27/01/2024

 

My Velvet Scoter images aren't getting any better. 😄

08.00-09.30 with OL.  Wind S3, Temp 0° Partly Cloudy
Pintail: 6E
Velvet Scoter: 3E
Common Scoter: 19E
Great-crested Grebe: 5E
Kittiwake: 5E
Black-headed Gull: 100s E 
Common Gull: 100s SE out to sea
Mediterranean Gull:1E
Great Black-backed Gull: present 
Herring Gull: present n/c
Lesser Black-backed Gull: 4E
Guillemot: 521E
Razorbill: 7E
Razorbill/Guillemot: 186E
Red-throated Diver: 94E   11W  
Gannet: 6E    3W 
Cormorant: Present n/c
Harbour Porpoise: 1

Both the Great Northern and Black-throated Divers were reported on the reserve today, also a Glossy Ibis reported. A Puffin was reported past The Point at 16.10 per Bird Guides.

The above image of 4 of 6  Pink-footed Geese present at Dengemarsh this afternoon, was taken and sent to me by Dave Clark immediately before they flew off NW. As far as I know they were only seen by Dave and Mark Hollingworth but could be still in the area. Many thanks to Dave for letting me use his image.

My 1st and 2nd Yellowhammers of the year on the local patch

Some of the 57 Bewick Swans I saw on the marsh today, no sign of the Whoopers though

Cattle Egret at Cockles Bridge early afternoon

2 Ruff on the Scotney sward with the Golden Plover, Lapwing, Coot and Wigeon mid afternoon

A late afternoon walk along The Midrips with Owen saw several 1,000s of Gulls along the beach, but again we could interesting Gulls, a flock of 100+ Sanderling was good to see. Around the pools 100s of Lapwings and Golden Plover with a few Curlew, we saw no Owls there today. 

26/01/2024

1,000s of Gulls all-around the shore on the peninsular, sadly the only white wingers have been Med Gulls

08.00-09.30 with OL.   Wind NW4, Temp 8° clear

Brent Goose: 42E

Wigeon: 2W

Pintail: 6W

Teal: 3W

Great-crested Grebe: 1W

Kittiwake: 106W  Minimum

Black-headed Gull: present n/c (1,000s along the surf)

Common Gull: present n/c (1,000s along the surf)

Mediterranean Gull:5W

Great Black-backed Gull: present 50+

Herring Gull: present n/c (1,000s along the surf)

Lesser Black-backed Gull: present 3+

Razorbill/Guillemot: 1,000+ Tooing and Froing offshore

Red-throated Diver: 26W  

Gannet: 14W  

Cormorant: c1,000 present Minimum

Black-headed Gull gorging on storm washed Shellfish

Mediterranean Gull gorging on storm washed Shellfish

Mediterranean Gull 

2 Greater White-fronted Geese on the sward at Scotney courtesy of Owen

A wander around the back of Scotney Farm found of note 2 Green Sandpipers, 3 Avocet, several each of Corn Bunting and Tree Sparrow and 10+ Skylark.

I'm assuming the Divers are still on Burrowes today, I have heard no reports to the contrary.

Scritch and Scratch sunbathing

24/01/2024

 

I'm getting really good at these really bad record shots of Velvet Scoter

08.00-09.30 with RW, Wind W7, Temp 10° 

Velvet Scoter: 1W

Common Scoter: 6W   

Great-crested Grebe: 1W 

Kittiwake: 19W  

Black-headed Gull: present n/c 

Common Gull: present n/c

Mediterranean Gull: 1W

Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Herring Gull: present n/c

Lesser Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Guillemot: 525W

Razorbill: 32W

Razorbill/Guillemot: 164W     47E

Red-throated Diver: 95W   1E

Gannet: 9W   3E

Cormorant: present

No sign of the Cattle Egrets at Cockles Bridge this morning, but 2 Little Egrets present

On Burrowes a Great Northern Diver and the Black-throated Diver still present lunchtime but little else off note.

A pleasant wander along the front of Scotney this afternoon in pleasant conditions, shame about the number of birds present. 10 Brent Geese, 2 Ruff and 76 Dunlin were the highlights. 

2 Ruff with 3 Dunlin and Lapwing over the Scotney sward

A Barn Owl at the back of Lydd caravan park late afternoon

The dog walker must have had superb views of the Barn owl

22/01/2024

Poor image of 3 of todays Velvet Scoters

A surprisingly busy sea watch this morning with Richard, though still not a great deal of variety.

