Happy New
Year,
and we are off with an Oil Slick
Alert
Click
Sunday 31st January 2010 Marshside
We decided to go out and drive around
the lanes at Marshside early afternoon, it wasn't a bad decision either as a
few nice birds were noted. A juvenile Bewick's Swan was on the fields
off the main Marshside lane with about fifteen Mute Swans, no sign of
any Grey Geese. In the orchards and surrounding fields were vast numbers of
Fieldfare, perhaps 2000 birds but only the odd Redwing amongst
them. I got out of the car to try my chances of getting a decent Fieldfare
photograph when they all took off rapidly and out of the corner of my eye a
large raptor appeared at low level over nearby trees, I managed one photo as
it glided out of sight, a lovely Red Kite. Then a Buzzard
appeared from over the fields and it was a very pale bird but undoubtedly a
Buzzard. Quite an interesting hour or so. (Barry H)
Sunday 31st January 2010 Dumpton /
Broadstairs Area
Saw a Lesser Black-backed Gull at
Dumpton Park Drive and Salisbury Avenue. This was a first single bird in
with about 30 Herrings and a few Common Gulls. Worth
reporting as it was inland and also a year bird for me. This is my first
report to you from my sister's partner's e-mail. I'm back in Thanet for a
few months and hope to connect with other birders. (Rob Hewitt)
Saturday 30th January 2010 Seaton
GP's
I had a couple of hours around the
Seaton Gravel Pit complex, this morning. With the sun shining brightly, it
was great to be outside despite the biting NW wind and the sprinkling of
snow that had fallen overnight. Loads of birds to be seen around the
meadows, hedgerows and lakes. I parked the car by the gateway and made my
way across the water meadow towards the main pit. Fieldfare,
Redwing, Blackbird, Song & Mistle Thrush mingled
with good numbers of Starlings that were also foraging on the frozen
field. My first scan of the pit revealed the first, of eight (2 males & 6
red-heads), Goosander plus fantastic numbers of Wigeon and
Teal. Other duck species were present, but in much lower numbers, I
noted Shoveler, Mallard, Gadwall, Pochard and
Tufted Duck with just a lone male Goldeneye yet no sign of any
Smew? A large flock of Greylag Geese were feeding on the fields
beyond the North Pit, but I couldn't find anything of interest amidst their
ranks. 7 Little Egret, 3 Grey Heron and a Bittern were
noted as I wandered around with a fantastic display by 2 Marsh Harrier
and an immature Peregrine, involved in a territorial dispute, above
the woodland adjacent to the stream towards the concrete bridge. Other bits
included a couple of Kingfisher, 2 Cetti's Warbler, 1
Common Snipe, 1 Grey Wagtail, an adult female Sparrowhawk and
2 Chiffchaff - one a possible "tristis" based upon the
calls, although I failed to get decent, prolonged, views to confirm this id.
A very enjoyable session around this very productive site - one that I would
recommend to anyone at a loose end for somewhere to go. (Dylan)
Friday 29th January 2010 Pegwell
Bay
Another cold, dreary old day. I went
down about 10.00 and watched the tide drop until around 1.30. A few seabirds
were moving offshore plus Skylark numbers jumped up to around 50
birds present since yesterday. Otherwise the highlights were a group of 8
Snow Buntings flying n/west from Sandwich and off across the Country
Park, a ringtail Hen Harrier, a Sandwich Tern, a 1 st winter
Yellow-legged Gull plus the white winged adult Herring type Gull
I saw about a week/10 days ago - it was sitting on the sea for about half an
hour. It's certainly not an Iceland Gull anyway. I've taken a bit of video
of the bird just in case its something odd - unfortunately I couldn't take
any digiscope photos as my camera refuses to focus at range in poor light.
The only other notes I took were of 25 Divers - south, 10 Gannet
- south, 1 Little Grebe - garage pool, 19 Brent, 1080
Wigeon, 3 Shoveler, 72 Teal, 1 Peregrine, 2700
Lapwing, 870 Golden Plover, 80+ Snipe, 115 Bar-tailed
Godwit, Stonechat and 4 Corn Bunting. (Phil M)
Thursday 28th January 2010 Pegwell
Bay
I popped down to watch the dropping tide
during the mid morning. The Bay was fairly quiet as usual and I spent most
of the time scanning the horizon where a few Divers and Wildfowl were
moving. The only oddity of the day were a group of 3 Goldeneye which moved
south offshore but other 'bits' included 83 Diver species (74 south
and 9 north) and 2 Gannet - north plus 2 Brent and about 100
Wigeon in off. The only other notes I took were of 770 Wigeon,
56 Teal, 2 Gadwall, 10 Shoveler, 1 ringtail Hen
Harrier, 1 Sandwich Tern, 1500+ Lapwing and 550 Golden
Plover. (Phil M)
Wednesday 27th January 2010
Sandwich Bay Area
A nice long walk today starting along
the river, New Downs across to the beach then south past the old clubhouse
then cutting in to the Obs for lunch then along the Ancient Highway up to
the Chequers and back. Most of the interest was near the end of the day but
had a few things before hand including 1 Cetti's Warbler along the
river, 1 each of Grey Wagtail, Grey Partridge & Little
Egret at New Downs. Hitting the shore and a female Stonechat was
moving along the fence, offshore and it was obvious that there were many
Great Crested Grebes around, many of them far out, very hard to get
accurate counts but certainly 300+ birds today (585 on 24th) also 17
Common Scoter and 5 Red-throated Divers. Little else along the
beach just 11 Skylark near the car park. The Obs car park, all the
usual suspects around the feeding station with a male Sparrowhawk on
fence posts across the field, a Peregrine over and good numbers of
Redwings. After lunch i made my way up the Ancient highway were things
picked up a bit 310 Golden Plover and c1000 Lapwing floating
around with single Ruff, 4 Dunlin and 4 Snipe, c100
Curlew, 4 Meadow Pipit, 200+ Fieldfare & c100 Redwing.
