I have simply copied the report I produced for the Ashdown Bird Group below.
Sunday 19th September 2021,
Dungeness, Kent
Ashdown Bird Group
(11 members present)
Trip Report
For our
fourth outing of the year we visited the Dungeness area, taking in the nature
reserve for most of the day before finishing up by the power station and the sea
late in the afternoon. We were rewarded with some excellent birding with at
least 68 species seen, including all of our target birds and several pleasant
surprises.
This was the first time most of us had been back to the reserve since
the pandemic started and it was disappointing to find four of the seven hides
had been closed for urgent repairs, a fifth had been demolished completely and
there was no longer any viewing possible from the Visitor Centre. Thankfully
two new Lookouts had been created to allow some viewing. Only Dennis’ Hide and
the hardly frequented Christmas Dell Hide remain open to provide any protection
from the elements in bad weather. No such problems for us today however - the weather was kind to us with
cool and pleasant conditions throughout.
The target species for the day were
Black Tern, Hobby, Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis and Black-necked Grebe, all of which
had been seen recently on the reserve.
We got off to an absolute flyer, seeing 2 Black Terns from Dennis’
Hide, with a Common Tern thrown in for good luck.
Our first Marsh
Harrier of the day flew over the water on the opposite side to us.
From the
viewing area just outside the hide, whilst looking at the common passerines, we
came across a LesserWhitethroat and shortly afterwards we heard
and then saw a Cetti’s Warbler before it flew down to the bushes
below.A double bonus and we had only
just started!
Next stop was
the new Firth Lookout, where we quickly came upon 3 Ruff in the
vegetation by the edge of the water.
This was the first of several views we were to get of them today.
Another welcome surprise.
A few Golden
Plover were around and they were soon joined by a much bigger flock –
looking immaculate in the good light.
Sue and Bob P
re-joined us as did Dick and Dot a little while later and they added Sparrowhawk,Hobby and Water Rail to our growing list of
impressive birds. By now the rest
of the group had also seen Hobby and Sparrowhawk as well as several Great
White Egrets and more Marsh Harriers.
Bird of the
day came right out of the blue, just after midday. Alas, only 4 of us got to see it. Alison, Bob R , Martin and myself had gone
ahead to the Viewing Ramp to look for Bearded Tits. While we were there, Alison spotted a large
bird in the distance which Martin soon identified as an Osprey. All four of us then enjoyed several minutes
watching as it flew past us and out towards the power station. Joy, John and Ian eventually caught up with
us but by then the Osprey had gone.
Earlier, they
had been watching a Swift – surely one of the last to still be in the
country and a real surprise.
After lunch we were
heading over to the ARC Pits when we spotted some activity near the cattle at
Boulderwell Farm so we stopped to investigate.
The large
white bird that drew our attention turned out to be another Great White Egret
but someone noticed other birds close by.
These turned out to be a mix of Little Egrets and Cattle Egrets
with the numbers increasing as further birds arrived on the scene. In the end we saw at least 5 of the
latter.
Joy spotted a
large dark bird dropping down into the vegetation nearby and, as she was sure
it wasn’t a Cormorant, we immediately thought it could be the Glossy Ibis that
we were expecting to find over at the ARC Pits.
The bird soon took flight again and we quickly identified it as the Glossy
Ibis. What a magnificent view we got
as it flew around us before leaving.
Over at the ARC Pits, the
main Hanson Hide was closed. The area
around the Screen Hide was so overgrown as to render it impossible to view from
there. We had no choice but to climb onto the banks adjacent to the hide,
breaking all the rules, in order to observe the birds on the water.
·We were
fortunate to see the last of our target species, the Black-necked Grebe. In fact we saw 2 with some excellent, if
somewhat distant, views.
·As well as
the usual species, we also saw more Great White Egrets and yet another Marsh
Harrier.
A short drive took us to
our final destination by the sea and the power station.
·Our efforts
to find Black Redstarts went unrewarded but we did find a rather nice Grey
Wagtail moving around inside the power station complex.
·On the sea
the pick of the birds was a Red-throated Diver, surprisingly close to
the shore.
· …..and several distant Gannets.
·Of course, we
also saw a number of butterflies including Small White, Large White, Small
Copper, Clouded Yellow, Red Admiral and Painted Lady.
·Also seen
were Migrant Hawker, Damselfly, Common Darter, Southern Hawker.
Another cracking tour with Marcus! No new birds for me but a top birding day with 92 species seen including some magnificent wader sightings, including my second Pectoral Sandpiper of the week. Marcus' report is included below - enjoy!
.
