Seawatch

SW 20 to 28mph, 16C, 60% cloud cover, dry.

A seawatch from the Fishing Boats along with Martin, Richard and Dave Smith who came down from north Kent. Still plenty of hirundines moving out to sea with 5,748 Swallows, 1,014 House Martins and 81 Meadow Pipits, plus a Merlin, nine Balearic Shearwaters and a Sooty Shearwater west. Razorbills were also evident with 109w, 7w 3e Arctic Skuas, two Little Terns, 27 Common and 191 Sarnie Terns. Given the paucity of birds in recent seawatches this was a memorable one especially the sight of hundreds of hirundines heading out in to the Channel.

Not too much on land today given the gusty wind but two Wheatears and eight Stonechats in the Desert.

Arctic Skua

Juvenile Common Tern

Sooty Shearwater

Balearic Shearwater

RSPB Dungeness 

SE 20 to 24mph veering SSW 14 to 26mph by evening, 12C to 16C, light showers by evening, 100% cloud by midday. 

A blustery wind but I was birding the ARC track to the Pines and noticing fewer Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps than previous days. Flurries of Swallows and House Martins were still heading south-west and a Hobby was foraging over the Tower Pits. Colin Turley was also at the Pines and we started to check out the Sallows near the Maple Trees that I now call the Pines Inlet. Chiffchaffs were calling and Colin and I were having a natter when I picked up a Yellow-browed Warbler calling nearby but out of sight. Despite it calling nine times poor Colin couldn't hear it and then it stopped calling. After a few minutes it flew in from the direction it had been calling from and with a loud call disappeared in a Sallow. Luckily Colin managed to see it before it disappeared. It remained mobile and called less and became difficult to see or hear. I think it eventually moved west across the track towards the Tower Pits.

A wander along the Willow Trail picked up more Chiffchaffs and a single Goldcrest. A count of 564 Shoveler and 26 Wigeon from Hanson Hide.

On Burrowes a few gulls were coming and going amongst them two 2nd winter and a 1st winter Caspian Gull. I also had a Kingfisher and a Grey Wagtail on Burrowes plus a further 408 Shoveler, although certainly more were lurking on the lee side of the islands out of the wind and out of view, and 142 Teal.

1w Caspian Gull

4w Caspian Gull

2w Caspian Gull

 SE 10 to 21mph, dry, 13C to 15C, 0% cloud cover.

With a run of south-easterlies you'd think we'd have at least one Yellow-browed warbler in the area somewhere but so far none have been found. I have been trying to locate one at ARC and the Pines. Still plenty of Chiffs and a few Blackcaps with 24 and 10 respectively. Meadow Pipits, Swallows and House Martins moving  all day east then south west across the peninsula. There was a Hobby at ARC, along with the Black-necked Grebe, seven Snipe and a couple of Pintail. Plenty of Shoveler with 534 on ARC and 510 on Burrowes, totalling 1,044. A single Shelduck was on Burrowes, the first I have seen in the area for a little while. Little Egret numbers seem to be increasing with at least 16 on Burrowes.

Despite the rising water levels on Burrowes, gulls, mostly Greater Black-backed were making use of the vegetated islands now they have been cut. Amongst the gulls were three 1st winter and two 2nd winter Caspian Gulls and after checking photos a 2w Yellow-legged Gull.

2w Yellow-legged Gull

 

2w Caspian Gull

Golden Plover

 Westerly 14 to 25mph, 12C to 14C, mostly dry with some light showers.

At the Tower Pits on the RSPB Reserve a few Pochard were lurking with 10 altogether. Chiffchaff numbers seemed to be down on previous das although numbers were still being noted elsewhere on the peninsula, maybe I hadn't found the right tit flock. I only recorded 12 between the ARC car park and the Pines along with a single Blackcap. Two Ravens flew out of the trees by the Pines Inlet. Heading to the other side of the Reserve, there was a single Yellow Wagtail at Cooks Pool and a single Cattle Egret amongst the cows on Boulderwall Fields. Across the reserve I had c.245 Lapwings as the water levels continue to rise and the number and size of islands reduce. Having said that the island creation at Dengemarsh continues with the digger piling bucket loads of mud and clay to form the islands there. In front of Xmas Dell there were at least 32 Snipe resting on the reed brash.