Upon reaching the Chequers all the Lapwing/golden Plovers were put up and a
nice ring-tail Hen Harrier was located then a distant raptor over
Fowlmead spoil tip, scope set up revealed my suspicion of a smart Red
Kite at 3.30pm-4pm seemed to be roosting there excellent. A brisk walk
back in freezing cold winds, as i did i bumped into a birder who had located
the geese that have been present 2 Tundra Bean Geese and a
Pink-footed Goose then to top it the Great White Egret flew from
the inland side of the railway line to roost Ham Fen? A great day and a long
walk back to the station via the Obs (Craig Sammels)
Wednesday 27th January 2010
Pegwell Bay
It was very quiet
down the bay again today. I arrived at around 12.30 just in time to see
three bait diggers wandering around on the mud flat flush off a small group
of grounded grey Geese. Another 30 seconds and I would have been able to set
up the scope and identify them, which was a tad frustrating. I stayed for a
further two hours or so seeing very little - the only notes I took were of 6
Brent, 690 Wigeon, 2 Pintail, c50 Teal, 145
Mallard, 1 Little Egret, 1 Merlin, 770 lapwing, 560
Golden Plover and 4 Ringed Plover. I also saw 3 Fieldfare
flying south plus 4 distant Divers passing through offshore - 3 flew
south and 1 north. (Phil M)
Wednesday 27th January 2010
Joss Bay to Stone Bay
Had
a pleasant stroll along the beach as the tide was dropping (around 10am) and
saw 65 Brent Geese feeding on the seaweed. A handful of Ringed
Plovers, Grey Plovers, Purple Sandpipers (7) Curlew, Whimbrel,
Oystercatcher and Turnstones busied themselves on the rocks, and
a male Marsh Harrier came in off the sea and flew west. (John
Carnell)
Tuesday 26th January 2010 Pegwell
Bay
A bit nicer out today - the old current
bun was glowing but it was bitterly cold if you stood in the wind for too
long. On the bird front it was very quiet the only counts I took (some of
them scrounged off Ben) were 12 Brent, 79 Shelduck, 1000+
Wigeon, c100 Teal, 12 Pintail, 2 Gadwall, 2
Shoveler, 1200 Lapwing, 750 Golden Plover, 8 Ringed
Plover, 82 Turnstone, 1 Hen Harrier, 2 Peregrine, 1
Merlin etc plus there were a few Fieldfares flitting about in
the bushes behind the hide during the afternoon. (Phil M)
Tuesday 26th January 2010 Worth-Marshes/Seaton & Stodmarsh Areas
A
quick look over Worth Marshes this morning birds noted: White-fronted
Goose, Pink-Footed Goose, Lapwings, Blackbirds, Fieldfare, Crow's & Rook's,
on over to Seaton Lakes, Fieldfare, Mistle Thrushes, Wigeon, Gadwall,
Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Teal, Goldeneye, Smew, Little Egret, Grey
Heron, Gadwall, Canada Geese, Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Wrens,
Dunnock's, Pied Wagtails, on the road down to Stodmarsh Fieldfare's
every were in the Orchards, (Gadget)
Monday 25th January 2010 Pegwell
Bay
My initial 'try' at
getting down in the morning was curtailed somewhat by getting a puncture as
I whizzed past Jacky Palos house. This meant I had to about turn, take my
life in my hands and push the old Ducatti 999 (okay ... it's a pushbike,
but a man can dream can't he?) home along the Haine Road which was doing a
good impression of the M1 today. I ended up fixing the puncture and then
popping down after dinner, staying for a mere couple of hours in
surprisingly freezing conditions whilst being mothered by my midget minder
(Gadget) on the phone. The bay was hell today but there were a few birds
moving. 30+ Brent's moved north during the afternoon and rather
luckily as we nattered on the main path I spotted a group of Geese heading
in off and they were 13 Pink-footed Gooses. They didn't stop but just
flew west inland without deviating. Other 'bits' of note included my first
Hen Harrier since last September (a ringtail) 2 Peregrine, 2
Sparrowhawk which have been very thin on the ground, 2 Little
Egret plus the first Little Grebe since the freeze up had
appeared on the garage pools when I left. I took a few counts which were 34
Brent, 550 Wigeon, 30 Teal, 4200 Lapwing, 830
Golden Plover, 210 Curlew, 70+ Redshank and 60+ Snipe.
(Phil M)
Monday 25th January 2010 Dumpton & Newlands Farm Area
I
decided to have a look around Newlands Farm, College Playing fields and
along the railway embankment, I came across the farmer's wife with her three
dogs, they had just displaced around cc300 Fieldfare, cc30 Redwing,
cc90 Starlings from the bushes along the railway embankment and
pushed them out on to the field, onward to the playing fields only a few
Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls and Carrion Crows were on the
ground, around the edges in the bushes, Blue Tits, Great Tits Long-tailed
Tits Blackbirds, at the farm I walked the perimeter, 2 Song Thrushes,
7 Redwing , 14 Fieldfare, and 20+Starlings, and along
the back hedge 2 Goldcrest, 1 Firecrest were noted, as I
continued round the farm, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Green
Woodpecker, 7 Ringed neck Parakeets, 14+ House Sparrows,
with Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Collard Doves,
Mixed bunch of Pigeons, 1 Woodcock which few out of the footpath edge over
the field while 2 Sparrow Hawks hunting the back garden hedges, and
still the male Blackcap is feeding on Apples & Pears in my garden.
(Gadget)
Sunday 24th January 2010 Ancient Highway & Thanet
A brief look along the Ancient Highway produced a minor Goose fest. A
distant flock of 70 Grey Geese flew north and single Pink-foot and
White-front were strutting around together whilst behind them 3 Bean
Geese had a fly around before landing down by the railway. Excitement
did not end there however as a Chiffchaff and female Blackcap
were frequenting the garden on my return. (F Solly)
Sunday 24th January 2010 North
Foreland Area
Had a stroll from Joss Bay To North
Foreland this morning. Didn't see a great deal but did come across a
Dartford Warbler, that showed well on and off. (Andy Keen)
Sunday 24th January 2010 Foreness
Area
A few birds of note this morning, 1
Lapland Bunting blasted southwards calling, 1 Dartford Warbler, 1
Black Redstart, 1 Woodcock and 1 Pale-bellied Brent Goose,
which was present yesterday afternoon as was an adult Yellow-legged Gull.
Still a small group of Eider off the point but they were very distant
and four Shelduck flew East. (Barry H)
Saturday 23rd January 2010
Kingsgate Area
Walked along the beach towards Kingsgate
today and spotted Oyster Catchers, 1 Curlew, Crows a couple of
Red Shanks all feeding on the rocks. There were also several
Fulmars making a noise on the cliffs and I think they may already be
pairing? (Sue Smith)
Friday 22nd January 2010 Pegwell
Bay
I skipped the morning session today and
went down to watch the incoming tide after dinner. The weather was dull and
dreary with almost constant drizzle but this was compensated by the fact
that I virtually had the whole place to myself, which was nice. I stayed for
three hours in the hide seeing much what I would have expected plus the
added bonus of an arrival of Yellow-legged Gulls which were no doubt
heading south to their breeding grounds. There could have been double
figures but I settled on 8 birds as there were at least 5 adults, a
sub-adult, a second winter and a 1st winter. Some of the birds appeared to
be paired up. The rest of my notes for this afternoon were 15 Brent,
1380 Wigeon, c100 Mallard, 180+ Teal, 2 Marsh
Harriers, 1 Merlin, 1 Peregrine, 1 Sandwich Tern,
1700 Lapwing, 740 Golden Plover, 127 Grey Plover, 181
Bar-tailed Godwit, 185 Knot, 560 Oystercatcher, 890
Dunlin, 85 Curlew, 61 Sanderling, 3 Stonechat and 2
Redwing. (Phil M)
Thursday 21st January 2010 Ramsgate
Harbour and Pegwell Bay
I arrived at the harbour a bit after
8.30 or thereabouts not expecting much movement on the sea and as it
happened there wasn't anything! Nothing ... zilch ... naff all! Weather
conditions were very poor but even then I would expect there to be a few
Divers at this time of the year? Craig arrived about half an hour later and
quickly spotted an Eider swimming around in the mouth of the harbour.