18th Sept 2021 – Warblers, Wheatear & Waders
A Group Day Tour in North Norfolk today. After the morning mist burnt back, it was bright and warm with some sunny intervals this morning. It clouded over a bit more in the afternoon, and there looked to be some showers to the west of us later on, but it stayed largely dry where we were.
We started this morning with a walk along the coast path at Stiffkey. The weather was not ideal for drift migrants arriving from the continent, but with a light SE wind overnight and mist this morning it was not impossible something might have dropped in. Scanning from the car park revealed a Spoonbill preening out on the saltmarsh which we got the scopes on for a closer look, before it flew off west.
Spoonbill – preening out on the saltmarsh
We hadn’t got much further when the bushes by the path were suddenly full of birds – as well as a couple of Blue Tits, there were several Dunnocks, Robin, Goldfinches, Chaffinch and Greenfinch. There didn’t seem to be anything more unusual with them, so we continued on. A Sparrowhawk flew past and disappeared back into Campsite Wood.
There were lots of waders out on the saltmarsh – lots of Curlews and several Redshanks – plus a good number of Little Egrets. A Great Black-backed Gull flew in and flushed a small group of Golden Plover from the vegetation out towards the beach. A single Common Snipe flew in high over the saltmarsh calling, and we lost it in the sun as it headed inland behind us. Another Spoonbill flew over heading east.
We came across a single Blackcap before the whirligig, but the bushes there were rather quiet today. There were one or two butterflies out, enjoying the morning sunshine, a couple of very fresh Commas and a Red Admiral.
Comma – enjoying the morning sunshine
From the far end of the circular path, we stopped again to scan the saltmarsh. More Golden Plover were very well camouflaged, hiding in the vegetation, unless they moved. A single Grey Plover flew round in the distance, flashing its black armpits. A distant Grey Heron and a Common Buzzard were the first of each for the day.
There had been three or four House Martins over the saltmarsh when we arrived, but now a big flock of 30 or more hirundines came through, heading west. Mostly Swallows, there were a few House Martins in with them. Presumably migrants heading off on their way to Africa for the winter. A Siskin flew over very high, calling, probably another migrant.
Looking behind us, we had a quick glimpse of a Lesser Whitethroat in the bushes just beyond the whirligig so we went round for a look. On our way, we flushed a Common Whitethroat from the edge of the tarmac path which landed briefly in a briar, and then when we got out the other side, we found the Lesser Whitethroat again. We had a good view of it for a minute or so out in the open in the elders and hawthorns.. There were a few Blackcaps in here too.
There didn’t seem to be a lot of freshly arrived migrants here, so we decided to head back and try somewhere else. We drove back towards Wells and stopped at the pools just east of town. As we drove down the track, we could see a couple of partridges in the stubble, so we looked round behind the hedge and could see orange faces and grey necks looking out – a small covey of Grey Partridges.
We stood with our scopes on the edge of our field to scan the pool to the east. A Meadow Pipit flew up from the stubble and landed on the fence. Then we noticed a female Yellowhammer a bit further back. Both kept dropping down into the edge of the stubble. A Wheatear popped up onto the fence too – just a few fence posts back from us, and posing nicely, a great view.
Wheatear – posed on one of the fence posts
There were four more Spoonbills out in the water towards the back, in amongst the Greylag Geese. There were lots of Wigeon out there too, the drakes all still in rusty eclipse plumage. Three Pintail flew in high from the direction of Wells. A couple of juvenile Shelducks were feeding on the mud down at the front. There were lots of Black-tailed Godwits over towards the back too, mostly asleep. A single Ruff was in with all the Lapwings in the grass.
There were more geese on the dry pool the other side of the track. In amongst the Greylags, we found a single Barnacle Goose, a very pretty goose, but presumably a feral bird from somewhere. There were lots of Egyptian Geese on here too, mostly loafing around in the grass.
We had a walk down the track to see if we could find anything else. A Kestrel landed briefly in the bushes and was then hovering out over the grazing marshes. A Marsh Harrier quartered the fields beyond and we picked up a distant Common Buzzard and a Red Kite away to the east. From the corner, we scanned the pools again. A Green Sandpiper on the mud briefly ran round the back of one of the islands out of view before everyone could get onto it, but we did get a better view of several Black-tailed Godwits feeding here, and saw our first Teal of the day.
It was nearly midday already, so we walked back to the minibus and drove further west along the coast to Titchwell, where we planned to spend the afternoon. After lunch in the sunshine in the picnic area, we headed out to explore the reserve.
