Kent Birding

JZP - a visitor from Scotland

2009-12-16T18:29:00.002Z

Anya and I had another look around Dover harbour in the hope that some new birds would have arrived in the North-Easterly winds. No such luck. A large number of gulls were present but unfortunately no goodies amongst them. The two Shags were again swimming close by the pier, waiting for the fishermen to feed them. One of them did have a blue colour ring, the code of which was visible on a few of the images I took.
I sent the details to BTO and received the following response today:

…..I can confirm that it was ringed as a chick on the Isle of May, Fife, Scotland in June of this year. This is the first sighting we have had of this bird since it was ringed and it is the furthest report from the Isle of May we have received this winter. However, we have already received reports from Belgium and the Netherlands of other Isle of May birds. It is proving to be an interesting winter…..

The distance between the Isle of May and Dover is about 380 miles 'as the crow flies'.
So the little walk around the harbour proved to be worthwhile after all.

GND at Reculver

2009-12-06T18:46:00.006Z

After a shopping trip to Westwood X we went to Reculver briefly to look for the GND reported yesterday. We found the bird quickly in a dyke at the Oyster farm where it showed well. I managed to get some images but it surprised me by surfacing much closer than anticipated and I had to shoot into the light. Well, better than nothing !

Dover Harbour

2009-11-30T19:57:00.004Z

Anya and I went for a walk along Dover pier today. Unfortunately no goodies but 2 Red-throated Divers showing very well and two Shag fighting over fish thrown in by the fishermen. We tried to attract gulls with some bread but only Herring Gulls and GBB Gulls showed any interest.

YBW

2009-10-29T18:25:00.004Z

Anya and I had a chance to go a see Nige's YBW today. It showed well at times and called for a about a minute twice in the hour we were there. Photography was tricky but I'm reasonably pleased with the results. It's quite nice to see a YBW at eye-level rather than in the tree tops.

More Crests

2009-10-19T20:15:00.003+01:00

A wonder round Bockhill this morning didn't produce the goodie I was hoping for. Best birds included 20 Crossbill, 50 Siskin, 5 Firecrest and 4 Ring Ouzel. Maybe it'll happen next weekend ?!

Birding Sandwich Bay

2009-10-16T22:23:00.002+01:00

Spent my lunchtime at the Bay a couple of times last week. After getting excellent views of the Radde's Warbler I hoped for some more decent birds to turn up. No such luck, only a few Firecrests were seen in the Elms. With no birds to look at a Stoat provided the entertainment attacking a rabbit.
On the way home today I stopped at the scrape where two Jack Snipe showed very well in front of the hide. Much better views than yesterday. Unfortunately at that time it was nearly dark making photography nearly impossible.

Wryneck at Hope Point

2009-10-11T21:19:00.003+01:00

I spent a little bit of time this afternoon at Hope Point where a Wryneck had been showing well throughout the day. When I arrived a few people were still looking but the bird hadn't been seen for the last 30 min. After a while one chap picked it up flying from the rough towards the path where it landed showing well on and off. Two Raven were also seen flying along the cliff.

Afternoon birding

2009-10-11T13:04:00.006+01:00

I only was able to go birding in the afternoon yesterday and hence missed most of the birds seen earlier in the day. A walk round Bockhill still resulted in good numbers of Chiffchaffs, Thrushes and Hirundines with the occasional flock of Goldfinches, a few Firecrests and 3 Crossbills thrown in. The Empty Wood was not completely empty for once and held a couple of Chiffchaffs and one Yellow-browed Warbler, which eventually showed reasonably well in the tree tops.

Family holiday on Menorca

2009-09-24T21:37:00.005+01:00

We had a very nice and enjoyable time on Menorca during our family holiday. I’ve only had little time for birding and hence didn’t see many birds. The few I saw included Cory’s Shearwater, Audouin’s Gull, Booted Eagles, Egyptian Vulture, Osprey, Nightjar, Pallid Swift, Tawny Pipit, Blue Rock Thrush, Great Reed Warbler, Fan-tailed Warbler, Woodchat and Great Grey Shrike. I was pleased to see Thekla Lark which was a new species for me.