There were also at least 4 Shags in the harbour - a group of three
fishing in the outer harbour and another in the normal spot in the inner
harbour. A Kingfisher and a couple of Rock Pipits were the
only other bits we saw before we left and headed for Pegwell. As we walked
along the cliff top just past the coastguard cottages a dog walker flushed a
flock of about 40 Brent's off the fields - they ended up flying past
us as they headed down into Pegwell and one of them was a Pale Bellied
Brent. It's most unusual to see Brent's feeding in the farm fields -
I've never seen them there anyway. When we left at about 1.30 they flock was
back in the same area - in the field between the public footpath and the
horse paddocks though they flew back down into the bay before we could get a
good look at them. Down in the bay it was so slow and cold that we didn't
stay to watch the tide coming all the way in although it didn't appear there
was too much new stuff about? The only counts I took were of c120 Brent's
- though Franny once again gazumped me with his 'alleged' 130 Brent's that
he counted after we left - also 1350 Wigeon, 2 Gadwall, 15
Pintail, 250 Teal, 4880 Lapwing, 550 Golden Plover,
5 Ringed Plover, 3 Stonechats and a Water Pipit. (Phil
M)
Wednesday 20th January 2010 Dumpton Thanet
Just a quick note to say that the male Blackcap has reappeared in
the garden feeding on fruit mainly pears, which I have placed in trees
around the feeding area, (Gadget)
Wednesday 20th January 2010 Ramsgate
Harbour and Pegwell
I headed off down to
the harbour early on and arrived to find conditions were quite good - no
mist, which meant I could see and a stiff s/east wind blowing. I then spent
an awfully dull hour and three quarters watching a near bridles landscape
that was only brightened up by the surprise sighting of a Sooty
Shearwater flying north at 08.40. The only other stuff I saw went south
and consisted of 1 Great Crested Grebe, 13 Divers, 27 large
Auks, 10 Kittiwakes, 4 Gannets and 30 Wigeon in one
flock. There were at least 30 Great Crested Grebes offshore and I couldn't
find any Shags in the harbour during a brief look on my way out. I then
popped down and had a few scans over the mud at Pegwell but as it was so
cold and I'm getting on a bit nowadays plus I couldn't face sitting in the
bird hide, I didn't stay very long. The only notes I took were of: 9
Brent, c500 Wigeon, 3700 Lapwing, 500 Golden Plover
and a Peregrine. (Phil M)
Tuesday 19th January 2010 Foreness
Area
Another quiet morning with few birds of
note other than 5 Eider off the point first thing, including a smart
drake, 1 Stonechat, 2 Fieldfare, 1 Redwing, 1 Green
Woodpecker, 18 Purple Sandpiper were the most I've seen this
year. 10 or so Great Crested Grebes were offshore and a lone
Guillemot flew east as did 6 Red-Throated Diver. (Barry H)
Tuesday 19th January 2010 Pegwell
Bay
A dull dreary old morning today - quite
cold too. I stayed until my tummy rumbled, signifying dinner time but other
than a stunning little adult male Merlin nothing out of the ordinary showed
up today. I took a few counts/notes: 2 Brent, 33 Shelduck, 145
Mallard, 1620 Wigeon, 4 Pintail, 220 Teal, 1
male Marsh Harrier, 2 Merlin, 4090 Lapwing, 320
Golden Plover, 1 Water Pipit, 1 Stonechat, 2 Redwing,
the four colour ringed Twite plus a male Bullfinch was seen in
the Country Park bushes. (Phil M)
Tuesday 19th January 2010 Worth Marshes & Dumpton Thanet
Worth Marshes held numerous Birds:
Lapwing, Curlew, Mute Swans, Great White Egret, Teal, Wigeon, Common Snipe,
Fieldfare, Redwings a Pink-footed Goose, Corvids
and Gulls, It was reported that the Restharrow scrape gave views of a
Bittern, In the reeds to the right of the hide, I was not blessed
with views, while back on Thanet 3 Woodlarks were seen by others in
the stubble on Newlands Farm land Pyson's road side by the side road to
Ellington Girls School, (Gadget)
Monday 18th January 2010 Pegwell
Bay
I stayed down for most of the day today
(09.00 - 15.45) being joined by lots of other birders who were trickling
through all day. After a misty murky start the air had cleared completely by
mid morning leaving us all a rather wonderful day as far as the weather
went. A few 'bits' and 'pieces' showed as the day wore on - 4 Whooper
Swans flew south downriver at 11.05 after arriving from inland and 3
White-fronted Geese also flew south just after midday. Other notable
stuff included flyover Grey Wagtail and Yellowhammer, the
Sandwich Tern, 2+ Yellow-legged Gull, 1 male Marsh Harrier,
1 Merlin, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Pochard, 1+ Water
Pipit and 4 Twite. Otherwise all the normal stuff in all the
normal numbers etc. (Phil M)
Monday 18th January 2010 Foreness
Area
Fairly quiet this morning with the
Black Redstart still near Whiteness, 1 Rock Pipit and a few
Skylarks over early on. A detour down to Northdown Park produced 2
Firecrests and a drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker as well as
a singing Mistle Thrush. Back down the road to the Digby and back
along the coast was fairly quiet but was enlivened by bumping into Dylan at
Whiteness, we chatted for a while and it was nice to see him again. (Barry
H)
Sunday 17th January 2010 Foreness
Area
Much more pleasant this morning with the
added bonus that there were actually some birds about, best was a
Woodlark that came in off the sea at Foreness and landed on the grass
area behind the school briefly before heading off south towards Northdown
Park. Still 1 Black Redstart, this time at Whiteness, the female
Stonechat was again in the usual spot by the cycle track. Several
Skylarks were present with 6 on the grass behind the pumping station
along with a Mistle Thrush and a small flock of Linnets were
also in the grass along with a few Meadow Pipits. Other bits included
3 Mediterranean Gulls, 5 Fieldfare, 4 Redwing, 3
Jays, 1 Green Woodpecker and two Brent Geese. Quite a few
Black-headed Gulls were moving west offshore. (Barry H)
Saturday 16th January 2009
Foreness Area
Milder, wetter and windier this morning
but I did have an hour up at Foreness, 1 Black Redstart, 1 Rock
Pipit, 3 Eider, 3 Mediterranean Gulls, 60 Red-throated
Diver flying east and 12 Great Crested Grebes were the best I
could do. (Barry H)
Saturday 16th January 2010 Ramsgate
Harbour and Pegwell Bay
I stopped off on the east pier first
thing for a quick look at the sea. I was expecting some Divers, especially
so as Dunge had 300+ heading east yesterday and the weather looked quite
good for that sort of thing - but I stayed until 9.35 by which time I'd only
seen 2 Great Crested Grebes, 28 Divers, 2 Gadwall, 27
Kittiwakes and 19 large Auks flying south. There were also a
few Great Crested Grebes offshore plus at least two 1st winter Shags
in the inner harbour as I left to head off to Pegwell. I got to Pegwell just
after 10.00 and headed straight for the hide where I was soon joined by a
cyber tick in the shape of Steve Coates. It's the first time he's had the
bad fortune to bump into me in person - we have corresponded through the
medium of the interweb over the years but up until today had avoided each
other in the flesh. The only oddity we saw was a brute of an adult
Caspian Gull which luckily landed across on the point at high tide after
showing at extreme and unidentifiable range about half an hour prior, half
way between the hide and the hoverport. The only other notes/counts I took
