Sunday 29th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
Only a short session today (8.30 - 10.00) in a
blustery s/westerly with ever decreasing amounts of cloud. There wasn't much
about - 4 Little Egrets, 122 Oystercatcher, 19 Curlew,
3 Whimbrel, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 16 Ringed Plover, 2
Dunlin, 1 Greenshank, 19 Sandwich Tern, 5 Common Tern,
74 Great Black-backed Gull and the Country Park Garden Warbler
was still in full song which was nice. (Phil M)
Saturday 28th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I watched from 5.30 - 9.00 today in overcast
conditions with a brisk westerly wind seeing: 3 Little Egret, 2
Whimbrel, 10 Bar-tailed Godwits, 12 Sandwich Terns, 1
Common Tern, 3 Garden Warblers and 2 Bullfinch. (Phil M)
Friday 27th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
The weather was slightly more in favour of a few
tidal birds today being quite windy and overcast with occasional light two
minute showers early on - I watched between 5.30 and 8.30 leaving due to the
cold weather and the enticement of a nice cup of tea back in the shelter of
my house! The birding was a little disappointing given the conditions saved
only by a group of 8 Arctic Terns which arrived early morning amongst
the two more regular species of Tern. Land birds were looked for in half
hearted fashion - there were 2 Garden Warblers in Stone Lees, 4
purring Turtle Doves and a single Grey Partridge on the
Country Park otherwise it was a wash out. There were also 2 groups of
recently hatched Shelduck chicks - 15 upriver opposite Stone lees and
another 14 in the estuary mouth. The only other notes that I took were 2
Little Egret, 2 Grey Plover, 51 Sanderling, 8 Dunlin,
15 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Whimbrel, 24 Sandwich Tern and
17 Common Tern. (Phil M)
Thursday 26th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I watched between 05.00 and 10.00 today ... there
wasn't much going on though a few waders were arriving as the day wore on
and the weather deteriorated. My notes were 3 Little Egrets, 48
Mallard, 2 Whimbrel, 11 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Greenshank,
2 Grey Plover, 16 Ringed Plover, 26 Dunlin, 74
Sanderling, 1 Turnstone, 38 Sandwich Tern and 14 Common
Tern. (Phil M)
Wednesday 25th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I almost awarded myself the day off today
(without pay mind you and at the risk of a days holiday loss) but eventually
decided to go down the bay arriving at 6.30. The tide was slow going as I'd
expected looking at this weather (you never know in May mind you?) and the
bushes were even worse though a few Lesser Whitethroats were calling
from new spots and there was a new Garden Warbler singing along the
fence-line between Stone Lees and Pfizers which spurred the resident bird
into a few phrases from the middle section of Stone Lees into a bit of a
Warbler duet. Then whilst sky-watching from the knoll later on (about
09.00am) a male Montagu's Harrier showed up down near the sampher
before flying high n/west about five minutes later, the third one of spring
here and all males which is very odd? Today's bird unlike the two previous
one wasn't an adult bird. I did take a few notes which were: 7 Grey
Plover, 22 Ringed Plover, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, 3
Whimbrel, 19 Curlew, 4 Dunlin, 1 Greenshank, 14
Sanderling, 11 Sandwich Tern and 3 Common Tern. (Phil M)
Wednesday 25th May 2011 Kingsgate Bay
While working at Kingsgate the local gulls alerted me to an Osprey
coasting off shore circling to gain height and drifting north .(Rae Boulden)
Tuesday 24th May 2011 Pegwell cliff top
/ fields
I saw a single Wheatear in the
paddocks this evening plus tons of Swifts swarming about high over
the fields. A singing Reed Warbler was in the bushes behind the Shell
garage on Sunday and a couple more Spotted Flycatchers (different
locations) were found over the weekend. A pair of Yellow Wagtails has
been seen / heard most days, plus nice numbers of hirundines, Blackcaps
and Whitethroats. Still haven't nailed that late May scarcity though
! (Scott)
Tuesday 24th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
We watched the incoming tide from 13.30 to 16.00 and noted the
following: - 10 Sandwich Tern, 15 Sanderling, 13 Bar Tailed
Godwit, 6 Dunlin,6 Grey Plover, +200 Swift, also a
steady movement of Swallow ,only raptors seen:- 2 Kestrel and
1 male Marsh Harrier. There are still good numbers of Shelduck,
Oyster Catcher, Curlew, Whimbrel and Gull’s. The Hooded Crow
did make a brief appearance at around 14.15 but was chased of by a Gull. On
the way to the Bay a Turtle Dove was spotted sitting on the wires
near to the Pfizer roundabout at the Pegwell Bay end.
