Tuesday 23rd August 2005 Kingsgate Thanet
A steady trickle of migrants through the Kingsgate area since the end of
last week. Whinchats, Wheatears, Pied Flycatchers, Willow Warblers and
the usual Sylvia’s are daily in small numbers with occasional Redstarts
and Cuckoos. A Common Buzzard was present for about 15
minutes from 3.45 today (23rd August 2005) and the first juvenile Hobby
from the breeding pair fledged - also today, with others calling from the
nest. (F Solly)
Monday 22nd August 2005 King
George VI Park & Pegwell Bay
I
had a proper look around King George VI Park today following yesterday’s
peek through the gate. There were 12 Pied Flycatchers, 4 Spotted
Flycatchers and 7 Willow Warblers flitting around the trees,
plus 4 Great Spotted and 2 Green Woodpeckers and a Sparrowhawk.
A look at Pegwell on the rising tide included the Spoonbill, a Sparrowhawk,
2 Willow Warblers, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 4 Bar-tailed
Godwits, 4 Whimbrel, 4 Grey Herons, 23 Little Egrets,
32 Shelduck, 2 Teal, 13 Wigeon arriving from the
east, only 40 Dunlin and 6 Ringed Plovers, 1 Knot, 6 Snipe,
168 Sandwich Terns, 1 Little Tern, 6 Common Terns, 3 Turnstones,
2 Greenshanks, and 20 Grey Plovers. (Tim
Hodge)
Monday 22nd August 2005 Sandwich
Bay
An
early morning session at Sandwich Bay started with a visit to the
"Puddle in the Sand-pit!" Oops! I mean Restharrow Scrape.
2 Green Sandpiper, 1 Little Stint, 1 Greenshank and 3
Teal provided the bulk of the entertainment. Several juvenile Yellow
Wagtails were also about and a Whinchat perched on a distant
fence. Plenty of hirundine activity with both House Martins and
Swallows visiting the scrape for an early morning drink. A walk across
to the beach allowed me to get nice views of Meadow Pipits, Skylarks,
Stonechat (ad male & juv) plus another Whinchat. Grey
Partridges were very vocal and a male Kestrel looked stunning
in the early morning sunshine. Back home by 08.00hrs - very enjoyable!
(Dylan)
Sunday 21st August 2005 Pegwell Bay & King George VI Park
I watched the flood and ebb tides today, the best birds being 11
Curlew Sandpipers (1 adult and 10 juveniles), 2 Hobby N, 1 Marsh
Harrier N, 2 Ruff, 3 juvenile Little Gulls, 22 Little
Terns and 1 Black Tern. Other bits included 470 Oystercatchers,
9 Bar-tailed Godwits, 13 Sanderling, 45 Ringed Plovers,
400 Dunlin, 1 Green Sandpiper, 5 Knot, 1 Snipe,
14 Golden Plover (including 9 NW), 4 Greenshanks, 260 Redshanks,
2 Turnstones, 12 Grey Plovers, 1 Whimbrel, 310 Curlew,
265 Sandwich Terns, 20 Common Terns, 19 Little Egrets,
3 Grey Herons, 1 Willow Warbler, 15 Yellow Wagtails
NW, 36 Sand Martins NW, 175 Swallows NW, 21 Shelduck,
9 Mallard, 16 Teal, 1 Sparrowhawk and 1 Peregrine.
In addition, there was a Pied Flycatcher in King George VI Park in
Ramsgate.