were of 1110 Wigeon, 2 Gadwall, 11 Shoveler, 193
Bar-tailed Godwit, 320 Knot, 67 Sanderling, 100 Golden
Plover, 300 Lapwing, 1 Peregrine, 1 Yellow-legged Gull and
a Sandwich Tern. (Phil M)
Friday 15th January 2010 Grove Ferry & Stodmarsh NNR
At
both ends of the reserve a high percentage of the main water areas remain
frozen with thaw being annoyingly slow. There were 9 White Fronted Geese
grazing by the Ramp & a flock of 29 Canada Geese flew over ( a high
number for this time of year) before settling with the large numbers of
Greylag near Undertrees Farm in the afternoon - a conservative estimate
of some 500 Geese present. At the Stodmarsh end, an active flock of some 30
Siskin continue to buzz around the alder wood at the Stodmarsh nature
trail - the raising of the boardwalk is now completed with just extra safety
measures being put in place to ensure the trail is not so slippery. The
closed section should therefore be reopened very soon. (Ben Ring)
Friday 15th January 2010 Pegwell
Bay
On my second attempt at getting down to
Pegwell today due to a thick mist early on I eventually arrived to find the
bay full of birds, which was nice. The whole shorefront was full of
Wigeon from the river right up to the west cliff and the count produced
an enormous 2060 birds. There wasn't too much of any quality other than a
group of 4 White-fronted Geese which landed out on the mud flat
though there were 4 Twite, 1 Sandwich Tern plus 1 or 2
Yellow-legged Gulls. I did also see two Grey Geese fly south past the
point around 10.00 which were either 2 more White-fronts or Pink Feet as I
could see they had grey wings and they definitely were not Greylags. The
best news of the day is that at least one of the five Stonechats has
survived the cold spell - I thought the snow and ice had done for all of
them. (Phil M)
Friday 15th January 2010 Dumpton Thanet
With
an upturn in the weather and temperatures much higher today, there has been
a fall in the number of birds in the garden, the most notable being no
Blackcap, Redwings or Fieldfare and much reduced number of Goldfinches,
Chaffinches and Lapwing out on the field with a few Common
Gulls, Carrion Crows, Woodpigeons, in all a much quieter day.
(Gadget)
Thursday 14th January 2010 Pegwell
Bay
I popped down after dinner and watched
the dropping tide. The banter was more interesting than the birding as aside
of me being known as 'Nockling Norman' by some of the local dog walkers now
I've got the KTNC wardens heckling me about the shape of my winter hat - I'm
officially a Pointy Headed Mutant now. If only they realised that it's not
so much a pointy hat but essentially it's the shape of the head beneath it
that's causing the problem? Anyway.. as I say I arrived early afternoon
(ish) and was soon face to face with a Short-eared Owl which was
getting chased around by a Crow just the other side of the Car Park. It's
the first one I've laid eyes on since the back end of last winter, which is
fairly ridiculous given the amount of birding I've done this past year.
There were still good numbers of Wigeon and Teal (1200 and 230
respectively) also a nice 1st winter Caspian Gull, an adult
Yellow-legged Gull, a male Marsh Harrier, 4 Twite, a
Water Pipit and whilst I was getting verbally abused by head
warden/bully boy Swandale, regarding my cranial attire a Woodcock
flew down the cycle path and off into the gloom just before I left near
dusk. The only other notes I took were of 3 Shoveler, 2 Pintail,
3 Gadwall, 120 Lapwing, 400+ Golden Plover, 184
Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Sparrowhawk and a flock of about 40
Fieldfares flew north across the road from the Country Park late
afternoon. (Phil M)
Thursday 14th January 2010 Dumpton Thanet
Only the one Blackcap in the garden today with
the rest of the cast, the Goldfinches were very busy on the feeders
this afternoon, and with the influx of 17 Fieldfare, 5 Redwing,
9 Blackbirds and 22 Starlings this made quite a racket
for while as they cleaned up on the fruit that I had put out for them, then
they were off, over the field heading west towards Newington, (Gadget)
Wednesday 13th January 2010 Pegwell
Bay
I watched the incoming tide this morning
- the mud flat was fairly quiet and other than 1250 Wigeon and 230
Teal there were not all that many birds around at all. I stayed until
high tide and there was no sign of yesterdays Black-necked Grebe - the
visibility was fairly poor on and off all morning due to a touch of sea mist
and frequent snow showers but even then I'm certain it wasn't offshore. The
biggest surprise of the day was that there were 2 Sandwich Terns on
Shellness the first multiple winter Sandwich Tern sighting we've ever had.
There has been one Sandwich Tern, presumably the same individual
bird wintering annually for 19/20 years but not once have we ever definately
seen two at once. I'm almost certain that Sundays two Woodlarks were feeding
in the accumulated rubbish across on Shellness. (left of the TV that got
washed up over there around Christmas time) They definately were not
Buntings, Skylarks, Finches or Pipits so no doubts that they were the pair
of Woodlarks Franny the wonderhair saw over the weekend? There were 6
Snow Buntings muddling around on the point as was a single Kittiwake.
The only other notes I took were of 1 Brent, 27 Shelduck, 6
Shoveler, 6 Pintail, 3 Gadwall, 1 Peregrine, 140
Golden Plover, 190 Lapwing, 168 Bar-tailed Godwit, 8
Corn Bunting plus on arrival a Woodcock was flying around the car
park at about 08.45. Ben saw a ring tail Hen Harrier today - he also
saw a male last Friday. (Phil M)
Tuesday 12th January 2010 Dumpton
Thanet
This morning held a nice surprise in my
garden not one Blackcap but two both males, what ever next!, the
garden held all the usual birds with an addition of 1 House Sparrow
where the field held around 140 Lapwings 9 Common Gulls 36
Fieldfare with 19 Redwing, (Gadget)
Tuesday 12th January 2010 Pegwell
Bay
I popped down for a
couple of hours this morning to watch the dropping tide. Most of the roads
are thawed out now and even the cycle path was usable for the first time in
about a week, though the garage pools are still frozen solid. There were a
few half decent bits on show - the Wigeon flock was up to 1420 birds
which is quite impressive plus there were 1 or 2 Red-breasted Merganser,
1 female Goosander plus a Black-necked Grebe which I picked up
at around 10.00am bobbing around offshore. It was still out in the bay when
I left at 10.45 though the tide was dropping quite fast so it wouldn't have
been in view for too much longer. The only other non daily things were 6
Twite, 10 Corn Bunting plus the Sandwich Tern showed in
its normal spot across on Shellness. The rest of the wildfowl counts were 2
Brent, 245 Teal, 4 Pintail, 8 Shoveler and 9
Gadwall. (Phil M)
Monday 11th January 2010 Broadstairs Thanet
I
wait 8 years to see a Redwing in my garden and then 15 show up at
once. (I suspect there were even more in the neighbouring gardens judging by
the amount of activity.) Unfortunately the light was very poor and I had to
shoot at an angle through a window to avoid disturbing them, so the photos
(attached) aren't as good as they could have been - but it was nice to see
these handsome birds at close range for once. (Mark Kilner)
Monday 11th January 2010 Pegwell
Bay
There wasn't much going on this morning.