(Barry Woolhouse and Malcolm McVail)
Tuesday 24th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I arrived at a very gloomy and surprisingly cold
Bay at 05.10, heading straight for the tide which although high was still
showing quite a bit of mud. It was almost dead out there first thing
although as the morning progressed a few more small waders arrived. A 45
minute sojourn away from the mud flats to check out the bushes was once
again a total waste of time for birds. My counts for the day were: 2
Greylag, 34 Mallard, 2 Little Egret, 103 Oystercatcher,
9 Curlew, 2 Whimbrel, 1 Greenshank, 7 Bar-tailed
Godwit, 4 Grey Plover, 65 Ringed Plover, 30 Sanderling,
40 Dunlin, 21 Sandwich Tern and 6 Common Tern. There
were also 2 Marsh Harriers quartering the 100 acre field and 2 adult
Mediterranean Gulls flew in from inland at about 7.30. (Phil M)
Monday 23rd May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I watched between 05.15 and 08.00 this morning.
The strong wind hadn't yet picked up on arrival but it was starting to blow
a bit from the s/west as I left. The birding was generally slow though was
brightened considerably by a Purple Heron which flew north at some
time of the morning (it's a long story) and the Hooded Crow put in
another appearance in the usual spot in the salt marsh in front of the hide
but was in and out of view ... in fact more out of view than in it! The
dropping tide was slow and the bushes were free of any obvious new arrivals
on the passerine front. The only notes that I took were of 2 Little
Egrets, 42 Shelduck, 18 Mallard, 2 Common Sandpiper,
4 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Greenshank, 4 Whimbrel, 27 Ringed
Plover, 8 Grey Plover, 2 Turnstone, 1 Sanderling,
36 Dunlin, 1 Marsh Harrier, 10 Sandwich Tern and 1
Common Tern. There were also 3 Lapwing on the mud - the first
that I've seen out there since March.(Phil M)
Monday 23rd May 2011 Dumpton Thanet
This morning all 8 Blue Tit Chicks fledged
the nest box, and are doing well (Gadget)
Sunday 22nd May 2011 Pegwell Bay
A went down for three hours at 5.30 mainly
concentrating on the dropping tide but I did have a quick and fruitless
wander around some of the bushes but it seemed a waste of time this morning.
The weather was fairly calm first thing but it did get blustery during the
first hour and we even had a light and extended shower which arrived at
about 8.00am! There were a few new wading birds this morning - a single
Curlew Sandpiper the pick of the 'bunch' amongst a few Ringed Plover,
Dunlin and Sanderling. An Arctic Tern showed up over on Shellness and
there were 2 Marsh Harriers patrolling the point and 100 acre field.
