
Great Skua: 39E
Skua sp: 1E
Gannet, Sandwich Tern and Common Tern: N/C but good numbers tooing and froing off shore
Harbour Porpoise: 2 off shore

2 Northern Wheatears by the car park. This afternoon at the ARC Pit 8 Swallows, 3 House Martins, 2 Common Whitethroats, 2 Sedge Warblers, 2 Chiffchaffs, 3 Cetti's Warblers and 1 Wigeon.

2w Iceland Gull Demise

The sea passage this morning was again virtually non existant as were migrants around the point. In the ARC Pit car park a Sedge Warbler was singing as was a Common Whitethroat, 4 Tree Sparrows were in the brambles there.

 Moving on to the reserve which was not yet open, the Long Tailed duck was in front of Dennis's Hide and 2 Swallows flew through. From Firth Hide I spotted what looked like an Iceland Gull but the light was so poor I had to move on to Makepiece Hide to get a better view. The gull was distant and looked very sickly. DW joined me and found a Yellow-legged Gull and also spotted a Garganey back in front of Firth hide. We moved back to Firth to get better views of the Garganey which eventually flew off to the other end of the pit. Unfortunately while the bird was on show the light for photography was dreadful. 

 Plodding further round the reserve a Northern Wheatear was at Christmas Dell and 2 more Garganey were on Dengemarsh as was another 2 Swallows and the Bittern Booming from the viewpoint. On the way back to the car I had another look at the 2w Iceland Gull which now looked very poorly, constantly retching as if something was stuck in its throat. By the reserve centre 2 Yellow Wagtails and a White Wagtail. Returning to the ARC car park 2 Marsh Harriers were displaying high over head. Making my way to the Screen Hide 2 Reed Warblers in the Tower Pits and another Garganey and 6 Little Egrets in front the hide. On my way to the fishing boats for an afternoon sea watch I stopped at the south end of the ARC Pit where there was 6 Yellow Wagtails and a stunning White Wagtail. The sea watch produced nothing so I went back to the reserve to have another look at the Iceland Gull. I quickly relocated it, unfortunately it was now dead.

North Easterly ruins the day

Little or no movement at sea today. Just 3 Brent Geese, a few Common Scoter and 16 Mediterranean Gulls past, with a few Sandwich Terns, Common Terns and Gannets tooing and froing off shore. Around the bushes 3 Chiffchaffs and a House martin over. At the ARC Pit from Hanson 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 6 Swallows, 2 House Martins and 2 Marsh Harriers. On a wind swept Burrowes Pit the Long Tailed Duck was the only bird of note. Scotney was an avian desert barring the Herring Gulls.
Even a scout around another Nightingale Tetrad found very little due to the cold strong North Easterly wind. 

Nightingales

Crossbill always high in the trees today

 With the forecast for Strong North Easterlies I thought I'd spend some time plodding round and checking out one of my Nightingale tetrads. As I got out of the car at Faggs Wood I could hear the first one of 9 today. Also round the wood still a few flocks of Crossbills a 26, an 8, a 4 and a 12 mainly coming into the bomb crater area. No Lesser Pecker today but several Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 6 Bullfinches, 4 Treecreepers and 4 pairs of Nuthatch including the very vocal pair in the car park, 18 singing Chiffchaffs, 3 singing Willow Warblers, 5 singing Blackcaps, 1 Woodcock and 2 Common Buzzards over the woods. A very pleasant and rewarding plod but it seems I did miss a fairly good sea watch.

Nightingale (Must learn how to use photoshop)