21/12/2025

After a week away in Fueventura, it was back to my usual routine a morning sea watch:

 08.00-09.30 from the hide:

Brent Goose: 163E

Mute Swan: 1W (not an every day bird on a sea watch)

Wigeon: 3W

Velvet Scoter: 3W      1E

Common Scoter: 3W

Great Crested Grebe: 1W

Oystercatcher: 6E

Great Skua: 1 flew West then back East and settled on the sea

Kittiwake: 3W

Black-headed Gull: present

Common Gull: present

Herring Gull: present

Great Black-backed Gull: present 

Guillemot: 43E       22 present

Razorbill: 2E 

Auk sp: 94W      320E 

Red-throated Diver: 11W    130E

Gannet: 32W  199E 

Cormorant: present

Black Redstart: 3 present behind the hide

1w Caspian Gull on Burrowes

 There are still plenty of Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls to look at  around the reserve and the usual Starling murmuration and Bitterns at the ARC but not a great deal else, Yesterdays Great Northern Diver appears to have gone. There were 7 Greater White-fronted Geese on Lydd Fields again today, also the Winter Swans are still viewable from Swamp Crossing, hopefully the weather will improve and other areas can be checked out tomorrow.

 

08/12/2025

An uninspiring watch this morning.

08.00-09.30 with RW & OL 

Wind SW 5-6     Temp  12° drizzle

Common Scoter: 1W
Great-crested Grebe: 2 present
Kittiwake: 27W     
Black-headed Gull: present
Common Gull: present
Herring Gull: present
Great Black-backed Gull: present 

Guillemot: 36W

Razorbill: 14W 
Auk sp: 293W  
Red-throated Diver: 38W    18E
Gannet: 320W  14E 
Cormorant: present
Grey Seal: 1 present

2w Caspian Gull with Great Black-backed Gull

1w and Adult Caspian Gulls with a Lesser Black-backed Gull and Herring Gull

2 x 3w Caspian Gulls either side of a Lesser Black-backed Gull

1w Yellow-legged Gull top left, 1w Caspian Gull centre, Adult Caspian Gull right hand side.

The 4 Bewick and Whooper Swans are still viewable from Swamp Crossing, very little other news probably due to the abysmal weather.

This gorgeous boy is now a daily visitor to my garden, these images were taken last Friday

05/12/2025

1 of the Black Redstarts behind the sea watch hide this morning

07.45-09.00 with RW 

Wind SW 1-2 Temp  -1° Sunny

Red-breasted Merganser: 1W   (adult drake)
Great-crested Grebe: 1E    1 present
Kittiwake: 82W     
Black-headed Gull: present

Mediterranean Gull: 1W
Common Gull: present

Herring Gull: present
Great Black-backed Gull: present   
Auk sp: 12W   2E  
Red-throated Diver: 24W    1E
Gannet: 95W  
Cormorant: present

Raven: 2 present

Black Redstart: 2 present
Grey Seal: 1 present

Another Black Redstart behind the sea watch hide this morning

1 of 2 Ravens behind the sea watch hide this morning

One of the Great White Egrets posing from Hanson this morning

The 1w Scaup was showing well from the cycle track at Scotney this morning

A cycle ride to Scotney gave great views of the Scaup and the Black-necked Grebe, I didn't find anything new there. At the back of the old sand pit 7 Greater White-fronts with the Greylag flock, also c1,000 Lapwing, c1,500 Golden Plover and 2 Ruff. Singles of Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard and Kestrel were the only raptors I saw.

The Black-necked Grebe was also was showing well from the cycle track at Scotney this morning

2w & 1w Caspian Gull with adult Yellow-legged Gull and Great black-backed Gulls.

There was at leat 17 Caspian Gulls and 7 Yellow-legged Gulls roosting on Burrowes this afternoon.

2w Caspian Gull playing with a pebble

1w Caspian Gull with Lesser Black-backed Gulls

German ringed 1w Caspian Gull on Burrowes this afternoon

04/12/2025

As you can see a rather uninspiring watch from the hide this morning!

 07.30-08.30 with RW & OL,

Wind SSE 6-7 Temp  8° Rain

Wigeon: 3W

Common Scoter: 2E

Great-crested Grebe: 2W       8E

Kittiwake: 54E     

Black-headed Gull: present

Common Gull: present

Great Black-backed Gull: present

Guillemot: 2W   1E     

Auk sp: 9W     

Red-throated Diver: 10W    19E

Fulmar: 3W

Gannet: 55W    135E

Cormorant: present

Harbour Porpoise: 1 present

When the rain finally stopped a scan of the Greylag Goose flock opposite my house revealed 7 Greater White-fronted Geese, the first from my garden this winter.

7 White-fronted Geese with Greylags in the field opposite my house this afternoon

Highlights of a visit to Hanson Hide this afternoon was a 1w Caspian Gull and 2 colour ringed Black-backed Gulls. At least 5 Great White Egrets were present along with the usual wildfowl, but no sign of the Jack Snipe.

The 5 Bewick Swans were still Swamp Crossing , also 3 Greater White-fronted Geese there, unsurprisingly with such poor weather most of the day nothing else was reported.