Fan-tailed Warbler at Pegwell

2009-09-08T20:32:00.003+01:00

Had a wander around Pegwell yesterday afternoon as the Warbler had been reported again. After an hour I noticed a small bird drop into the vegetation behind the hide. Shortly after it flew up on top of a nearby bush and started calling. The Fan-tailed Warbler showed well on and off for about 20 min but was quite flighty and remained fairly distant throughout.

Bockhill

2009-09-05T14:38:00.004+01:00

An early seawatch in a cold NW wind resulted only in 2 Artic Skuas and the sighting of one harbour porpoise. On the cliff top a few more birds were present with a family party of four Spotted Flycatchers providing most of the interest.

Dotterel at Sandwich Bay

2009-09-02T20:44:00.004+01:00

This very smart bird is currently present at Sandwich Bay. It's only the second time I've seen this species. A few years back I saw three birds at Langdon and now this juvenile on the beach at Sandwich Bay.

Seals at Sandwich

2009-08-16T21:29:00.003+01:00

Today we booked onto the 9am trip on the Sandwich Riverbus to see the Seals on the river Stour. I've always wanted to make this trip but never managed to get round to do it. It took about 45 min to get to the spot where the seals can be seen. The captain switched off the engine and we slowly drifted past a group of about 35 animals on very close range. A few birds were also seen including about 25 Common Sandpipers, 10 Whimbrel, 1 Turnstone, 1 Snipe, 10 Redshanks, 4 Little Egrets and a family part of Shelduck. All in all a very enjoyable trip albeit a bit pricey.

Migrants at Sandwich Bay

2009-08-07T21:40:00.008+01:00

I stopped briefly at Restharrow Scrape today on the way back from home. There was a distinct autumn feel in the air with large numbers of hirundines on the move and lots of common migrants around. A Pied Flycatcher showed along the entrance track to the hide and the scrape held 6 Little Ringed Plovers and the Garganey.

Back to quiet times

2009-07-26T18:51:00.004+01:00

A brief sea-watch this morning in the hope for some shearwaters proved unsuccessful. In truth I didn't last very long because I got bored very quickly. A few Common Scoter and Commic Terns were moving South and a group of Terns fishing close inshore included at least one Artic Tern.
It wasn't any better on the cliff top with small numbers of Sand Martins moving through and a pair of Little Owls showing well.

Day out in Boulogne

2009-07-01T21:45:00.005+01:00

Family day trip to Calais/Boulogne. We spent an hour walking round some woodland near Boulogne before heading for the beach. Not much around in the heat but it was nice to catch up with birds like Short-toed Treecreeper, Crested Tit,.etc. We've also managed to see Honey Buzzard and Black Kite during the day. In the harbour the Kittiwake colony was still very busy and a number of Med Gulls were flying about.

Gargany on Restharrow Scrape

2009-06-05T22:34:00.002+01:00

Brief visit to Restharrow Scrape this afternoon. Unfortunately the Spoonbills reported yesterday evening had departed. The journey wasn't wasted though with a nice drake Gargany being present and showing well.

3 Skua Day

2009-04-25T21:43:00.005+01:00

Good day today - got down the bay at 6:30. Nige was already there and within the next 30 min we got treated to good views of a total of 12 Pomarine Skuas. Other birds during a three hour seawatch included a few Artic Skuas, a Bonxie, a Manx Shearwater, 5 Velvet Scoter and 2 Great Nothern Divers. Shame we missed the Long-tailed Skua that had been seen flying past Dungeness early morning. Otherwise a few migrants in the area including Tree Pipit, Ring Ouzel, Yellow Wagtail and 2 Wheatears.

Scaup at Restharrow Scrape

2009-04-04T18:19:00.003+01:00

A drake Scaup was present today at Restharrow Scrape. The bird showed well although it remained fairly distant in the far left corner while I was there.

Spring migrants at Bockhill

2009-03-30T22:10:00.004+01:00

A couple of hours at the clifftop at Bockhill failed to produce much but a Sand Martin and Swallow came in off the sea and small numbers of finches were on the move. Best bird was a Tree Pipit by the farm wood.

At Sandwich Bay another look for the Gargany was unsuccessful although a couple of birders i met a the gate told me it was still there but difficult to see. Still a fair few other duck, Little grebes and waders around though.

Ducks at Sandwich Bay

2009-03-28T11:09:00.004Z

A quick look for the Gargany at Restharrow Scrape this morning was unsuccessful. A few other duck were around though with a number of Shoveler performing well. A Corn Bunting nearby provided a good photo opportunity.