(Tim Hodge)
Saturday 20th August 2005 King George VI Park and thereabouts
Popped out yesterday (Saturday) lunchtime. Called in at Holy
Trinity School on the way. Found a year tick in the form of a Whinchat
in the weedy field, which is adjacent to the school grounds (which also
backs onto the park itself). Another year tick in the form of a Pied
Flycatcher hanging about in the trees near the "big
building". Both species eluded me during the Spring so a
profitable hour was had. (Scott)
Friday 19th August 2005 Pegwell Bay
I popped down earlier on (7. 00am) to check the west-cliff/hoverpad/farm
and was joined by Tim for the incoming tide. The highlights of the day
were - 9 Crossbill flying west in 2 groups (7 and 2) between 7.30
and 7.45am over the chine - a few more Yellow Wagtails (22 decked
and 26 over), the Spoonbill, a juvenile Little Gull and 6
Black Terns. There were also a few Wheatears (5) knocking about
plus the first autumn Whinchat turned up on the west cliff. On the
wader/wildfowl counts: 22 Little Egrets, 70+ Teal, 2 Gadwall,
9 Shoveler, 1 Wigeon, 1 Eider, 400+ Oystercatcher,
10 Whimbrel, 5 Bar-T Godwit, 1 Golden Plover, 23 Grey
Plover, 35 Ringed Plover, 1 Spotted Redshank, c350 Redshank,
6 Greenshank, 9 Knot, c600 Dunlin, 12 Sanderling,
1 Curlew Sandpiper, 3 Common Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpiper,
2 Turnstone, c200 Sandwich Tern, 10 Common Tern
and 22 Little Tern. Other bits included c250 Swallows which
included the pale bird Tim saw on the 9th,a few Sand and House martins
etc. (Phil & Slim)
Thursday 18th August 2005 Pegwell Bay
The dropping tide - early afternoon turned up: 580 Dunlin, 5 Knot,
11 Sanderling, 4 Grey Plover, c20 Ringed Plover, 1 Ruff,
1 Greenshank, c300 Redshank, 2 Bar-T Godwit, c400 Curlew,
1 Whimbrel, 3 Turnstone, 2 Sand Martin, 70 Swallow,
2 Yellow Wagtail, 1 RT Hen Harrier, c200 Sandwich Tern,
c6 Commic Tern, 42 juv Shelduck, 1 Spoonbill, c20 Little
Egret plus there were 100+ Collared Doves in the wheat fields
when I left.
(Phil & Slim)
Wednesday 17th August 2005 Pegwell Bay
Slim did a long session in the morning from first light then the pair of
us watched the incoming tide in the evening. We saw: 46 Cormorant,
3 Grey Heron, 18 Little Egret, 1 Spoonbill,
820 Herring Gull, 4-5000 Black-Headed
Gull, 4-500 Common Gull, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 300 Sandwich
Tern, 277 Common Gull, 4 Arctic Tern, 1 Arctic Skua,
13 Mallard, 17 Teal, 4 Turnstone, 840 Dunlin,
20 Sanderling, 3 Knot, 3 Greenshank, 98 Golden
Plover, 9 Grey Plover, 430 Ringed Plover, 420 Oystercatcher,
1 Whimbrel, 3 Bar-T Godwit, 1 Ruff, 1 Green
Sandpiper, 3 Common Sandpiper, 7 Snipe, 1 Sparrowhawk
and 2 Peregrine. I had a look around the Farm/Hoverpad on the way
down - seeing only a few Yellow Wagtails plus a Little Grebe
and 2 Moorhens on the Farm Reservoir plus Slim had c25 Lesser
Whitethroats on the Country Park in the morning. (Phil & Slim)
Tuesday
16th August 2005 Pegwell area
I popped down early this morning (just after 6.00am) and thrashed the Farm
and the Hoverpad for very little. Slim turned up whilst I was checking the
hoverpad before we checked most of the Country Park / Stonelees (lots of Common
Sylvia Warblers etc) also trying to watched the incoming and dropping
morning tide in appalling light conditions. It didn’t look like
there were too much about - 220 Sandwich Tern, 540 Dunlin,
and 140 Ringed Plover - a few Greenshanks, Grey Plover etc.