08.00-10.00 with RW,   Wind W 8, Temp 9° 

Brent Goose: 5E
Pintail: 3W
Velvet Scoter: 7W
Common Scoter: 64W    1E
Great-crested Grebe: 3W 
Kittiwake: 16W  
Black-headed Gull: present n/c 
Common Gull: present n/c
Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c
Herring Gull: present n/c
Caspian Gull: 1W   2cy
Lesser Black-backed Gull: present n/c
Great Skua: 1W
Guillemot: 70W
Razorbill: 44W
Razorbill/Guillemot: 89W     7E
Red-throated Diver: 591W   1E
Fulmar: 6W
Gannet: 144W 
Cormorant: present

A flock of Red-throated Divers passing by the fishing boats this afternoon

Some of the herd of 47 Bewick Swans at Hook Wall early afternoon

Great Northern Diver on Burrowes late morning, also Black-throated Diver still present

This Herring Gull has been visiting Dungeness for at least 7 Years

20/01/2024

Lots of birds in this mornings sea watch but little Variety or quality.

07.45-09.45 with RW & SO.   Wind SW 4, Temp 3° 

Common Scoter: 1E

Great-crested Grebe: 1E

Oystercatcher: 17E 

Curlew: 4E 

Kittiwake: 48E   

Black-headed Gull: present n/c 

Mediterranean Gull: 2E

Common Gull: present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Herring Gull: present n/c

Lesser Black-backed Gull: 3E

Auk sp: 870E    49W  

Red-throated Diver: 481E   39W

Fulmar: 3E       2W

Gannet: 712E  

Cormorant: present

Harbour Porpoise: 1

A very quiet day around the peninsular with little news. The Divers were still insitu on Burrowes, the 21 Barnacle Geese also still on Boulderwall Fields, the usual Egrets were still present but no reports of any Glossy Ibis. Bearded Tits and Bitterns both seen but little else.

Cattle Egret early yesterday morning in Lydd

 An alert Little Owl early yesterday morning enjoying the sunshine

Spoonbill Rye Harbour LNR yesterday

A pleasant visit to Rye Harbour LNR yesterday with Owen, Richard and Colin. Excellent views of the long staying Spoonbill on Ternery Pool. Lots of Teal sparkling in the sun and several Little Grebes, Dunlin, Ringed Plovers, Grey Plover, Redshank, Curlew, Turnstone and Oystercatchers all around the reserve, with Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit and Skylarks. Back at the car park Owen provided us with Tea and a very nice homemade Ginger Cake. At Pett 20+ Greater White-fronted Goose, 2 Barnacle Geese one wearing a yellow Dark ring the other a white neck collar.

18/01/2024

A pre dawn visit to the ARC to see the roosting Swans was great disappointment as it seems none of them roosted there last night unless they left very early, however the 2 Woodcock I saw just as the sun peeping over the horizon made the effort more than worth while, a Cattle Egret flew over as did 2 Great White Egrets but no sign of any Glossy Ibis today.

I met Richard in the ARC car park where a Barn Owl did a very brief fly through, we decided to walk across the reserve to Dengemarsh. On the Boulderwall Fields 21 Barnacle Geese still along with feral Canada, Greylag and Egyptian Geese and a few Common Snipe, but nothing notable. Dengemarsh was very quiet, but we decided to carry on and walked right around the reserve. A single Raven flew over Scott but no sign of any of the hoped for Smew on Burrowes or anywhere else today, we couldn't even find any divers this morning, but apparently a single Great Northern and the Black-throated Diver were still present  per JY. A few more Common Snipe were seen on our way back to the car park.

This afternoon I checked the Camber Pools where this Mistle Thrush was highlight of my visit as I seldom see them these days, on the way I checked the Scotney lakes and again on the way back but very little there apart from 9 Dunlin and 2 Ringed Plovers the first I have seen this year.

One of the Lydd Little Owls late afternoon

17/01/2024

 

Bewick Swans from Hanson before sunrise

Bewick Swans leaving the ARC before sunrise

A bitterly cold sea watch from the hide with Owen saw very little change.

08.20-09.30 Wind NE 4, Temp 1° 

Common Scoter: 2E

Great-crested Grebe: 2 present

Oystercatcher: 6E  

Kittiwake: 1E   

Black-headed Gull: present n/c 

Mediterranean Gull: 1E   2 cal year

Common Gull: present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Herring Gull: present n/c

Auk sp: 488E    79W  

Red-throated Diver: 841E   73W

Fulmar: 1E

Gannet: 128E  

Cormorant: present

Golden Plover at Cockles Bridge, also 3 Cattle Egrets there.