Another look for Black Redstart and Short-Eared Owl

2009-03-09T19:39:00.003Z

Nice and sunny yesterday so I decided to have another look for the Black Redstart at Kingsdown. A nice male has been present there for a while but I didn't see it on a couple of previous visits. This time I managed to see it straight away and was pleased to see that a female was also present.

Late afternoon we went for a quick walk along the Ancient Highway to look for Short-eared Owls. Unfortunately the sun had gone at this point. We saw two different birds hunting the area, showing very well on occasions.

Cross Channel Birding

2009-03-01T19:13:00.003Z

Yesterday saw us heading for France in search of Black Woodpecker. We didn't connect at our first stop at Hardelot and moved onto Mt St Rieux where John had heard the species previously. Better luck here with two birds heard and seen. Tick for Julian, Mission accomplished ! Both areas held a number of other good species including at least three Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, several Short-toed Treecreepers, Crested, Marsh and Coal Tit, Crossbill, Bullfinch, Brambling and some plastic Reeves's Pheasants (1male, 20 females). We also so some deer and two Red Squirrel.
Initially we intended to bird the Calais area for Shorelarks and Crested Larks but it turned out that John never had seen Snowy Owl so we headed to Uitkerke in Belgium where the long-staying bird was still present. Views were reasonable and there were still a number of White-fronted Geese, other wildfowl, waders, a Hen Harrier and several Buzzards to keep us occupied. We also had a White Stork from the motorway. Unfortunately we run out of time to bird Calais. Maybe next time. Another good trip with quality birds not far from Kent.

Today Jill, Anya and I we went for a walk along Hythe seafront. 12 Purple Sandpipers were present and showing well. Unfortunately they were scared off by a group of boys soon after we arrived.

Barn Owl on Worth Marshes

2009-02-21T19:30:00.003Z

Yesterday I tried to find the Bean Geese on Worth Marshes without success. I did however see a Barn and Short-eared Owl. With the weather much better today we tried for the Barn Owl again. We soon found one bird hunting over the marshes showing very well.

Day out at Minsmere

2009-02-20T21:20:00.003Z

Family day out at Minsmere RSPB. We had a nice time wandering about the reserve. Anya was especially excited in the hides.....well, you've got to start them young.
Best birds were a Whooper Swan, male and female Smew and a lot of Marsh Harriers.

King Eider and much more

2009-02-15T20:47:00.002Z

Nige and I started off early today to try and see the King Eider at the Galloways near Dungeness. No sign initially but we found the bird about 1 mile west close inshore. Great bird and a lifer for me. 6 Velvet Scoter, 800+ Common Scoter and a Long-tailed Duck provided a good supporting cast. Iceland Gull was our next target. Sure enough we saw it on the beach near the patch, where a couple of Little Gulls and a Med Gull were feeding off-shore. After that we spent some time on the Reserve and surrounding areas. Best of the lot was 2 Tree Sparrows, 1 Slavonian Grebe, 12 Smew (4 male, 8 female) and a pair of Red-crested Pochards. A very good days birding was rounded off with a few White-fronted Geese at Scotney and 8 Purple Sandpipers at Hythe. A few pics from today are posted below.

Dover harbour

2009-01-31T19:58:00.001Z

It seemed a good idea to check out Dover harbour for rare gulls. Nige and I went down (armed with a loaf of bread) hoping the strong winds would push some birds into the sheltered harbour. Sadly it was not to be. Hardly any large gulls around and none on the Hoverpad site. Best birds were 2 Med Gulls which were feeding amongst 50+ Kittiwakes, 4-5 Purple Sandpipers and a Kingfisher. A few auks were also present with a couple of Guillemots feeding by the pier and Razorbill a little further out.

Winter birding at Sandwich Bay

2009-01-03T11:51:00.002Z

I had a quick look for the Slavonian Grebe on Restharrow Scrape this morning. It was still present, showing at the back of the pool. I bumped into Nige and we went to see if we could locate the wintering Snow Buntings at Sandwich Bay. We soon found them by the old club house, 17 birds in total. On the way back I stopped at the scrape again with the Grebe performing better now allowing a few pics to be taken. A Short-eared Owl put in a good show hunting around the edge of the scrape. Pretty decent return for a couple of hours birding !
Apparently 6 Waxwings are now present at Fowlmead CP but Nige didn't find any when he went to see them.

