Blue-headed Wagtail

During the late afternoon yesterday, Richard found a pair of Blue-headed Wagtails at Hayfield 1 and luckily they were still present today as the male is an absolute stunner.

Blue-headed Wagtail female

Blue-headed Wagtail female

Blue-headed Wagtail male

Blue-headed Wagtail male

Blue-headed Wagtail male

Blue-headed Wagtail male

Also on Hayfield 1 was a smart drake Garganey.

Drake Garganey

Gulls roosting and bathing in front of Makepeace hide included two 3CY (I think?) Yellow-legged Gulls.

Yellow-legged Gull 3CY

Yellow-legged Gull 3CY

Elsewhere on the RSPB Reserve were four Willow Warblers, three Sedge Warblers, a couple of Sand Martins a couple of Black Redstarts and at least four Water Pipits. Double figure Goldeneye are still on the Reserve, mostly on Burrowes. A Ruff, 16 Dunlin, a Greenshank and two Ringed Plover were also on and around Dengemarsh/Hayfield 1 and a Bittern continued to 'boom' at Dengemarsh.

Redwings 24th and 25th March

The 24th March was overcast and damp. Hundreds of Redwings and a few Fieldfares had descended in to the Desert and the top of the Long Pits. They were incredibly hard to see even though many were singing and they would not allow a close approach. Somehow they knew you were there and went quiet as one.

Redwings in the Desert

Wandering down to the Point from the top of the Long Pits, I was picking up new arrivals with the odd Goldcrest and a few Chiffchaffs, along with a single Firecrest. In the following photo sequence, i've tried to provide similar comparison postures of Chiffchaff and Iberian Chiffchaff from the 22nd March. 

Chiffchaff

Iberian Chiffchaff from 22nd March

Chiffchaff

Iberian Chiffchaff from the 22nd March

Chiffchaff

Iberian Chiffchaff from 22nd March

Goldcrest

Heading on to the RSPB Reserve there were a couple of Avocets on Burrowes and a female Long-tailed Duck which I couldn't find today. The Long-tailed Duck is likely to be the one from Lade and before that from New Diggings, it was last seen on New Diggings on 7th March, then Lade on 13th-14th March and Burrowes on the 17th. As of the 25th there are at least six Goldeneye still present on Burrowes.

Avocet

Female Long-tailed Duck and Drake Goldeneye

Gulls are still making use of the new islands infront of Xmas Dell and Dengemarsh hides. This very large and long billed 2CY Caspian Gull was in from of Dengemarsh hide.

2CY Caspian Gull

2CY Caspian Gull

Pairs of Common Gulls were interested in the islands, hopefully they might breed.

Common Gulls

On the 25th March, the Point was cloaked in a low hazy mist and early messages from Jacob indicated that once again Redwings were in the area along with a Hawfinch. However, the mist layer quickly burnt off and the skies were clear and blue and I could only hear the odd Siskin calling as I walked to the Point and Desert from the top of the Long Pits. My walk recorded a dearth of migrants with only the local Robins and singing Chiffchaffs. A look at the sea was equally disappointing but on walking back to the Bird Observatory there were a couple of Black Redstarts feeding including a stunning male that had been ringed, presumably by the Obs team.

Male Black Redstart

Male Black Redstart 

Male Black Redstart

I headed back home for breakfast and a message on another Kent Whatsapp group stated that a Hoopoe had been seen at Kerton Pit. So it was back out and on arriving at Kerton Road I could a few of the other locals looking for the Hoopoe. In the end we couldn't relocate it but did have a Woodcock and a 2CY Caspian Gull. 

2CY Caspian Gull Kerton Pit

Iberian Chiffchaff

The day started early and well with 11 White-beaked Dolphins slowly moving east at the Point and then a good steady movement offshore of Red-throated Diver, Common Scoter, Little Gull, Kittiwake, Red-Breasted Merganser, Common Eider, Curlew, Dunlin, Arctic Skua, Sandwich Tern and our first Little-ringed Plover of the spring.  