There was a single Green Sandpiper on the salt marsh pools behind
Stonelees plus a single Crossbill flew north-n /east over Stonelees
during our walk round. Other bits included a single Peregrine and a
Cuckoo in Stonelees. (Phil 'n' Slim)
Monday
15th August 2005 Pegwell Bay
I popped down between 5.30 and 8.15pm and after a quick whizz around the
Farm and the Hoverpad where I came across 2 Wheatear, 1 Yellow
Wagtail plus a few Lesser Whitethroat & Willow Warbler
etc - I stopped off on the reserve to watched the incoming tide with Slim
and 'Hair'. Tim had been down in the morning too and the total day counts
were: 390 Sandwich Tern, c40 Common Tern, 1 juv Arctic
Tern, 40 Gannets north, c400 Dunlin, 2 Knot, 1 Sanderling,
2 Greenshank, 250 Redshank, 1 Spotted
Redshank, 12 Whimbrel, 320 Curlew, 8 Golden Plover,
8 Grey Plover, 41 Ringed Plover, 5 Snipe, 1 Ruff,
4 Common Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Mallard, 84 Teal,
1 Shoveler, 15 Egrets, 1 Peregrine and 2 juvenile
Mediterranean Gulls. A juvenile Marsh Harrier turned up in
the late evening plus the juvenile Spoonbill flew in at about
6.30pm and was still present when we left about 8.15pm. (Phil, Slim and
'Hair)
Monday 15th August 2005 Grove Ferry
I spent a little time late this afternoon looking at Marsh
Harriers from the ramp at Grove ferry, it was fantastic the views were
the best that I can recall, for a long time, 3 Green
Sandpiper, 1 Ruff, 3 Greenshank from the ramp and 1 Whimbrel flying
over, on the way back to the car 1 Turtle Dove. Martyn Wilson has supplied
us with the Photos, (Gadget)
Sunday 14th August 2005 Pegwell Bay
Did the incoming tide at Pegwell this afternoon / evening. Neither the
one described (by himself of course) as tall and muscular - actually a
lanky slob or the rather flatteringly nicknamed 'Slim' were present. A
situation which was rather unfair as I had to some counts! Lots of waders but nothing of any great excitement. 693 Dunlin
and 214 Ringed Plovers represents a marked increase, particularly
of the latter. Also present were; 4 Greenshank, 6 Whimbrel, 12 Grey Plover, 19 Knot,
12 Sanderling. 2 Wigeon had joined the 40 odd Mallards.
Terns were very disappointing with just 140 Sandwich and 10 Common.
The Spotted Redshank and single Ruff continue to give
excellent views on the Garage Pools. (F
Solly)
Sunday 14th August 2005 Grove Ferry & North Foreland
I managed a couple of sessions today. Mid-morning, Bev and I went for a
walk around Grove Ferry, before heading across to The Bell, at St.
Nicholas at Wade, for lunch! Grove was fairly quiet, just 3 Green
Sandpiper and a single Ruff worthy of note amidst the usual
assortment of Lapwings and Mallards from the Ramp. Several Little
Egrets around the reserve but the highlight was provided by 3 juvenile
Marsh Harriers, 2 of which have extensive white markings on their
wings and mantle causing thoughts of Greater Spotted Eagle - only
with bright ginger heads!. (Martyn Wilson has posted a picture of one
of these birds on the Stour Valley page of the KOS website) A Little
Ringed Plover was on the mud in front of the Harrison's Drove Hide and
that was about it. At 17.40hrs I parked the car by North Foreland pumping
station and had a 2 hour sea-watch. The brisk north-westerly wind had me
hoping for a shearwater or two, sadly I was out of luck.
It wasn't a total waste of time as I recorded 5 Arctic Tern (2 ad
& 3 juv), 13 Gannet, 1 Kittiwake and 18 Arctic Skua,
including a flock of 8, all moving south. Fulmars and Sandwich
Terns were on show constantly as they fed off shore and several flocks
of waders included Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher and
Turnstone. A solitary, summer plumage, Grey Plover sparkled as
it flew north in the evening sunshine and was a fitting finale for my
first sea-watch of the autumn. (Dylan)
Saturday 13th August 2005 Pegwell Bay
A few bits today included 1 Little Stint, 1 Spotted Redshank,
1 Ruff, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Knot, 340 Dunlin,
60 Ringed Plovers, 7 Sanderling, 9 Turnstones, 8 Golden
Plovers, 12 Grey Plovers, 3 Common Sandpipers, 1 Greenshank,
5 Whimbrel, 3 Teal, 47 Mallard, 19 Shelduck,
1 Arctic Tern, 28 Common Terns, 250 Sandwich Terns, 1
Yellow Wagtail, 4 Grey Herons, 18 Little Egrets, 10 House
Martins S, 50 Swallows S and 2 Sand Martins S.
