Wash out!

A reasonable sea watch this morning though it was a thoroughly miserable day on the peninsula.
08.30-10.00 from the sea watch hide:

Common Scoter:1 down
Red-breasted Merganser: 1 down
Red-throated Diver: 517 down
Great-crested Grebe:56 down
Gannet: 241 down
Cormorant: n/c
Great Skua: 1 down
Kittiwake: 9 down
Guillemot: 734 down
Auk sp: 129 down

From Cockles Bridge the 7 Bewick Swans could just about be seen through the rain.

This afternoons Gull roost on the reserve produced 3 Yellow-legged Gulls and 2 3w Caspian Gulls, frustratingly there were a minimum of 11 Gulls bearing colour rings but all were unreadable due to the poor weather conditions.

AJG spent an hour freezing in the sea watch this morning, many thanks to him for sending me the results of his efforts:

07.30-08.30 

Brent Goose: 22 down

Teal: 4 down

Shoveller: 32 down

Wigeon: 22 down

Pintail:5 down

Common Scoter: 8 down

Red-throated Diver: 52 down . 59 up

Black-throated Diver: 1 down

Great-crested Grebe: 8 up

Gannet 22 around

Avocet 2 down

Auk sp 9 up

Kingfisher from Firth

A quick look at the ARC and Burrowes first thing this morning confirmed that there had been no cold weather arrival of Smew or anything else. The Willow trail held a couple of Goldcrests and Song Thrushes, also a couple of noisy Cetti's Warblers. Both lakes were very quiet.
At Scotney the lake was mill pond smooth but no new arrivals here also.
After repairing my storm damaged fence I made my way to the reserve again via Cockles Bridge where 7 Bewick swans could be seen, presumably yesterday afternoons birds that were around Burrowes.
In the Gull roost late afternoon 1 adult and 2 x 3w Caspian Gulls were of note. A Great White Egret and Kingfisher were also seen.
The details of Sundays Polish colour ringed 3w Caspian Gull are below.
Caspian Gull 26P5: Seen at Dungeness 10/12/2017

Caspian Gull colony (Larus cachinnans kolonia) []
[Ringed as a pullus released by ringer 21/05/2015, 0:0, date accurate
[PL OE] ZB.KOZIELNO,PACZKÓW, OPOLSKIE, POLAND 50°28'35.8''; 16°58'54.2'' (50.47659800; 16.98173000) accurate to the given coordinates
Jacek Betleja, Jakub Szymczak 

Date Rings Place Latitude Distance
Elapsed time		Circumstances Longitude Direction
		Finder Condition Status
25/10/2016 NOG RED 26P5 (FR 07) Berck sur Mer, PAS-DE-CALAIS, FRANCE 523 days (81) colour ring read Frédéric LEVIEZ 50°25'25.0'' 1°33'50.0'' (7) ŻYWWYP 1088 km 275° ZIM
22/09/2017 NOG RED 26P5 (FR 01) PENNEDEPIE, CALVADOS, FRANCE 855 days (81) colour ring read Tony Le Huu Nghia 49°24'28.1'' 1206 km 0°09'07.0'' 270° (7) ŻYWWYP

Bewick Swans!

First thing this morning I stupidly went to The Point (I wasn't the only one) spending half an hour peering out of the car seeing just a few Gannets, Guillemots, Kittiwakes and Cormorants, which considering a NE gale was rocking the car and driving a mixture of heavy rain, sleet and snow across the beach virtually obscuring the sea and activating the fog horn.

 Bewick Swans

Another drive around Walland Marsh looking for Wild Swans and Geese drew a blank, even Mute Swans were mostly absent.

On the reserve 5 Brent Geese were by the entrance track at Boulderwall, 2 Bewick Swans dropped onto Burrowes and 5 more Bewicks flew over per PB. 2 Caspian Gulls (adult and a 3w) were on the islands from Makepiece and a Brent Goose joined them. A kingfisher, Chiffchaff and Goldcrest were seen from Makepiece and the VC.

Adult Caspian Gull

Cold & Stormy!

Saturday morning I drove around Walland hoping the cold weather had pushed some wild Swans and Geese south, but only found a couple of small parties of Fieldfare. Most the rest of the day was spent looking at Gulls on the reserve, where at least 6 Caspian Gulls, 3 Yellow-legged Gulls and several colour ringed birds were the highlights. All the usual wildfowl were seen but still no Smew. Nearby on Lade Pit the Long-tailed Duck and Slavonian Grebe still in residence.

DW did a very disappointing Egret roost count at the ARC where only 5 Great White Egrets and 3 Little Egrets came into roost.

 3w Caspian Gull (HCL23) ringed in Latvia in May 2015 & seen at Dungeness in October 2015 and again yesterday.