I watched the dropping tide and stayed until late morning seeing nothing I
wouldn't have expected to see other than a Green Sandpiper which flew
up out of the river and down towards the sampher at Sandwich. The only other
noteworthy thing was a count of 1115 Wigeon - probably not so much an
increase as it was just that all the birds were in view given the state of
the tide today plus a few raptors flushing them into view every now and
then. There were no Snow Buntings or Twite seen today - I haven't seen any
Twite since last Wednesday so perhaps they were just passing through? The
highlights of today's counts were 1 Red-throated Diver - south, 2
Little Egret, 6 Brent, 3 Pintail c250 Teal, 1
Marsh Harrier, 2 Peregrine,1 Sparrowhawk, 174
Bar-tailed Godwit, 10 Corn Buntings plus higher numbers of
Thrushes today - there being 110 Fieldfare and 40 Redwing late
morning, mainly around the farm/cliff top. Numbers of passerines were much
lower than the end of last week. (Phil M)
Monday 11th January
2010 Dumpton Thanet
Once again the
Blackcap appeared in the garden with the rest of the other birds which
are frequently on the feeders and fruit that are around the garden, looking
out over the field I observed 40+ Lapwing, 7 Fieldfare, 3
Redwing, 18 Starlings, 2 Pied Wagtails, with 1 Grey
Wagtail which took flight out to the middle of the field also 2
Sparrow Hawks a male & female hunting the hedgerows at the back of the
house and along the railway embankment, A new photo of the Blackcap has been
added. (Gadget)
Monday 11th January 2009 Pluck’s
Gutter
There was a Goosander on the
River Stour at Pluck’s Gutter as I drove past at lunch time. (Tim H)
Sunday10th January 2010
Ramsgate Garden
Today and yesterday in my
back garden I've had an in flux of 12 Redwing back and forward to
myself and neighbours holly bush devouring all the berries also counted a
flock of at least 60 flew over also in garden 3 House Sparrows, 6
Goldfinch, 2 Great Tit, 2 Blue Tit, 1 Song Thrush 6
Blackbird 3 Magpie, (S Moulder)
Sunday 10th January 2010 Seaton
Five
Goosander were on the main lake this morning, together with three
Goldeneye. Around the river and grazing marsh were Chiffchaff, Cetti's
Warbler, Kingfisher, Little Egret, Woodcock and two Bittern.
One ringtail Hen Harrier was on the grazing marsh yesterday. (Peter
Loudon)
Sunday 10th January 2010 Foreness
Area
Almost all the snow had cleared this
morning and it made walking along the promenade a less hazardous experience.
A Black Redstart flew up from near the shelter at Palm Bay and headed
towards the gap below Northumberland Court. Lots of Gulls were gathering
along the tide line and I estimated nearly a thousand birds, which were
feeding on various bits that had been stirred up in the surf by the rather
keen North-easterly wind. I saw many crabs being plucked off the tide line
by the Gulls. Not a lot else happening apart from a Rock Pipit on the
promenade. (Barry H)
Sunday 10th January 2010 Minster
Thanet
The highlight of this cold spell has
been the arrival of Fieldfares in the back garden. This is a garden
tick. They have fed on the last of the windfall apples and have had their
diet supplemented with fresh apples and sultanas. (David Parker)
Saturday 9th January 2010 Minnis Bay Area
I
was over Minnis Bay Saturday morning and about 1/4 mile up on the railway
side, I sore a Bittern it just took off has any body else seen one
out there, (Phil Kinnill)
Friday 8th January 2010 Pegwell Bay Late News
A
brief visit to Pegwell just after mid-day was interesting but very cold in a
stiff north-easterly wind. I hoped to find the Snow buntings but they did
not show. the tide was well out but there seemed to be lots of birds across
the bay, notably Dunlin, Golden & Grey Plover, and surprising
numbers of Wigeon. One largish group ( over 100) was out on the
tides edge, but a bigger group ( 200+) was sheltering in the river, along
with a Common Seal hauled out on the mud. The only notable sighting was a
pristine first-winter Kittiwake which flew along the edge of the salt
marsh in front of the hide, (Norma M)
Friday 8th January 2010 Pegwell
Bay
I spent most of the morning until early
afternoon (which was as long as I could bear it) sheltering out of the
bitter cold north east wind behind the hide. There wasn't anywhere near as
much going on today though I did see quite a lot of Snow Buntings - a
flock of 26 birds flew over the hide before splitting up with 13 of them
flying west inland over the Country Park and 13 north towards the Hover Port
whilst there was a flock of 16 still across on Shelness. There are probably
c50 birds around as I also saw a group of three and four, though with the
flocks breaking up I will settle on the definite day total of 42 birds.
Skylark numbers were far lower than yesterday - I saw about 20 flying n/west
and there were about another 50 present. The Pale Bellied Brent was
showing too - its still feeding amongst the other dark-bellied birds out on
the tide line, its normal feeding spot upriver is under a couple of inches
of show and ice. The only other newish things were a few more Fieldfare
and a light scattering of Redwing. Other 'bits' included 18 Brent,
840 Wigeon, 120+ Teal, 4 Shoveler, 1740 Lapwing,
860 Golden Plover, 2 Peregrine, 1 Marsh Harrier and a
Sparrowhawk. A couple of flurries of Diver movement offshore
added up to 33 south and 4 north. The 33 flying south were visible pretty
much on one scan - there didn't seem to much else moving out there though I
did see a fairly decent flock of Ducks heading south. (Phil M)
Friday 8th January 2010 Dumpton
Thanet
The feeders are taking a hammering in
the garden due to the snow and very cold conditions, bird of the day was
(male) Blackcap other bit were 7 Blue Tits, 4 Great Tits,
& Goldfinches, 5 Greenfinches, 6 Chaffinches, 7
Blackbirds, 9 Starlings, 1 Robin, 2 Dunnock, 1
Wren, 6 Collard Dove, 9 Feral Pigeon, 3 Woodpigeon,
2 Magpie, out on the snow covered field was 17 Black-headed Gulls,
11 Herring Gulls, 1 Common Gull, 9 Carrion Crows, 4
Lapwing, and 49 Parakeet flew over towards Railway Station at
around 16-30hrs, also yesterday 2 Redshank were out in the Field,
(Gadget)
Friday 8th January 2010 Foreness
Area
A few cold weather birds today, 2 Woodcock, 2 Snipe, 7
White-fronted Geese, 190 Wigeon and 27 Skylarks plus odd
Lapwing and Golden Plover going over. A few Red-throated
Divers moved east into the freshening, chilly breeze.