As we came out of the trees, a Cetti’s Warbler was singing from a big sallow by the path on the edge of Thornham grazing marsh, but typically remained well hidden. A Chiffchaff was calling from the bushes in the reedbed opposite. Just beyond, we stopped to admire a Curlew feeding in the flowers on the saltmarsh close to the bank and a Chinese Water Deer was lurking in the rushes behind.
Curlew – feeding in the flowers on the saltmarsh
It was a nice still day, so when we heard Bearded Tits calling we scanned along the new edge of the water opposite where the diggers have built the new bank and quickly found a smart male in the reeds. We got it in the scopes, a great view as it came out into the open, picking around the floating vegetation disturbed by the digger. When the first disappeared back in, another male appeared a bit further back. A female appeared too and when they finally flew across the water and disappeared into the reeds the other side of the bank, we could see there were four Bearded Tits together.
A scan of the Reedbed Pool revealed a few more ducks – a couple of Shoveler, a single Tufted Duck and a large raft of Common Pochard. Two Little Grebes swam across in front. We could hear more Bearded Tits calling from the reeds a little further up, but they were in much thicker vegetation and remained well hidden. While we were looking, we heard something crashing through the reeds just below the path. We thought it might be an otter, so we waited by the pool just beyond, but nothing came out and it all went quiet.
Pectoral Sandpiper – the juvenile, still on the Freshmarsh
We were told the Pectoral Sandpiper was showing well from the path a little further up, beyond Island Hide, so we headed straight up there next. A small group of waders came up from the middle of the Freshmarsh and we turned to look at them as they flew towards us and on past – four Little Stints and two Dunlin! Unfortunately, they disappeared off west before the rest of the group caught up, having stopped to look at something by Island Hide.
The Pectoral Sandpiper was hard to see, picking around in the ruts in the mud left behind by the digger, but we got it in the scopes and eventually everyone got a good look at it. A scarce visitor here, this bird, a juvenile, will have been raised in either far NE Siberia or North America this summer and should be on its way to South America for the winter!
The weather was so nice, we decided to scan the Freshmarsh from up here, rather than head back into the hide. There were lots of other waders here, so we set about working our way through them. The Ruff were in various shapes, sizes and colours just to confuse the unwary! The Wood Sandpiper flew out from the edge of the reeds but unfortunately didn’t stay very long, before disappearing back in.
Ruff – a juvenile
Further back, we could see a large flock of Black-tailed Godwits roosting and scanning through we found a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits in with them, juveniles with very strongly patterned upperparts. A small flock of Knot flew in and landed with them too and we managed to find a single juvenile Dunlin on the mud nearby.
Several Golden Plover were roosting on the new islands, surprisingly hard to see against the bare mud, but beautifully golden-spangled in the sunshine through the scopes. There were a few Lapwing on there too. Further back, we got the scopes on a small group of Avocets. There were several Common Snipe on the mud over in front of the reeds and a Greenshank flew in calling over Thornham saltmarsh right past us, before dropping down on the middle of the Freshmarsh.
Greenshank – flew in over the saltmarsh calling
We dabbled briefly in the dark arts of gulls too, getting the scopes first on a couple of Common Gulls preening in with the roosting Black-headed Gulls, then comparing and contrasting an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull with a nearby adult Herring Gull.
We decided to head on out towards the beach next. There were just a few Curlews and Redshanks in the muddy channel at the far end of Volunteer Marsh, but there were a lot more waders on the Tidal Pools. With the tide coming in out on the beach, they had come in here to roost. A large group of Redshanks were loafing at the back before the bank and just beyond there were lots of Oystercatchers in the vegetation and a tight mass of Knot all down the nearby spit. A Turnstone was feeding nearby, flicking over lumps and mud and vegetation (rather than stones!) to look for food.
A big flock of Linnets kept flying up out of the suaeda bushes on the bank, flying round bouncing up and down, before landing back in the tops of the bushes. A male Stonechat flew in and landed with them.
The tide had already covered the mussel beds out at the beach. We got the scopes first on three Sanderling running along the edge of the waves just to the west of us. Three Ringed Plovers were on the shore the other side, towards Brancaster, but were repeatedly flushed by a dog and flew back towards us. There were still a few Oystercatchers and Turnstones out on the beach too.
While we were looking at the waders, one of the group scanned the sea and quickly located two Red-throated Divers just offshore. One was still largely in breeding plumage, still sporting its red throat, though it was hard to see with a bit of mist still lingering offshore. There were a few Sandwich Terns flying back and forth offshore too and a distant Gannet.