1w Caspian Gull with Great Black-backed Gulls and a Coot from Hanson this afternoon

1w Caspian Gull with a Coot and Cormorant from Hanson this afternoon

1w Caspian Gull open winged

Normandy ringed Great Black-backed Gull from Hanson this afternoon

Dutch ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull from Hanson this afternoon

03/12/2025

Sea watch from the hide 

 07.20-09.20 with RW & OL,

Wind SSW 3-4, Temp  8° Showers

Wigeon: 2W

Velvet Scoter: 2E

Common Scoter: 7E

Red-breasted Merganser: 2W

Great-crested Grebe: 11W

Little Gull: 1W Juvenile

Kittiwake: 136W      

Black-headed Gull: present

Common Gull: present

Great Black-backed Gull: present

Guillemot: 31W     

Razorbill: 26W     

Auk sp: 159W     

Red-throated Diver: 64W    5E

Fulmar: 3W

Gannet: 45W      7E

Cormorant: 1650W

Black Redstart: 1 present

Starling: 130W

Grey Seal: 2 present

3 of the 5 Bewick Swans present on Walland at the moment, hopefully more will arrive

A quick visit to Scotney saw the juvenile Scaup and at least 1 Black-necked Grebe present at the Sussex end, with the advent of the rain I declined to go out the back to check for Geese.

Jack Snipe from Hanson Hide

FRom Hanson hide a quick scan with my thermal imager quickly revealed the presence of a Jack Snipe, however trying to spot with binoculars and camera took much longer despite knowing exactly where it was. There was also 2 Common Snipe from Hanson, 3 Pintail among the many Shoveler, Gadwall, Wigeon and Teal, also 3 Great White Egrets, Marsh Harriers, 3 Goldeneye, Cetti's Warblers and Chiffchaff. A second visit this afternoon gave a great albeit brief view of Kingfisher and 2 Bitterns I missed. 

Common Snipe from Hanson

Great White Egret from Hanson

Kingfisher from Hanson this afternoon

One of 4 Cattle Egrets by the entrance track at Cooks pool early afternoon

02/12/2025

As my car was in for service today I didn't make the early sea watch, as per OL it was not particularly exciting. 

                                Another around the Scotney complex on my bicycle

Juvenile Greater Scaup at the Sussex end of Scotney main pit

                              Juvenile Greater Scaup at the Sussex end of Scotney main pit

One of 2 Black-necked Grebes at Scotney, this one in Sussex

At least 7 Greater White-fronted Geese with Greylags at the eastern end of the old sand pit at Scotney 

As I was scanning through the Goose flock this gorgeous young female Sparrowhawk settled on the fence post just a few yards away from me for a magical few seconds

Meadow Pipits were positively abundant around Scotney today

This Polish Yellow ringed Gull at Scotney at the weekend looks like a definite Caspian at first glance, but the pale iris and shortish legs noticeable in the image below made me think it was a hybrid. 

The bird was ringed as an adult  Caspian Gull(see the life history below) then reported as an argentatus later the same month, then as a Caspian by the same observer a year later. Collins Bird Guide states that about 75% of adult  Caspian Gulls have a dark iris. I have no idea how many adult Caspian Gulls I have seen over the years, certainly double figures possibly 3 figure numbers, this is the first I have seen with a pale iris.🤯

The life history of P:10C

28/11/2025

An adult Polish ringed Caspian Gull? on the causeway between the 2 Eastern pits at Scotney. The question mark is because I do not recall seeing a Caspian Gull with such an obvious pale iris before. Some lierature states that only 75% of adults have a dark iris. Hopefully the ringing data will clear things up.

There 4 Bewick Swans behind Lydd Cricket Pitch yesterday per OL. A thorough search at the back of Scotney found no wild grey geese, plenty of feral geese incluind a single flock of 142 Egyptian Geese, also several 1,000s of Golden Plover which are very difficult to get anywhere near to, for a check of Dotterel and American Golden Plover. 

The reserve in general is still very quiet, mainly due to the extensive ongoing improvements which I'm sure will pay dividends.

At the ARC although work is still going on the Starling murmuration has been good, usually with appearance of Bitterns, Marsh Harriers, Kingfishers, Merlin and Sparrowhawks and plenty of the usual wildfowl.
 

A very obliging Black-necked Grebe at the western end of the main Scotney pit

The Black-necked grebe at the Eastern end of the main pit kept its distance

A 1st winter Scaup found by Owen on the old sand pit probably female. The bird has now relocated to Scxotney main pit per NB.

26-27/11/2025

This Shorelark was one of the highlights of yesterdays excellent "Wednesday Birders Club" day out to Sandwich Bay, Hume's Warbler also seen but far too quick for me and my camera, more Grey Partridges, not forgetting my first Ring-necked Parakeets of the year. The top highlight was Owens lovely cake.

Shorelark

Grey Partridges

27/11/2025

Back to normal this morning with an early morning seawatch, Auks, Kittiwakes and Gannets were the bulk of the birds moving West with a few Common Scoter and a lingering Sandwich Tern.

 
A visit to the Hanson Hide at the ARC where 3 Caspian Gulls were probably the highlights, also a 3rd winter Yellow-legged Gull out on the Cormorant island.

The weather deteriorated rapidly making this afternoon a time for domestic stuff.

2w Caspian Gull

2w Caspian gull

A Great White Egret towering over some of the several 100 of Shoveler present in front of Hanson Hide

Pochard from Hanson Hide

Gadwall from Hanson Hide

Shoveler feeding in circles