04/11/2021

Chiffchaff in the the trapping area

As I drove onto the estate this morningBlackbirds were coming across the shingle having just come across the channel, parking at the lighthouse at least 10 Blackbirds were in and around the the garden, with more being flushed as I walked past West Beach and Lloyds to the observatory. A wander around the Trapping area and bottom Long Pit found more Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and Redwing and eventually some Fieldfare, Siskin, Redpoll and Brambling were also seen and heard in small numbers, also 2 Common Snipe flushed from a damp area, but still no Ring Ouzel or Crest of any description for me.

Redwing over The Moat

From Dennis's Hide a Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Dunlin, a Ruff and some Golden Plover were the highlights from Burrowes. At least 15 Cattle Egret remain, along with the 2 Glossy Ibis, Great and Little Egrets.

Glossy Ibis at Cooks Pool

Glossy Ibis at Cooks Pool

Brent Goose by the puddles at the fishing boats this afternoon

14.00-15.00 from the fishing boats joined by OL

Brent Goose; 101W   2E   1 around

Red-throated Diver: 1W    1E    1 on

Gannet: 68W

Cormorant: present n/c

Kittiwake: 14W

Black-headed Gull: present n/c

Mediterranean Gull: 2W

Herring Gull: present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Lesser Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Guillemot: 1W

Razorbill: 4W

Auk sp: 17W

Stock Dove: 1 in off

Pied Wagtail: 2W

Harbour Porpoise: 2

A Stock Dove that came in off the sea and settled on the fishing boats Doreen T for a rest this afternoon
 

02/11/2021

AJG did the early morning sea watch and kindly sent me the numbers:

07:15-08:30

Brent Goose: 22W

Common Scoter: 4E

Red-throated Diver: 3W

Great-crested Grebe: 4W

Gannet: 41W

Cormorant: present n/c

Kittiwake: 11W

Black-headed gull: present n/c

Mediterranean Gull: 110W

Common Gull: present n/c

Herring Gull: present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Guillemot: 2W

Auk sp: 271W

I went straight out into the trapping area and met DW who was heading back to the observatory with some Chiffchaffs including a nice Siberian Chiffchaff, we then went back and found a gorgeous Pallas's Warbler in the net. Soon after releasing the Pallas's Warbler we heard a second Siberian Chiffchaff calling, although good views were obtained it was very difficult getting any images of it in the Sallows, my best effort below.

Several each of Brambling, Siskin and Redpoll were heard and seen as they flew over the trapping area.

While we were in The Moat a Woodlark was heard calling from the Power Station compound but not seen, sadly I could not even hear it. I'm still waiting to see a Crest of any description this autumn.

A poor image of the second Siberian Chiffchaff in the trapping area today

Siberian Chiffchaff in the hand showing its cold tones, after being caught in the first net round

This gorgeous Pallas's Warbler was a big surprise in the next net round 

There were 4 Black Redstarts around the Polish memorial lunchtime

Cattle Egrets doing what Cattle Egrets do in the hay fields late afternoon

31/10/2021

A thoroughly miserable morning weather wise, but lots of birds piling out of Lade Bay, even during the heavy squally rain and gale force wind which curtailed visibility down to 200mts at times. I was joined at the fishing boats by CT, RW, NB and JB

 06.30-10.00 

Shelduck: 1W

Gadwall: 4W

Common Scoter: 9W

Red-breasted Merganser: 1W

Red-throated Diver: 2W       1 on

Great-crested Grebe: 5 around

Fulmar: 2W

Gannet: 1,219W

Cormorant: c150 around

Kittiwake: 841W

Black-headed Gull: 487W

Little Gull: 4W

Mediterranean Gull: 5W

Common Gull: present n/c

Herring Gull: present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Lesser Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Sandwich Tern: 73W

Guillemot: 61W

Razorbill: 339W

Auk sp: 494W

Skylark: 1 out

Harbour Porpoise: 2+

Grey Seal: 1

Hooded Crow coming in off the sea . A magnifying gala might help. 😂

When the rain stopped I went back to the fishing boats. The passage had finished but there were odd bits to keep us amused. The star was the Hooded Crow spotted by Neil which seemed to make landfall at Lydd on Sea, 2 or 3 Merlins including a superb adult male and a juvenile that came in off the sea carrying prey. 

2.45-15.00 with NB, JB, RW

Common scoter: 3W

Red-throated Diver: @w  1 on

Great-crested Grebe: 5W.   9 on

Gannet: 52W     8E

Curlew: 1W

Turnstone: 2 around

Kittiwake: 3W

Mediterranean Gull: 8W

Yellow-legged Gull: 1 adult around

Arctic Skua: 1W

Guillemot: 4W

Razorbill: 1W

Auk sp: 17W

Merlin: 2+ adult male + a juvenile or 2

Wood Pigeon: 1 in off the sea

Hooded Crow: 1 in off the sea between Lifeboat and Pilot.