New Year's Day birding

2009-01-01T18:29:00.003Z

Out at St Margaret's Bay in the morning. I might as well not have bothered as there was nothing much happening at sea. One Bonxie and about 15 Red-throated Divers being the most notable birds. Nothing along the ancient highway between Deal and Sandwich either.
In the afternoon we went to Fowlmead Country Park as three Wawing were present there. Couldn't resist having a look although I'd been to Folkestone twice to see the Waxwings there. They showed well and I've posted a couple more pics below.

Waxwings again....

2008-12-27T18:41:00.004Z

With the girls checking out the sales I had some time to go out birding. Folkestone seemed a good choice with the Waxwings still present. They showed very well again, coming to feed in the berry bushes by the roadside every few minutes. At one point they were joined by a Redwing. There were quite a few people enjoying the birds. I had a quick look for the Night Heron at New Hythe but no luck there.

Waxwings in Folkestone

2008-12-21T19:23:00.003Z

Quick family trip to Folkestone today combining a look at the Waxwings with a bit of shopping. The birds weren't present when we arrived and we left after about 45 min to go to the shops. On the way back home we tried again and this time the birds were there. It was nice to catch up with them as it's been a few years since I've seen this species the last time.

Snowy Owl Twitch

2008-12-06T11:00:00.005Z

Nige, Jack and I decided to pop over to Belgium to see the Snowy Owl that had turned up near Uitkerke a week ago. First stop however was the Long-legged Buzzard near Antwerp, which we finally saw with the help of Gerald Driessens. Unfortunately we didn't get close views but it was still nice to see. We then moved on to Uitkerke were the Snowy Owl showed not far from the road. It was sitting in the grass with only the head being visible and didn't move for the time we were there. We decided to have a look for Iceland and Glaucous Gull at Oostende with the aim of going back to the owl later on. No luck with the Icleland Gull but view had distant views of one of the Glaucous Gulls present. Back at Uitkerke the Snowy Owl had moved onto a fence post. It showed well in the evening sun and scope views of this enormous bird were very good.

The area near Uitkerke provided a good supporting cast with Short-eared Owls hunting close to the road, hundreds of Pink-footed and Whitefronted Geese, other wildfowl and a Slavonian Grebe. A great days birding and very accessible from the UK.

Another Heron in Hythe......

2008-11-23T20:07:00.005Z

......this time an adult Night Heron. It was found pretty much in the same place as the Green Heron a few weeks back. Bit of a trek but managed to get there before dusk. The bird was showing well while I was there. Apparently it flew off only minutes after I had left.

Kingsdown seawatch

2008-11-22T19:23:00.004Z

I went for a seawatch at Kingsdown this morning in the hope for a Grey Phalorope or other goodies in a very strong and cold northerly wind. No such luck. Very little movement with a few Shelduck, Brent Goose, Common Scoter and Dunlin all moving upchannel. Best bird was a Goldeneye flying towards Deal close inshore. Just when I was about to leave one of the resident Rock Pipits posed nicely by the beach and I couldn't resist taking a few pics.

Desert Wheatear at Sandwich Bay

2008-11-07T18:28:00.002Z

The run of rares in Kent continues with a Desert Wheatear at Sandwich Bay today. The bird gave very good scope views as it was feeding on the golf course but was fairly distant for most of the time. Not the most exciting plumage but definitely worth going for.

Bluetail in Ramsgate

2008-11-01T18:38:00.004Z

What is it with heavy rain and great birds at the moment ? Not that I'm complaining. A call from Nigel had me rushing up to Ramsgate this afternoon where a Red-flanked Bluetail had been found. The bird showed well on and off to an appreciative crowd. Another first for me and well worth getting soaked for.

What's next ?

2008-10-30T21:02:00.008Z

Phil and Brendan found a Siberian Stonechat at the Gun Emplacement today. I managed to leave work early and just got there before sunset with the bird performing well. A very smart bird and a first for me. With the winds turning NE I wonder what will be next.

Mega in Hythe

2008-10-26T13:37:00.004Z

A Green Heron was reported yesterday evening near Hythe. Nigel and I were there at first light, joined by another 60-70 hopefuls. It took a while before the bird showed in blustery winds and rain but we all managed to get good views. It was so dark that for the first time ever I used ISO 1600, pics taken at 1/100th of a second. It's a first winter bird.

