The Dungeness Kent and Sussex Pintail Records

On Friday 21st February 2025 a total of  994 Pintail passing east, a record count for the site, were recorded from within the sea watching hide at Dungeness Point.

However, this was soon to be eclipsed by events that unfolded today. There was an incredible movement of Pintail observed from the Point throughout the day, at times comprising flocks of up to 300 birds and concurrent flocks passing at different heights. Some of the flocks were stratospheric and would easily have been missed if the team of Martin C, Jacob S, David W, Richard W, Owen L, Colin T and myself were not outside of the sea watch hide. Early morning, all bar Jacob who was outside, started the watch from inside the sea watch hide having recorded a few small flocks of dabbling ducks going east. Things didn't really start until Jacob who had decided to check the Trapping Area noticed flocks of duck going high east over the power station and the desert which we could not see from the hide. By 11:00 we thought that the passage had started to reduce and all apart from Jacob left for breakfast however, if anything the passage picked up and by 13:00 Jacob had recorded 1,900 Pintail east. By 13:30 the team were back in situ outside of the hide and watched hundreds of additional Pintail passing east. 

Quite a few of the flocks we picked up off and over the Sussex coastline and therefore today is a day of two records for Dungeness. One is the Kent record for Pintail in which we recorded a total of 3,705 east in 11 hours and the other is undoubtably the Pintail record for Sussex given the number of flocks we picked up off and over the Sussex coastline, this will remain a slightly smaller but unknown total! 

It makes you wonder how many Pintail we missed on the 21st February?

Mixed flock of Pintail and Shoveler

Pintail just coming out of the glare

An incredible sight of a high flock of 120 migrating Pintail 

Pintail

Pintail beyond the range boat

Counting close flocks of migrating Gannets and even closer flocks of migrating Brent Goose also kept us busy. 

Gannet

Dark-bellied Brent Goose

Dark-bellied Brent Goose

Bearded Tit

Always a joy to see and hear, a lone male Bearded Tit was foraging amongst a small and narrow section of reed on the RSPB Reserve.

Bearded Tit

Bearded Tit

The Flood Field on the reserve is looking brilliant, attracting a couple of elusive water pipits and plenty of teal.

I've seen an Otter!.....

...'I really doubt it', is usually my response when a visitor to the RSPB Dungeness Reserve says this to me. 'I expect that you've probably seen a Mink'. If folks leave the reserve thinking they have seen an Otter, then good for them, maybe one day it might happen for real. Mink are present across the reserve and wider peninsular meaning that it is very unlikely that Water Voles occur, in fact I have not seen any signs of Water Voles on the reserve since moving to the area in 2019.

Mink

This Mink was at Dengemarsh today and scampering off to the Hayfields and yesterday two were seen at the Viewing Ramp.

Great Crested Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Always lovely to watch the courtship display of Great Crested Grebes, head shaking, preening and the wonderful weed dance.

Great Cormorant

This Great Cormorant of the race sinensis caught my eye with its wonderful Mohican breeding plumage.

Purple Sandpiper

A good local find today by Stephen of a Purple Sandpiper early afternoon at Scotney. It was still in the same place late afternoon. The female Scaup was close by asleep amongst sleeping Pochard and Tufted Ducks.

Purple Sandpiper

Elsewhere, the female Smew remains on ARC and the female Long-tailed Duck on New Diggings. Possibly some inland gull movement today with small flocks of Black-headed gulls moving between ARC and Boulderwall, with a count of c.280 at Boulderwall at one point.