London buses at Dungeness!

Last night I decided to head off early to Dungeness, so, having left the house at 5.20a.m. I was in the sea watch hide before 7.30, next to the power station looking out over the English channel. A trickle of red throated divers, few razorbills and guillemots and distant gannets but the most common sighting, apart from cormorants, were harbour porpoises heading up channel into the North Sea. Here, I chatted to Jack, the new assistant warden at the Bird Observatory. After a while he casually said there were two bluethroats at Dengemarsh Gully.
Every birder has a bird that is elusive to them. For me, it's bluethroat. They are regular in The Camargue, Southern Portugal, Poland etc but on all my trips there I have never encountered one. A male turned up at Amwell NR several years ago, but had flown by the time I got there and on numerous occasions, I have failed to find one on the North Norfolk coast. I just put it down as "the bird I'll never see"
After an hour on the beach in -3C and very windy conditions, I thought I may have a look for these bluethroats, pointing out to Jack that I really ought to ring folk before I head to Dunge as I miss so much.
I arrived at the gully and immediately, a bluethroat popped up in front of me. The sky was dark, snow swirling and the bird was on mud: tricky light conditions for photos. These were the best I could manage. The bird showing a full blue bib, bordered by a hint of black and then red.

Pleased with this sighting, I set off for the RSPB reserve in increasingly freezing conditions. I treated myself to a proper thermal hat, donned my thick gloves and set off. A peregrine chased wigeon, a marsh harrier quartered the reedbeds, and a slavonian grebe slept on the water at Dengemarsh hide. Superb birds. A coffee warmed me up back at the Visitors' Centre before a wander to the ARC pit. More wildfowl, another marsh harrier before I checked willows for small migrants. A chiffchaff was my reward for standing in a gale that meant it felt like -6C.
Back to the car and off to Scotney Pits where oystercatchers and curlew got on to the day list. At this point the sun emerged so, instead of heading off to Oare Marshes near Faversham, I decided to head back to see if I could improve on the bluethroat shots. I returned to find a second bird, sporting a white dot on the blue bib. Two in one day and none for 59 years and 11 months!! Typical.
Firecrests flitted through the gorse and a caspian gull was noted roosting with 100's of great black backs, lesser black backed and herring gulls.
I managed a few photos of the 2nd bluethroat before heading home, getting through the Dartford tunnel just before 5.15 without any delay.
A truly memorable birding day for me. I am still trying to remember what was the last bird I saw in the UK that was new to me from anywhere in the world. Think it may have been Leach's storm petrel on a visit to Wallasey to see relatives before a Liverpool football game. That must have been in the early to mid 1990's!!
Edit: It was the western sandpiper at Cley when Wendy and I were staying at The George for a few nights. Must be several years ago now 2010/11/12 ish?

Great crested grebe in full plumage

Slavonian grebe in winter plumage, but calling for a mate.

Due to lack of mate, he went to sleep

female Marsh harrier

Male marsh harrier being mobbed by a carrion crow

2nd bluethroat with white dot

Species list for the Day:

1. red throated diver
2. slavonian grebe
3. little grebe
4. great crested grebe
5. gannet
6. cormorant
7. little egret
8. grey heron
9. mute swan
10. greylag goose
11. canada goose
12. barnacle goose
13. egyptian goose
14. mallard
15. gadwall
16. shoveler
17. wigeon
18. teal
19. pochard
20. tufted duck
21. common scoter
22. goldeneye
23. marsh harrier
24. common buzzard
25. kestrel
26. peregrine falcon
27. pheasant
28. moorhen
29. coot
30. oystercatcher
31. ringed plover
32. lapwing
33. dunlin
34. curlew
35. black headed gull
36. common gull
37. herring gull
38. lesser black backed gull
39. greater black backed gull
40. caspian gull
41. guillemot
42. razorbill
43. stock dove
44. wood pigeon
45. collared dove
46. green woodpecker
47. skylark
48. meadow pipit
49. pied wagtial
50. wren 
51. dunnock
52. robin
53. bluethroat
54. mistle thrush
55. fieldfare
56. redwing
57. song thrush
58. blackbird
59. firecrest
60. chiffchaff
61. great tit
62. blue tit
63. marsh tit
64. magpie
65. carrion crow
66. jackdaw
67. rook
68. starling
69. house sparrow
70. tree sparrow
71. chaffinch
72. linnet
73. goldfinch
74. greenfinch
75. reed bunting.

8 new birds for the year list and one never seen before. Excellent day, finishing off with this superb firecrest.

Round up of recent sightings

Had a few wanders over the last week. On Monday took a walk from Birchanger to Turners Spring Reserve, a new site for me. Not too much on show here but I was greeted by a pair of Marsh tits which were new for the year. Treecreeper and coal tits shown here.

This coal tit appears to be on a collision course

Coal tit

Treecreeper

Treecreeper at Turner's Spring

Moth wise, the cold weather has returned so little chance of trapping much at present but last Sunday I ran the trap at a new site, Harvey's Wood. This wood, planted some 30 years ago gave up a pleasing 30 moths of 13 species with Twin spot quaker, clouded drab, Small quaker, Dotted chestnut and Hebrew character all being new for the year.

oak beauty

Twin spot quaker

March moth

Small quaker

With the temperatures hovering around 12 - 13C i checked Millennium Wood for any early flying butterflies or singing chiffchaff. None were noted but a large flock of 100+ common gulls were seen heading east from horse fields in Millfield Lane. Part of a large movement of this species in the south east over the last few days. May have been displaced by the previous cold snap and moved inland in search of land that was not frozen solid.

sky full of Common gulls

Common gull

A few moths!