Snow Bunting on Pond Lane

2008-10-19T20:00:00.003+01:00

Nothing much happening today. I had a quick look for the Snow Bunting on Pond Lane which was still there, feeding on the road. Didn't even need to get out of the car.

Visit to the New Forest

2008-10-16T20:14:00.003+01:00

We decided to visit the New Forest for our first family holiday. This was a non-birding trip but nevertheless I picked up a few bits and bobs during our stay. Best of the lot were a number of Raven during our day trip to the Isle of Wight.
I didn't look for Dartford Warbler until the last day. On the way back from on of our forest walks we stopped in an area that looked suitable and I was successful straight away. Nice to see. Shame they never stopped long enough for some really decent pics.

We also saw a couple of Fallow Deer and a beautiful male Red Deer during our forest walks.

Use your imagination

2008-09-28T20:15:00.002+01:00

Another good days birding at Bockhill yesterday with many birds around. The Dusky Warbler was refound and eventually showed reasonably well but proved much more difficult to photograph. Hence I didn't manage to get a decent pic, so you need to use your imagination to see that it might be a Dusky. Other birds of note were 3 Raven, Pied Flycatcher, Grasshopper Warbler, Redstarts, Winchats and lots of the more common warblers, thruhes and Robins. Goldcrests were still abundant and later on a Honey Buzzard was seen and another YBW was found. At this time I was already on my way to Ripple as there was a report of a Lesser Grey Shrike near the church. I turned out to be another GG Shrike. Well, still nice to see.

Birds, birds and more birds

2008-09-27T19:40:00.005+01:00

Yesterday I got a text from Jack telling me that he'd found a Barred Warbler in the Paddock. I was able to leave work shortly after, arrived at Bockhill but there was no sign of the Barred or the YB Warbler seen in the morning. There were however lots of Goldcrest, Chiffchaffs, Redstarts, with a few Spotted and Pied Flycatchers, Wheatears and Whinchats and LWT thrown in. I left soon after and got a call from Jack about 30min later that a Dusky Warbler had been found. On arrival the bird had disappeared. How frustrating. Three good birds and I didn't manage to se any of them. News came through that a GG Shrike had been found in the Freedown and I managed to see that one. Nice bird and good scope views but too distant for a decent picture.
I had another look for the YBW and soon found it showing well in the evening sun. A nice finish to the day.

Quiet times.....

2008-09-22T20:09:00.004+01:00

A quick look around Bockhill this afternoon revealed only that most of the migrants from the previous few days had disappeared. The only birds around were 12 Chiffchaff, 5 Goldcrest and 1 Redstart. Can only get better ?!

Portsmouth to Bilbao and back - Birds

2008-09-21T18:45:00.004+01:00

Part II of the Biscay trip. Cetaceans were covered during a previous post. The following birds were seen during the trip (7-10 September 08).

Cory's Shearwater 153, Great Shearwater 7, Manx Shearwater 53, Sooty Shearwater 210, Balearic Shearwater 1, European Storm Petrel 100+, Great Skua 40, Arctic Skua 5, Kittiwake 1, Sabine's Gull 66, 'Commic' Tern 28, Black Tern 6, Puffin 1, Grey (Red) Phalarope 10, Grey Heron 15, Barn Swallow 24, Turtle Dove 1, Yellow Wagtail 6, House Sparrow

It was a slow start on the 8th and a Puffin seen at 13:05 was the only bird of note. Things started to hot up from around 16:30 until sunset when we started seeing Manx, Sooty, Balearic(1), Cory's and Great Shearwaters, as well as good number of Sabine's Gulls. In Bilbao the rain prevented serious birding but we still managed to log many Pied Flycatchers, Melodious Warbler, a lot of the more common warblers, Griffon Vultures, Yellow-legges Gulls, LBB Gull, Turnstone, Common Sandpiper, Black Redstart, etc..

After leaving the harbour we came across a large raft of Cory's (100+) and more Sabine's Gulls and Shearwaters were seen as well as 10 Grey Phaloropes and a few Black Terns. The last day brought us about 35 Bonxies, 100+ Storm Petrels, 1 Sabine's Gull and a good number of Sooty Shearwaters.

One of the many Cory's seen.

The biggest group of Sabine's Gulls contained about 25 birds.

