Saturday
30th April
Early
Saturday morning after a comfortable night in a bed for a change at
the excellent Dungeness Bird Observatory. The sun is shining and
there is a light northerly breeze; very different to yesterday's
south westerly gale.
So
a bit of time to catch up with the last few day's birding......
Tuesday
26th April
Still
feeling very tired, I managed to cycle to Grove End and Stodmarsh
nature reserve. I spend the day pushing the bike along the many paths
with the hope of hearing a grasshopper warbler in the evening. There
are occasional heavy showers and a cool north-westerly.
Common
terns are over the largest pool and a few sedge and reed warblers are
along the pathways.
The
highlights of the day do occur in the evening when a hobby, 221,
flies past and a hen harrier, ring-tail, comes down to roost in the
reed bed.
Wednesday
27th April
A
cycle down to Dungeness is relatively straight forward. Arriving at
the RSPB reserve in mid afternoon, I spend the time searching Denge
Marsh for the bean goose reported to be there on the previous day. A
dip. Can't find it.
Thursday
28th April
With
the wind only alight westerly early morning I head off for Pett
Levels in East Sussex to look for two velvet scoter reported there.
A
flock of thirty-plus whimbrel and very obliging yellow wagtails delay
me at scotney Gravel Pits on the way to Rye.
Taking
the Rye Harbour roadway I soon reach Pett and with the help of Steve,
a Kent birder who I had met at Grove End two days earlier, have
velvet scoter to add to the year list, 222. The long present
glossy ibis puts in an appearance too.
Back
to Rye Harbour I take time to enjoy its birds as by now the westerly
has freshened up and a lunch break there is rewarded with views of
nesting Mediterranean gulls and sandwich terns.
Friday
29th April
Back
at Dungeness, I head for the seawatching hides by the nuclear power
station, seeing a ghostly barn owl and a couple of whimbrel on the
way.
At
'The Patch' there are a good number of common terns, around 75. Once
in the shelter of the hide, the birders present say that one arctic
skua went past at about ten to 6 and a few manx shearwaters. It is
now 6:30am and only common scoter are going past in any numbers and
even they aren't too numerous.
Seawatch
finished, I go to the Dungeness Bird Observatory and book in for the
night. I love staying at observatories. One, they are so cheap! More
importantly birders stay at them and therefore the evening
conversation is guaranteed to be birdy. Dave Walker, the
long-standing warden of the Obs, takes my money and I decide not to
use the bike for the day, instead I will walk to Lydd to get some
food and bird on the way there and back.
Into
the willow bushes near to the observatory and an almost tailless fox
stands on the path not thirty yards away and looks back at me with
disinterest.
Bumblebees
take my own interest and there seems to be two varieties out in the
cold, hazy sunshine. Garden and red-tailed.
Lesser
and common whitethroats are vocal and on reaching the ARC pit a
superb summer-plumaged black-necked grebe is sheltering from the
fresh westerly breeze.
In
fact the wind is gathering strength and after looking around the
Cathedral in the Marsh, All Saints in Lydd; where a poem from the
First World war is accompanied by two original WW1 crosses, it is
strong and cold.
Back
to Dungeness RSPB reserve via the back bridleway, only greylags and
Canada geese are on Denge Marsh.
Back
to seawatch the evening away, Andy, a birder who I had last met at
Sumburgh Lighthouse last Autumn, immediately sees a distant passing
bonxie, great skua and passes me his telescope to add it to
the year list, 223.
Two
manx shearwaters pass and the operation with Andy's 'scope is
repeated; 224. Finally two arctic skuas pass, jokingly they
seem closer to France than England! 225, onto the list due to the
telescope of a birder from Norfolk, Matthew. What a fabulous evening.
The
Green Year list now stands at 225, still 25 birds ahead of this time
last year.
