Thursday 31st July 2008 Kingsgate & Pegwell

Not much in the bird line today, a single Wheatear and 8 Crossbills at Kingsgate and a brief look at Pegwell in the morning glare produced the year's peak of 62 Little Egrets, c.600 Sandwich Terns and 680 Oystercatchers.  (F Solly)

Wednesday 30th 2008 Cliff-top at Pegwell

A Common Redstart along the cliff-top at Pegwell after doing the moff-trap is on the early side these days. (F Solly)

Tuesday 29th July 2008 Pegwell Bay

Evening tide at Pegwell, A stiff wind for much of the day had substantially boosted Tern numbers, although the wind had dropped completely in the evening and the sun made for excellent viewing conditions. 1060 Sandwich Terns, 474 Common Terns, 12 Little Terns, 6 Arctic Terns, 4 adult Roseate Terns and 1 adult Black Tern. Top billing went to a Pectoral Sandpiper which landed just in front of where I was sitting as the tide came up. Other waders included; a significant increase in Redshanks - 329, 1 Spotted Redshank, 2 adult Curlew Sandpipers, 1 Green Sandpiper, 14 Common Sandpipers, 5 Knot, 1 Turnstone, 2 Sanderling, 26 Dunlin, 14 Whimbrel, 5 Bar-tailed Godwits and 3 Ringed Plovers, A few Ducks now appearing, 1 Shoveler, 2 Teal, 5 Mallard and 34 Shelduck, Lots of Gulls coming in to roost including 11 Mediterranean (6 ads, 1 2nd S, 4 juvs) amongst c 3000 Black-heads. (F Solly)

Monday 28th July 2008 Seaton & Grove Ferry

Out and about with the camera this morning around Seaton area, Spotted Flycatchers, Grey Wagtails, Goldfinches, Linnets, House Martins and Swallows, then on to Grove Ferry to sit in the new hide out of the sun a Hobby gave a good display out over the reed beds also two Marsh Harriers floating around 2 Little Egrets and Common Terns on the raft in front of the hide. (Gadget)  

Sunday 27th July 2008 Hoverpad & Pegwell

A Serin flew over the Hoverpad this morning whilst I was looking for migrant Butterflies (just one Painted Lady). I did the early evening tide in very pleasant conditions - made all the nicer by rather amazingly there being no disturbance, which mean't that everything was viewable. Terns were the main feature with 724 Sandwich and 108 Common Terns. A reasonable wader selection which included; 2 Curlew Sandpipers, single Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper and Sanderling, 4 Common Sandpiper, 10 Whimbrel, 4 Greenshank, 10 Dunlin, 5 Golden Plover 3 Bar-tailed Godwits and 452 Curlew, Other than that, 50 Little Egrets and an adult Mediterranean Gull. (F Solly) 

Sunday 27th July 2008 Restharrow Scrape

There were good number of House Martins and Swallows in and out of the Scrape al the time I was there also 7 Yellow Wagtails, 5 Pied Wagtails, 3 Meadow Pipits, 5 Linnets and 3 Goldfinches out on the scrape this morning also Coots. Little Grebes Moorhens and Lapwings, over head a Kestrel hovered at the back of the Scrape. (Gadget)

Saturday 26th July 2008 Dumpton Thanet

Just playing with the camera in the garden today, not much happening but this Collard Dove posed nicely so why not (Gadget)

Saturday 26th July 2008 Pegwell Bay and Restharrow Scrape

I awoke to the sound of an, unseen, Curlew flying over the bungalow. It was already light and the local Herring Gulls were in full cry. Leaving Bev to slumber in peace? I headed out for an early morning session. My first stop was at the Garage Pools at Pegwell Bay. 31 Little Egrets were feeding in the shallow water, with single Grey Heron and Greenshank also recorded. Little after 06.00hrs the first dog-walker, of the day, sent the Egrets flying out across the saltmarsh. Nothing malicious, just the result of an innocent stroll along the coastal path. Having secured a few images I then set off for Restharrow scrape at Sandwich Bay. High tide and a superb dawn, there just had to be a few waders to look at. WRONG! Just three waders, one each of Oystercatcher, Lapwing and, more unusual, Avocet, that was feeding along the far edge of the scrape. I got a few digi-scoped record pics before, for no apparent reason, it took flight and headed strongly off towards Pegwell. A quick circuit to the sea, via the Cinque Port's GC, allowed me to get great pics of an adult male Stonechat as well as recording good numbers of Meadow Pipit, Corn Bunting, Linnet and Common Whitethroat. A Golden Plover called loudly as it flew overhead and there were at least 5 juvenile Green Woodpeckers around the area. Back home by 08.15hrs - job done! (Dylan)

