Dungeness and Oare Marshes 15.04.19

I set off at 6.45am for a day at Dungeness. The forecast looked good for migrants working their way up channel but the busy motorways conspired against me and, with a coffee break at Maidstone, it was gone 9 by the time I sat down in the Seawatch Hide. Here, warden David Walker and several others had been busy recording many species all morning as from 6.30. I had missed a huge movement of common scoter (2200+) with 14 Velvet scoter mixed in. Fortunately, a few still trickled by whilst I was in the hide along with gannets, an arctic skua, a great skua but I missed the auks, including 2 puffins and a manx shearwater.
I then headed off to check the Desert and Long Pits as well as The Moat. A wheatear flew by but nothing else of note as the wind turned unfavourably to a north easterly. A final check around the Lighthouse garden gave little so off to the ARC Pit.

Just testing my panning skills with a new lens. Work in progress!

Oystercatcher

Tufted duck

Male linnet

At the ARC Pit a whitethroat was in full voice, my first of the year. Buried deep in a huge bramble pile so no photo and likewise, a little further along the track towards the Hanson Hide, a sedge warbler and Cettis warbler called from deep vegetation. On the pit, pochard, tufted duck, coot and other regulars but nothing of note, so back to the car and on to the RSPB Reserve.
Here, I checked the brambles for tree sparrow, but none were seen so into the Visitor's Centre for a coffee before heading off along the trail.

Common gull

Male shoveler

Male reed bunting in full voice

Magpie braced against the strong breeze

Little was seen upon the pits, more whitethroats, cettis warbler and reed buntings so I entered the Denge Marsh hide somewhat unexpectant. From this hide very little, great crested grebe, greylag geese and a couple of pochard so I moved on. The trail took me back to the VC and en route a firecrest called from deep in a gorse bush, 4 Peacock butterflies passed by and a single Emperor moth (male)

Reed bunting (male) on gorse

Male whitethroat in bramble

Great crested grebe

battered Peacock butterfly

I eventually got back to the car and realised I was hungry. Time for a pork pie et al so off to Lydd shops where I tucked into a good picnic at Denge Marsh Gully. This small area near the shooting range for the MOD can turn up great birds, or none. My complete list for this area is: Black necked grebe, firecrest, raven, robin, stonechat, melodious warbler, bluethroat and redstart. Today, I added a hugely distant Common crane. This was seen through the scope as I checked swan species in a field some 750metres away. Here are the best shots I could manage, the one showing the bird hugely cropped.

Where's the Common crane? This photo on full 600mm reach. The bird is over half a mile away!

It is here!

In the background, neck down and feeding.

The crane was a pleasing find so I headed off to Scotney Pits with renewed enthusiasm. However, the wind had now turned around 180 degrees and was coming from the North East, not good for more movement up the channel later in the afternoon. Little noted at Scotney so I headed back to the Bird Obs to see if anything had cropped up before checking The Channel again. France was now invisible due to a thin squally mist and in half an hour all I got were 3 whimbrel up channel and a selection of gulls along with feeding great crested grebe and cormorant. 2 Harbour porpoises were also seen.
I now decided to head of to north Kent to one of my favourite small reserves, Oare Marshes near Faversham.
After a drive of 40 minutes I arrived and immediately added Mediterannean Gull and avocet to the day list. A quick wander along the lane got me on to a flock of black tailed godwit and, perhaps, my most pleasing photo of the day.
The new lens has been a little bit of a challenge but today I felt I had learnt a lot about using it and discovered a few foibles that I will need to work on to get better results. A few setting changes will be handy, but overall, I am really pleased with it.
I had a check on the Swale estuary where a pair of distant Brent geese were feeding but little else, so I set off at 6.45, arriving back home just after 8pm, a good journey.
A wonderful day out and some pleasing birds, especially the Common crane.

Avocets getting out of their depth

Swimming avocet

Mediterannean gulls and Black headed gulls. (The black headed gulls have the brown heads!!) Note a ring on both legs of the Med gull on the right.

Think the right leg ring reads 330A. I shall forward this sighting to the BTO and find out this bird's history. Suspect it was ringed at Rye Harbour.

Black tailed godwits in failing light, with a very well marked starling. The godwits behind are coming into summer, breeding plumage, the one in the foreground still in winter plumage.

First year, 2nd calendar year Black headed gull

More deep sea avocets

Black tailed godwits: sychronised flying

My shot of the day, Black tailed godwit putting on the air brakes and coming into land

And safely down.

Species List:

1. Great crested grebe
2. Gannet
3. Cormorant
4. Grey heron
5. Mute swan
6. Greylag goose
7. Canada goose
8. Brent goose
9. shelduck
10. Mallard
11. Gadwall
12. Shoveler
13. Teal
14. Pochard
15. Tufted duck
16. Common scoter
17. Velvet scoter
18. Marsh harrier
19. Common buzzard
20. Kestrel
21. Pheasant
22. Moorhen
23. Coot
24. Common crane (year lister)
25. Oystercatcher
26. Avocet
27. Redshank
28. Black tailed godwit
29. Curlew
30. Whimbrel (year lister)
31. Great skua (year lister)
32. Arctic skua (year lister)
33. Black headed gull
34. Common gull
35. Mediterannean gull
36. Herring gull
37. Lesser black backed gull
38. Greater black backed gull
39. Common tern (year lister)
40. Wood pigeon
41. Collared dove
42. Skylark
43. Meadow pipit
44. Pied wagtail
45. Wren
46. Dunnock
47. Robin
48. Wheatear
49. Song thrush
50. Fieldfare
51. Blackbird
52. Whitethroat (year lister)
53. Sedge warbler (year lister)
54. Cetti's warbler
55. Firecrest (year lister)
56. Great tit
57. Blue tit
58. Long tailed tit
59. Magpie
60. Jay
61. Jackdaw
62. Rook
63. Carrion crow
64. Starling
65. House sparrow
66. Chaffinch 
67. Linnet
68. Goldfinch
69. Reed bunting.

Grey backed Mining bee. Only 2 colonies  used to exist in the UK of this very rare species. Wonderful to get a photo of one specimen. Andrena vaga. Now found in several new sites in the South East, so possible colonisation from Europe.