On the way back to the Visitor Centre I located two Black Terns and a Common Tern on Burrowes from the Makepeace viewpoint plus singles of Ringed Plover and Common Sandpiper. Back at the Visitor Centre I was informed of a juvenile Gannet that had been seen on Walland Marsh. The reporting visitors gave me the location and I found the juvenile Gannet sitting on the bank of Midley Sewer at Horsebones Bridge, a Greenshank was also calling overhead. The bird looked ok and it stretched and flapped its wings but seemed very tired. Owen Leyshon suggested calling Tom Wright the assistant warden at the Obs which I duly did and Tom came to collect the bird. As I write this the juvenile Gannet is asleep in the ringing hut at the Obs and has refused any food. It seems in good health.

On-going island creation at Dengemarsh 

Hayfield 3 looking good but no birds

Juvenile Gannet on Walland Marsh

Tom successfully collecting the juvenile Gannet

Snipe from Xmas Dell

Juvenile Black Tern

Juvenile Gannet on Walland Marsh

2nd October update. The Gannet survived the night and was successfully released at the Point.

Southerly then South-west wind with over 40mph gusts, 14C-17C with heavy rain squalls. 100% cloud cover.

Given the weather conditions it was a day of seawatching which did not really produce quite the potential seabird spectacle we were hoping for. Plenty of hours looking out into poor visibility and despite spending some time in the seawatch hide getting soaked. My birds of the day were three Black Terns, nine Balearic Shearwaters, a juvenile Pomarine Skua, singles of Bonxie, Arctic Skua and Kittiwake. Our first two Red-breasted Mergansers west and a small number of Commic and Sarnie Terns heading west. 

A small number of Swallows, Sand Martins and House Martins headed out to sea in appalling weather conditions with some clearly returning back to land. A Merlin and a Grey Heron over the Point. The Grey Heron was clearly exhausted as it landed in some vegetation on the shingle near to the Fishing Boats.

Great Black-backed Gull J99AM

Adult light phase Arctic Skua

 SSE gusty wind 15-22mph am, 20-30mph pm. Dry, 100% cloud cover, 12C to 13C. Cold in the breeze.

A hirundine passage had started early at the Point with Steve Gale recording an excellent 16,000 Swallows heading south then west up to 09:15. I started at the top of the Long Pits and noted small numbers of Swallows heading south across the Long Pits using a different flight path to those Steve was recording at the Point. Still plenty of Chiffchaffs around associating with Tit flocks, with at least 47 on the northern side down as far as the Causeway. Also five Robins, and singles of Song Thrush and Great-Spotted Woodpecker plus 16 Meadow Pipits south.

Had an enjoyable natter with Steve Gale as we birded the Desert, as he recounted some incredible Dungeness birding moments.

Earlier in the morning there had not been too much being recorded on the sea and it wasn't until 14:40 that I arrived at the Fishing Boats to find the visiting KOS group plus Martin, Richard and Stephen behind the boats. I felt like a bit of a bus queue as a line of watchers stretched out across the shingle. 

Initially, there didn't seem to be much happening but a couple of Sooty Shearwaters had been recorded heading east earlier. At around 15:30 the number of Little Gulls heading west started to greatly increase and in an hour up to 16:30 I had 231, with the day total standing at 263. They were all distant but great to see them in flocks of 20 mixed in with feeding Gannets and the occasional Kittiwake. In the same hour, two Balearic Shearwaters, one Manx and two Black Terns also headed west.

The Bus Ride

The Desert to the north of the Long Pits

Kestrel numbers across the Desert still remain high. This one hunting out of the wind in the lee of a gorse clump.