This Great Shearwater followed the boat for some time. Great views and a lifer for me but I feel I should have done better with the pictures.

This Bonxie was one of the approx. 35 birds seen on the last day.

Impressive raft of Cory's Shearwaters flying up on approach of the ferry.

Two of the Grey Phaloropes seen. Another lifer for me.

Many Gannets were seen during the trip with a few giving good photo opportunities.

One of the Many Shearwaters. Too far away for a decent picture.
This Turtle Dove was first see after leaving Bilbao harbour and stayed on board for the whole jouney back to Portsmouth.
Several groups of Grey Herons were observed at sea.

Unlucky again

2008-09-19T21:10:00.004+01:00

Quick stop at Sandwich Bay after work to try and connect with the Melodious Warbler which had been reported again late afternoon. I only had little time and didn't manage to see it. Pied Flycatcher and a few showy Wheatears (one sat on my car) were all the birds of note. Shame that the Obs didn't release the news about the Melodious earlier as it had been present since the morning.

Portsmouth to Bilbao and back - Cetaceans

2008-09-13T12:36:00.012+01:00

Nigel, Richard, Jack and I went on the ferry trip (7-10 September 08) to Bilbao in the hope of seeing cetaceans and (sea)birds. We were not to be disappointed. The weather was calm at sea which made for very good viewing conditions. Unfortunately there was a massive thunderstorm in Bilbao with continuous rain for most of the time we spent there. This limited the birding there somewhat.

The following sightings were made during the trip. Courtesy of the BDRP website and our own observations. Naturally it was not possible to see all the animals but it gives a good idea what's out there.
Fin Whale 59, Large Rorqual Spp 56, Cuvier's Beaked Whale 2, Beaked Whale Spp 4 (1 breaching), Long-finned Pilot Whale 26, Bottlenose Dolphin 22, Common Dolphin 97, Striped Dolphin 116, Dolphin Spp 38, Harbour Porpoise 7

Fin Whales were observed on the afternoon of the 8/9 September along the continental shelf. A few of the animals were quite close to the ferry.

Several groups of Pilot Whales were seen providing good views but not close enough for any decent pics to be taken.

2 Cuvier's beaked Whales were seen on the afternoon of the 9th and Bottlenose Dolphins were seen several times throughout the trip but only in small numbers. The first encounter was 15 min into our observation on the 8th when 2 animals leaped out of the water a couple of times.

Most impressive were the Common Dolphins we observed on the afternoon of the 8th. They swam alongside and under the ferry and showed very well.

On the evening of the 9th we saw some Striped Dolphins that came close to the boat but unfortunately the light had faded somewhat so the views weren't quite as spectacular.Harbour Porpoise were only seen on the first morning totalling 7 animals.

In addition to the above 4 Sunfish were seen.

All in all it was a very good trip although we would have liked to see a few more Dolphins on the Northbound journey.

What species ?

2008-09-06T11:53:00.000+01:00

Going through my pics I found this image of the escaped falcon that was seen at Bockhill beginning of the year. Still no closer to a definite ID.

Photoshop basics

2008-08-31T17:45:00.003+01:00

The group of Crossbills yesterday contained one male which unfortunately didn't allow any pictures to be taken. A little work in Photoshop on one of the pictures of a female and one might think different.

Crossbills near the Ship House

2008-08-30T13:53:00.005+01:00

The easterly winds overnight had us hoping for some migrants. Instead it was very quiet with only few warblers around and some Yellow Wagtails and Hirundines moving through. We also had a couple of groups of Crossbills, one of which stopped to feed in conifers in the Ship House garden allowing a few pics to be taken.

Booted Warbler

2008-08-16T20:17:00.005+01:00

A phone call from Nigel alerted me to a Booted Warbler showing at the Ship House. Having not seen one before I raced off managing to scrape the side of my car badly en route. Just as well it's not worth any money any more anyway !
On arrival the bird had disappeared but Nigel told me it was associated with a large group of Long-tailed Tits and Willow Warblers. Looking for this group we relocated it not long afterwards. It showed well briefly and I managed to grab a few shots. We soon lost in the bushes near Hope Point.

Sandwich Bay - More Gulls and Terns

2008-08-11T20:41:00.003+01:00

Quick trip to Sandwich Bay at low tide. Plenty of gulls and terns around. Best bird was a Little Tern which was unfortunately too far away to get any decent pics. Some pics of other birds below.

