May 20th (Dungeness)

Osprey and Herring Gulls

Overcast,dull and damp,north.

Dungeness today with Bob Bland.
birds of note that we saw.(4) Little Egrets and (1) drake Scaup (ARC pit),(1) Bittern,(1) Hobby and (2) Marsh Harrier (Dengemarsh,(1) White Wagtail,2 Black Redstarts and (1) Common Sandpiper (Power Station),(2) imm Little Gulls and (2) Wigeon (Burrows pit) and (1) Osprey that flew east along the beach.(55) species in all.

Osprey

At least (30) Common Terns were present at Dengemarsh.

Common Terns

Just the one Hobby was seen at Dengemarsh.

Hobby

A nice male Black Redstart was seen along the Power Station wall.

Black Redstart

May 15th and 16th (New Hythe)

15th,windy,westerly,rather cold.

Brookland Lake and the river  - good numbers of hirundine were flying low over the lake this morning with,100+ each of Swallow,House Martin and Swift,only 2 Sand Martin though.I was hoping for a Red-rumped,but try as I may,I just couldn`t turn a House Martin into one.A Hobby and a Kestral were seen briefly and a Grey Wagtail flew from the edge of the lake over towards the river,where 3 of this years young Grey Heron were seen trying out their fishing skills.I only saw 1 Shelduck,hopefully his mate is sitting tight on a nest somewhere. On the edge of the Sunken marsh,one of our scarce New Hythe breeding birds,a Sedge Warbler was still singing strongly from within a tangle of bramble and a Cuckoo called several times from the Eccles side of the river.I didn`t manage to find the Turtle Dove that had been reported in the area a few days ago.

16th,better day,hardly any wind and much brighter.

I was out at 05:30 this morning and managed to catch three Nightingale,two were new,one of which I   caught in the Brook House area and the other at the southern end of the Streamside lake.The third bird was a re trap.

T677041  ringed (5) male,breeding,23 04 2008,west scrub.(w.t. 19.0grm)

re trapped 27 04 2012,breeding by the pylon,east scrub.(19.3grm)

re trapped 16 04 2013,breeding by the Pylon,east scrub.(six years old) (w.t.20.0grm)

Pectoral Sandpiper (Dungeness 13th May)

May 13th (Dungeness)

Cloudy,cold,windy,westerly.

On my way to Dungeness this morning,I picked up Bob Bland in Headcorn.By 07:15,we were watching the sea from in front of the Power Station,where we remained until 09:00.

The 13th may be unlucky for some,but it certainly wasn`t for us both today.

Birds of note
Gannets,many passing,in view all the time.
Kittiwake (2)
Med Gull (1)
Sandwich Terns
Common Terns (100s)
Black Tern (2)
Little Tern (2)
Arctic Skua (2) dark birds up
Guillemot (15) down
Whimbrel (1)
Fulmar (3)
Common Scoter (9) up

Pec Sand and Ringed Plover

A Pectoral Sandpiper was showing very well during the morning at Dengemarsh,along with (2) Knot,(1) Dunlin and (2) Ringed Plover.We also had a flyover Raven and (2) Garganey.

The Sandpiper was a first British spring bird for us both,very nice.

Knot (summer plumage)

Unusually for May,we saw (3) Scaup,a pair on the reserve and a lone drake on the ARC pits.The ARC pits also produced a drake Garganey,a flyover Common Buzzard and a very nice Blue-headed Wagtail.We failed to find a Green winged Teal that had been  reported on the pit earlier during the morning.

Scaup (drake)

Scaup (female)

While we were having our lunch on the RSPB reserve a Red-rumped Swallow was found.We later had excellent views of the bird from the Harrison hide.Before Bob had even reached the hide the bird flew inches past his nose.

May 6th (New Hythe)

Sunny and warm (09:00-10:30).

The only birds of note I saw this morning were 3 Common Buzzards,1 Garden Warbler,1 Lesser Whitethroat,2 Sedge Warblers and 1 Common Tern.The tern was flying around Abbey Mead.

During the afternoon I saw my first Hobby of the spring,along with a small number of Swifts over the Kingfisher lakes at Paddlesworth.

PAST TIMES ( May 6th,8th,9th,1980 )

May 6th,strong easterly,bright.

Abbey Mead - 7 Common Terns,1 Black Tern,1 Little Gull,1 Wheatear,4 Yellow Wagtails,50 Swifts,200 Sand Martin,50 House Martin,1 Nightingale,2,Dunlin,1 imm Cormorant,caught two Common Sandpipers.
Alders lake,Leybourne - 5 Common Terns.

May 8th, overcast,cold,moderate east.
Abbey Mead -  caught 4 Common Sandpipers,1 Black Tern,500 Sand Martins,no Swifts,6 Yellow Wagtails,1 Nightingale and 2 Wheatear.

May 9th,overcast,not as cold.
Abbey Mead - 1 Black Redstart.

May 1st ( NO APOLOGIES )

I just can`t get enough of them. (09:00 - 10:30).

This morning the female Chiffchaff was putting the finishing touches to her nest.