January 30th (Dungeness)

Great White Egret (ARC Pit)

I made the right decision weather wise,at home it rained all day.As for the Glaucous Gull the bird I went to see,wrong one.I looked for it by the fishing boats,but it was performing by the sea watching hide for about two hours!.(see the Plodding birders Blog).

Black-throated Divers (New Diggings)

Kittiwake (immature)

Fox,near the fishing boats

January 20th (Ramsgate)

Today I went to Ramsgate with Bob Bland and finally caught up with the Hume`s Warbler.The bird was feeding very actively in the trees just inside the gates of the cemetery.The light was very bad at the time of our visit and this coupled with the fact it was feeding high up,resulted in just one rather poor record shot.

January 18th.

Hoopoe

This afternoon at 13:30,I flushed a HOOPOE from a small front lawn in Sandy lane,Snodland.Undoubtably its the same bird that Jeremy Hall saw there on November 24th 2013.Although I walk around there most days this is the first occasion I have seen it.
When flushed it flew into some trees where it remained for a few minutes,before flying off towards a large private Sand quarry.It did this when Jeremy first found it during November.

Sorry Jeremy I would have come round and told you,but I could not find your address.

January 14th (Dungeness)

Kittiwake

Along with three other birders,I was in the Patch Hide nice and early this morning.We were hoping that yesterdays Ross`s Gull would still be around.After searching through a flock of over one thousand Black-headed Gulls,all we managed to find however was one 1st winter Little Gull and two Med gulls.
Further out at least 150 Common Scotor,along with a sprinkling of Red-throated Divers and Auks passed through.

Goosanders (Burrowes Pit)

Black-throated Diver (New Diggings)

January 11th (Leysdown)

Sanderling

Brent Geese

January 10th (Dungeness)

Great White Egret

It was bright enough when I left home,but cloud along the coast at Dungeness brought rain mid morning.

Great White Egret

Gossander,4 on the (ARC Pit.)

Goldeneye,3 drakes and 2 red-heads (ARC Pits.)

Red-head Smew,2 possibly 4 on the ARC Pits.

I spent about thirty five minutes watching the sea from the point.Not a lot was on the move as far as I could see,apart from a few Auks and one Red-throated Diver.Still 100s of Great-Creasted Grebes sitting about though,along with a few Turnstones and Kittiwake along the beach.
I didn`t look for the Caspian Gulls.

Kittiwake

Swallowed just in time!.

Just before rain stopped play a number of Auks were passing quite close in,all moving west.

Razorbill

Guillemot

Two each of Razorbill and Guillemot

January 8th (Hew Hythe)

Common Buzzard and Crow

On my first visit to New Hythe in 2014,on the 6th.I totalled a rather lowly 43 species,the tide being high though didn`t help
.
This morning under slightly better conditions and a falling tide,I added a further eight.Four were seen in the first five minutes between the car park and river,Kestral,Jackdaw,Little Grebe and Reed Bunting.At the river I saw,Lapwing,Redshank and Common Buzzard.Number eight,a Grey Wagtail was seen running around a flooded area in the West Scrub,where I had gone looking for Woodcock,without any luck,I must add.Although my New Hythe total for the year now stands at 51,I have seen nothing of note,thus far.

Small numbers of  Fieldfare and Redwing continue to be seen,whilst Siskin and Redpoll remain scarce.Blackbirds on the other hand appear at the moment to be in every bush.

I was pleased to see some of the mature Hawthorn in the East Scrub is being coppiced,namely to help Nightingale numbers.More of this needs to be done in the Park,if we are to keep this special bird.

January 6th.

Can I count this bird on my New Hythe list,only I don`t remember seeing another one in the past 50 years or more ?.

PAST TIMES (New Hythe,January,1987)

January 1987,began mild enough,but by the10th,it had turned bitterly cold.Heavy snow then fell along the North Downs and in the valley between the 10th-14th,resulting in many villages being cut off for several days,particularly after drifting occurred in the strong NE winds.
One species that was hit particularly hard was the Cetti`s Warbler.Although I re-trapped one female at New Hythe during May of that year.No more were recorded in the area until the spring of 1993,when one bird was heard along the northern edge of Abbey Mead lake.By 1995,up to 4 males were present.

Bewick`s Swan  1 14th-17th,with 5 on the 20th.
Brent Goose  3 passed over SW on the 2nd.
Wigeon  15 on Abbey Mead,9th-11th,on the 12th,100 flew onto the lake from the N,with 10 Pintail.  .
Gadwall  up to 70 in the area.
Mallard  240 on Tesco lake on the 14th.
Pochard  up to 400 in the area.
Tufted Duck  up to 500 in the area.
Scaup 1 drake on Abbey Mead 12th.
Goldeneye  4 on Abbey Mead 12th.
Smew  1 drake on Abbey Mead 12th,by the end of the month up to 25,were in the area,which included up to six drakes.
Red-breasted Merganser  1 on Abbey Mead 14th- 24th.
Goosander  2 red-heads 12th,11,including 7 drakes 19th.
Bittern  up to 2 in the area.
Red-necked Grebe  2 on Tesco lake 17th.
Slavonian Grebe  1 on Abbey Mead 24th.
Bar-tailed Godwit  1 on 14th.
Short-eared Owl  1 in the area during the month.
Long-eared Owl  up to 9 roosting in the area during the month.
Skylark  100s were seen flying over on the 24th.

I had my one and only garden record of a Tree Sparrow on the 15th.What I wonder would be the odds of me seeing another one in the garden,27 years on !.