(Tim Hodge)
Saturday 13th August 2005 Oare Marshes
Yet another excellent, early morning, session at Oare
Marshes. I turned off the garden moth trap and was on my way around
05.30hrs. It was a pleasant surprise to find I had the reserve to myself,
as I parked in the carpark. Walking back to view the East Flood, I noted
several Green Sandpipers, 1 Greenshank and a smart Wood
Sandpiper around the new pools to the west of the track. The main
flood held a large group of roosting Black-tailed Godwit, 30+ Ruff,
13 Avocet, 9 Greenshank, 5 Dunlin, 1 Curlew
Sandpiper along with the resident adult Spoonbill and 370+ Black-headed
Gulls. Continuing around the circuit I noticed several groups of Reed
& Sedge Warblers in the bank side vegetation. A Kingfisher
perched nicely on the metal fence around the sluice and a family party of Bearded
Tits were enjoying the sunshine in a dead hawthorn beside the
reedbeds. The only Marsh Harrier of the session was seen quartering
the fields over at Nagden and I flushed several Yellow Wagtails
from the seawall as I made my way back towards the carpark. Across on the
West Flood (a rather pretentious name for a place with so little water!)
there was a sizeable gathering of Ringed Plover along with 1 Common
Sandpiper, 3 Whimbrel and 2 Common Terns. A lot of
activity amongst the Little Egrets as they hunted the various pools
and ditches. I did give them a thorough grilling after being contacted
about a colour-ringed bird was photographed in July - sadly
nothing doing today. (Dylan)
Friday 12th August 2005 Pegwell Bay
An
early morning sojourn to Pegwell Bay got off to a great start when I was
treated to a nice flying display by the, now resident, juvenile Spoonbill.
In the company of 2 Little Egrets, they did a circuit of the salt
marsh, dropping low towards the "Garage Pools" before heading
back out to the mud and landing at the edge of the spartina. There were 4
waders on the pools, one each of Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank
and Ruff (all juveniles!) and I was able to get some nice pics as they
fed in the shallow water. There were may hundreds of Black-headed Gulls
out on the mud and I managed to locate a single adult Mediterranean
Gull, complete with Belgian colour-ring, amidst the hoards. A Common
Snipe, 3 Whimbrel and 3 Bar-tailed Godwits were of note
amongst the more regular Pegwell waders. The prize for the best looking
bird of the day must go to the adult Grey Plovers, still in full
summer attire, they really are stunning. The reedbeds by the hoverpad held
quite a number of Reed & Sedge Warblers along with several Yellow
Wagtails. Still haven't seen an autumn Wheatear yet, but
it can only be a matter of time. (Dylan)
