06/11/2014 North Kent again - a Desert Wheatear, Short-eared Owls and a Pale-bellied Brent Goose

Thursday 6th November 2014
Shellness on Isle of Sheppey then Reculver
with Paul

Paul had picked up from the Sussex Birders facebook page that the spread of Little Auks down the east coast had reached Shellness on the Isle of Sheppey so we decided to make the journey into north Kent to give it a go.  If all else failed I could show Paul the site of my Lapland Bunting sighting on Monday.  It was a bright, sunny morning although we could have done with northerly winds.

At Shellness we immediately saw a Short-eared Owl hunting over the marsh while out at sea we witnessed an altercation between a Bonxie and a Merlin but no sign of any Little Auks.  There were plenty of Brent Geese and a smattering of Grey and Ringed Plovers.  Before we could reach the wader spit we got an alert from Bird Guides about a Desert Wheatear that had just been seen at Reculver some 25 miles south on the north Kent coast.  We immediately headed for the car and before reaching it we saw our second Short-eared Owl and Paul got fleeting view of a Little Auk flying over the marshes with a flock of Starlings.

At Reculver we quickly joined the other birders to watch the delightful male Desert Wheatear that was parading on the rocks of the groyne less than 20 metres from us.  It was quite unsettled and soon flew onto the pebble beach, then back to the groyne before flying about 50 metres to another groyne to the west. 



Male Desert Wheatear at Reculver
Library picture



Male Desert Wheatear at Reculver
Library picture




Just like it's UK counterpart this Moroccan bird was very attractive but with more black in the tail and around the face.  After watching this rare bird for about 30 minutes we then picked out the Pale-bellied Brent Goose from the flocks of geese in the nearby field and watched it until it sat down and fell asleep. 



Pale-bellied Brent Goose
Library picture

Next stop was Swalecliffe, a 20 minute drive away, but this time we were to be disappointed with no sign of the Lapland Bunting or the Black Redstart or the Kingfisher.  What a difference a couple of days makes! 

Despite the quiet ending we both agreed it was a great day out and well worth the effort.  I had picked up another "lifer" and a year tick and Paul had the added advantage of seeing the Little Auk.

Addition to 2014 UK Bird List:
Desert Wheatear   (272)
Pale-bellied Brent Goose(273)


Addition to UK Bird Life List:
Desert Wheatear   (284)
Pale-bellied Brent Goose(285)




"The Desert Wheatear occurs across North Africa, through the Middle East and Arabian Peninsula, and into Asia, as far east as China. It is also sometimes recorded outside of its normal range, in parts of Europe. This species is migratory, with populations generally moving southwards in winter."