A calmer Dungeness

Another trip over the Thames and down to Dungeness for a day's birding before heading on to Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory to give a presentation on birding in The Algarve and Baixo Alentejo regions of Southern Portugal
A very calm and mild Dungeness sea watch with a little drizzle. Not too much on the channel apart from the usual suspects; gull varieties, including good numbers of little gull, common scoter, great crested grebes, kittiwakes, few gannets etc. Later apparently a reasonable movement of great skuas, which I missed as I headed off to the RSPB reserve. On the power station wall was a female black redstart but a trip up to the moat and trapping area didn't add to the day list apart from house sparrows, robin and starling.

cormorants

carrion crow

distant little gull

herring gull

Busy on the patch

First stop, after yet again learning how to operate the coffee machine at Reserve HQ, off to Dennis' Hide where both a great white egret and distant black necked grebe were observed. Latter being number 205 for the year list. Also present, pochard, wigeon, teal, coot etc but no hoped for red necked grebes.

distant black necked grebe

great white egret with lapwing, wigeon and flyover black headed gull

As I headed around the reserve it appeared as quiet as my previous visit, with very few passerines. More great egrets and I came across another, still distant, black necked grebe. A marsh harrier patrolled Denge Marsh and a marsh tit was heard near the Christmas Dell hide.

black necked grebe

great crested grebe

great white egret

little egret

After this I took myself over the road, stopping for the tree sparrows at Boulderwall Farm, but they weren't keen to have their photograph so along to the Hanson Hide. Plenty of water here with golden plover and lapwings in large numbers. Another great white egret! but nothing else of note. From here, I drove through Lydd to Scotney Pits where I scored number 206 for the year, barnacle goose. Plenty of plovers, greylags and a fair few hybrid geese but nothing else of note.

barnacle goose

more of the same, the gaggle numbered 40+

late flowering evening primrose

view from Hanson Hide.

the Old Lighthouse 143 feet tall, one of the UK's tallest lighthouses.

All in all, a good 5 hours of birding. The species list:
black necked grebe, little grebe, great crested grebe, gannet, cormorant, little egret, great egret, grey heron, mute swan, greylag goose, brent goose, barnacle goose, mallard, gadwall, shoveler, wigeon, teal, pochard, tufted duck, common scoter, marsh harrier, common buzzard, sparrowhawk, kestrel, red legged partridge, pheasant, water rail, moorhen, coot, oystercatcher, golden plover, lapwing, dunlin, black headed gull, common gull, herring gull, lesser black backed gull, great black backed gull, little gull, sandwich tern, wood pigeon, collared dove, green woodpecker, skylark, meadow pipit, pied wagtail, wren, dunnock, robin, black redstart, blackbird, chiffchaff, cettis warbler,great tit, blue tit, marsh tit, long tailed tit, magpie, jay, jackdaw, carrion crow, rook, starling, house sparrow, tree sparrow, chaffinch, goldfinch, greenfinch, reed bunting (70 sp)