30/10/2021

Razorbills and a Guillemot passing this morning

07.15-0945 till the rain set in with CT, PT, RW,DW,AJG

Common Scoter: 2W

Red-breasted Merganser: 3W

Red-throated Diver: 2W    

Great-crested Grebe:  4 on

Gannet: 417W

Cormorant: present n/c

Kittiwake: 108W

Black-headed Gull: present n/c

Mediterranean Gull: 2W

Common Gull: present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Herring Gull: present n/c

Lesser black-backed Gull: present n/c

Sandwich Tern: 137W

Arctic Skua: 1-2 around

Guillemot: 165W

Razorbill: 581W

Auk sp: 783W

Linnet: 150  AJG

Harbour Porpoise: 2

Grey Seal: 1

A loitering Arctic Skua photo bombed by a Harbour Porpoise

Some of the c800 Golden Plover at Scotney early afternoon but little else there

At the fishing boats this afternoon a single Arctic Skua hanging around, c30 Mediterranean Gulls drifted west along with a few Gannets, Kittiwakes and Sandwich Terns.

At Least 10 Cattle Egrets from the reserve entrance track today

From Dennis's late afternoon a Black-necked Grebe and an adult Yellow-legged Gull were the highlights. 

29/10/2021

Red-breasted Mergansers past the fishing boats in this mornings gloom

07.00-10.30 with CT, PS, DW, AJG, PT from the fishing boats:

Brent Goose: 2W

Wigeon: 1W

Gadwall: 3W

Common Scoter: 10W    3E

Red-breasted Merganser: 3W

Red-throated Diver: 2W       2 on

Great-crested Grebe: 2E         4 on

Gannet: 320W

Cormorant: present n/c

Dunlin: 16W

Curlew: 1w

Kittiwake: 177W

Little Gull: 2W

Black-headed Gull: present n/c

Mediterranean Gull: 2W

Common Gull: present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Herring Gull: present n/c

Lesser black-backed Gull: present n/c

Sandwich Tern: 218W

Guillemot: 234W

Razorbill: 698W

Auk sp: 1,051W

Starling: 960 in

Harbour Porpoise: 2

An uninspiring watch, but withe dearth of passerines around the peninsular at least the Auks were something to look at. Only 2 more days left in October for me to see a Firecrest or Goldcrest, am I going to go the whole Autumn without seeing a Crest?

Adult Yellow-legged Gull behind the fishing boats this afternoon

Shoveler past the boats this afternoon

14.00-15.00 from the fishing boats:

Shoveler: 17W

Gannet: 17W

Turnstone: 1 around

Sandwich Tern: 9W

Guillemot: 4W

Razorbill: 3W

Auk sp: 9W

1 of at least 7 Cattle Egrets at Boulderwall this afternoon, also the 2 Glossy Ibis still at top of Cooks Pool
 

28/10/2021

Sooty Shearwater taken into the low early morning sun

2 sea watches today with Ct and AJG who kindly kept the log:

07.40-09.40 & 13.20-15.20 from the fishing boats:

Brent Goose: 1W

Tufted Duck: 2W

Common Scoter: 1W

Red-throated Diver: 8W    2 on

Great-crested Grebe: 4W   3 on

Sooty Shearwater: 1W

Gannet: 564W

Cormorant: 182W into Rye Bay

Kittiwake: 130W

Black-headed Gull: present n/c

Mediterranean Gull: 166W

Common Gull: present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Herring Gull: present n/c

Sandwich Tern: 26W

Great Skua: 1W

Arctic Skua: 1W

Guillemot: 79W

Razorbill: 564W

Auk sp: 546W

Swallow: 23 out to sea

Starling: 765 in

Goldfinch: 25 W

Harbour Porpoise: 2

A5UX a regular at the fishing boats

Clearing weed from the Dengemarsh sewer

A walk around the hayfields saw a couple[le of Stonechats, a Great White Egret and heard a few Bearded Tits in the reed beds, on the hay fields a single Lapwing and 10 Meadow Pipits, very disappointing.

From Scott viewpoint the regular Lapwing and Golden Plover flock could be seen on the islands from Makepiece, but without shelter the wind made it impossible to scrutinise them properly. 

1st calendar year Caspian Gull on Burrowes late afternoon

From Dennis's Hide late afternoon a 1st cal year Caspian Gull was the only notable sighting.

At least 4 Cattle Egrets were present at Boulderwall but I didn't see the Glossy Ibis, though they are probably still present. The poor autumn continues.

A Beautiful Plume the only moth in the trap today, time to put the trap away for the winter

26/10/2021

Some of the 80+ Goldfinches coming to my garden feeders

Due to the dreadful dearth of birds at Dungeness this autumn I am finding it increasingly difficult to force myself out of bed in the mornings, consequently in was 09.00 before I managed to get to the beach this morning just as AJG was going back home for breakfast. His sea watch totals below.

