Dungeness Birding

Weather

Cold at 07:00 6° C, high of 17° C, dry, sunny, clear skies, NW 15 to 17mph, then decreasing to 6mph from midday.

A visit to Scotney Sand Pit early morning found me not having enough warm layers as it felt very cold in the gusty NW wind. The water levels in the Pit are starting to gradually rise but there is still plenty of foraging available for shorebirds. On the track leading to the Pit I had 17 Chiffchaffs indicating that once again a these vocal warblers were moving through the Peninsula and this was backed up with a message of at least 30+ on the east side of the Long Pits. I was hoping for a hirundine passage along this south west part of the area but I only saw a handful of swallows moving over the Pit during the time I was there.

In the Pit were nine Ringed Plovers, two Little-ringed Plovers, four Greenshank, a Ruff, a Sanderling a Black-tailed Godwit and 10 Dunlin. I met Matthew the landowner of the surrounding arable land but didn't have time to chat as he had to head off to sort out a technical issue with a drilling machine.
I'd be back at the Pit later in the afternoon as Paul Trodd found his second juvenile Red-necked Phalarope there in a week, the other being at Lade South Pit.

Other birds seen at the Pit were Hobby, four Green Sands, 3 Common Sands, Kingfisher a Wood Sandpiper and a late afternoon movement of 1,500 hirundines south west (mostly Swallows and Sand Martins) between 17:00 and 17:30.

On leaving the Sand Pit I headed to Dengemarsh on the RSPB Reserve just in case hirundines were moving through this area and also if the earlier Honey Buzzard that had been seen on the Point decided to move south west. There were many Sand Martins, Swallows and a few House Martins over the area but no sign of any real passage. I did have three Avocets land momentarily before heading off.

Next stop was the Desert and I decided to approach from the north. Whilst wandering and not seeing much Tom Wright found a Red-veined Darter near the Bird Observatory, a new dragonfly species for me. So I headed there and whilst initially it had disappeared another was picked up in the same area.

Looking for Red-veined Darters

On walking back through the Desert to my car I had two Whinchats and a single Wheatear. In the afternoon I was back at Scotney Sand Pit watching the Red-necked Phalarope and the Wood Sand.
Another great day in the area.