04/10/2021

With the counting dearth of land birds sea watching is the main attraction

My first Little Gull of the autumn made a very brief appearance at the fishing boats before disappearing back into the bay

07.00-10.15 with AJG, DW et al

Common Scoter: 1W

Red-throated Diver: 1W

Great-crested Grebe: 3W     2 on

Gannet: 39W

Cormorant: 147 around

Turnstone: 2 around

Kittiwake: 3W

Black-headed Gull: Present n/c

Little Gull: 1 Juvenile around

Mediterranean Gull: 2E

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: 203W

Common Tern: 2W

Arctic Skua: 28W

Guillemot: 1W

Auk sp: 35W

Swallow: 54 out

Pied Wagtail: 2 around

Meadow Pipit: 45W

Linnet: 85W

Harbour porpoise: 4

Grey seal: 2

Still at least 8 Cattle Egrets at Boulderwall today

A distant Black-necked Grebe on the ARC early afternoon

The Glossy Ibis back at its favoured island on the ARC early afternoon

14.00-16.00 with AJG & JC

Red-throated Diver: 1 on

Great-crested Grebe: 5 around

Gannet: 110W

Turnstone: 3 around

Sandwich Tern: 204W

Arctic Skua: 11W

Razorbill: 6W

Auk sp: 2W

Swallow: 96 out

03/10/2021

Red-throated Diver

07.00-10.30 from the fishing boats with CP, AJG, NB, JB, DW, CT, BW, GH et al

Brent Goose: 3W

Common Scoter: 22W     6E

Red-throated Diver: 12W

Balearic Shearwater: 1W

Great-crested Grebe: 4 around

Gannet: 741W

Cormorant: 64 around

Shag: 1W

Turnstone: 7 around

Kittiwake: 7W

Black-headed Gull: Present n/c

Mediterranean Gull: 22W

Common Gull: Present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: Present n/c

Herring Gull: Present n/c

Lesser black-backed Gull: Present n/c

Caspian Gull: 2 around

Sandwich Tern: 402W

Common Tern: 3W

Great Skua: 4W

Arctic Skua: 57W     11E

Guillemot: 3W

Razorbill: 18W

Auk sp: 205W

Hobby: 1W

Swallow: 33 out

Pied Wagtail: 2W

Rock Pipit: 1W

Grey Seal: 1

Harbour Porpoise: 4+

I was a little slow spotting this Shag coming, still a scarce bird at Dungeness

Great Black-backed Gull about to swallow a Thornback Ray whole

There were still at least 5 Cattle Egrets at Boulderwall late afternoon

A brief visit to Dennis's Hide, saw c150 Golden Plover, 2 Dunlin and a Ruff among the Lapwings on the islands.

02/10/2021

Juvenile Long-tailed Skua

Juvenile Long-tailed Skua

 

06.50-13.00 with NB, DW, AJG, CP, MT, SM, GH et al 

Red-throated Diver: 1E

Leach’s Petrel: 2W

Sooty: Shearwater: 19W

Manx Shearwater: 3W

Balearic Shearwater: 18W

Great-crested Grebe: 4 around

Gannet: 2,420W

Cormorant: 52 around

Grey Plover: 1W

Kittiwake: 43W

Black-headed Gull:

Mediterranean Gull: 4W

Common Gull: Present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: Present n/c

Herring Gull: Present n/c

Lesser black-backed Gull: Present n/c

Caspian Gull: 1 around

Sandwich tern: 446W

Common Tern: 5W

Great Skua: 17W

Arctic Skua: 80W

Long-tailed Skua: 1W

Sand Martin: 2 out AJG

House Martin: 23 out

Swallow: 114 out

Pied Wagtail: 2 out

Meadow Pipit: 270W

Goldfinch: 3W

Grey Seal: 1

Common seal: 1

Harbour Porpoise: 4+

Leach's Petrels

Balearic Shearwater

Manx Shearwater

Sooty Shearwater

                                                                               Gannets

Arctic Skua

Arctic Skua

1w Caspian Gull the first one this autumn at the fishing boats

 

 

 

01/10/2021

 I spent 8 very enjoyable hours at the fishing boats today watching 1,000s of sea birds moving west into into a strong SW wind with frequent squally showers that cut visibility to a just a few metres at times, the day was made all the more enjoyable as I had only gone to the fishing boats out of hope, rather than any expectation of seeing a nice movement of birds.

Manx Shearwater

Manx Shearwater

07.00-16.00  CP, AJG, PS, DW  et al. mainly from the fishing boats.

Common Scoter: 5E     10W

Red-throated Diver: 1E     3W

Great-crested Grebe: 7 around

Leach’s Petrel: 5W

Sooty Shearwater: 19W

Balearic Shearwater: 20W

Manx Shearwater: 3W

Gannet: 2856W

Cormorant: 112W/around

Kittiwake: 39W

Mediterranean Gull: 3W        1E

Sandwich Tern: 1077W

Common Tern: 3W

Great Skua: 2W

Arctic Skua: 57W

Guillemot: 37W

Razorbill: 121W

Auk Sp: 302W

Swallow: 20W

Wheatear: 1 around

Grey Seal: 2

Harbour Porpoise: 6+

Manx Shearwater

Balearic Shearwater a little more distant

Red-throated Diver 

one of the many Arctic Skuas seen today

Very little news from the rest of the peninsular but it seems that the all the Egrets and Ibis are still insitu.

27/09/2021

 At last an excellent day spent staring at the sea and seeing loads of birds 😀

3 of this afternoons Balearic Shearwaters heading west along the colour change, they gave good scope views but dos in the camera.

