Cap Gris Nez

Long-tailed Skua, 1 of 4 today

Cap Gris Nez 06.30-14.30 TG,JC,BM and myself.
Red-throated Diver: 8s
Black-throated Diver: 1s
Manx Shearwater: 17s
Balearic Shearwater: 4s 1n
Gannet: 1275s
Brent Goose: 2s
Shelduck: 5s
Wigeon: 3
Teal: 1
Common Scoter: 292s
Merlin: 1 around
Kestrel: 2 around
Oystercatcher: 11s
Avocet: 5s
Ringed Plover: 2s
Bat-tailed Godwit: 16s
Whimbrel: 1s
Pomarine Skua: 3s
Long-tailed Skua: 4s
Arctic Skua: 74s
Bonxie: 103s
Little Gull: 2s
Kittiwake: 11s
Mediterranean Gull: 13+ around
Sandwich Tern: 891
Commic Tern: 704
Black Tern: 20s
Little Tern: 1s
Guillemot: 13s
Auk sp.: 23s
Jay: Flock of 30 out to UK (Quite a sight)
Coal: 5s
Great Tit: 2s

In the small wood  by the former German Gun Emplacements:
Short-toed Treecreepers: 3
Crested Tit: 2

From the ferry home:
Bonxie: 27
Arctic Skua: 3
Another brilliant trip. Many thanks to TG,JC and BM.

Skuas and Wagtails

From The Point this morning:

Red-throated Diver: 1E 

Balearic Shearwater: 1W

Gannet: C 150W

Common Scoter: 11E  12W

Knot: 15W

Turnstone: 3 on beach

Kittiwake: 1 juv off shore

Arctic Skua: 11+W also 1 which landed on the beach

Sandwich Tern: c100Common Tern: c25

Hirundines:c500W

 At The Patch 1 Black Tern, 1 Little Gull, 2 Mediterranean Gulls among the usual Gulls and Wheatear on the sea wall on the way back.

 At the ARC from Hanson The Pectoral Sandpiper still present, 5 Dunlin, 1 Redshank, 1 Common Sandpiper, c100 Golden Plover, 6 Little Egrets, a Bar-headed Goose among the Greylags, 1 Hobby and c300 Sand martins over the pit.

 Round the Tower Pits of note 20+ Chiffchaffs, 4 Common Whitethroats, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 100+ Sand Martins and 2 Marsh Harriers.

 At Dengemarsh of note 2 Marsh Harriers, a flock of c100 Linnets and 20 Greenfinches and 50+ Yellow Wagtails on the newly ploughed fields.

 The summer plumaged Red-throated Diver still on the pit behind the caravan park.

With north westerlies forecast for tonight and tomorrow an early start for the ferry to Calais and a sea watch at Cap Gris Nez tomorrow. 

A Little Better

 

Off shore from The Point this morning a minimum of 7 Arctic Skuas beating up the terns and a few more moved through west, along with a steady trickle of Gannets, Sandwich Terns and a few Common Terns, 3 Kittiwakes, a couple of Common Scoter and 7 Bar-tailed Godwits. Passerines were represented by 50+ Meadow Pipits, 6+ Yellow Wagtails, a steady movement south of Swallows and Sands Martins and a Sparrowhawk that probably came in.

 A plod around The Desert, Lloyds and West Beach was very disappointing, finding just 4 Common Whitethroats, 5 Chiffchaffs and 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers.
A report of White-rumped Sandpiper on the reserve on Burrowes Pit at the moment seems to have been just that. Myself and CT were quickly at Burrowes and the only waders we could find were a juvenile Knot and a Ringed Plover. Also 2 Peregrines flew over.

 On the ARC from Hanson highlights were 2 Little Stints ad+juv, Pectoral Sandpiper, 4 Dunlin, 1 Common Sandpiper, 7 Pintail among the Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal and Wigeon, 6 Little Egrets, a distant Marsh Harrier and c200 Sand Martins.

Record of Pectoral Sandpiper and ad.Little Stint on the ARC 

 At Scotney the Red-throated Diver still on the small lake behind the caravan site.

Slim Pickings

At sea from The Point this morning a trickle of Gannets and Sandwich Terns moving west, c15 Common Scoter off shore and a small southward movement of Swallows and Sand Martins. Round the bushes very little of note a Few Chiffchaffs and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. At the ARC the Little Stint lingers on with 14 Dunlin, c50 Golden Plover, 2 Black-tailed Godwits, 6 Pintail still 2 Hobbys and a Peregrine.

A nice looking bird, pity about the poor light.

Bird of the day was the summer plumaged Red-throated Diver found on one of the Scotney Pools by DW doing a WEBs count and after waiting one and half hours it finally claim close enough to allow record shots. Other birds of note at Scotney were 7 Bar-tailed Godwits and a Black-tailed Godwit

 

A Lazy Day

A late morning visit to the ARC from Hanson found 1 Little Stint, 14 Dunlin, c100 each of Golden Plover and Lapwing, 1 Snipe, 6 Pintail among the usual wildfowl, 1 Kingfisher, 2 Marsh Harriers, 1 Peregrine, 1 Hobby and 3+ Chiffchaffs round the hide.
A couple of hours lunchtime spent at the obs, chatting and watching a Spitfire and a Hurricane being filmed overhead. Also a couple of Sparrowhawks and a juvenile female Peregrine over. These  exertions  were followed by another couple of hours on the reserve in Firth Hide in the company of DW and GH waiting for the Pectoral Sandpiper to come close enough to photograph which it finally did when there was just the 3 of us left.

