June 30th (New Hythe)

Remaining dry and warm.A quick visit this morning produced singles of Oystercatcher along the river and Turtle Dove in the sunken marsh.Two Ringlet were found along the path between Abbey Mead and the sunken marsh.

June 28th.

A very pleasant day was spent in the warm sunshine looking at Butterflies,Dragonflies and Orchids in the company of Bob Bland and Simon(Mote Park Blog).Our first stop was the KTNC reserve at East Blean woods where we hoped to see the Heath fritilary.We needn`t have worried because by the time we had arrived just after 8:am they were already on the wing.Next stop was Sandwich Bay for the Lizzard orchids,Marsh helleborine and anything else that we could find.Small blue was ticked at the Western Heights (Dover) and on the way back to Maidstone Keeled skimmer and Heath spotted orchid at Hothfield heath.

List of species noted - Blean woods Heath fritillary,Sandwich Bay Small tortoiseshell,Painted lady,Speckled wood,Small heath,Red admiral,Holly blue,Common blue,Red-veined darter,Black-tailed skimmer, emperor,Lizzard orchid,Southern marsh,Pyramidal,Marsh helleborine,Western heights,Small blue.Hothfield heath, emperor,Keeled skimmer,Four-spotted chaser,Heath spotted orchid.
Only birds of note at Sandwich that we saw was one each of Coal Tit and L R Plover.

June 24th.

During the evening Keith Derret and I ringed four young Kestrals on Don Tayor`s Patch.
When Keith was extracting the birds from the box not only did he have to avoid the birds talons but wasps as had built a nest in the box as well.

I have one recovery from the small number of Kestrals I have ringed.A bird ringed at Kingsnorth (Power Station) on June 15th 1988 as a pulli (nestling) was found dead at Watersfield,near Pulborough,Sussex,97Km SW,252 days later on February 22nd 1989.

Bird ringing has shown that lowland Kestrals are highly sedentary those in upland areas tend to winter lower down,many wintering in the southeast.Some birds may move to mainland Europe,young birds tend to disperse in a random nature.Birds breeding in northern Europe migrate southwest to winter as far south as the Gulf of Guinea,an unknown number pass through eastern England and some may stay.

June 22nd (New Hythe)

I had two (40ft) nets up in the west scrub between 5:30am-9:30.Birds ringed - Blackbird (1 ad) Wren (1 juv) Dunnock (2 juv) Robin (2 juv) Chiffchaff (2 juv) Blackcap (2 juv) Blue Tit (2 juv) L T Tit (1 adult and 7 juv) Great Tit (1 juv) Chaffinch (1 juv) Common Whitethroat (1 juv). I also had one retrap L T Tit which was ringed in the west scrub on 09 05 08 as a (adult breeding female)

Birds seen or heard as follows - Common Tern 1,Nightingale (several birds,croaking call) Willow Warbler (2 singing),Green Woodpecker 1,Great Spotted Woodpecker 1,Song Thrush (2 singing) Lesser Whitethroat 2,Whooper Swan ( little Tesco) and 2 Linnet (young birds,east scrub).

During the afternoon I walked around Holborough marsh and noted one Little Egret and one L R Plover along the river.

June 19th.

June 19th,a Linnet was seen with nesting material in the sunken marsh (New Hythe) 2 Common Tern remain on Brookland lake.

June 18th (Dungeness)

9:am -2:pm. I spent most of my time between the reserve centre and the Denge marsh hide.
Birds noted - Marsh Harrier 3,Hobby 4,Purple Heron 1,Black-Tailed Godwit 8,Bittern 1 (booming),Beared Tit 1,Yellow Wagtail 2,Cetti`s Warbler 3 and Common Tern 4.

June 16th (New Hythe)

8:am-10:am cloudy and cool,northeast,brighter and warmer during the afternoon.
Good numbers of young birds were seen this morning including 2 Pied Wagtail in the Brookland car-park a brood of Lesser Whitethroat in the riverside hawthorns,1 Juvenile Black-headed Gull on Brookland and best of all a brood of 8 very small Shelduck on the river.
Walking back to the car along the millstream a Kingfisher was seen and 3 Garden Warblers were heard again.Brookland lake held at least 40 Black-headed Gulls busily picking insects from the surface and 3 Common Terns.

PAST TIMES (June 1980)

WILDFOWL Greylag - pair with young at Leybourne 8th.Shelduck - 3 small young on the river at New Hythe 21st,40 young seen at Halling.WADERS Ringed Plover - 2 pairs with small young (Brook House area) L R Plover - 2 pairs with young by 10th (Brook House area) Lapwing - 2 broods of young ringed in the sunken marsh during the month.Lapwing on the move by the 5th.TERNS Common Tern - 1-2 birds in the area all month.BARN OWL one seen flying along the river at New Hythe 28th.CUCKOO much in evidence,at least 4 birds.CETTI`S one singing along Eccles island creek during the month.SPOTTED FLYCATCHER - present on Reed island Site during the month (1).
The area opposite the Ringed Plover and L R Plover site was cleared during the month,it had breeding Yellow Wagtail,Meadow Pipit,Skylark and Reed Warbler.

Brecon Beacons,Wales

Last week Jeanette and I spent a very pleasant few days in a farm cottage in the hills just above Talybont-on-Usk,in the Brecon Beacons,Wales.

Being only a few miles from the Usk reservoir the Red Kite feeding centre at Llanddeusant is well worth a visit,just over 50 birds came in to feed.

The area around the Usk reservoir we found to be very good,with breeding Whinchat,Stonechat,Red Kite,Common Buzzard,Garden Warbler and Ring Ouzel,the latter of which was on the higher ground.

Common Sandpiper,small numbers breed around the Talybont reservoir

June 13th (New Hythe)

This mornings visit was my first since arriving back from Wales on Friday,where Jeanette and I had spent a few days in a cottage in the hills above Talybont-on-Usk,in the Brecon Beacons.
8:am-9:30am.Brookland/sunken marsh and Abbey Meads area - birds noted amongst others - Nightingale 4,Cetti`s Warbler 3,Cuckoo 1,Lesser Whitethroat 2,Common Whitethroat 4,Chiffchaff 2,Common Tern 1 (Brookland) and 1 adult Med Gull (Abbey Mead).

June 2nd (New Hythe)

Sunny and warm,I was out between 12:30-2:pm.I walked round the sunken marsh,through the riverside hawthorns,over the railway line and back to the Brookland car-park along the millstream.The first thing I noticed was the continued presence of the adult Mute Swans on Brookland but there was still no sign of their cygnets I had photographed just after they had hatched on May 24th.I first noticed they were missing the following day,its all very strange.The usual warbler species were seen or heard as I walked round the marsh + Sparrowhawk,Cuckoo and Turtle Dove.Along the river I saw 2 Shelduck,I Oystercatcher,23 Canada geese + one small brood and 2 overflying Stock Dove.Not much of note was then seen until I had reached the northern end of the millstream where I found 3 Garden Warbler in song.