March 23rd (New Hythe)

RIVER (tide out) - 10 Great Black backed Gulls (ad) 2 Med Gulls (ad) 2 Shelduck 2 Oystercatcher 25 Mallard 18 Teal 2 Snipe 1 Green Sandpiper 1 Peregrine 1 Sparrowhawk 3 Common Buzzards.

Four singing Blackcaps and 3 Chiffchaffs were in the area of Brooklands lake.

Later during the afternoon,I saw 3 Med Gulls in the fields out towards Birling,along with the leucistic Magpie.Which has been around for at least six years.

March 19th (New Hythe)

Ring-neck Duck (Abbey Mead) and a YELLOWHAMMER in the Sunken Marsh.The Yellowhammer is my first sighting of the species at New Hythe,for almost thirty years.

March 18th (CATCH UP)

The Blackcap which I controlled in my garden (5) male,on February 1st 2019.Had been ringed on 26th September 2018,in the Channel Islands,Alderney,Essex,farm.
The above bird stayed around for about two weeks.Then on March 12th,a different male,along with a female appeared.Although the female is still seen daily,the male has not been seen since.

The big wintering wildfowl flocks at New Hythe,departed around the time of the very warm period during February.Although the Ring-neck Duck still remains on Abbey Mead (March 18th,but at times it can be very hard to locate.

During the February warm period I saw three butterfly species,Brimstone,Peacock and Comma.

On February 28th,I saw a Red Kite drifting over Snodland,heading east.

On March 14th,I had three singing Chiffs and two Oystercatchers at New Hythe,but so far,no martins or swallows.The Stock Dove was seen at Alders lake.

Above Egyptian Goose (Alders lake) March 14th.

February 19th (Isle of Sheppey)

February 11th (New Hythe)

I was ringing in the (West scrub) this morning (08:00 - 10:00)

BIRD RINGED

Blue Tit           2

Great Tit          3

Dunnock          1

Reed Bunting  11

Chaffinch         1

TOTAL             18

From the top  Siskin (male)  Reed Bunting (male) Chaffinch (male) adult (male) Chaffinch tail (6). 

February 3rd (New Hythe)

Crisp and bright. (09:00 - 10:30).

From the top  female Teal (from the Bucket Wood)  Goosander (Railway lake)  Ring-necked Duck (Abbey Mead)  Snipe (from the Bucket Wood),from where I could see at least 20.

February 1st (Garden)

I caught two Blackcaps in the garden this morning.A female without a ring and a male that was already wearing a ring.Controlling a winter Blackcap is well worth the effort.This bird was wearing a ring from the Jersey ringing scheme.I will eagerly await the ringing information,when it comes through via the BTO.

Later during the afternoon,the male returned.I was watching it feeding on some apples that I had put out.When a cat jumped up and snatched at the bird,luckily he escaped,though missing most of his tail.

The above photo was taken before the attack.