(Barry H)
Thursday 7th January 2010 Pegwell
Bay
A precarious bike
ride down to the bay from hell (it was ultra hellish today too) saw me
arriving in one piece around 09.00. I stayed until mid afternoon - huddled
in the outside corner of the hide out of the light breeze where it was about
ten degrees warmer than the opposite more exposed side. The roads were
almost totally clear of snow/slush/ice on the way back - I can't see it
being like that for too much longer seeing the forecast? I'll have the only
bike in Ramsgate sporting Ski's? Other than the hassle with Joe Public
today, the session was actually quiet interesting with noticeable cold
weather movements of Skylarks, Geese and Woodcock plus a few Thrushes thrown
in for good measure. If only the high tides were late morning/midday as it
would help with seeing a few more water birds and stuff arriving over the
sea - the tides just couldn't be worse at the moment. On arrival there were
lots of Snow Buntings across on the Pegwell side of Shellness - there
were at least 32 maybe a few more? I saw 32 or 33 on one scan and whilst
there were quiet a few running around on the beach opposite I watched a
flock of 25 birds fly upriver and away from the area. Skylarks were
moving n/west in small numbers on and off all day - I counted 120 overhead
and there were still 150+ present in the salt marsh on either side of the
river. The day total must have been in excess of 300. I also spotted a
Lapland Bunting, which flew around in front of the hide before heading
off north and landing in the marsh half way between the hide and the garage
up near the Sportsman. The most frustrating thing was during a flurry of
activity as all the small passerines went up between Shellness and Pegwell,
I heard Woodlark calling at least ten times but couldn't for definite
lay the bins of it/them - all I could see were 297 brown blobs! The culprit
was a Marsh Harrier, which also went on to flush a Woodcock -
one of four I saw during the day. 2 flew presumably in-off - then I saw them
whizzing south across the point plus another booted off the country park by
a dog. Also at 11.25 I heard Geese calling and looked up to see a large
skein right over the hide flying from inland then straight out to sea. There
were 120+ birds and most of them were White-fronted Geese though I
think a few of them were different? There was a group of 6 or 7 which may
have been Beans? Not Heinz Beans - for that would be ridiculous ... no Bean
Geese! To keep warm I tried to estimate how many Reed Buntings were
around the country park and salt marsh. During my 'walks' I came up with 70+
and I didn't even bother with the hover port end so there will be a few
more. A few groups of Redwing arrived during my stay - 55 Fieldfare
in 2 flocks plus about 20 or so Redwing. There were a scattering of
both around the country park too. The only other notes I took for the day
were: 11 Brent, 87 Shelduck, 3 Gadwall, 2+ Peregrine,
2500 Lapwing and 1200 Golden Plover. There was also a Green
Woodpecker in the salt marsh - I saw one out there the other day. This week
I've also seen Redwing and Blue Tit in the marsh! This weather is driving
the birds potty. I sent off a couple of e-mails to people involved with the
Twite colour ringing scheme going on in England and Germany to enquire as to
where the two colour ringed Pegwell Twite were ringed and received a reply
today. The bird with a metal BTO ring (right leg) and red over white over
pink (on it's left leg) was ringed as a young bird in West Yorkshire this
year. The other - red over metal BTO on its right leg and yellow over blue
on its left leg was ringed as a nestling at another west Yorkshire site in
2004, which means its coming up for its sixth birthday this year making it
one of the oldest Twite ever. Notice it says Twite and not Twit ... Dylan's
then oldest Twit I know of? One of the chaps who replied says as far as he
was aware until recent years, Twite only lived about 4 years. Since the
colour ringing scheme they have a bird that was seven, which is ancient in
small passerine terms. They have a nickname for this excessively adged bird
... Johnny! Many thanks to Ian Hodgson, Steve Coates and especially Ian
Harding as all three offered advice about who to contact but Ian, knowing
I'm a computer dullard sent me an e-mail with the links which led to the
source of the information at the click of a mouse. Without this help I would
have been doodling around hunting for who to contact which, knowing me,
might well have seen me giving up even trying if I hadn't fluked the right
person. (Phil M)
Wednesday 6th January 2009 Pegwell
Bay
I watched the area
between 10.00 and 04.00pm today. Quiet a few birders were mooching around -
about 50/50 whether you saw a dog walker or another birder today. My day was
highlighted by a rather wonderful visit by Johnny (wigmaster) Websper, he
was doing a dummy run for his trip to Islay tomorrow. To say the Antarctic
weather engulfing the whole of Britain isn't to his advantage for such a
journey is a massive understatement. Good to see the old duffer anyway. A
couple of combined Woodcock walks during the day (Josh, Craig and I)
turned up 7 birds with one in Stone Lees (told you Johnny) and 6 around the
Country Park. Other extra added bits seen during the day were: 1 Diver
- south, 1 Little Egret, 8 Brent, 1 Pale Bellied Brent,
1000 Wigeon, 700+ Teal, 12 Pintail, 6 Gadwall, 2
Marsh Harriers, 1 Peregrine, 184 Bar-tailed Godwits,
2500+ Golden Plover, 500+ Lapwing, the Sandwich Tern, 2
Water Pipit, 10 Redwing, 1 Fieldfare, 12 Twite,
2 Bullfinch, 5 Snow Buntings and 18 Corn Buntings.
(Phil M)
Parakeet survey,
3rd January 2010
Francis, Gadget and I
carried out a count of the traditional parakeet roost near Ramsgate Station
on Sunday evening. We counted a total of 1154 birds (give or take a few)
coming into roost. Most of the birds came in to roost pretty late in the
afternoon after forming pre-roost gatherings in Ellington Park and in
smaller numbers elsewhere. The newish roost at Westwood Cross wasn’t used as
the trees there have been severely pruned and are no longer suitable for
roosting parakeets. We did have reports of smallish numbers of birds
roosting elsewhere, but as far as we are aware and were able to check these
relate to birds gathering in pre-roosts before moving to the main roost.
However, the number counted at the main roost was rather less than we had
expected, so it must be possible that there is another roost somewhere on
Thanet – any ideas appreciated.
A total of 10 roosts
were counted at the same as the Thanet roost, mainly around the London area,
and a total of 14,000 parakeets were counted, so Thanet held about 8% of the
numbers so far counted. There are other roosts in the country that haven’t
yet been counted, so the % figure is likely to fall once other counts come
in.
The next count will take
place on Sunday April 11th, so if you're interested in taking part
please make a note of this date. There will be an absence of breeding
females at the roost in April as they will be incubating their eggs. The
drop in numbers at roost should enable us to get an idea of the number of
breeding pairs in the population. Anyway, thanks to everyone who took part
or contributed information. (Tim Hodge)
Wednesday 6th January 2010
Foreness Area
Still quiet at Foreness but a
Dartford Warbler showed very briefly in the coastal scrub near Whiteness
and a Black Redstart was below the cliffs west of the point. Not a
lot else going on a drake Red-breasted Merganser flew west, 6
Great Crested Grebes offshore and 1 Woodcock were the best bits.
(Barry H)
Wednesday 6th January 2010
Newlands Farm Area
This morning (Wednesday 6 January 2010)
there were 2 Golden Plover in a field of winter wheat at Newlands
Farm, Ramsgate. One flew in, piping, to land next to one in the field.