 Light NW wind 6-8mph then decreasing 3-6mph in the afternoon. Dry, 40% cloud cover, 5C to 14C.

Today was the Kent Ornithological Society Big Migration Day. This is the KOS having a go at trying to get more people out in the field and enjoying their birdwatching and also contributing in submitting records of the birds they see. As this is the first year it is very much a 'first draft' with the focus very much seeing what worked and what didn't. For me it was a normal day enjoying the birds of the area and wandering around seeing what I could find. 

A cold start with my car's temperature gauge registering 5C. I headed to Scotney double bends to see if the Black-necked Grebe and/or the Slav Grebe were there but I couldn't find either. I did count 127 Egyptian Geese, just loads in the area now. On Scotney sward amongst the Lapwing flocks were five Ruff, 213 Golden Plovers and 18 Curlew. Next stop was ARC and a walk to the Pines revealed 15 Chiffchaffs, two Great-Spotted Woodpeckers and a Jay which headed towards the Point. Our first Redwings of the winter were trapped and ringed at the Obs. A steady movement of Swallows and Sand Martins were heading south then west over the ARC pit and this carried on all day across the reserve. From Hanson hide was the Glossy Ibis a Black-tailed Godwit and a Garganey. One of the Coastguard helicopters came in to land at the airfield but was only at c.300ft and flushed all the birds on the islands as it swung around over the Pit, so duly reported the disturbance to Craig. From the Visitor Centre I picked up a distant Osprey between Burrowes and the Long Pits. It had been seen earlier in several locations around the Point and finally headed NE, presumably out to sea. I had a flock of six Bearded Tits circling overhead and calling, finally they headed north over Burrowes Pit and lost to view. From Xmas Dell hide there were 26 Snipe roosing amongst the reed brash. A pleasant day and good to finally have a dry and sunny day given all the recent rainfall. Very few gulls now roosting on Burrowes due to the shingle islands being covered by water.

Water levels look good on Hayfields 1 and 2 on the Reserve but no birds!

The flock of six Bearded Tits high overhead.

Five of the 26 Snipe from Xmas Dell hide.

Wind W turning N by midday, low 11C, high 13C, rain showers, low cloud all day. Rain easing by late afternoon. 

After a night of rain showers and recent days of heavy rain showers the water levels on the RSPB Pits has now covered the emerging shingle on ARC and Burrowes pits, leaving little room for roosting gulls.

Only the vegetated islands now visible from Hanson hide, even the Cormorant island can only fit 10 at a squeeze.

The new islands created on New Excavations as viewed from Xmas Dell hide. So far Lapwings are taking advantage of the islands to roost and good numbers of Snipe are foraging on vegetation created by the reed clearance.

Messages indicated that a moderate fall of Chiffchaffs had again occurred in the area so I headed for ARC with a view to check the willows and scrub. Between the car park and the Pines I had 37 Chiffchaffs, singles of Firecrest and Goldcrest and two Blackcaps. Then along the Hanson track a further 29 Chiffs and two more Blackcaps. Overhead a light movement of five Reed Buntings and 10 Meadow Pipits heading west. From Hanson hide, 70 Lapwings, 244 Shoveler a single Pintail, five Snipe a single Black-tailed Godwit, the Glossy Ibis, a Kingfisher and a Black-necked Grebe. A mixed foraging flock c.200 hirundines over the pit.

On Burrowes the number of Teal has increased since Monday's WeBS count to 98 with 237 Lapwing on Burrowes and Xmas Dell. Numbers of hirundines were building on Burrowes with c.500 birds, mostly House Martins and the odd Swallow and Sand Martin. I did an hours count (12:45-13:45) from Xmas Dell with 1,053 House Martins, eight Swallows and 11 Meadow Pipits west.

Snipe

Lapwings roosting on New Excavations Islands

Black-necked Grebe

Chiffchaff