The Beast!

 As I arrived at The Patch this morning the beast was waiting for me atop the bund

An excellent morning at The Patch this morning in the company of the new assistant observatory warden Jacques Turner-Moss. Again today1,000s of Gull present (a short video of them can be viewed The Patch.) The regular 1w Glaucous Gull was present all morning, 2 adult Yellow-legged Gulls were found and a minimum of 4 Mediterranean Gulls and 16 colour rings were read including a Danish ringed Mediterranean Gull. A few Gannets were off shore and 129 Brent Geese in 2 flocks flew east.

 Glaucous fly by

 Probably Danish ringed Mediterranean Gull 3NPV

 Suffolk ringed Herring Gull VNF

 Dunlin feeding on the brash ice on the ARC viewed from the causeway

A quick walk around the trapping area/Desert late morning found just a Common Snipe of interest.

Driving across the causeway I noticed a small wader on the brash ice on the ARC that turned out to be a feeding Dunlin, though what it was finding to eat I have no idea.

This afternoon at the fishing boats 15.15-16.15:

Common Scoter: 8 up
Red-throated Diver: 6 up.  5 down
Great-crested Grebe: 21 around
Gannet: 38 up. 7 down
Oystercatcher: 3 up
Mediterranean Gull: 2 around
Little Gull: 1 adult up
Kittiwake: 196 up
Guillemot: 267 up
Razorbill: 2 up
Auk sp: 87 up
Late afternoon I joined DW,GH & JTM in the reserve visitor centre where DW picked out a 1w Caspian Gull among the Great Black-backed Gulls.

 Another bitterly cold day on the peninsular but quite pleasant if you are properly dressed for it. Driving past Cockles Bridge I could see many Lapwing and Golden Plover wheeling around after being flushed by a Common Buzzard.
First stop was the ARC where a gorgeous lone Goldfinch was feeding on the Teasels by the track to Hanson. A turn around the Willow Trail was disappointing with the only bird being seen was a Blackbird. A very quick look from Hanson due to the icy blast blowing straight into my face through the open shutter, saw that the lake was quite extensively frozen with just a few wildfowl to be seen on the far side. Walking back along the track to the car 2 Song Thrushes dropped into the ditch and Water Rail squealed.
At Boulderwall several Tree Sparrows were around the feeders with a few Great and blue Tits. In the farm fields 100s of Coot and Wigeon feeding around the frozen Cook's Pool also more Lapwing and Golden Plover and 4 Curlew there. Driving down the track several Blackbirds and a Song Thrush flushed from the side and a Marsh Harrier flew over. 

Long-tailed Tit by the New Excavations

As I parked at the visitor centre 6 Pintail flew over, from Dennis's Hide the usual wildfowl sheltering under the far bank, on the islands a few Great Black-backed Gulls and plenty of Cormorants. By the New Excavations a party of Long-tailed Tits were feeding in the lee of the Sallows where a couple of Common Snipe flushed. As I made my way to Dengemarsh more Common Snipe flushed as they did all around the reserve. 

Golden Plover at Hookers

I met GP and wandered around the back of Hookers where a Golden Plover was feeding by the track ignoring us in its search for food. Coming back to the viewing ramp a Bittern made a brief flight, as we reached the top of the ramp a Fox snatched a Canada Goose off the ice and dragged flapping into a small patch of reeds. The killing process took quite a while as we could see the Goose occasionally flapping. Thinking the Fox would drag its kill into the cover of the main reed bed we watched and waited, only for it dash across the ice leaving its kill which I'm sure would feed it for least a couple of days, hopefully it will come back and get it before the ice melts. 

A drake and duck Smew were seen from Christmas Dell and 2 Great White Egrets were on Burrowes. 

Fox from the ramp leaving its kill in the reeds

 Common Snipe from Dengemarsh

Some of the 1,000s of Gull at The Patch this afternoon

This afternoon at The Patch the regular Glaucous Gull was in the beach roost among the 1,000s of Black-headed gulls and Herring Gulls, a Yellow-legged Gull was roosting on the portacabins, at least 5 Mediterranean Gulls were over the boil and in the roost, offshore a few Gannets could be seen battling the gale.

Yellow-legged Gull on the portacabin behind The Patch

Hungry Birds!

First thing this morning around the ARC a Firecrest and Chiffchaff in the Tit flock in the Willow trail. From the screen 22 Black-tailed Godwits, a Dunlin, a Ruff, a Redshank, 4 Golden Plover among the Lapwing and brief views of a Bittern, At the Pines several Song Thrushes and Blackbirds feeding under them, despite searching several places where I've previously found Woodcock and Jack Snipe in cold weather none were found today.
2 visits to The Patch today found the regular 1w Glaucous Gull on both occasions among the 1,000s of Gulls there, also  4+ Mediterranean Gulls of note. c30 Guillemots offshore with a few Gannets, 5 Red-throated Divers flew east as did a party of 7 Pintail and 3 Kittwakes but little else of note today.

 Stonechat at Cockles Bridge

Stonechat at Cockles Bridge

At Cockles Bridge the birds have lost their wariness in their search for food in the cold weather, Stonechats, Lapwing and Golden Plover appearing exceptionally tame today. The highlight though was spotting a pair of Red-legged Partridges there, now very scarce on the peninsular, I've seen more Glaucous Gulls here this year. 

