Saturday 25^th February 2023

RSPB Dungeness and Area

East Grinstead RSPB Local Group

(13 members present)

Trip Report

There was another excellent turnout today.  The weather was in our favour, with dry, overcast, conditions but it was a bit on the cold side due to the northerly breeze.  We walked round the main reserve in the morning and switched to the ARC pit after lunch.  Some of us then carried on birding at the sea-watching hide by the power station.  All in all, we saw 60 bird species. 

Most members took advantage of the advice to call in at Camber to see the scaup, which has been there since mid-January.  

• The bird was showing well, in the pool closest to the village.

     

 

A lot of the action today took place around the entrance to the reserve at Boulderwall Farm.  We stopped there to look for the glossy ibis – one of our target species today.  The ibis was not there but there were so many other birds present that we were duty bound investigate.

• There was a healthy presence of Canada geese and greylag geese.
• Wigeon and teal were abundant.
• There were well over 200 golden plover on show.  Not quite as numerous, but still putting on a good show, were the lapwings.
•  Other species that caught the eye included a little egret and pintail duck.
•  The overriding memory, however, was that of a marsh harrier enjoying a veritable feast on the carcass of some unfortunate prey by the side of the pond.

 

At the feeders, in the main car park, we saw the usual suspects including the following.

• Greenfinch, dunnock, robin, chaffinch, blue tit, great tit, house sparrow and reed bunting.
•  In the nearby bushes some members caught sight of a lovely goldcrest.

 

The water level on Burrowes Pit was very high which limited the number of birds on show, particularly the waders.

•  Pride of place went to the goldeneye.  There were at least 4 drakes - looking immaculate - and 3 females.
• The usual ducks were present, including some cracking gadwall and tufted duck.

                  

 

As we made our way from Dennis’s Hide to Denge Marsh Hide we saw a few interesting species on the way.

·         There was a chiffchaff in the bushes by the pool near the Visitor Centre.

·         2 ermine stoats were seen in the Hayfields area. 

·         We also witnessed the classic courtship routine of 2 great crested grebes. 

•  3 ringed plovers flew past us.
•  We even had a sparrowhawk and a kestrel fly overhead.
  
  

AfAfter a long walk we finally got to Dengemarsh Hide and enjoyed some good views over the water.

• The standout bird was the great white egret that we found after a while.  It was on the far side but clearly visible for a significant period of time.
• The pochard looked particularly good in the bright light that we enjoyed here.
• Little grebe was another particularly lovely species that we saw.

 

We made our way round to the viewing area overlooking the reed beds.

• There was no sign of any bearded tits – it was probably too windy.
• We did hear a bittern booming away at regular intervals much to the delight of all present.

 

After lunch at the Visitor Centre we made our way to the ARC pits.  As we approached Boulderwall Farm our attention was again drawn to the pool area by some frantic bird antics.

·         A marsh harrier was chasing a lapwing when 3 crows decided to intervene and they seemed to be the likely beneficiaries until the harrier returned and claimed the carcass.

·         Jonathan and Lyn stayed behind for a while and they were rewarded with good views of 5 black-tailed godwits.

 

At the ARC pits the water level was so high that most of the islands were submerged and we were unable to find the glossy ibis or any new species to add to our day list.  At this point 6 members called it a day and headed home and the remaining 7 moved to the power station area for a sea-watching session.

·         A cracking peregrine was perched high up on the power station building.

·         On the sea, the gannets were the most ubiquitous species by far.

·         Red-throated divers moved east at regular intervals.

·         We even had a close grey seal show its head near the end.

·         There was no sign of any of the harbour porpoises that Ian had seen earlier in the day, before the formal outing started.

All bird photographs courtesy of Martin Jeffree.

Thanks Kevin for another super birding trip!

Bob Hasting

Today’s species list

Name:	Count		Name	Count
Bittern	1		Lapwing	31
Black-headed Gull	2		Little Egret	32
Black-tailed Godwit	3		Little Grebe	33
Blue Tit	4		Magpie	34
Buzzard	5		Mallard	35
Canada Goose	6		Marsh Harrier	36
Carrion Crow	7		Mute Swan	37
Cetti's Warbler	8		Oystercatcher	38
Chaffinch	9		Peregrine	39
Chiffchaff	10		Pied Wagtail	40
Coot	11		Pintail	41
Cormorant	12		Pochard	42
Curlew	13		Red-throated Diver	43
Dunnock	14		Reed Bunting	44
Gadwall	15		Ringed Plover	45
Gannet	16		Robin	46
Goldcrest	17		Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon	47
Golden Plover	18		Rook	48
Goldeneye	19		Scaup	49
Great Black-backed Gull	20		Shelduck	50
Great Crested Grebe	21		Shoveler	51
Great Tit	22		Skylark	52
Great White Egret	23		Sparrowhawk	53
Greenfinch	24		Starling	54
Grey Heron	25		Stock Dove	55
Greylag Goose	26		Stonechat	56
Herring Gull	27		Teal	57
House Sparrow	28		Tufted Duck	58
Jackdaw	29		Wigeon	59
Kestrel	30		Woodpigeon	60

 

Species count = 60

2023 species count = 127