07.00-11.30 OL,AJG, SM, from the sea watch hide

Brent Goose: 63W

Teal: 7W  1E

Common Scoter: 22W.   6E

Red-throated Diver: 3W    1 on

Great-crested Grebe: 4 on

Leach’S Petrel: 1W (seen only by SM at the fishing boats)

Fulmar: 1E

Sooty Shearwater: 3W

Manx Shearwater: 2W

Balearic shearwater: 2W

Gannet:  c300 around

Cormorant: 14 around

Kittiwake: c150 around

Mediterranean Gull: 2W

Sandwich Tern: c200 around

Common Tern: 1W

Great Skua: 1W    9E

Arctic Skua: 37W   23E

Guillemot: 2W

Auk sp: 2W   1E

Swallow: 40 out

Grey Seal: 1

Common Seal: 1

Harbour Porpoise: 1

13.30-17.00 from the fishing boats with AJG, CT

Brent Goose: 9W

Common Scoter: 7E

Sooty Shearwater: 4W

Manx Shearwater: 2W

Balearic shearwater: 38W

Gannet:  165W

Cormorant: 17 around

Ringed Plover: 7W

Turnstone: 7W

Kittiwake: 142W

Mediterranean Gull: 6W

Sandwich Tern: 187W

Common Tern: 39W

Great Skua: 1W

Arctic Skua: 16W   3E

Guillemot: 2W

Razorbill: 1W

Auk sp: 4W

Swallow: 76 out

Grey Seal: 1

Harbour Porpoise: 3

I have heard no news from the reserve.

26/09/2021

Guillemot

Migrant RIB arriving this morning, evading all Border Force Vessels and millions of £s of technology. 😂

By the time these 3 Border Force vessels and millions arrived the migrant RIB had already landed

07.00-09.30 from the fishing boats with AJG who kindly collated the numbers:

Common Scoter: 16W

Sooty Shearwater: 2W

Gannet: 207W

Merlin: 1 hunting off shire

Kittiwake: 9W

Mediterranean Gull: 3W

Sandwich Tern: 131W

Arctic Skua : 3W

Razorbill: 1W

Guillemot: 4W

Auk sp: 2W

House Martin: c25W

Swallow: 61W

Apart from a few Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps in the bushes the dearth of passerines continues.

Arctic Skua

Arctic Skua 

13.30-16.00 from the fishing boats with NB, JB, DB, AJG, OL, & RW who kindly kept the log:

Brent Goose: 1W

Common Scoter: 2E    45W

Red-throated diver: 1W

Great-crested Grebe: 1E

Manx Shearwater: 2W

Balearic Shearwater: 1W

Gannet: 137W

Cormorant: 8E  22W

Curlew: 1W

Kittiwake: c200 loafing offshore

Mediterranean Gull: 2E  12W

Sandwich Tern: 258W

Common Tern: 3W

Arctic Skua & Sandwich Terns

Manx Shearwater

Common Scoter

Common Tern

No sign of the Black Tern on the ARC today, 2 Garganey and the Black-necked Grebe still present there. 

On the reserve in the fields still at least 8 Cattle Egrets, the Glossy Ibis the usual Great and Little Egrets and a few Yellow Wagtails of note. Burrowes held up to 3 Ruff, 8 Knot, 15, Dunlin, 50+ Golden Plover, a flock of c20 Ringed Plovers flew through as did a single Sandwich Tern.

Cattle Egret

Great White Egret

Four-spotted Footman

Delicate

 

23/09/2021

 As I keep being asked when the hides are going to open again. As far as I know Firth Hide will never open again as it  has been replaced by the Firth Look Out which probably seemed liked a good idea, in reality it is only really usable in perfect weather especially with a scope, very few birds stay on the close islands as the first person to walk onto the Look Out flushes them. Makepiece won't open until they can get enough funding to replace it. Scott Hide has been replaced by another Look Out with the same drawbacks as Firth. Dengemarsh should open in the next couple of weeks, don't hold your breath. Hanson won't open until the new Willow Trail Boardwalk is completed, so probably not till next year at the earliest. The Screen is open albeit with the back completely removed, at the moment the vegetation is so high little can be seen, most people walk past the screen and stand on top of the bank. The good news is Christmas Dell hide is open at the moment, so somewhere to eat your sandwiches and have a sleep. Dennis's Hide is open at the moment so at least some of Burrowes can viewed irrelative comfort.

The best hide at the moment is the car, especially by entrance track where the Egrets and Ibis sometimes show very well, though I expect to find double yellow lines there one day.😂

An Obliging Great Egret again today

The Cattle Egrets weren't to bad either

Todays sea watches were again poor but least the sun shining:

07.30-08.30 

Common Scoter: 4W

Gannet: 110 feeding 

Cormorant: 11 around

Merlin: 1 in off the sea

Grey Plover: 2W

Kittiwake: 1 at Patch 1w

Mediterranean Gull: 1 at Patch 1w

Sandwich Tern: 2E

Guillemot: 1E

Swallow: 131 SW

House Martin: 46 SW

13.30-15.30 from Fishing boats:

Common Scoter: 35W       5E

Red-throated Diver: 1W

Gannet: 51W

Cormorant: 14E

Kittiwake: 43W      19 on

Sandwich Tern: 137W

Arctic Skua: 4W      1E

Guillemot: 1E   1 on

Swallow: 28 SW

Wheatear: 1 around

Grey Seal !

Harbour Porpoise: 4

The bushes were very quiet, a few each of Chiffchaff and Blackcap. 

Lydd Fields had a few Yellow Wagtails and  Meadow Pipits over with a couple of Marsh harriers and Common Buzzards. Dengemarsh the 2 juvenile Hobby's still present, a single Wheatear, 2 Ravens and more Yellow Wagtails.