After a few minutes they both flew south. (Marianne and Steve Harper)
Tuesday 5th January 2010 Ramsgate
Cemetery to the Harbour
A nice walk in the
lovely fresh air we are experiencing. It was clear that most things were
frantic in trying to find food. Things noted were; 10 Redwing decked
plus a flock of c30 overhead, 30+ Blackbirds, 3 Firecrests, 4
Long-tailed Tit, 3 Chaffinch and a single Meadow Pipit
over. Then on up to Winterstoke steps taking in the walk past the synagogue
were 4 more Long-tailed Tits and 8 Redwings down in the
undergrowth, on the coast c20 Fulmar were on the sea, 2 Pied
Wagtail by the Granville. Onto the harbour after a nice breakfast in the
Belgian bar; 120+ Herring Gulls, 50+ Common Gulls with smaller
numbers of Great and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 3 Rock
Pipit on the east pier and the Kingfisher calling on the other
side where was one of the Shags were, little else other than 2
Skylark in of the sea and c20 Oystercatcher on their way to
Pegwell. (Craig Sammels)
Tuesday 5th January 2010 Pegwell Bay
You
might want to put this on the site/let people know: at least 2 of the
Twite seen at Pegwell today are colour ringed. I believe one was red
over metal on left, yellow over blue on right, the other was red over white
over pink on left, metal on right. However, I didn't have
time to confirm these. If anyone visiting Pegwell soon could check these and
the other birds, i am sure some project would be very grateful and it would
be interesting to see where they are from. Shouldn't be too hard with a
scope as they were feeding right in front of the hide today. (Ross Crates)
Tuesday 5th January 2010 Shuart
Went for a drive out this afternoon and
settled on walking up Shuart Lane to the railway and back. Obtaining a few
additions for my Thanet year list on the way, most of the dykes are frozen
but on a stretch of clear water 8 Coot were feeding along with a
Little Grebe. A Common Buzzard was perched in the bushes to the
west of the two frozen solid reservoirs and two Marsh Harrier were
quartering the fields towards Brooksend, A few Snipe were flushed
from around the dyke edges but no luck with any Jack's. Fair numbers of
thrushes feeding on what berry crop remains with Blackbird, Song Thrush,
Fieldfare and Redwing all present. In the field just beyond the
railway 400 Brent Geese were present and a small flock of Lapwing
were on the same field. Small birds were virtually absent with just a small
party of Long-tailed Tits being the only ones I saw. (Barry H)
Tuesday 5th January 2010 Pegwell
Bay
I spent the morning down the bay today
in bitterly cold but highly pleasant conditions. Luckily the wind didn't
pick up as the forecast said it would or else it would have been like the
Antarctic. The highlight of the day was a personal best ever in the history
of best ever Teal counts ... 710 birds. Non patch watchers will not
understand such histrionics of course but please bear in mind I also saw 2
Bullfinch for the second day running on the country park!! Now you're
interested eh?? 2 Bullfinch away from Stone Lees on top of lots of Teal ...
I do realise it's hardly credible, but I saw it - honest. The duck numbers
had increased - there were 1000+ Wigeon and a flock of 26 Pintail
too, which isn't too shabby for the modern day Pegwell. Other odd cold
weather induced things that happened were that I saw a Woodcock
flying around across on Shellness plus a Jack Snipe which flew up off
the scrape for no apparent reason, flew around my head and plopped down in
the scrub on the Country Park. There was a bit of unseen noisy Water Rail
action going on in the close salt marsh so I presume that they may have
trodden on it, causing it to fly? Other 'news' included the Pale Bellied
Brent, at least 6 Twite and a flock of 20 Snow Buntings
joined yesterdays group of five across on Shellness. Other 'bits' included a
Marsh Harrier, a Peregrine, 8 Corn Buntings and 7 long
range Divers flew north offshore. Surprisingly there were lots of
Plovers still around - I'm quite shocked that they haven't moved away as
they normally do in frozen weather. There were 2130 Golden Plover and
4750 Lapwing, though most of the Lapwing were moving - mainly south
but quite a few went west inland. (Phil M)
Tuesday 5th January 2010 Foreness
& North Foreland Area
The bitterly cold snap continues but the
hoped for influx of birds fleeing the conditions just does not seemed to
have happened yet, still with even colder temperatures and snow forecast for
the next few days combined with a bone chilling north easterly wind it may
yet happen. A brief venture at Foreness didn't produce to much, a single
Woodcock came in off the sea and a Marsh Harrier drifted slowly
west out to sea. A few thrushes about with Blackbirds and Song
Thrushes the most evident but a few Redwings were noted. I did go
round to North Foreland and saw the pair of Stonechats but no sign of
the Dartford Warbler while I was there. Divers and Auks seemed to have
deserted the area with only a single Red-throated Diver seen
offshore. (Barry H)
Monday 4th January 2010 Pegwell
Bay
Another bitterly cold day ... Brrr. That
what I said today when I was looking at birds ... Brrr. I did try and go
down early morning but when I got to the Haine Road it was so foggy that I
turned around and came home. I eventually arrived at about 11.00 and stayed
till 4.00pm mainly because of the company to be honest - men called Laslett
and Hunt arrived and were bored rigid by my constant natter which makes
concentration near impossible, ruining any chance of seeing anything. The
birding was okay and I quite like clear cold weather even though it hasn't
really moved all that many birds as yet. Other than for large amounts of
Skylark, a single White Fronted Goose and a few Woodcock it was much
as it would be during a normal mild winters day. Barry did spot a flock of 5
Snow Buntings which landed across on Shellness and although some of
us did see a few Woodcocks - young whippersnapper Ben saw the most -
4 in Stone Lees and another on the Country Park. Extra added 'bits' included
the Pale Bellied Brent (upriver with the same eight normal Brent) ,
18 Canada Geese, the Sandwich Tern, 2 Marsh Harriers, 1
Jack Snipe, 2 Water Pipits, 10+ Twite and a 1st winter
Yellow-legged Gull. At the risk of giving our Dylan a heart attack
some of today's Twite ... were ringed!! The normal flock of 4 have at least
two showing pink and white plastic rings and amongst another close range
pair one had a blue/yellow combination. I'm not sure how many birds are
present at the moment as I saw the 4 another group of 6 plus a pair and a
single during the day. Other stuff included 2 Bullfinch on the
country park (an incredible record believe me), 890 Wigeon, 200+
Teal, 9 Gadwall, 1 Pintail, 2 Fieldfare, a few
Redwing, 14 Corn Buntings, 3 Stonechat and 164
Bar-tailed Godwit. Quiet a few Water Rails were heard and one was
seen near the scrape. (Phil M)
Monday 4th January 2010 Ramsgate
Madeira Walk waterfall
At the Madeira Walk waterfalls today, a
Moorhen creeping around in the undergrowth. A good sighting in the
heart of Ramsgate and a sure sign of the cold snap. (Simon Mount)
Monday 4th January 2010 North
Foreland Area
15:25hrs. Bottom end of Elmwood Avenue,
end of the cycle track, from the low ivy bushes alongside the road flew a
Dartford Warbler, flight only a couple of feet above the road into the
Caulis the other side of the road, seen only for around 10secs. Also in the
Caulis in the same corner a pair of Stonechats. About 15mins later
the sun sank below the Trees/Houses on the horizon, time for home, cold.