We picked up a single Brent Goose flying west well offshore first, followed shortly after by seven more Brent Geese with a single Wigeon, and then a much larger flock of Wigeon. These are the first Brent Geese of the winter we have seen – birds arriving fresh back from Siberia as we watched – and the ducks were also just coming back for the winter too. Always nice to see migration in action!
There were some rather threatening clouds to the west of us and we felt a couple of drops of rain, so we decided to walk back so we were closer to cover if it did come over our way. As we got to the turning to Parrinder Hide, the Wood Sandpiper flew in and landed in the corner of the Freshmarsh right below us. We had a great view of it now, as it fed in the small pool on the edge of the reeds, with both adult and juvenile Ruff for comparison.
Wood Sandpiper – showed very well on our way back
Scanning the the mud further back, we couldn’t see the Pectoral Sandpiper where it had been earlier, but we did find two Yellow Wagtails feeding around the margins, which we got in the scopes. A little further on, we relocated the Pectoral Sandpiper now out on the mud on the edge of the reeds from Island Hide feeding with the Common Snipe. A second Greenshank flew in over the saltmarsh calling, with the first answering from where we had seen it land earlier. A flock of seven Avocets came up from the Freshmarsh and circled up higher before turning and flying off towards the sea – just going off to feed somewhere else or perhaps heading off south for the winter? Hard to tell, but there are definitely birds on the move at the moment, as we had seen today.
With things coming and going all the time, we could have stayed here all evening, but unfortunately it was time now to call it a day and head back.
An early 04.30 start from Uckfield to meet up with the group at 08.30 in Wells-next-the-Sea. Full on with Marcus till after 17.00 then off back home, arriving at 20.40. A very long day but well worth the effort.
Mid afternoon came an alert from RBA about a Short-toed Lark at Climping on the south coast just east of Bognor Regis. It took a long time to get there with heavy traffic all the way there but it was well worth the effort.
The bird was there in exactly the same place as reported. Unfortunately it had moved from the bare patches of ground to the grassy areas, making it difficult to get good views.
However with a lot of patience and assistance from Jacob E and his friend, I was able to get a few seconds of fabulous views as it moved right towards a couple of rocks.
courtesy of Arlington Reservoir and Twitter
Anyone arriving earlier would have got this much better view of course.
courtesy of Adam Huttly and Twitter
My fourth lifer this year - truly amazing!
3 of them in Sussex - equally amazing!
It breeds in southern Europe, north-west Africa, and across the Palearctic from Turkey and southern Russia to Mongolia.
Annual vagrant to Britain late spring or autumn, favouring sandy wasteland, arable fields or open seashores.
Another chance to go birding with Mark and Elizabeth to celebrate the latter's recent retirement. The weather was spot on - warm with hardly any wind.
I joined up with them at Horseshoe Plantation, then we moved east up to the car park at the top of the hill where we walked out to the area overlooking Whitbread Hollow before finally, after lunch, moving west to Cuckmere Haven where we walked out to the scrape at the mouth of the river.
At Horseshoe Plantation Elizabeth and Mark had been watching Spotted Flycatchers before I arrived - thankfully one was still showing brilliantly in the bushes by the car park as I joined them. A Sparrowhawk and 2 Ravens were also around and displaying brilliantly for us.
Butterflies dominated the second part of our trip with Small Heath, Small Copper, Meadow Brown, Common Blue, Small White and Red Admiral the pick of the bunch. On the birding front there was a large presence of House Martins which was delightful to watch.
Elizabeth was keen to find a Whinchat so I suggested we call in at Birling Gap, en-route to our final destination, where I had seen one recently. We actually found 5, on the wire fence running east from Birling Gap Road! While we were there we also saw 3 Yellow Wagtails and a Wheatear by the nearby sewage works.
At Cuckmere Haven there was a huge presence of Goldfinches as we left the car park and walked south to the sea. At the scrape we saw 1 of the 5 Curlew Sandpipers that had been reported the previous day; it was with scores of Dunlin and Ringed Plover. A Green Sandpiper was a welcome addition as were a couple of Ruff that appeared while we were there. At one point we found a small group of 7 Little Grebes.
It was all about Pectoral Sandpipers today with reports of 2 within reasonable travelling distance. One was at RSPB Pulborough Brooks and the other was at the London Wetland Centre. I chose the latter, primarily because it offered the chance of closer views.
Bang on cue, the bird was there, just 30 metres or so in front of me as I viewed from the WWF Hide. It looked truly magnificent on the waters edge as it went about its business.
courtesy of Charlotte Weddell and Twitter
courtesy of Charlotte Weddell and Twitter
I also saw at least 6 Ring-necked Parakeets as I made my way back to the car.
