24/01/14 and 25/01/14 Dungeness Double Helping?

Friday 24th January 2014 Dungeness with Mike Russell
Saturday 25th January 2014 Dungeness with Paul James

Managed to finish up doing Dungeness on successive days.  This was not by design.  Mike had arranged his programme well in advance whereas Paul, as usual, waited to the last minute to gauge the weather and the richness of the birding.  I wasn't at all bothered because I knew Mike would be based on the nature reserve and Paul would be out and about - and so it turned out.  The two trips complemented each other very nicely.  The weather was not as forecast; Friday was sunny and dry whereas Saturday was overcast, misty at times with rain late in the day - a reversal of what should have been.

The strangest sighting was a Woodcock on Friday.  It flew past us as we were heading for the Denge Hide, affording excellent views - once we had got over the surprise.  This was the first time I had seen one flying in daylight.  

Woodcock flying by day
Library picture only

Maybe I should listen more carefully to my daughter Sara as she was sure she saw one flying a few weeks ago as she was driving to work and I doubted her, suggesting it might have been a Snipe.

Another "oddity" on Friday was the number of Marsh Harriers seen on the ground.  At one point I had a male and two females in the same scope view and all on the ground in the field.  Equally bemusing was the count for Great-white Egrets which exceeded that of the more common Little Egrets by some way.

By far the star of the whole weekend for me was the fabulous drake Smew that we saw at the ARC Hanson hide.  This has to be the best looking bird of the winter and one I had been eagerly awaiting. 

Drake Smew  
Library picture only

 

Redhead Smew
Library picture only

We had seen the very attractive females for some time but lacked the males to complete the show.  Now we had it.  Apparently two have shown up so we should have lots of glamour and attraction for the rest of the winter.

On the "patch" the number of gulls was way above normal and it was difficult to keep up with the action.  There were some Little Gulls there but I was perhaps the only one who couldn't make the ID.  I just have not got my eye in for this species yet and neither Mike nor Paul could help much as there was really no point of reference because of the comings and goings of the birds.  I need to do some homework and then try again in a less frantic situation.

Offshore there were hundreds of auks to be seen, mainly Guillemots but with the occasional Razorbill. The Red-throated Divers were present in good numbers as were the Little Grebes and Gannets.  A flock of Scoters, numbering over 30, and including a Velvet Scoter near the rear flew west.  

Velvet Scoter
Library picture only

The characteristic white patch was clearly showing in sharp contrast to the others.  This was my first this year and only my second ever, the last being last autumn in Norfolk.  There was one "lifer" for me today; the Caspian Gull showed on the beach off to our left enabling us to study it carefully and tick off many of the attributes that differentiate it from a Herring Gull, principally the black eye and the parallel shape of the beak components.

Out and about we saw several interesting species.  The rarest was probably the Tundra Bean Geese at Scotney GP.  

Tundra Bean Geese
Library picture only

Two of them were among the many Greylags in the field closest to the water.  We managed to get quite close to make a good observation.  White-fronted Geese, numbering almost 50, were seen a little further inland at Scotney Bridge North TR005195 where the views were distant but reasonable.

White-fronted Goose
Library picture only

 At Caldicott Farm TR047229 we got very good views of the 45+ Bewick Swans feeding in the field.  The Long-tailed Duck at the east end of Scotney GP was a delight to see  but hard to get in the scope because it kept diving.  The Tree Sparrows too, as usual, were a delight to see at Boulderwall Farm on both days.

I missed the Bittern on Friday at the reserve on the way to the Denge hide.  Only the lucky few who were at the rear managed to see it.  We tried to see one on Saturday from Dengemarsh Road but we were unsuccessful but we did manage to see two Peregrines and a Kestrel.  Our final stop at Pett Level on the way home was unfruitful with the Ruddy Duck deciding not to come out to play in the adverse weather conditions.

Another top-drawer birding trip with a species count well over 60.  This was good compensation for a missed trip up north to go to Caerlaverock with friends in the the West Cumbria Birding Group.



Species list for combined trips:
Mute Swan
Greylag Goose
Canada Goose
Shelduck
Wigeon 
Teal
Gadwall
Mallard
Pintail
Shoveler   (10)
Pochard
Tufted Duck
Goldeneye
Smew
Red-throated Diver
Cormorant
Little Egret
Great White Egret
Grey Heron
Black-necked Grebe   (20)
Little Grebe
Great-crested Grebe
Marsh Harrier
Kestrel
Buzzard
Pheasant
Water Rail (heard)
Cetti's Warbler (heard)
Moorhen
Coot   (30)
Lapwing
Woodcock
Black-headed Gull
Common Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Guillemot
Razorbill
Woodpigeon   (40)
Green Woodpecker
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Chiffchaff 
Wren 
Starling
Stock Dove   (50)
Blackbird 
Robin
Stonechat
Dunnock
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Meadow Pipit
Chaffinch
Bewick Swan
Tundra Bean Goose   (60)
White-fronted Goose
Long-tailed Duck
Peregrine
Velvet Scoter
Caspian Gull





Species count for combined trips:  65+


Additions to 2014 UK Bird List:
Woodcock   (132)
Caspian Gull   (133)
Velvet Scoter   (134)
Tundra Bean Goose   (135)
White-fronted Goose   (136)


Additions to Life List of UK Birds:
Caspian Gull   (242)