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.