A few migrants!

06.35-08.05 from the fishing boats with AJG who kindly collated the numbers: 

Brent Goose: 327 down

Shelduck: 1 up

Wigeon: 52 down, 46 in

Pintail: 16 down

Common Scoter: 3 down, 7 up

Gannet: 14 around

Ringed Plover: 2 up

Dunlin: 1 up

Arctic Skua: usual 6 around

Meadow Pipit: c150 out

Alba Wagtail: 11 out

Yellow Wagtail: 2 out

Swallow: 49 out

Reed Bunting: 3 over  heard only

Wheatear 1 of  a minimum 27 around The Desert area

I spent most of the rest of the day wandering around The Desert where for a change every bush seemed to have birds in. My totals as follows, 5 Firecrests, 3 Goldcrests, 5 Spotted Flycatchers, 3 Common Redstarts, 3 Black Redstarts, 12 Stonechats, 27 Wheatears, 2 Whinchats, 21 Skylarks, 17+ Reed Buntings  c150 Meadow Pipits, 200+ Hirundines, 127 Chiffchaffs, a Willow Warbler, 9 Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler, a Sedge Warbler, 3 Reed Warblers, 2 Grey Wagtails, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 35 Alba Wagtails, 3 Common Buzzards, 5 Kestrels and a Hobby.

Chiffchaff 1 of at least 127 around The Desert area

Reed Bunting in The Desert

1 of at least 5 Spotted Flycatchers around The Desert area

A very pale Common Buzzard over The Desert area

2 Curlew Sandpipers from Hanson

Late afternoon at the ARC from Hanson 2 Curlew Sandpipers, 3 Little Stints, 38 Black-tailed Godwits, 9 Dunlin, 50+ Golden Plover, 2 Black Terns, a Red-necked Grebe, an adult male Merlin and the usual wildfowl. 

Maybe Tomorrow!

Birding can be very cruel, with a light S.E breeze blowing yesterday, all night and this morning with cloud cover I was hoping for a day of non stop sea passage and lots of grounded migrants, maybe tomorrow.
06.45-08.45 from the fishing boats with AJG who collated the numbers:
Brent Goose: 148 down
Wigeon: 86 down
Teal: 10 down
Shoveller: 8 down
Common Scoter: 24 down,
Gannet: 72 around
Kestrel: 1 out
Oystercatcher: 3 up
Great Skua: 2 up
Arctic Skua: between 5 and 8 around
Mediterranean  Gull: 2 around(1 adult, one first winter)
Sandwich Tern: 198 down
Common Tern: 7 down
Swallow: 875 out
House Martin: 3 out
Meadow Pipit: 420 out
Alba Wagtail: 14 out

 Spotted Flycatcher in The Desert

Around the Desert and bushes today, 4 Wheatears, a Spotted Flycatcher, 14+ Blackcaps, a Common Whitethroat, 3 Firecrests, 2 Goldcrests, a Chiffchaff, 2 Skylarks, 100+ Meadow Pipits, 16 Pied Wagtails, 3 Black Redstarts, 6 Stonechats also c800 Swallows and c200 House Martins all moving SE.

 2w Mediterranean Gull at the fishing boats

A very poor sea watch this afternoon.
14.30-16.00 from the fishing boats:
Brent Goose: 51 down
Common Scoter: 2 up
Great-crested Grebe: 1 around
Gannet: 17 up
Dunlin: 3 down
Arctic Skua: 4 around
Mediterranean Gull: 1 around
Kittiwake: 1 down
Sandwich Tern: c30 around
Harbour porpoise: 4+
Grey Seal: 1

 Red-necked Grebe from the causeway

At the ARC late afternoon the red-necked grebe was showing well from the causeway. At Hanson a Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Little Stints, 12 Dunlin among the Lapwings and wildfowl, also 2 Black Terns, 2 Great White Egrets and 2 little Egrets. 

 Clancy's Rustic

Some nice moths in the MV this morning including my first Clancy's Rustic.

 Delicate 1 of 3 today

 Four Spotted Footman

Gem

Red-backed Shrike

At the ARC this weekend the Red-necked Grebe was the star but always distant. Also there up to 5 Black Terns, a Black-necked Grebe, 3 Little Stints, a Curlew Sandpiper, up to 38 Black-tailed Godwits, 20+ Dunlin, a Ruff, a Hobby, an Osprey and much more including 8 Great-white Egrets which roosted Saturday evening. 

 Red-backed Shrike

Today Dave Bunney found his second Shrike of the year from his garden, this time a showy juvenile Red-backed Shrike. Elsewhere in The Desert  migrants were few and between though there was some quality in the form a Pied Flycatcher and a few Firecrests.

  Red-backed Shrike

  Red-backed Shrike

 Brown Hare in The Desert

 Brown Hare in The Desert

 Pied Flycatcher in The Moat

Firecrest at the observatory

 Arctic Skua at the fishing boats

At the fishing boats 6+ Arctic Skuas have been hanging around for a couple of weeks terrorising the Sandwich Terns, a few Great Skuas have been passing including one that dropped on to a Lesser Black Backed Gull, drowned it and started to eat it. Brent Geese and Wigeon have started to move west, a Shag was in front the sea watch hide this morning a Dungeness rarity. 