Thursday 24th July 2008 Dane Valley Margate

Yet another summer record of an Osprey this time over Dane Valley at 10.10hrs and moving towards Ramsgate, (Rae Boulden)

Wednesday 23rd July 2008 Preston

I had brief views of a pair of Spotted Flycatchers in the Preston Churchyard, along with several fledged Robins & 4 Song Thrushes, this morning. A Corn Bunting could also be heard from an adjoining field. Onward to Grove for a very enjoyable couple of hours, noting the expected common species. (Ben Ring)

Tuesday 22nd July 2008 Fowlmead Country Park

A walk to the viewing platform that looks out over Sandwich Bay and the Worth Marshes.17.30 to19.30 2 Common Whitethroat, 1 Reed Warbler, 2 Turtle Doves, 2 Stock Doves, 10 Mallards, 8 Goldfinch, 4 Chaffinch, 50+ Lapwings, 2 Gray Heron,1 Song Thrush, 6 Blackbird, 1 Hobby, 1 Kestrl,1 Marsh Harrier, 2 Green Woodpeckers,1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 6 Magpies, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Reed Buntings, 100+ Starlings 6 Linnets, 5 Moorhens, 1 Cormorant, 10 Carrion Crow,150+Wood Pigeon, 4 House Martins, 6 Swifts, (Mike D)   

Tuesday 22nd July 2008 North Foreland

Back to the cliff-top for another seawatch (15.20 - 17.10hrs) was the best I could manage. Just a few Gannets lingering off-shore, but a few nice bits included 2 adult Roseate Tern feeding amidst a large flock of Common and Sandwich Terns, 43 Common Scoter and a juvenile Mediterranean Gull. Lots of gulls following the local fishing boats and cruising the cliffs. Bright sunshine and a gentle SE breeze, beats work every time! (Dylan)

Monday 21st July 2008 North Foreland

A seawatch (18.00 - 20.00 hrs) from the clifftop, below the lighthouse, proved to be rather enjoyable. Many hundreds of Gannets were moving off-shore, the vast majority heading south. I'd gone there in the hope of a shearwater or two, sadly my optomism was mis-placed. 3 Kittiwake, 85+ Sandwich Tern, 1 Whimbrel, 2 Razorbill, 3 large auk sp/Guillemot, 15 Common Scoter - just 4 imm/females! and a steady procession of large gulls and Fulmars providing the bulk of the entertainment. However, I did record my first Arctic Skuas of the autumn. 7 birds, all adults, passed the headland between 18.28 & 19.05hrs. Fantastic scope views in the wonderful afternoon sunshine, what a pity they were too far away for the cameras. (Dylan)

Friday 18th July 2008 Garden Minster Thanet

At 14-45hrs two Honey Buzzards flew over my garden heading south towards Minster Marshes. Identified by Brian Short who first saw them. (Don Wilks)

Friday 18th July 2008 Westgate Thanet

A flock of 13 Crossbills flew west over my house at 07-15hrs this morning.   (Tim H)

Friday 18th July 2008 Kingsgate Thanet

A flock of 7 Crossbills flew over as I was doing the Kingsgate moff trap this morning, a very exciting avian highlight! (F Solly)

Thursday 17th July 2008 Dumpton

Just a few snippets to report, 2 Common Whitethroats in the "Old Rose Garden" yesterday were dispersing juveniles. A Sand Martin over the garden was a long awaited addition to the "Garden List" - now up to 117 species! A good movement of Swifts early this morning; 730 counted between 07.45 & 08.30hrs - all heading SW. There were 2 adult Hobby hunting over the fields, suggesting a local pair now feeding young. A Sparrowhawk and an unseasonal Oystercatcher were the best of the rest -  P.S. A juvenile Swift, picked up by St. Luke's Church - Ramsgate, was brought into work, yesterday. I successfully released it at Winterstoke this morning. The bird flying off strongly towards Ramsgate Harbour after spending the night in a cardboard box in our kitchen! (Dylan)