Pectoral Sandpiper

Sea Watching from The Point 06.50-10.20 TG,DW,MC.

Red-throated Diver: 1W my first of the autumn
Fulmar: 2E
Balearic Shearwater: 7W
Gannet: c200 around
Pintail: 1 in
Common Scoter: 15 o/s
Arctic Skua: 12W
Little Gull: 1W
Mediterranean Gull: 1W 
Sandwich Tern: c200W
Common Tern: c20W
Guillemot: 8W
Grey Plover: 2W
Knot: 2W
Swallow: 285 out
Sand Martin: 15 out
Harbour Porpoise: 6+ o/s

Pectoral Sandpiper

 On ARC from Hanson 2 Little Stints (ad+juv) 4 Dunlin, 3 Golden Plover (c200 appeared to go into Kerton Road Pit), 1 Hobby, c200 Sand Martins, 2 Marsh Harriers, 6 Little Egrets and 6 Pintail among the usual wildfowl.

 On the reserve the Pectoral Sandpiper was in front of Firth hide where a Ringed Plover and a Greenshank dropped in briefly also several 100s of Sand Martin and Swallow over Burrowes.  At Dengemarsh 2 Great White Egrets, 6 Little Egrets, 2 Marsh Harriers, a Hobby, 2 Yellow Wagtails and a Raven over.

 

Gulls, Dragons and a Spitfire

 

The Patch was very quiet this morning with just 2 Common Terns and 2 Sandwich Terns with a few Gulls and a single Wheatear on the sea wall.

Great black Backed Gull

  The fishing boats were just as quiet with the Yellow-legged Gull in its usual place and a colour ringed GBB Gull among the other loafing gulls

Yellow;legged Gull

On the ARC from Hanson the adult Little Stint, 4 Dunlin, c60 Golden Plover, 8 Little Egrets, 2 Pintails and 26 Wigeon among the numerous Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal and Mallard.

  On the way back to the car park I finally managed a decent flight shot of a Migrant Hawker.

 A walk up to the pines found the sallows held 10+Chiffchaffs, 2 Willow Warblers, 4 Sedge Warblers, 2 Reed Warblers, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Common Whitethroats, 1 Blackcap and large Tit flock of Great, Blue and Long Tailed Tits also seen there 2 Marsh Harriers, a Common Buzzard and a Hobby.
While I was at the pines a Spitfire spent a few minutes circling overhead.

 

By the track to the reserve centre near the gull roost a Whimbrel skulked. In Firth hide I met Mike Hook hoping to get shots of a very uncooperative Pectoral Sandpiper, and while we were  chatting  saw 1+Marsh Harrier, 2 Pintail fly by as did a distant Hobby. Round the rest of the reserve 2 Great White egrets, 6 Little Egrets, 2 Hobbys, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Marsh Harriers, 4 Ravens, 6 Cetti's Warblers, 5 Chiffchaffs, 1 Blackcap, 4 Common Whitethroats and 3 Dunlin.



14.00-1600 from the fishing boats;
5 Dark Bellied Brent Geese W
58 Wigeon (45,9,4) W
4 Arctic Skuas off shore
1 Guillemot W
And few each of Common and Sandwich Terns and gannets off shore
8+ Harbour Porpoises off shore.

Painted Lady

Painted Lady Shoreham by Sea

Around The Marsh

 

Sea watching from The Point this morning was some what slow with 3+ Arctic Skuas off shore as was a single Little Gull small numbers of Common and Sandwich Terns, c100 Gannets a couple of Guillemots and 4+ Harbour Porpoises.

At the ARC the Great White Egret flew over New Diggings towards Dengemarsh and from Hanson the adult Little Stint still, 2 Common Sandpipers, c 200 Lapwing and 50+ Golden Plover along with the usual wildfowl.

On the reserve the Pectoral Sandpiper still on Burrowes best viewed from the centre, 20+ Yellow Wagtails and a Hobby at Dengemarsh and 3+ Marsh Harriers.

Dengemnarsh Gully held 3 Wheatears, a Stonechat, a Chiffchaff and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.



 At Scotney 150+ Golden Plover, 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Bar-Tailed Godwit, 2 Bar-headed Geese, 2 Marsh Harriers, a Common Buzzard and 10+ Yellow Wagtails.
Across Walland the usual Tree Sparrow flocks, 2 Marsh Harriers and a Stoat while I was scanning the prairie like fields for Dotterel or Bustards.

Much The Same

At sea from The Point this morning the usual Gannets, Common and Sandwich Terns along with 2 Little Gulls, 3 Arctic Skuas, 4 Harbour Porpoises a trickle of Swallows, House and Sand Martins out and 2 Turnstones and a Yellow-legged Gull on the beach.

At the ARC a Little Stint, 2 Common Sandpipers, 3 Dunlin, c50 each of Golden Plover and Lapwing were the highlights. On the reserve the Pectoral Sandpiper still from |Firth hide and the Great White Egret at dengemarsh.
Another hours sea watch from the fishing boats this afternoon produced much the same as this morning probably the same birds.
At Scotney c200 Golden Plover, a Black-tailed Godwit, a Curlew and a Whimbrel.