 Today I didn't venture out until late though the rain was still falling and the wind rising.
10.30-11.00 from The Point:
Red-throated Diver: 8 up    3 down
Fulmar: 2 down    1 up
Gannet: 96 down    43 up
Cormorant: present n/c
Great Skua: 1 up
Kittiwake: 32 up      6 down
Guillemot: 27 up    8 down
Auk sp:   34 up       18 down
The howling gale dictated that Gull watching from Makepiece was the only viable birding to be done,  we were rewarded with at least 7 Caspian Gulls (an Adult, 3 x 3w, a 2w 2 x 1w) also 3 Yellow-legged Gulls. The highlight being a Polish red ringed 3w Caspian Gull which came in just after sunset.

Goldeneye sheltering from the storm below Makepiece

26P5 Polish ringed 3w Caspian Gull came in very late 4000 iso needed

 Adult Caspian Gull from Makepiece  taken at iso 3200 

3w Caspian Gull from Makepiece

Winter Birding!

08.00-09.30 from The Point:

Brent Goose: 2 up

Common Scoter: 1 down

Red-throated Diver: 243 down  7 up

Great-crested Grebe: 21 up

Gannet: 276 down

Cormorant: many present n/c

Merlin: 2 around

Great Skua: 3 down

Kittiwake: 29 down

Guillemot: 34 up     7 down

Auk sp: 42 up    17 down

Long-eared Owl

I spent most the rest of the day around the reserve where the Long-eared Owl was sun bathing and showing quite nicely. From Firth  hide an adult Little Gull was a surprise as was the Peregrine that put an end to the Gull watching there. Several colour ringed Herring Gulls were noted and a Raven flew over.

Peregrine on ridge in front of Firth

From Makepiece Hide 3 Caspian Gulls were located including a colour ringed 2w bird, also 2 Yellow-legged Gulls.

 Raven over Firth

Good numbers of Pintail, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Pochard, Tufted Duck and Shoveler can be seen around the reserve, only a few Goldeneye are present while Goosanders are irregular at the moment and no Smew have arrived yet. Cetti's Warblers are quite vocal at the moment as are Water Rail both of which can be heard at several places around the reserve. 3+ Kingfishers are on the reserve, Marsh Harriers, Great White and Little Egrets can easily be seen, the Cattle Egret seems very elusive though it was reported today, Bitterns are also very elusive so hopefully the colder weather may tempt them to show themselves. It looks as though this year will be the first in many years that I haven't seen Ruddy Duck.

2w Caspian Gull Yellow ringed X136

A stop off at the New Diggings on the way to the beach saw a Great White Egret, c400 Great Black Backed Gulls bathing and small numbers of the common wildfowl, but still none of the scarcer Grebes or a Diver.08.20-10.00 from the sea watch hide:

Common Scoter: 3 down
Red-throated Diver: 88 down.    9 up
Great-crested Grebe: 87 around
Gannet: 168 around
Cormorant: 361 around
Great Skua: 3 up
Kittiwake: 28 down. 16 on sea
Guillemot: 76 on.   27 up.  8 down
Auk sp: 38 up.   9 down
Grey Wagtail 2 around
Meadow Pipit: 5 around 
Harbour Porpoise: 2

Goldeneye from Makepiece Hide this afternoon

A short late morning visit to Burrowes found 3 Caspian Gulls(2 ads + 3w) and an adult Yellow-legged Gull, also a red head Goosander flew through. Again I was unable to locate the Long-eared Owl at The Dipping Pool.

 1 of 4 adult Caspian Gulls seen this afternoon from Makepiece Hide 

I spent a couple of hours this afternoon in Makepiece Hide in the company of David Walker, where we sheltered from the increasing winds, while scanning through the 3,000+ Gulls that came into the islands to roost. We found a minimum of 10 Caspian Gulls(4 x ad, 4 x 3w, 2w and a 1w), also 5 Yellow-legged Gulls also 2 Goosander flew in including a nice pink drake, 2 Goldeneye, a Common Snipe, several 100s of Lapwing and Cormorants plus the commoner wildfowl.

 1w & 2w Caspian Gulls from Makepiece this afternoon

More Gulls!

The Long-eared Owl was back in it's usual  spot behind the dipping pool yesterday, but alas no sign today, hopefully it will return.

While Gull watching on Burrowes from Firth hide yesterday 8 Goosanders made a brief appearance, despite a reasonable number of Gulls being present only a single 3rd calender year Caspian Gull was located.

This morning a quick look around Walland Marsh found no wild Swans or Geese, however later in the morning 6 Bewick Swans including 3 juveniles flew over the reserve. A minimum of 5 Caspian Gulls were located on Burrowes this morning, also an adult Yellow-legged Gull there. Other birds included c100 Dunlin, 34 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Goldeneye and the usual wildfowl. At least 2 Chiffchaffs around as well as 2+ Kingfishers per PB. Several Great White Egrets could be seen around the reserve.