Tuesday 15th July 2008 Oyster Farm at Reculver

The moffing has been rubbish lately so decided to resurrect my old birding days with a two hour stroll around the Oyster Farm at Reculver. Autumn seems to be starting with the following birds being noted: - 1 adult Golden Plover on the short grass beyond the Towers, 2 juvenile Stonechat on the wire fence just east of the Towers, dispersing locally bred birds no doubt. On the Oyster Farm Pools quite a few roosting birds with 22 Little Egrets, 21 Sandwich Terns, 10 Common Terns and a Common Sandpiper. Large gulls were plentiful and always worth a scan this time of year, nothing to exciting in the horde but a colour ringed Herring Gull with a white darvic  ring with black lettering on the right leg but I couldn't read the number. The sea was quiet but a few bits saw a Coot on the sea, the last time I saw a Coot on the sea was in the freezing winter of 1985, yes I'm getting on a bit! 1 Great Crested Grebe and 1 Common Scoter were resting on the sea and 34 Gannets were milling around offshore. A few birds moving west included several Sand Martins with the odd Swallow amongst them. (Barry H)

Monday 14th July 2008 Newland's Farm area

An early morning stroll produced very little of note. 400+ Woodpigeons are feeding on layed wheat in the fields towards Pyson's Road and a pair of Swallows are busily feeding their 2nd brood in one of the barns. A trickle of Swifts moved SW in dribs and drabs with other birds still feeding over the area, presumably the local breeders? Odd House Martins were noted, high overhead, and a few moulting adult Black-headed Gulls are a sure sign that Autumn is  on its' way. A Hobby caused a bit of excitement as it flew over the garden, just after 07.30hrs. (Dylan) 

Saturday 12th July 2008 Evening tide at Pegwell Bay

Evening tide at Pegwell, as usual the Tern flock had increased from this morning with 460 Sandwich Terns, 1 adult Roseate - different to yesterday's birds which all had long streamers, this bird without streamers and 1st Sum Common Tern. Other than that just 2 Greenshank being different from this morning. (F Solly

Saturday 12th July 2008 North Foreland

A hectic week has meant that birding time has been at a premium. A stock count, and associated chaos, meant that I spent the morning at work. So it wasn't until 16.40hrs that I managed to park the car on the cliff-top at North Foreland. It was a very pleasant 90 minutes watching the incoming tide. A gentle NW wind was never going to produce much activity yet I still recorded Gannet 41S/2N, Sandwich Tern 35+ offshore, Common Tern 6-8 offshore, Cormorant 2, Fulmar 6, Black-headed Gull 4ad/3juv, Guillemot 1S and a steady procession of Kittiwakes heading south. Great Black-backed Gulls were present out at sea and, as the tide came in, a flock of Oystercatchers flew towards their roost below North Foreland Estate. Getting back home, it was noticeable that there were large numbers of Swifts moving overhead. (Dylan

Saturday 12th July 2008 Pegwell Bay

An early morning check of Pegwell after some overnight rain in blindingly sunny conditions produced 312 Curlew, 344 Oystercatchers, 53 Redshank, 32 Dunlin, 1 Little Stint, 2 Turnstone, 3 Bar-tailed Godwits, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 12 Whimbrel and just 180 Sandwich Terns. (F Solly)

Friday 11th July 2008 Pegwell Bay

A breezy day with an evening tide, ideal conditions to check the Tern roost at Pegwell. Amongst the 328 Sandwich Terns were 3 cracking adult Roseate Terns in full plumage with 12 Common and 1 Arctic Tern. The summering waders were joined by 22 Dunlin, 8 Whimbrel and 1 Bar-tailed Godwit. 10 Little Egrets feeding in the margins were joined by an adult Spoonbill just before I left. (F Solly)

Wednesday 9th July 2008 Grove Ferry

Spent a very wet but none the less enjoyable morning in the David Feast Hide watching the 'regular cast' from 7 to 10:30am.The now quite tatty Red Crested Pochard remains & a 'territorial' pair of Common Terns once again saw off a male Marsh Harrier when it got too close! A pair of Reed  Warblers busily gathered foodstuff for their noisy brood which hung about in the tree alongside the hide. A Grasshopper Warbler could be heard reeling from time to time to the distant right of the hide. There was a regular stream of Swifts passing left of the hide, with lesser numbers of Sand Martins & occasional Swallow as well. (Ben Ring)

