31/08/2018 Wryneck at Newhaven Tidemills

Friday 31 August 2018
Newhaven Tidemills

I responded to another RBA alert - this time of a Wryneck at Newhaven, Tidemills.  I checked it out on Twitter and found out that the sighting was by Jake Gearty.  So off I went.

• 2 other birders were in the area but neither had seen the bird.  
• After I made several circuits round the reptile survey area I ventured into the scrub, some 50 metres further inland  where I came across 3 other birders who were already watching the Wryneck.  
• Having gathered everyone in the correct place, we enjoyed uninterrupted views of this rare bird as it basked in the sunshine at the top of a bush some 25 metres away.
• Also seen: a Whincat, several Linnets, at least 3 Wheatear, a flock of Goldfinch and a Greenfinch.

Thanks Jake and the Shoreham/Worthing birders!

30/08/2018 Cattle Egrets.

Thursday 30 August 2018
Pett Level then RSPB Dungeness NR

There were reports on RBA of significant arrivals of Cattle Egrets at Pett Level and at RSPB Dungeness, so I took the opportunity to look for them this afternoon.

• There was no sign of them at Pett Level when I arrived and a local birder told me they had been seen flying away east.

• I then decided to head for Dungeness where I was able to get good views of at least 4 of them.  They were among the cattle in the fields between Boulderwall Farm and the Visitor Centre.  At least 11 had been seen earlier - a reserve record apparently.

Short and Sweet!

28/08/2018 Cirl Buntings at Labrador Bay

Tuesday 28 August 2018
Labrador Bay

• On the way home from a family gathering at Plymouth I took the chance to go to Labrador Bay to twitch Cirl Buntings. 

25/08/2018 Paul James and Group at Dungeness

Saturday 25/08/2018
RSPB Dungeness
Paul James and Group

I enjoyed an outstanding day at Dungeness with Paul and the group - our first outing in the UK since the middle of February.  14 of us turned up on a mild, overcast day for what turned out to be a memorable outing with over 70 species seen, covering a wide range of birds.

• Thankfully, the American Black Tern was still present, enabling those in the group who had not seen it earlier in the week to get their first view of this rare visitor to the UK.  We needed to make 2 stops at Makepeace Hide - an initial visit to ensure the sighting and a later one when it was not so busy to get the close up views needed to differentiate this bird from the other Black Terns present.  

• On the way to Denge Marsh Hide we saw several Yellow Wagtails in the nearby field with the cattle.  From the hide we saw a number of interesting birds, including a couple of Ruff with a Snipe just a few feet away from them.  A Hobby flew past giving excellent views.  Marsh Harrier and Great White Egret added to the glamour.

• At the ARC Hide there was also a fabulous assortment of birds seen including a Garganey, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper and a Curlew Sandpiper.

• We finished off at Galloways where the star attraction, a Wryneck, proved elusive to all but a couple of the group.  We were compensated richly by superb views of a Little Owl, 2 Short-eared Owls and several Whinchats.

A cracking day out and it was so good to meet up with everyone again.

Species list  - thanks Alan!
American Black Tern		Little Egret
Bittern		Little Grebe
Black Tern		Little Owl
Black-headed Gull		Long-tailed Tit
Black-Tailed Godwit		Magpie
Blue Tit		Mallard
Buzzard		Marsh Harrier
Carrion Crow		Meadow Pipit
Cetti's Warbler		Moorhen
Chaffinch		Mute Swan
Chiffchaff		Pied Wagtail
Collared Dove		Pochard
Common Gull		Raven
Common Sandpiper		Reed Warbler
Common Tern		Ringed Plover
Coot		Robin
Cormorant		Rook
Curlew Sandpiper		Ruff
Dunlin		Sand Martin
Dunnock		Sandwich Tern
Egyptian Goose		Sedge Warbler
Gadwall		Short-eared Owl
Gannet		Shoveler
Garganey		Snipe
Golden Plover		Sparrowhawk
Great Black-backed Gull		Spotted Redshank
Great Crested Grebe		Starling
Great Tit		Stock Dove
Great White Egret		Stonechat
Greenfinch		Swallow
Grey Heron		Swift
Grey Plover		Teal
Greylag Goose		Tree Sparrow
Herring Gull		Tufted Duck
Hobby		Water Rail
House Martin		Wheatear
House Sparrow		Whinchat
Jackdaw		Whitethroat
Kestrel		Widgeon
Lapwing		Woodpigeon
Lesser Black-backed Gull		Wren
Lesser Whitethroat		Wryneck  seen by Paul
Linnet		Yellow Wagtail

86 species 

22/08/2018 American Black Tern at Dungeness.

Wednesday 22 August 2018
RSPB Dungeness

• Nice to twitch the American Black Tern at Dungeness this afternoon after a text from Andrew alerted me to its presence.  The bird was on the far side of Burrowes from the Makepeace Hide and was patrolling up and down the waters behind the islands.  There were at least 20 Black Terns around as well. 

American Black Tern

courtesy of Rich Bonser and Twitter

A UK first for me - my 6th of the year!

Pity I forgot to take my scope and bins with me - thankfully I hired some bins and a kind Sussex birder allowed me to view the bird in his scope.