Kittiwakes with Herring Gulls

Four Little Gulls

After finishing the sea watch at 11:00 I decided to wander around the power station perimeter as Owen had recorded at least seven Black Redstarts at the Point. My wanderings resulted in four Black Redstarts, three Wheatears and four male Stonechats. When I was by the switch station I heard Brents calling and just offshore was a large flock moving east, I estimated at least 500 birds.

A section of the c.500 Dark-bellied Brent Geese passing east at the Point.

I got back home at 13:00 and had just finished my brunch when Martin rang me and told me that 'a Siberian Chiffchaff had been located in a private garden at the point', or at least that is what I though he said. On arriving back at the Point, I was pleased to understand that I had misheard Martin and it was an Iberian Chiffchaff which performed very well to a small group of locals and visitors. Luckily the Iberian Chiffchaff occasionally called and sang and recordings were taken. It was feeding voraciously darting and flitting around the garden. It had been present the previous late evening and excellent persistence by Dave Bunney who tentatively identified the bird as a probable Iberian Chiff and the news was broadcast. Many thanks to Dave for allowing us to view from his garden boundary and also to Sheila for great coffee and to Martin for calling me.

Iberian Chiffchaff

Iberian Chiffchaff

Iberian Chiffchaff

Black Redstarts

I managed to miss over 20 Garganey flying past the Point at various times of the day today but I still caught up with plenty of variety migrating east, albeit in lower numbers than the past few days. 

We haven't been recording that many Lesser Black-backed Gulls recently so it was nice to see this group of five adults moving east, with a sixth also trying to sneak by. As it felt like the numbers of moving birds was slowing we decided to end the sea watch but not before Martin picked up three Avocets going past.  

On land there had been an arrival of Black Redstarts as there were at least 17 between Galloways, the RSPB Reserve and the Point. Three of the ones I caught up with were stunning males and typically favouring areas with buildings.

Male Black Redstart

Male Black Redstart

Male Black Redstart

Yesterday our first Wheatears started to arrive at the Point and today some were still around. Jacob the Dungeness Bird Observatory Assistant Warden managed to ring, under licence, this male which after being released started actively feeding again and also singing! 

Sea Watching Spectacular

After a seemingly long spell of cold strong winds from the north there was at last a few days of warmer easterlies of which migrating Dark-bellied Brent Goose and Common Scoter took advantage. Large flocks of Brent Goose sometimes totalling 600+ birds heading east, kept close to the coast with a small number even flying over the shingle beach. The patterns of the flocks as they flew low over the sea were constantly changing with wonderful V's and U's forming and altering in shape. We cold hear the Brents calling as they went by, just a wonderful spectacle.

The Scoter movement tended to occur much further out and sometimes we were picking out flocks in the hazy murk waiting for them to cut in a little more to the point, only occasionally would a flock come past closer although never as close as the Brents.

With over 9,000 Dark-bellied Brents and one Pale-bellied Brent and just over 2,000 Scoter on the 19th and over 7,000 Dark-bellied Brents and just over 3,000 Scoter all migrating east on the 20th it has been a great couple of days down at the Point.

Dark-bellied Brent Goose beyond the Bouy

Red-breasted Merganser

Dark-bellied Brent Goose inside the Bouy.

Dark-bellied Brent Goose

Dark-bellied Brent Goose

Garganey

Dark-bellied Brent Goose high in the distance and heading our way

Pale-bellied Brent Goose (back row, 9th bird in from the right)

On the RSPB Reserve a flock of Dunlin and four Redshank which I think were migrants based on their behaviour of sticking together when feeding were at the Hayfields.

Dunlin on Hayfield 1

Redshank on Hayfield 1

Caspian Gull

In the past, I have overlooked or taken for granted migrating gulls offshore as there is usually something else going on but these days with bird numbers having declined so much I now notice movements of gulls with a little more interest. The other day a couple of flocks of migrating Black-headed Gulls brightened what was otherwise a dull 90 minute sea watch at the Point.

Migrating Black-headed Gulls

A few Caspian Gulls have been occurring on the RSPB Reserve and today I picked up what I thought was a Caspian Gull on the ARC pit but on review of photos is quite clearly not one and then on Burrowes I found a brute of a Caspian that I think is in its 2nd or 3rd Calendar Year.

Caspian Gull

Caspian Gull