Thursday 11th August 2005 Pegwell Bay
Quite a few of the commoner warblers around the Country Park and
Stonelees, with 100 Whitethroats, 25 Lesser Whitethroats, 6 Garden
Warblers, 20 Blackcaps, 50 Sedge Warblers, 20 Reed
Warblers, 4 Willow Warblers and 3 Chiffchaffs. Other
bits included a Marsh Harrier, the Spoonbill, 2 Mediterranean
Gulls (adult and juvenile), 2 Arctic Terns, 58 Common Terns,
350 Sandwich Terns, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Knot, 2 Whimbrel,
1 Turnstone, 55 Ringed Plovers, 1 Sanderling, 300 Dunlin,
4 Grey Plovers, 1 Snipe, 8 Long-tailed Tits, 4 Jays,
5 Turtle Doves, 3 Green Woodpeckers, 4 Grey Herons,
10 Little Egrets and 1 Yellow Wagtail.
(Tim Hodge)
Thursday 11th August 2005 Foreness
An early morning session at Foreness proved to be quite rewarding. 2 Mediterranean
Gulls (ad 3EV0 & 1st summer) were feeding on the cliff-top as I
arrived with a few Herring and Black-headed Gulls for company. A
walk along to Walpole Bay allowed nice views of Fulmar as they
patrolled the cliffs and walking down onto the beach, I was greeted by a
party of 7 Pied Wagtails taking advantage of the insects attracted
by the large deposits of seaweed. Turnstone numbers are rapidly
increasing, there were at least 60 between Walpole Bay and Foreness Point,
many in summer plumage! Curlew, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover and Common
Sandpiper were also noted as I made my way back towards the car, along
the sea wall. A quick check of the "pitch & putt" revealed
11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a lone Yellow Wagtail, but
little else. A few Swallows were feeding over the playing field
behind Palm Bay School and a Kestrel perched on a lamppost about
sums up my efforts. Still, the sun was shining and it was great to be out
in the fresh air! (Dylan)
Wednesday 10th August 2005 Pegwell Bay
Pete Forrest had an early look round the Country Park and Stonelees,
whilst I did a few hours in the morning and again on the rising tide in
the early afternoon. Sightings included the Spoonbill, 50 Sedge
Warblers, 22 Lesser Whitethroats, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff,
3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 3 Turtle Doves N, 10 Yellow
Wagtails NW, 60 Swallows W, 18 Swifts, 5 Sand Martins
NW, 2 Greylag Geese, 4 Teal, 6 Mallard, 14 Shelduck,
1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 14 Grey
Plovers, 4 Bar-tailed Godwits, 5 Golden Plover (inc 4
NW), 2 Common Sandpipers, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Knot,
367 Dunlin, 5 Whimbrel, 1 Sanderling, 7 Snipe
W, 30 Ringed Plovers, 1 Greenshank, 3 Turnstones, 30 Common
Terns, 2 Mediterranean Gulls (adult and juvenile) and 1 Peregrine.
(Tim Hodge)
Tuesday 9th August 2005 Pegwell Bay
The Spoonbill was roosting on the point amongst the Oystercatchers
for most of the afternoon. Other bits included 2 Cuckoos, 50 Whitethroats,
5 Lesser Whitethroats, 1 Garden Warbler, 4 Blackcaps,
3 Willow Warblers, 282 Dunlin, 2 Greenshanks, 4 Green
Sandpipers, 1 Common Sandpiper, 305 Redshanks, 1 Turnstone,
7 Whimbrel, 6 Golden Plovers, 5 Grey Plovers, 48 Ringed
Plovers, 1 Knot, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 14 Common
Terns, 300+ Sandwich Terns, 10 Little Egrets, 3 Grey
Herons, 1 adult Mediterranean Gull, 17 Shelduck, 1 Yellow
Wagtail, 4 Green Woodpeckers, 7 Turtle Doves, 160 Swallows
NW, 11 Sand Martins NW (including a flavistic bird), 7 House
Martins NW and 60 Swifts NW. Both pairs of breeding Sparrowhawks
in the area have fledged young. (Tim Hodge)
Tuesday 9th August 2005 Pegwell Bay Country
Park and Stonelees
Up
before the dawn, I turned off the garden moth trap and headed down to
Pegwell Bay in the hope of seeing the Spoonbill that had been
recorded there yesterday. Alas, there was no sign of the bird, but as the
sun rose it was a pleasure to be out and about. Huge numbers of Black-headed
Gulls were feeding on the mud and a group of 5 summer plumaged Golden
Plovers flew in from the north. I had expected to find a few Little