After the coldest snap for quite a while when even turning the garden trap on was a waste of time and energy, we seem to have turned the corner and are now heading towards Spring. Temperatures are still lower than average but at least the temps are encouraging a few moths to fly.
Between 20th Feb and 3rd March I took no moths, my longest barren spell since 2011. This was eventually broken on the 4th when there was a marked increase in the evening temperature, so I set the actinic heath 15watt trap up in Millennium Wood. 6 species were taken, including a new for year Shoulder stripe, along with a Small Brindled beauty, a new site record and only my 3rd record for the parish.

Small Brindled Beauty

On the 5th a Common quaker was at the garden 125watt skinner trap and the following evening I set the trap along a green lane in Pig's Green and then visited several local woods with headtorch and net. All I got were 2 Agonopterix heracliana whilst back at the trap: March moth (2), Satellite (2) and a Dotted border. The home trap gave up 2 Common quaker.

Agonopterix heracliana

Spring usher

Common quaker

Last night I just ran the garden trap and was rewarded with another Common quaker and my 13th macro for the year, a magnificent Oak beauty.
This takes my total to 161 moths of 15 species for the year. Even after the long cold snap, slightly up on 2017.

Oak beauty

Patch work

The main joy of being a birder that regularly checks an area, (patch working) is when you come across birds that, in the UK are common but on the patch are not often observed. Obviously the bronze standard is to find a new bird for the patch records whilst silver standard is to find a Herts rare on your patch. The gold standard is to find a UK rare or mega on patch. Clearly, these only come along once or twice a year in the case of a new record for the patch whilst a mega for Herts or UK is probably a once in a lifetime occurence. My hoopoe in Bishop's Stortford was one such example of an uncommon bird turning up in a strange place.
Today, I did my once fortnightly check around Hadham Hall and the irrigation lagoon towards Bloodhounds Wood. From a distance, I could see movement near the lagoon and a quick binocular check revealed 6 greylag geese. Only my 3rd parish record stretching back over 10 years. Good to see.

6 greylags heading south from the lagoon

 Upon the lagoon, 2 tufted duck, which are not common in the parish whilst in a tree, a reed bunting. Again, not an everyday bird for the village.

pair of distant tufted duck

Reed bunting

A red kite rose from trees next to Hadham Hall, an everyday sight these days! Upon the lawn at the Hall, a dead lapwing. This casualty of the cold weather is again, a bird I rarely see in the parish. Other species: great tits, mallards, blue tits, chaffinch, yellowhammer, corvid sp etc.

Who remembers Hilda Ogden's decorations in her house in Coronation Street. A pair of mallards head for Hadham Hall

Dead lapwing

Rainham Marsh Visit

reed bunting

Set off this morning for Rainham Marsh RSPB Reserve, my first visit here this year. Having negotiated the M11 and the M25 I arrived just as the reserve and visitors' centre was opening at 9.30. Off on a clockwise wander around the reserve, a walk of around 3 miles.
I was surprised to see ice upon the open water as the temperature was rising as the day progressed. Coots and mallards walked across this as a large flock of wigeon and lapwings rose from the fields. Into the Purfleet Hide, but little of note, a distant pintail pair so I moved on. Outside, a male stonechat in brambles and the familiar pinging call as a solitary bearded reedling flew over, heading towards the targets and down into the reeds.

greylag geese

coot

Meadow pipit

same meadow pipit

Wigeon

The Marshland hide didn't give up too much either so I continued. On the Target Pools plenty of shoveler, teal, more pintail and numerous wigeon. Several curlews called, as did a pair of redshanks. Into the main hide where the water and marsh in front gave up more views of the same. Several casualties of the extreme weather: A coot in one of the drains near the Marshland hide and what looked like a canada goose in the middle of the reserve. Gulls, mainly black headed and common were on the list as I headed towards the Ken Barrett hide, where just a few wildfowl were seen. A water rail squealed from reeds as I approached the Cordite where great, blue and long tailed tits were seen. A great spotted woodpecker drummed as a green woodpecker called. A male linnet sang from a bramble before I found myself back at the centre. In total, not too much seen but a wonderful walk, with the bearded reedling being a year lister.

Looking north east from the Shooting butts hide. Mainly wigeon

drake wigeon

More wigeon

male linnet

drake teal from Ken Barrett hide

Species list:

1. mute swan
2. greylag goose
3. canada goose
4. shelduck
5. mallard
6. pintail
7. shoveler
8. wigeon
9. teal
10. tufted duck
11. pheasant
12. water rail (heard)
13. moorhen
14. coot
15. lapwing
16. dunlin
17. redshank
18. curlew
19. black headed gull
20. common gull
21. herring gull
22. lesser black backed gull
23. wood pigeon
24. collared dove
25. green woodpecker
26. great spotted woodpecker
27. skylark
28. meadow pipit
29. wren
30. dunnock
31. robin
32. stonechat
33. redwing
34. fieldfare
35. blackbird
36. cetti's warbler
37. great tit
38. blue tit
39. long tailed tit
40. bearded reedling
41. magpie
42. jackdaw
43. carrion crow
44. starling
45. house sparrow
46. chaffinch
47. linnet
48. goldfinch
49. reed bunting

Pair of shoveler

Distant drake pintail