Kingsdown beach

2008-08-10T11:17:00.006+01:00

Another brief visit to Kingsdown beach. About 10 Sandwich Terns and 30 Med Gulls were present but nothing else of interest.

Not the one I was after

2008-08-09T09:31:00.003+01:00

I went down to Kingsdown beach to have a look if there would be any terns around with big numbers being reported from all around the coastline. Only one was present and it wasn't the Artic I was hoping for. It was a juvenile Common Tern feeding close inshore.

Another Little Owl

2008-07-09T13:34:00.003+01:00

A few weeks back Jill spotted a Little Owl sitting out in the open at the Dover roundabout. It was sunning itself in the evening sun and I decided to go home to get my camera hoping the bird would still be there on my return. It was but had decided to fly up on one of the street lights. Unfortunately it was quite dark then because the sun had gone. Hence I had to lighten the pic quite considerably. Ah well, maybe another day !

Brief visit to Grove

2008-07-07T15:56:00.003+01:00

With no decent birds anywhere in the county I decided to take the camera out and spend a couple of hours at Grove. The Red-crested Pochard was still around showing distantly from the new hide. Looks like a good place for photography (if you are patient enough).

2008-05-10T19:47:00.003+01:00

Fantastic day today. A 6 hour session at Bockhill provided an excellent selection of raptors. Pick of the lot was a stunning Rough-legged Buzzard which showed very well. Several Red Kites (including a group of four), Hobbys, a ringtail Harrier, Buzzard, Sparrowhawks, Peregrine, Kestrel and an escaped Harris Hawk were also seen.

2008-05-04T18:01:00.002+01:00

Not many birds today but a splendid Red-rumped Swallow flew N along the cliff top at Bockhill. Otherwise only 4 Firecrest and 3 Hobbys were seen.

2008-04-27T19:58:00.006+01:00

It almost felt like spring on Saturday. Whitethroats were singing everywhere and there were also a number of Lesser Whitethroats present. A few hirundines and swifts came in off the sea but bird of the day was a Black Kite which flew N late morning (unfortunately I had long left by that time).

2008-04-17T18:57:00.005+01:00

Stopped briefly at Restharrow Scrape after work today. At the gate I bumped into Tony who told me that a pair of Gargany were present and showing well. They were still there and performed well for a few minutes before flying off to the other side of the scrape.

Coal Tits on the move

2008-03-30T10:39:00.003+01:00

Still nothing much happening but there was a small SW movement of Wood Pigeon, Chaffinch and a few White Wagtails at Bockhill. Best birds though were a total of 15 Coal Tits, some of them showing very well.

Worth Marshes again.....

2008-03-21T20:31:00.007Z

I went down to Restharrow Scrape to see if I could find the possible Skandinavian Rock Pipits and the Whooper Swan that were reported there yesterday. The scrape was pretty empty and there was no sign of either. A look round Worth Marshes however did eventually produce the Whooper.

Third time lucky

2008-03-15T15:25:00.004Z

A morning session at Bockhill didn't produce much but spring seems to be on its way with a few migrants being seen. I decided to stop for a Little Owl near Deal on the way back home. After looking twice before without success it showed well but briefly this time.

Winter birding - January and February 2008

2008-02-19T22:06:00.009Z

In the last few weeks I've been visiting various places in South-East Kent to catch up with some of the winter visitors present. A few pictures of the birds encountered can be seen below.

Up to four Lapland Buntings have been present on Worth Marshes since mid January. Also present in this area are currently approx. 80 Whitefronted Geese, 50 Barnacle Geese and a Whooper Swan, whilst Restharrow Scrape holds a good number of duck.

The Glaucous Gull present at Dover harbour showed very well. It could be attracted with bread at times ! At the beginning of the months it was joined briefly by a 2-nd winter Iceland Gull.

Amongst the large number of gulls sheltering in the harbour from the gale force winds some Mediterranean Gulls and many Kittiwakes could be found.

A couple of Raven flew north at Bockhill early Februay causing the gulls to panic. One of the birds is shown below.A small group of Snow Buntings is wintering at Sandwich Bay. This very approachable individual was part of a group of twelve birds.

This Slavonian Grebe was present for a few days at the Garage Pools at Pegwell Bay showing very well at close range.