 Arctic Skua at the fishing boats

 Arctic Skua at the fishing boats

 Common Tern at the fishing boats

 Mediterranean Gull at the fishing boats

 juvenile Gannets at the fishing boats

 Brent Geese pass the fishing boats

 Distant Red-necked Grebe Saturday morning

 Wheatear in The Desert

I joined AJG in a walk around The Desert this morning seeing 5 Wheatears, 15 Chiffchaffs, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Blackcap, a Firecrest, a Goldcrest, a Hobby, 2 Yellow Wagtails over, and a few Meadow Pipits and Hirundines over. 

 Sandwich at the fishing boats

13.00-16.00 from the fishing boats with AJG:
Brent Goose: 13 down
Teal: 6 down
Wigeon: 15 down
Common Scoter: 12 up
Red-throated Diver: 1 around (summer plumaged bird)
Great-crested Grebe: 5 around
Gannet: 62 down
Turnstone: 3 on beach
Great Skua: 2 down
Arctic Skua: 7+ around
Sandwich Tern: 270 down
Guillemot: 2 down
Sand Martin: 7 out
House Martin: 154 out
Swallow: 3,821 out
Harbour Porpoise: 6+
Grey Seal: 1

Juvenile Hobby at the ARC

In 3 visits to the ARC today 3 Little Stints, a Curlew Sandpiper, 28 Black-tailed Godwits, a Common Sandpiper, 4 Black Terns, a Black-necked Grebe, a Red-necked Grebe, an Osprey, a Hobby, 2 Marsh Harriers, 4 Great White Egrets, 2 Water Rails and the usual wildfowl.

The Red-necked Grebe can sometimes be seen distantly from Hanson at the south end, if viewing from the south end please park in the gate way at the southern end of the ARC and walk back to view as the police will move you on. 

Juvenile Hobby at the ARC

A very disappointing sea watch this morning from the sea watch hide, a few Skuas, Terns and Gannets but nothing really moving.

At Denge Marsh 210 Golden Plover, 5 Ruff, 9 Common Snipe, a Dunlin and 13 Yellow Wagtails of note among the usual wildfowl and Passerines. 

 Great White Egret from Hanson

In 2 visits to Hanson today 7 Great White Egrets, 31 Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Little Stints, 2 Curlew Sandpipers, a Knot, a Ruff, 18 Dunlin, 3 Black Terns, a Water rail of  note among the usual wildfowl

 Sandwich Terns at the fishing boats

13.10-16.40 with LG & AJG who collated the numbers:
Common Scoter: 3 up
Great-crested Grebe: 8 around
Gannet: 89 down
Great Skua: 1 down
Arctic Skua: 10 down
Kittiwake: 1 down
Sandwich Tern: 438 down
Common Tern: 1 down
Black Tern: 1 down
Sand Martin: 17 out
House Martin: 183 out
Swallow: c2,000 out

 Black Tern at the fishing boats

Arctic Skua at the fishing boats

Hirundines!

 Some of the Hirundines on The Point this morning

This mornings stroll around the trapping area with AJG was notable for the large number of Hirundines over the whole of the peninsula, also good numbers of Chiffchaffs, a few Blackcaps, Lesser Whitethroats, Goldcrests, a couple each of Wheatears and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Sedge Warbler  and a few Meadow Pipits over. 

 Great White Egret from Hanson

 Great White Egret from Hanson

In 2 visits to the ARC viewing from Hanson, 4 Little Stints, a Curlew Sandpiper, 39 Black-tailed Godwits, a Curlew, 18 Dunlin and a Garganey among the usual Lapwings and wildfowl all frequently being flushed by Marsh Harriers and a Peregrine. The Great White Egrets have been particularly showy catching tiny fish in front the hide. A juvenile Water Rail has also been showing there but so far has not bee fully in the open while I have been there.

 Great White Egret from Hanson

 Great White Egret from Hanson

 Juvenile Water Rail from Hanson

On the sward at Scotney 30+ Curlew, a Bar-tailed Godwit and 2 Turnstone among the masses of feral geese.

 Arctic Skua at the fishing boats

15.00-16.30 from the fishing boats with PH, E.H & AJG who kindly collated the numbers:
Common Scoter: 12 up
Great-crested Grebe: 1 around
Gannet 28 down
Arctic Skua . between min 14 and max of 19 (difficult to be specific with birds going both up and down
Sandwich Tern 226 down
Kittiwake: 1 on

Guillemot: 1down

 Male Sparrowhawk in my garden this evening

WW11 airplane engine brought ashore by a fishing boat today

Owls in The Desert!

In 3 visits to the ARC today among all the wildfowl and Lapwings, a Curlew Sandpiper, 3 Little Stints, 10 Dunlin, 12 Golden Plover, 6 Knot, 14 Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Great White Egrets, a Bittern, 2 Marsh Harriers, a Hobby, a Sparrowhawk and a juvenile Water rail of note. Many Hirundines over the lake and Chiffchaffs in the Sallows. 

 Short-eared Owl in The Desert

As I arrived at The Point today a call on the radio from LG about a Short-eared Owl at the back of Jarmans, almost immediately I was able to call him back to let him know of a Barn Owl that flew out of the Old Lighthouse Garden and ended up in The Sanctuary. As I made my way through the Broome across The Desert I flushed 2 Hares and Chiffchaffs were all around. An Osprey flew over the NE end of The Desert where 2 Wheatears were feeding, further on 2 Redstarts in bushes that were full of Chiffchaffs and small numbers of Blackcaps.

 1 of 2 Hares seen in The Desert

 Osprey over The Desert

 Chiffchaff

Wheatear in The Desert