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Wednesday 27 March 2013

Wednesday 27/3

Has Spring Sprung ?
A lovely day with blue skys and a numbing cold easterly wind. A short drive out at 4 pm hoping for Wheatear and a check for owls.Dungeness track drew a blank so out to the lighthouse and happily found a Wheatear (121) by the old lighthouse.Feeling very tired so cancelled any Owl watch and returned home to a roaring fire.
  

Monday 25 March 2013

Monday 25/03

An early morning trip to Dungeness starting at the Patch Med Gulls,and a Little Gull (120)as well as usual Gulls, red throated divers on the water with cormorants and GC Grebes.A visit to the reserve notice board only had 2 Black redstarts at the lighthouse which I missed.returned via Walland all the Migrant Swans have left but plenty of Fieldfares and Golden Plover at the Airfield. Temperature felt like minus 5 so very bitter for a Spring day

Friday 22 March 2013

Friday 22/3

A shopping trip to Ashford Design of course meant a deviation in another attempt for Waxwings arrived at Hestia Way and drove round all the surrounding roads without a sight. Decided to leave and on passing Hestia Way for the last time spotted a large flock of Waxwings(119) in the trees as reported.  A fantastic sight and so late in the spring unusual. Shopping was done and returned via the back roads to Dymchurch birds were few and far between, a flock of Fieldfare was a good sight but arriving at Newchurch the murmuration of Starlings was a a delight not as large as some I have seen but large enough to impress.




Thursday 21 March 2013

Thursday 21/3

With the Spring Equinox now passed with days longer than nights a day checking for migrants was in order.An early start arrived at Dungeness Power station a couple had just returned from watching informed me that they had seen nothing no Little Gulls or Terns so got back into car and drove to RSPB checking for Wheatears on the way. Straight away spotted 2 Avocets ( 116) in front of the shop further along a Kingfisher (117) was seen flying across. 5 Smew also present. Along to Dengemarsh hide with nothing new.
Visited the viewing point and watched the display of mating Marsh Harriers and it was not long before finding and hearing Cetti's Warbler (118) then had the great pleasure of seeing a Bittern fly out of the reeds fly towards the view point and land just in front of me . Even though I saw the exact place it landed the bird dissapeared like magic. On returning to the car a Great White Egret flew over the reserve. Across the road to arc there was a chiffchaff singing outside the hide , inside the hide we had the pleasure of 12 red head smew plus one male.  No R C Pochard located.
A great day but with snow on the forcast spring has not yet sprung.

Friday 15 March 2013

Friday 15/3

A visit to Ashford gave me the excuse to try for the Waxwings, No luck but the surrounding houses and roads had an abundance  of berried bushes so I see them hanging about there for a while.
Returned via Orlestone Forest to find displaying Great Spots and treecreepers and a Nuthatch ( 115)
also noted Sparrowhawk, green woodpecker. Suprising how much snow is still present on  the road back to Dymchurch.  

Wednesday 13 March 2013

wednesday 13/3

An afternoon drive out to the fishing boats I found all the gulls loafing all along the shingle
expecting a long look thru the gulls, but with luck found the Glaucous Gull ( 114)  straight away and in trying to get a photo I lifted my arms and away flew the gull. A trip to the reserve to check the notice board was interupted with snow so drove home to find that the snow was very local as none at home. So end of birding for today.

Sunday 10 March 2013

Sunday 10/3 Mothers day

Woke to a dry morning so decided on another early trip this time to see Purple Sandpiper.
Arrived at Stade street about 8 am and tried the east side of breakwater to no avail except
for 5 Turnstones so moved round to the west side and immediatly found 2 Purple Sandpipers ( 113)
hiding in the rocks close to the water. On return trip home decided to check out Willop Outflow in a field to the rear of the Outflow a field held 4 Curlew , 6 Redshank ,few Dunlin and plenty of Lapwings at sea only Great Crested Grebes with a few Gulls. No Spring Migrant.s   

Saturday 9 March 2013

Saturday 09/03

Felt well enough to go out today so did 9am-11am at the fishing boats at dungeness.
A ringed Herring Gull by fish shack . The weather was misty but at least no wind and about 6*.
No Gulls on the beach so once again dipped in Glaucous Gull. The sea had many Great Crested Grebes on the water and flying east and west, also on the sea was half a dozen Guillimots and 20 +
Auks mostly flying east. Good numbers of Gannets flying East and same amount of Cormorants but they were also undecided and flying east and  west a Fulmar (111) seen and Kittiwakes landed on the shingle close by. Oystercatcher , Turnstone,  and Shelduck also seen with a group of 5 Common Scoter (112) . Main attraction was  Brent Geese during the 2 hours at least 300 flew by in various Skeins as I left could see Geese flying by the Lighthouse and stopped to watch what must have been at least 1000+ flying east a wonderful sight of migration. Returned by New Diggings but unable to see the reported male Red Crested Pochard which has joined the long staying female.       

Sunday 3 March 2013

A beautiful day if not somewhat cold so a visit from David and Lynda gave the opportunity for a walk so the reserve at Dungeness was the decision.
Unable to locate any Curlew at Boulderwall Farm and did not attempt to pick out the Tundra Bean Geese but a little further up the track David picked out the Stonechat (110). The Reserve list had nothing  to get excited about but a flyover Shag was reported. Reserve produced Marsh Harrier , Goldeneye,Tufted Duck ,Dabchick,Cormorant,Shovelor ,Great White Egret,Canada and Greylag,Blue Tit,Little Egret, Great and lesser Blackback Herring and Blackheaded Gull,Coot, Magpie. A drive over Walland had the usual Yellowhammer at feed station and Tickners Seed Dump and a Merlin, plenty of Redwing and Fieldfare with flocks of starlings a tussle between a Peregrine and Marsh Harrier at the Woolpack . A Car in a ditch did cause some worry but on inspection there was nobody onboard and on return car had been removed.

Saturday 2 March 2013

Saturday 2/3

An early morning visit to the fishing boats at Dungeness. Stupidly left the scope at home when going for a sea watch. Managed about an hour. There was a easterly movement of Hundreds of Great Crested Grebes, 20 Gannet , 4 Red Throated Diver , 12 Osyercatchers, a couple of Kittiwakes 15 + auks 2 being  Razorbills and one Guillimot (109) Cormorants were indecisive and were flying East and West Very few Gulls and no Glaucous. Little else of note . PM went back to Larkfield as I joined the motorway on the way home got a text re 25 Waxwings at Abbeymead just to late for me to turn around.