 Adult Caspian Gull

Adult Caspian Gull

3rd cal yr Caspian Gull ?

I've spent quite a bit of time trying to master the vagaries of Macintosh after investing in an Imac at the weekend having had enough of the nightmare of windows 10. I have at last managed to get images on to blogger, though it was through a somewhat tortuous route of creative cloud. If there any mac users out there who know easier ways of posting images on blogger I'd love to hear from you.

Saturday

08.15-10.00 from the fishing boats:
Brent Goose:18 up 16 down
Shelduck: 1 down
Teal: 6 up 87 down 12 in
Mallard: 2 up
Wigeon: 51 up 21 downCommon Scoter: 2 up 44 down
Red-breasted Merganser: 1 up
Red-throated Diver: 137 up 15 down
Great-crested Grebe: 23 around
Gannet: c200 up & down
Cormorant: c350 around
Merlin: 1 around
Turnstone: 2 on beach
Great Skua: 1 around
Mediterranean Gull: 1 around
Kittiwake: 27 around
Guillemot: 9 on  8 down. 2 up
Auk sp: 17 up 5 downL
Starling: 197 in

1w G.B.B.Gull JC753 on the beach.

A mid morning visit to the ARC found 4 Bewick Swans including a juvenile, 30 Black-tailed Godwits, 6 Dunlin, 2 Marsh Harriers, 2 Great White Egrets, a Kingfisher & the usual wildfowl.
Early afternoon back at the fishing boats was very quiet with nothing moving.
Mid afternoon on Burrowes 8 Goosander from Dennis's hide which I missed per SO, from Firth a near adult green ringed Caspian Gull XDFP and an adult Yellow-legged Gull.

Another chilly morning on The Point with a NE wind producing a little cold weather movement:
09.15-10.40
Brent Goose: 9 up 12 down
Shelduck: 3 up
Teal: 80 down
Shoveller: 11 down
Wigeon: 8 up
Red-throated Diver: 16 up 9 down
Great-crested Grebe: 3 around
Gannet: 374 down
Cormorant: present n/c
Merlin: 1 around
Oystercatcher: 1 up
Turnstone: 3 around
Great Skua: 2 around
Mediterranean Gull: 1 around
Kittiwake: 7 down 3 around
Guillemot: 6 on 3 down
Razorbills: 1 up 1 down
Auk sp: 16 up 21 down
Redwing: 13 in
Linnet: 4 in
Reed Bunting: 1 in
On the reserve the Cattle Egret still around Cooks Pool late morning. On Burrowes an adult Caspian
Gull at midday from the visitor centre also a Peregrine resting on an island.
I had just arrived home for lunch, when I received prompt news via Owen of a Rough-legged Buzzard seen by Dave Bunney over the top end of the Long Pits heading for Lade. As I scanned the area I could see clouds of Gulls going ballistic, unfortunately I couldn't pick out the Rough-legged Buzzard.

After lunch I made my way to the Water Tower to scan again for the Buzzard but no luck.
Late afternoon from Firth only a few Gulls came in a 3w Yellow-legged Gull being the best, while their the Black-necked Grebe seen this morning by Pete put in an appearance. No sign this afternoon of the Spotted Redshank.
As my barely 2 year old Acer Nitro has now decided that it has no bootable device in it probably due to yet another Windows 10 update, so much for i7 processors, I think I will switch over to Mac. Not sure whether to get an MacBook Pro or an iMac. If anyone has any thoughts they would like to share I would be grateful. In the mean time I'll try and make do with my old iPad, but unable to post pictures.

A bitterly cold hour at the fishing boats this morning 08.20-09.20:
Red-throated Diver: 1 up   1 down
Great-crested Grebe: 14 around
Gannet: c50 feeding off shore
Cormorant: no count
Merlin: 1 around
Turnstone: 1 on beach
Great Skua: 1 around
Mediterranean Gull: 1 around
Kittiwake: 7 around
Guillemot: 4 on sea.   6 down
Razorbill: 1 on beach
Auk sp: 4 up.  15 down
A stroll along the beach once again failed to locate any Larks or Buntings.
On the reserve a drake Goosander was new, the Cattle Egret was still in the Cooks Pool area and the usual Great White Egrets could be seen.
On Walland I was unable to find the Bewick Swans though I did only look from the car, to cold to go wandering around the marsh.
Back on the reserve this afternoon in the company of DW despite good numbers of Gulls coming in to roost we were unable to find any Caspian Gulls or even Yellow-legged Gulls.