Egrets on the "garage pools" yet only saw 2 and they were
out in the spartina! The Country Park and Stonelees were alive with
passerines. Common Whitethroat and Blackcap made up the bulk
of the sightings, but there were 2 Willow Warbler and 13+ Bullfinch
noted along with family groups of Linnet, Goldfinch, Greenfinch
and Dunnock. A trickle of Swallows passed by heading
south-west and a female Peregrine was spotted on the rim of the
power station chimney before she launched an assault on the massed ranks
of gulls and waders way out on the tideline. A Turtle Dove and a
juvenile Robin perched up prominently inviting me to get a few pics
- it really was a very pleasant early morning session. Arriving back
at Dumpton, a group of 3 Sparrowhawks were displaying over
Broadstairs Cricket Ground. I assume they were locally bred youngsters? (Dylan)
Monday
8th August 2005 Pegwell Bay
It seemed to be pretty dead at Pegwell over the weekend, although I did
see a Crossbill and a Wheatear at Bockhill and a Clouded
Yellow at Kingsdown on Sunday morning. Pete Forrest phoned me up this
afternoon to let me know that a Spoonbill had arrived at Pegwell,
and I was able to go down and see that. It was nice to see something a bit
different after a very quiet spell at Pegwell. Other bits today included 2
Black-tailed Godwits, 5 Bar-tailed Godwits, 3 Greenshanks,
2 Golden Plovers, 3 Grey Plover, 39 Ringed Plovers,
180 Dunlin, 11 Sanderling, 3 Whimbrel, 1 Turnstone,
2 Knot, 5 Snipe, 472 Oystercatchers, 1 Hobby,
21 Common Terns, 400+ Sandwich Terns and a juvenile Mediterranean
Gull. Pete also saw 2-3 Garden Warblers around the hide, so
perhaps a few passerine migrants will start moving through soon. (Tim
Hodge)
Monday
8th August 2005 Late News
Sunday 7th August 2005 between 10-11hrs from the
SBBOT hide on the Restharrow Scrape, I Observed 1 Little Egret, 1 Wheatear,
3 Yellow Wagtails, 5 Linnets, 2 Stock Doves, 7
Woodpigeons, 1 kestrel on the ground, 30+ Starlings,
5 Pheasants, 15 House Martins, 2 Swallows, 7 Carrion
Crows and one Curlew few over head, (gadget)
Friday
5th August 2005 Pegwell Bay
The tides in and out either side of early afternoon turned up: 15 Little
Egret, 19 Mallard, 24 Common Scoter (south), 4 Whimbrel,
1 Bar-T Godwit, 1 Grey Plover, 16 Ringed Plover, c250
Redshank, 3 Greenshank, 205 Dunlin, 22 Sanderling,
1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Turnstone, 1 Yellow-legged Gull,
2 Mediterranean Gull, 1 Kittiwake (south), 500 Sandwich
Tern, 30 Common Tern, 6 Little Tern plus 67 Swallows
and 6 Sand Martin passing through. (Phil 'n' Slim the wordsmith)
Thursday
4th August 2005 Pegwell Bay
I popped down for the dropping tide after the lunch break of the cricket
to find Tim in prime position. He'd watched the incoming tide seeing: 2
juv
Mediterranean Gulls, 15 Little Egret, c400 Sandwich Tern
and 2 migrant Marsh Harriers amongst a few other things. Though
there wasn’t much going on out on the mudflat there was a bit more
Hirundine movement today with 510 Swallows, 5 Sand Martin
and a single House Martin all n/west. The main thrust of the
activity came on high tide when huge numbers of Lesser BB Gulls
turned up. After getting flushed by fisherman off Shellness point into the
Bay I counted 1690 of them! Other than a single adult Mediterranean
Gull, a Sparrowhawk and a Black-T Godwit very little
happened before we vacated the area at 4.00pm. (Phil 'n' Slim)
Wednesday
3rd August 2005 Pegwell Bay
I popped back down in the evening (7.00-8.30pm) to do a quick Gull count.
Quite a few more Terns than there was on the morning tide 680 Sandwich,
c30 Common and a single Little Tern also 1 Peregrine,
10 Little Egret, c100 Dunlin, 3 Whimbrel, 6910 Black-headed
Gull, 220 Common Gull and 1340 Herring Gull. There were
also a few adult Gannets loitering offshore. (Phil M)
Wednesday 3rd August 2005 Monkton Nature Reserve
A pleasant hour at Monkton Nature Reserve in the afternoon, mostly in the
vicinity of the pond. The biggest surprise - quite literally was a Cormorant
on the pond - the first record actually in the Reserve.