Monday 7th July 2008 North Foreland

An hour (18.15 - 19.15hrs) spent at the pumping station surveying the sea proved to be very enjoyable. There wasn't a great deal of activity, but the light was superb so I had great views of many of the birds passing by. My totals, in no particular order, were as follows - Gannet 8S & 5N, Kittiwake 5S, Sandwich Tern 21S, Black-headed Gull 5S, Common Tern 6S, large auk sp (Razorbill?) 1S @ 18.38hrs and Common Scoter 5S (2 male & 3 imm/female) - (Dylan)

Sunday 6th July 2008 Joss Bay to Whiteness Point

I went back to Elmwood Avenue in the hope of reading the rings of the Great Black-backed Gulls I had found yesterday. No luck, so I walked down onto Joss Bay to scan the assembled gulls on the beach. Herring, Lesser & Great Black-backed and good numbers of Black-headed Gulls (including many juveniles) all present, yet not one C-R bird could I locate. Looking across towards Kingsgate, I could see several Gannets flying close to the shoreline at Whiteness. I walked along the beach, flushing a group of 5 Whimbrel from Kingsgate Bay. I went right out onto the point and spent about an hour watching and photographing the Gannets and Sandwich Terns that were fishing around the area. A Razorbill flew west, providing an unseasonal record for Thanet. A few Turnstone, Curlew and Oystercatchers were present along the shoreline and there was a Grey Wagtail, on the seawall, as I made my way back to the car just before 08.00hrs. (Dylan)

Saturday 5th July 2008 North Foreland

It is very relaxing just sitting on the cliff-top, looking out to sea. Far too much west in the wind for a decent seawatch, I did, however, spend a very enjoyable 90 minutes at North Foreland (15.45 - 17.15hrs). I found 2 Norwegian C-R Great Black-backed Gulls on the field below the lighthouse and there was a steady trickle of large gulls along the coast. With the afternoon sun on my back I was able to record 60+ Gannet (all adults/adult type), 47 Sandwich Tern, 17 Black-headed Gull, 3 Cormorant, 5 Curlew, 6 Oystercatcher and  my first returning adult Common Gull of the autumn. The only other thing of note was a singing Reed Warbler in the carpark by Waitrose, in Ramsgate, when Bev and I went shopping this morning. (Dylan)

Friday 4th July 2008 North Foreland

Another Osprey in over the estate at 10.30hrs met by the local welcoming Party of Gulls and driven back towards coast and south. (Rae Boulden)

Friday 4th July 2008 Newland's Farm & garden

An early morning stroll around the fields proved to be rather quiet. 7 Mallard ducklings were on the farm reservoir whilst a lone House Martin hawked overhead. Plenty of signs of local breeding successes. Newly fledged Linnet, Greenfinch, Starling, House Sparrow, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Herring Gull & Great Tit all recorded as I wandered around. Standing in the garden, just after 08.00hrs, I was able to get pics of a Cockatiel that flew from the farm towards Broadstairs Cricket Ground. My 3rd record from the garden! Whether, or not, this species is a candidate for feral breeding is not known - an amusing record all the same (Dylan)

Wednesday 2nd July 2008 Late news from yesterday Shell Ness Point

Shell Ness Point: Walking in the vicinity of the point in the late afternoon, a Quail flushed from under my feet. A couple of soft, rolling flight calls and it was gone! On its' way north south...who knows? (Jason M)

Wednesday 2nd July 2008 Stodmarsh NNR & Grove Ferry

A very enjoyable 5 hours wandering around the reserve in muggy (& buggy) conditions - the rain just starting when I left at noon. A visit to the Ramp produced the Red Crested Pochard a Black tailed Godwit, 2 Green Sandpipers & a drumming Snipe. Calling in at the newly named 'David Feast Hide', a Lesser Whitethroat could be heard near the river & a Grasshopper Warbler 'reeled' to my distant right. A Common Tern saw off a female Marsh Harrier just as I was leaving. Onward towards the Marsh hide & was pleased to hear a second Grasshopper Warbler. Good to see so many fledged birds of differing species, from Great Crested Grebe to Long Tailed Tit. Always challenging at this time of year when an unknown call turns out to be a juvenile (usually a Great Tit!!). Just a single Hobby over the Lampen Wall, which probably accounted for the fact that so many damsel & dragonflies were still intact, complimenting the mainly 'whites' butterflies -spotted my first Marbled White of the year along the river.  (Ben Ring)