18/08/2018 Oare Marshes with the East Grinstead RSPB Local Group

Saturday 18 August 2018
Oare Marshes, Kent
East Grinstead Local Group


This birding year marks the 20th anniversary of the formation of the group and what better way to kick things off than a visit to Oare Marshes on the north Kent coast.  14 of us made the 120 mile round trip on an overcast, but very pleasant, day and were rewarded with some excellent birding moments.

Top of my list was the Bonaparte's Gull which by now would be in winter plumage and be much more difficult to find among the many Black-headed Gulls.   I persuaded Shaun to go round the reserve in a clockwise direction so we could look for it first on the muddy shores of the River Swale.  Mark and Elizabeth, who had been on site since early morning and had already seen the gull, briefed us as to the key ID issues so we were very confident  as we set off.

Bonaparte's Gull with larger Black-headed Gull

Library picture

• We had almost reached the hide at the far end of the first section when we were called back to an earlier observation point where a young lady was watching the Bonaparte's Gull and had good scope views.  Had we missed the bird or had it moved in after we had passed by?  Whatever the reason, we were now on to it and could relax and enjoy superb views.  The black beak was a critical feature as was the pronounced black ear spot.  Most significant of all perhaps was the size difference between it and the Black-headed Gulls around - up to a third smaller!  As we were only 30-50 metres away we were able to appreciate all the ID features mentioned above.  

Gulls are not everyones favourite - some felt a little underwhelmed after my enthusiastic promotion at the start, and after an hour or so we moved on.

• We hadn't gone far before we found a lovely juvenile Water Rail.  We were actually looking at a Snipe at the time when the Water Rail suddenly appeared from the reeds. So we happily waited and watched both birds for some time.  Incredibly a couple of Bearded Tits - reedlings - joined the party as they moved around the reeds at water level.
• After we turned into Faversham Creek, we came across a Whimbrel on the edge of the muddy banks on the opposite side to us and further south.  As we approached the bird moved away from the edge and towards us, offering superb views. 
• On the east flood we saw a lovely Curlew Sandpiper and then a Little Stint among the Godwits, Dunlins, Ruffs, Avocets etc.  Several members also saw a couple of Yellow Wagtails on the grassy banks opposite the viewing point. 
• All in all we saw 4 sandpipers, the Curlew Sandpiper mentioned above, a Common Sandpiper, a Green Sandpiper and a brilliant Wood Sandpiper.

 All agreed that this was a really good start to our anniversary year.  Over 50 species seen.

Roll on our next trip to Sandwich Bay and then the Simon Barnes talk to our group on 30 October.

05/08/2018 Pied Flycatcher at Seaford in Sussex

Sunday 5 August 2018
Seaford Head, Sussex

With so much movement of Pied Flycatchers reported nationally lately and with at least 6 seen locally  yesterday by Matt Eade, I opted for the early shift on the South Downs at Seaford Head.  Thankfully my efforts met with some success!

• First stop was Harry's Bush where there was little happening.  
• On the way back to the main track I met a couple who had just photographed one in the scrub by the barn next to the car park.  
• However I decided to head down the hill towards Hope Gap first . Within minutes I came across some lively bird activity among which was a Pied Flycatcher.  It flew off before I could get my scope on it but not before I enjoyed good views in my bins.  A lady had joined me and she too enjoyed the views.
• I then returned to the car park area but had no luck again so I decided to venture down towards Hope Gap once more. 
• Quite soon I came across Bob Self and Katie who had just seen one in the nearby sycamore tree having seen it earlier on the footpath.  We then saw the bird flitting around in the tree then flycatching from the right hand end  Katie and Bob soon went off but their friend Derek joined us and we continued to enjoy frequent but fleeting views.  

Well worth the 05.30 alarm setting!  

This was a year tick for me - normally I would have seen these birds in Cumbria at the start of the breeding season.

03/08/2018 At Oare Marshes with Alan and Shaun

Friday 3 August 2018
Oare Marshes, Kent

I spent a very enjoyable 3+ hours at Oare Marshes in Kent with Alan and Shaun.  There can be no better place than this at the moment with a wide variety of waders on show.

• The main attraction was the long-staying Red-necked Phalarope and it did not disappoint with frequent appearances on the East Flood with some quite superb views

Red-necked Phalarope

courtesy of Kent Birding 

• Despite searching through thousands of gulls we were unable to find the Bonaparte's Gull.

• Other highlights included at least 3 Snipe showing very well, a Spotted Redshank, a Common Sandpiper and a Curlew Sandpiper, several Ruff, a Little Ringed Plover, several Golden Plover and the usual suspects - Black-tailed Godwits, Avocets, Redshank  etc.  We only saw 1 juvenile Yellow Wagtail on the mud by the hide but there was a stunning male there earlier.

As good as it gets in this stunning hot weather!

01/08/2018 Out and About

Tuesday 31 July 2018  

At Weir  Wood Reservoir, today, the Great White Egret was showing well at West End.

Wednesday 1 August 2018

Nice to see 2 Red Kites as I was walking the dogs in the Millennium Park at Ridgewood (Uckfield).