Wednesday
3rd August 2005 Pegwell Bay
I did an early stint (7.00-9.00am) around the Westcliff / chine / hoverpad
for a single stinking Wheatear and a 2nd year Mediterranean Gull
(yawn!) then 9.00ish to 11.00ish on the incoming tide where we had: 1 4th
year Yellow-Legged Gull, 1 adult Mediterranean Gull, 42 Great
BB Gull, 120 Lesser BB Gull (a bit of southward sea movement
going on today) 360 Sandwich Tern, c10 Common Tern, c300 Swift
west, 145 Swallow north, 13 Sand Martin north, 1 House
Martin north,13 Gannet south,14 Little Egret,1 Sparrowhawk,1
Snipe,3 Whimbrel,2 Bar-T Godwit,3 Grey Plover,11
Ringed Plover,350 Redshank,3 Greenshank,179 Dunlin,2
Sanderling,2 Common Sandpiper and 2 Turnstone. (Phil
'n' Slim 'n' Hair)
Tuesday 2nd August 2005 Grove ferry
Marc Heath had called Gadget, this morning, to alert
him to the presence of a drake Scaup at Grove. He immediately
went across to see it , but was unable to get any decent pics due to
the prevailing light conditions hence, we both went to Grove to
attempt to get some images in the improved light of the evening. After
spending a while on the ramp the bird immerged from the bank side
vegetation and proceeded to preen out on the main pool. It gave great
views and allowed us to record a few images, although still a little
distant. Other birds seen included 7 Green Sandpiper, 4 Little
Egret, 3 Ruff, 2 Turtle Dove and a nice selection of Mallard,
Gadwall, Teal, Shoveler and Shelduck. An adult male and a juvenile Marsh
Harrier over flew the site, causing a minor disturbance, and a few Bearded
Tits were noted flitting across the reedbeds. Mission accomplished,
we returned to Thanet in plenty of time to prepare the garden moth
traps for the coming night. (Gadget & Dylan)
Tuesday 2nd August 2005 Pegwell Bay
A Marsh Harrier flew SW this morning, and two Avocets were
on the mud; otherwise it was quite unexceptional, although the light was
pretty bad when I was there. (Tim Hodge)
Monday
August 1st 2005 North
Foreland
An
hour's seawatching of North Foreland late morning produced 12 Arctic
Skuas and 4 Great Skuas south with small numbers of Gannets,
Sandwich Terns, Kittiwakes and Scoter. (F Solly)
Monday
August 1st 2005 Pegwell Bay
Quite a bit of coverage on and off today between Tim, Franny, Pete and
myself ... even the aging hippy turned up waffling about Stella Artois and
bird-rings etc. Franny did the best seeing 1 Roseate Tern, 1 Black
Tern, 1 Arctic Tern, a Little Stint and 10 Curlew
Sandpipers on one of the morning tides. This evening a reasonable
amount of Terns plus, 1-2 Med Gulls and a
couple of Arctic Skua's. The counts turned up: 17 Ringed Plover,
2 Golden Plover, 16 Sanderling, 3 Snipe, 2 Common
Sandpiper, 4 Greenshank, c450 Dunlin, 10 Whimbrel,
2 Black-T Godwit, 1 Bar-T Godwit, 18 Mallard, 5 Shoveler,
2 Eider, 10 Scoter - south, 6 Little Egret, 7 Gannets,
1 Peregrine, 2 Greylag, 680 Sandwich Tern, 110 Common
Tern, 12 Little Tern, 1000 Black-headed Gull, 1 Kittiwake
south, 14 Sand Martin n/west and the first Pegwell Wheatear
of the autumn was spotted on the top fields. (Phil, Slim, Franny, Dylan,
Pete F. etc)
Monday
1st August 2005 Late News Oare Marshes
I
went to Oare Marshes (after having read about it in your reports) on
Sunday morning at about 7.30 am and clocked up 39 different species in
little over an hour. Highlight was probably a lovely Marsh
Harrier and kingfisher from the West Hide in the same view
through the binos. Thanks for the recommendation. Will go back
again.
(David
Wanostrocht)
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