 Stonechat at Cockles Bridge

Golden Plover at Cockles Bridge

Lapwing at cockles bridge

 A peninsular rarity at Cockles Bridge

A bitterly cold and windswept Scotney was devoid of birds today. On Brett's Marina a couple of Great white Egrets were sunning themselves with Grey Herons and Cormorants in the shelter of the island, also a few Shoveler, Tufted Duck and Pochard there.

Great white Egrets at Bretts Marina

A bit of Winter!

 Fieldfare at the beach car park

At the beach car park a single Fieldfare, 3 Meadow Pipits and 5 Wood Pigeons feeding with resident Starling flock.

 Glaucous Gull at The Patch

I spent most this morning at The Patch where there was 1,000s of Gulls to scan through, I managed to locate the regular 1w Glaucous Gull and at least 6 Mediterranean Gulls, as well as a number of colour ringed Gulls including the Lesser Black-backed Gull shown below. It appears to be sporting a black and a green colour ring both made of velcro, I could only read the numbers 612 on the metal ring, this is first Gull I have seen marked in this way and I have no idea of its origin. 

Lesser Black-backed Gull with 2 what appears to be velcro rings

 1,000s of Gulls at The Patch this morning

A walk around the trapping area in the hope of finding a Woodcock or 2 found nothing of note.

 Fox by The Patch this morning 

 Lapwing at Cockles Bridge

 Lapwing at Cockles Bridge

Golden Plover at Cockles Bridge

This afternoon Lapwing and Golden Plover were showing well at Cockles Bridge gleaming in the bright sunshine. 

On the reserve one of the new Glaucous Gulls came into roost. 3 Smew  and a Slavonian Grebe were at Christmas Dell per PT.

1w  Glaucous Gull at The Patch

Another bitterly cold morning found me at The Patch again looking at Gulls. The regular 1w Glaucous Gull was hunkered down on the beach though it did eventually give a fly by, a few colour rings were noted from amongst the roosting Gulls but no sign of any other white wingers. Offshore a couple of Gannets and Kittiwakes, 3 Oystercatchers flew up.

 Skylark at the fishing boats

At the fishing boats this afternoon still nothing moving offshore. A pair of Skylarks feeding around the tracks, in the roost a very nice adult Yellow-legged Gull and a couple of Norwegian ringed Great Black-backed Gulls.

 Adult Yellow-legged Gull in the beach roost

 JC349 Great-Black-backed Gull in the beach roost

JK556 Great-Black-backed Gull in the beach roost

Mid afternoon on the reserve the 1w Glaucous Gull came into roost but no sign of yesterdays 2w Iceland Gull while I was there.

More Gulling!

I joined Ray O'Reilly who Kindly did all the driving on a successful trip to Weymouth on Friday to see the gorgeous adult Ross's Gull at Ferrybridge. It flew in soon after our arrival, then spent c30 minutes on the mud before flying off over Chesil Beach. We moved to Lodmoor hoping it would repeat Thursdays pattern by turning up there, but after 5 hours out in the freezing wing and no show by the Ross's Gull we headed home.

 Ross's Gull

Ross's Gull

Ross's Gull

Ross's Gull

Photo bombing Fox at The Patch

The long stayer at The Patch

The Gulls at The Patch and on the reserve are still the main attraction, though there is still a couple of Smew around, a Slavonian Grebe, a Black-throated Diver, a couple of Goosander, a couple of Great White Egrets and the usual wild fowl, as well as the Boulderwall Tree Sparrows and the flocks of Golden plover and Lapwing in the fields.

2 new arrivals today in the form of a 2w Iceland Gull and a 3rd Glaucous Gull in a week.

Herring Gull taking up the challenge

2 x 1w Glaucous & and 2w Iceland Gull

 Note the pink billed Great Black-backed Gull between the 2 x 1w Glaucous Gulls

2w Iceland Gull

Dull Day at Dunge!

1w Glaucous Gull

A very damp morning at Dungeness but I still wandered down to The Patch where the long staying 1w Glaucous Gull was feeding inside the power station, it often disappears behind the portacabins for long periods. The Gull roost was disappointing considering that it was low tide, as I was expecting there to many Gulls there but there was only a couple of hundred present. Apart from large numbers of Great-crested Grebes and Cormorants off shore very little could be seen off shore though the visibility was very poor.

1w Glaucous Gull at the power station

Brent Geese

Mid morning at the fishing boats a party of 35 Brent Geese flew up channel close in shore and a Norwegian ringed Great black-backed Gull was there.

Norwegian Great Black-backed Gull JC782

Great White Egret in the constant drizzle

Late morning at a very quiet reserve saw the usual Tree Sparrows at Boulderwall, a Great White Egret in the fields along with c500 Golden Plovers. With work being done on Burrowes there was very little to be seen there.

Another visit to the reserve after lunch saw the the new Glaucous Gull put in a brief appearance on one the islands on Burrowes before it flew off towards the beach. 

 1w Glaucous Gull at the fishing boats

This afternoon at the fishing boats the new Glaucous Gull put in appearance that was short lived due to a dog walker. Offshore the usual hordes of Cormorants, another 8 Brent Geese flew up channel, small numbers of Gannets, Guillemots, Razorbills and Kittiwakes feeding along with a couple of Mediterranean Gulls and a Red-throated Diver.

  1w Glaucous Gull at the fishing boats

  1w Glaucous Gull at the fishing boats

Some of the c400 Cormorants at the fishing boats