07.00-09.00

Common Scoter: 8W

Gannet: 966W

Cormorant: present n/c

Kittiwake: 31W

Black-headed Gull: present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Herring Gull: present n/c

Great Skua: 1W

Auk sp 112W

Peregrine: 1in off the sea

Merlin: 3 hunting over the sea

I walked down to The patch where the highlight was just 4 Mediterranean Gulls among the many Black-headed and Herring Gulls, no sign of any Black redstarts there today. A wander out into the trapping area was no better with 2 Brambling and 3 Siskin over unseen, 2 Song Thrush were flushed from the path and just a single Chiffchaff was heard, truly abysmal for late October.

On the reserve still at least 12 Cattle Egrets and 2 Glossy Ibis plus the usual Great White Egrets, a single adult Yellow-legged Gull in the roost by the entrance track. On Burrowes at least 12 Grey Plover among the Lapwings and Golden Plover, though todays highlight was the drake Goldeneye, which shows just how poor the birding is around Dungeness at the moment.

Drake Goldeneye on Burrowes this afternoon

 

22/10/2021

Arctic Tern feeding in front the power station

This mornings sea watch from the hide and The Patch

08.00-10.30

Gadwall: 3W

Common Scoter: 2W   1E

Red-throated Diver: 1W   1E   2 on

Great-crested Grebe: 5 around

Gannet: 14W

Cormorant: 159W

Kittiwake: 4W

Black-headed Gull: c500 around

Mediteranean Gull: c50 around

Common Gull: c100

Herring Gull: c500 around

Great Black-backed Gull: 62W   

Lesser Black-backed Gull: 6 around

Sandwich Tern: 14W

Arctic Tern: 1 around

Great Skua: 1W

Arctic Skua: 5W   2 around c50 around

Meadow Pipit: c20W

Goldfinch: c60W

Arctic Tern feeding in front the power station

Arctic Tern feeding in front the power station

On the reserve still at least 8 Cattle Egrets along with the usual Great and Little Egrets, the 2 Glossy Ibis are still around , today they did a mega high circuit of the Peninsular enabling me to add them to my garden list. On Burrowes apart from Lapwing and Golden Plover I didn't see another wader, large numbers of Greylags were on the islands and seem ed to have displaced the Wigeon and Pintail, I was also unable to locate the Garganey that was present yesterday. A walk around the hay fields this afternoons saw the usual Egrets but not the hoped for Water Pipits and waders even though the fields look very good for them. Several parties of Bearded Tits were either seen or heard in the surrounding ditches and reed beds.

Scotney held all the usual feral geese, also c1,000 Lapwing and c500 Golden Plover  but little else of note. 

The 2 Glossy Ibis now on the garden list albeit rather distant

A Garganey on Burrowes yesterday afternoon

 Marsh Harrier with orange wing tags marked SX which I photographed late yesterday afternoon. She was ringed and tagged on 05/07/2021 as a chick at Carlton Marshes, Suffolk and this is the first time she has been seen since being tagged. Many thanks to Phil Littler of NWNRG for sending me her details so promptly.
 

With todays stormy weather the only option was to spend most of my time at the fishing boats sea watching, which fortunately was fairly rewarding.

Arctic Tern

7.30-10.30 thanks to all for help with numbers AJG, RW, DW, PE, CG, RB

Common Scoter: 6W

Red-throated Diver: 1W  1 on

Great-crested Grebe: 12W     5 on

Gannet: 1,112W

Cormorant: present n/c

Turnstone: 5 around

Curlew: 1W

Kittiwake: 201W

Black-headed Gull: present n/c

Little Gull: 13W

Mediterranean Gull: 2W

Common Gull: present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Herring Gull: present n/c

Lesser black-backed Gull: present n/c

Sandwich Tern: 173W

Arctic Tern: 1W

Great Skua: 1W

Arctic Skua: 12W      1 around pale headed bird

Guillemot: 18W

Razorbill: 105W

Auk sp: 143W        36E

Merlin: 1 in

Peregrine: 1 in

Rock Pipit: 1 in

Linnet: 142 over

Goldfinch: 435 over

Grey Seal: 1

Harbour Porpoise: 4+

Arctic Skua

13.30-16.00 with RW & OL

Red-throated Diver: 1W

Gannet: 204W

Kittiwake: 66W

Little Gull: 18W

Sandwich tern: 221W

Arctic Tern: 3W

Arctic Skua: 6W

Guillemot: 13W

Razorbill: 30W

Auk sp: 74W

Swallow: 1 out

The Little Gulls today were somewhat distant

The 16 cattle Egrets with Plodland in the background