On the reserve the divers were still present per MH. 2 Firecrests still along the entrance track between Cooks and Tanners per DB. On the marsh the 2 Tundra Bean Geese were still in the same place per NF.

Once again very little of note at Scotney this morning. This afternoon around Dengemarsh a Bittern by the pump, a Raven over, Chiffchaff at the sluice and a Skylark and a Stonechat in the set aside, the birding is pretty desperate at the moment.

16/01/2024

After watching the Bewick Swans and the 4 Glossy Ibis leave their roosts this morning, I wandered down to The Patch. There were plenty of Gulls present but sadly I could find nothing unusual among them. I then headed to Scotney but stopped to admire the Lydd Little Owls en route. A disappointing walk around the back of Scotney, mainly due to the lack of passerines and shepherds on there quad bikes flushing everything, to be fair the sheep are about to lamb, the highlight of my wander there was a single Green Sandpiper.

10 of the 56 Bewick Swans which left the reserve just before sunrise this morning

The Lydd Little Owls sun bathing this morning

One of the Cockles Bridge Cattle Egrets

Lapwing at Cockles Bridge

One of the Great Northern Divers early afternoon

Also a distinct lack of passerines on the reserve, though a definite increase in the number of Snipe on Boulderwall Fields, I couldn't find any wild Grey Geese among the feral Greylags there but the 21 Barnacle geese were still present.

The Black-throated Diver early afternoon

One of at least 3 Bitterns late afternoon from Hanson

Late this afternoon I joined RW and CT in Hanson Hide where we had excellent if distant views of a Bittern, we saw 2 more 1 of which flew right in front the hide. A glossy Ibis made several attempts to join the duck on the ice before flying off to roost, also a Kingfisher flashed past the hide.

A Glossy Ibis attempts to land on the frozen part of the ARC just before dusk today

15/01/2024

As I was defrosting the car this morning 18 Bewick Swans flew over out onto the marsh, presumably they had roosted on the ARC. There appears to 50+ around at the moment, difficult to count as they are widely scattered, the 2 above were with the Bean Geese.

Plenty of Fieldfares across Walland Marsh but only a few Redwings. Passerines are generally thin on the ground at the moment, a few pockets of Tree Sparrows and Chaffinches but little else.

10 Pink-footed Geese on Boulderwall Fields this morning was a nice surprise, a difficult bird to catch up with in the south, they remained till early afternoon before flying off into Sussex. While watching them 2 Firecrest were feeding along the Boulderwall Track and the 4 Glossy Ibis reappeared.

3 Cattle Egrets were in the Cockles Bridge Triangle today

On Burrowes The Divers were all still present but distant, also several Goldeneye

A late afternoon drive out onto Walland started well with 4 Mistle Thrushes in the sheep field in Dennis Lane, a scarce bird here now. As I drove along the road to Hawthorn Corner a Ring Tail Hen Harrier appeared beside me, causing me to brake and stop in the middle of the road (my apologies to Brenda who was driving behind me) further a long the road at Midley Barns it or another appeared, as it swooped across a ditch it flushed a Woodcock, a nice end to the day.

14/01/2024

Without doubt the worst morning sea watch of the year so far, after 35 minutes I'd had enough.

08.10-08.45.  Wind WNW 2, Temp 2° 

Common Scoter: 6E

Great-crested Grebe: 4 present  

Kittiwake: 1E   

Black-headed Gull: present n/c  

Common Gull: present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Herring Gull: present n/c

Guillemot: 3E

Razorbill: 1E

Auk sp: 58E     6W  

Red-throated Diver: 9E   4W

Gannet: 17E  8W

Cormorant: present

The remaining Glossy Ibis showed well for a while in the Orchid field by the track to Hanson Hide

20 Barnacle Geese of unknown origin on Boulderwall Fields

4 Bewick Swans which presumably roosted on the ARC flew over Dungeness Road as drove towards the beach this morning. A later visit to the ARC where apart from the Ibis and a Great White Egret very little was noted, Over the road on the reserve 3 Great Northern Divers and the Black-throated Divers were still insitu on Burrowes, also 4 Goldeneye. Apart from feral geese little was seen on the Boulderwall Fields. 

There was also very little noted at Scotney. Nearby at Pigwell 54 Bewick Swans and 2 Cattle Egrets per DW. Out on Walland the The 2 Bean Geese were still present, also 4 Whooper and more Bewick Swans. Hen Harrier and Tree Sparrows continue to be seen at various locations on the marsh.