(Chris Turner)
Monday 4th January 2010 Ramsgate
Harbour & R/gate Cemetery
This morning we saw a Black-necked
Grebe diving at Ramsgate Harbour. It was right out at the mouth of the
breakwater. This afternoon there was a Woodcock flying in Ramsgate
cemetery. We also saw one on Saturday 2 January in the grounds of North
Foreland lighthouse. (Marianne and Steve Harper)
Sunday 3rd January 2009 Pegwell
Bay
I popped down the bay after dinner,
spending all afternoon scanning the area, staying until near dark. Much of
the afternoon was spent yakking to a likeminded Soul (not a type of
flatfish) ... ah the likeminded soul? If only there were a few more of them
about eh? The weather was surprisingly nice, very cold with the odd light
snow shower, but quite pleasurable. There were quiet a few birds about
though nothing new of any note save a decent influx of Shelduck and
Teal. Fridays Pale Bellied Brent flew north through the bay late
afternoon amongst a flock of 8 Dark Bellied Brents otherwise there were: 1
Diver specie - south, 15+ Great Crested Grebe, 100 Shelduck,
560 Wigeon, 7 Gadwall, 3 Pintail, 430 Teal, 3
Peregrine, 700 Golden Plover, 1200 Lapwing, the
Sandwich Tern, 1 Water Pipit and the flock of 4 Twite. As
the tide filled the bay up with water it was apparent that there were lots
of Skylarks using the salt marsh either side of the river - there
were quite easily 100 birds which is a very goodly count for the area.
Earlier on in the day there were quiet a few Redwings moving west. I
saw at least 100 between Ellington Park and Newington Road. (Phil M)
Sunday 3rd January 2010 Sandwich
Bay Worth Area
A morning visit over to the Obs to pass
a few hours and try to see the Great White Egret that has been lurking over
Worth the passed few days and see some old friends. After some chat about
cameras and past birding trips we made our way down to marry backs and view
what will become the eastern side of Lydden Valley RSPB. It soon become
apparent that the bird was not in view around the partly frozen over pools,
we didn't see much else to be honest other than the odd Stonechat,
2-300 Lapwing, 100+ Golden Plover, 1 Green Woodpecker,
7 Curlew and a quick check of the scrape on the way back just 5
Teal, 1 each of Common Gull and Black-headed wow. At the
Obs car park there was a mixed group of finches around the feeding station
in the main Goldfinches and Chaffinches with the odd Reed
Bunting but little else on another freezing day. (Craig Sammels &
Gadget)
Saturday 2nd January
2010 Kingsdown, Pegwell & Sandwich Area
I met Steve Coates at Kingsdown and
we wandered along the rifle range. Off shore a couple of divers went through
but otherwise the sea was very quiet. On the range we found Meadow &
Rock Pipit and the long staying male Black Redstart. At
9.00 we moved on to Pegwell to watch the tide come in. At the hide we met
Dylan and after an exchange of season's greeting he pointed out 4
Twite on the salt marsh. These were life ticks for both Steve and
myself and these somewhat dominated out time at Pegwell. On the mud we saw
the expected waders (Sanderling, Dunlin, Knot, Grey and Golden Plover,
Lapwing and Curlew), ducks (Wigeon, Mallard, Teal, Shelduck) and
a few Brents but made no counts. A Marsh Harrier cruised along
the river putting everything up then a little later a Peregrine was
found on a fence post with a Marsh Harrier on the adjacent post. On the way
home we stopped at a frozen Restharrow (6 gulls - 3 Common and 3
Black headed) but along the ancient highway we were put onto the
Great White Egret - it was out on the marsh behind the Chequers and
gave great views in the scope. Pretty good morning all in all! (Steve Ray)
Saturday 2nd January
2010 Foreness Area
My first visit to Foreness this year was
rather dull and cold, best bird was a lone Pomarine Skua which flew
due north heading for the Suffolk coast, not a lot else worthy of mention
apart from the usual 2 Mediterranean Gulls on the grass. (Barry Hunt)
Saturday 2nd January
2010 Dumpton Thanet
Good numbers of birds in the garden today the fist (male) Blackcap
for 2010 with Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Great & Blue
Tits, Robin, Dunnock, House Sparrows, Starlings, Collard Doves, Feral
Pigeons and a Magpie, a Sparrow Hawk flew out over the
fields which brought my attention to a small flock of 34 Lapwings and
12 Grey Partridge with
a supporting cast of Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, and 1
Common Gull. (Gadget)
Saturday 2nd January
2010 Newlands Farm area
At 11-00hrs this morning I
walked up to bookers in Pyson road looked at farmers field opposite Sericol
counted 12 Grey Partridge, (Steve Moulder)
Friday 1st January 2010 Ramsgate Harbour
and Pegwell Bay
I started off on the east pier at first
light - the thick snow storm I encountered on my way down had abated so at
least I could see which was a bonus. I might as well not have bothered as it
happened as I endured thirty minutes of virtual nothingness before packing
up and had seen by then 2 Red-throated Divers, 1 large Auk, 3
Kittiwakes and weirdly enough 3 Mallard all flying south. I
bumped into young Craig Sammels (He's about 12?) on cod corner as I left and
we walked down to Pegwell (just missing the incoming tide) where we stayed
until 2.30pm in some of the strangest most changeable weather I can ever
remember? One minute it was snowing then within a jiffy it was lovely and
sunny. On the way down we came across 2 1st winter Shags in the
normal spot in the inner harbour opposite the harbour masters office and 1
Kingfisher. On arrival at Pegwell we bumped into Ian Hedgehodgkinson
on day leave from the SBBO open prison. He had the gall to be standing in my
spot out of the wind!! What a blaggard!! He obviously isn't versed with
Pegwell etiquette as yet? I stood near to him yakking incessantly for the
next half an hour and made him leave due to excessive boredom, a twisted
brain and bleeding ears. Just as he left Craig picked up a very distant
flock of Grey Geese flying north over the sea. After at least ten minutes as
they neared Ramsgate they got close enough to show themselves as 36
White-fronted Geese. They didn't stop and kept flying n/west over the
town. A few other 'bits' included 10 Canada Geese, 1 Pale Bellied
Brent (feeding upriver with 6 normal Brents), 500 Wigeon, 150
Teal, 4 Shoveler, 2 Marsh Harriers, 1 Merlin, 2
Peregrine, 1 Sandwich Tern, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 1
Water Pipit, 3 Stonechat, 1 Goldcrest, 4 Twite and
1 Corn Bunting. There were also 4 Avocet down there yesterday
plus Johnny 'the wigmaster' Websper had a Common Buzzard before I
arrived today. Flew off with his 'syrup' I heard - thinking it to be a
rabbit carcass that had got snagged up on some old geezers head? It's nice
to be back informing the masses via Plannetthanet in such a serious tome.
(Phil M and young Craigy Sammels)
Friday 1st January 2010 North Foreland
A ringtail Hen Harrier flew up the
valley heading South at 12:35, hounded by 6 Crows. It gained in
height before being engulfed in a heavy blizzard. I had a good look round
some of the area and the only other thing worth mentioning was a flock of 5
Eider offshore, (Simon Mount)