My notes/counts for the morning were: 1 Little Egret, 60 Ringed
Plover, 8 Grey Plover, 1 Greenshank, 4 Whimbrel, 10
Bar-tailed Godwit, 22 Dunlin, 9 Sanderling, 1
Turnstone, 4 Sandwich Tern plus 1000+ Herring Gulls and
550 non breeding Black-headed Gulls. (Phil M)
Saturday 21st May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I popped down for a few hours early morning
getting a real surprise on my way down at just past 5.00am when I saw a Crow
feeding on a road-kill ahead of me as I cycled along the Haine Road towards
Jacky Palo's house. At first I thought it was a dead Fox then as I got
slightly closer a dead Cat .. the surprising thing was that it turned out to
be a Badger! My initial reaction was to hop off my bike and take a few
photos though in retrospect I feel a bit bad about doing so as it was a
really lovely animal (when alive anyway) and a truly gruesome sight. I feel
quite uncomfortable about the whole episode as I sit here writing this
e-mail - the image of those photos indelibly stuck in my head. The photos
look a lot worse than it did in real time anyway? Surprise two came when I
cycled home to find the Badger was gone? I'm glad it was to be honest as it
wasn't a nice thing to come across. I got a third surprise when I got down
as far as the back of the garage where a Short-eared Owl was hunting
over the salt marsh - it's quite late for such a bird here. Down in the bay
the tide was dropping but not too far out for viewing. I was quite surprised
(a fourth surprise ... its surprising how many surprises you can get on a
day out locally isn't it?) by the amount of migrant waders seeing as we're
in the middle of settled weather and even better amongst the small stuff
across on the point I picked out another Kentish Plover, a male bird
at 6.00am - the third of spring. I saw on birdguides weekly update yesterday
that they considered the other two Pegwell Kentish Plovers may possibly have
been down to just one bird? Not only were the sightings 39 days apart but
the one on April 5th was a male and the one on May 14th a female! Of course
they weren't to know this given my rather lackadaisical attitude towards
reporting such things but spring Pegwell KP's very rarely linger longer than
a couple of tides anyway. They also said that the May 14th bird was the
third Pegwell one of spring (which it wasn't) though they may have been
referring to a possible sighting in-between the first two birds? I suppose
that I am partly to blame, not being enamoured with phoning out every time I
find anything? I'm not moaning anyway - it just made me laugh. Pegwell is
the best place in Britain for Kentish Plover sightings which is something
that seems to have not been picked up by the powers that be? They are annual
visitors both spring and autumn and even though numbers have declined this
past decade they are still to be expected when the area is getting good
coverage as it is at the moment. I once saw eight birds out in the bay one
September day not too long ago and other flocks of up to five birds have
occurred during autumn. The bushes were quiet once again - the only obvious
new arrivals being a few more Reed Warblers. I was home at just after
8.30 - I didn't fancy the crowds on such a glorious sunny weekend day today.
I did take a few notes/counts which were: 1 Brent, 1 Little Egret,
83 Ringed Plover, 5 Grey Plover, 17 Dunlin, 39
Sanderling, 2 Greenshank, 1 Whimbrel, 2 Bar-tailed
Godwit, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Garden Warbler, 1
Nightingale etc. (Phil M)
Friday 20th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
Another hard day out - the bushes being virtually
dead as a dodo other than the obvious. The Nightingale and 2 or 3
Turtle Doves seem to be holding territories and many of the common birds
are fledging young now. I went down later than usual intending to try a
raptor watch and wait for the tide to arrive (due in at about 1.00pm) and
started making tracks back towards the knoll for peak souring hours of
mid/late morning. It didn't take long to get the first raptor of the day - a
Honey Buzzard which was picked up circling inland and was in view
between about 10.15 and 10.20 when I lost it whilst messing about with my
phone. Craig arrived at about 10.30 and almost immediately spotted the bird
once again flying towards Ramsgate where it was lost to view about 10.35 or
thereabouts. We did also get 3 Common Buzzards and 3 Marsh
Harriers - all local birds and the tide produced 2 Greenshank, 13
Bar-tailed Godwits and 11 Grey Plovers. (Phil M)
Thursday 19th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I went down early and stayed until one o'clock
and Craig, who arrived late morning stayed on and watched the dropping tide.
After two flyover Crossbills at silly o'clock I saw naff all until
midday when we saw single Marsh Harrier and a Common Buzzard -
both local birds presumably. A flock of 8 Mediterranean Gulls flew
north just after midday too which was nice. It was cloudy early morning and
there had been rain overnight so today was particularity disappointing on
the bird front ... not that I care that much, it just seemed as if we might
get something today as it felt a bit birdy? Mine and Craig's combined counts
were: 4 Little Egret, 8 Mute Swan, 2 Greylag, 2
Whimbrel, 1 Greenshank, 12 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1
Black-tailed Godwit, 11 Grey Plover, 31 Ringed Plover, 8
Sanderling, 6 Dunlin, 8 Sandwich Tern and 2 Common
Tern. (Phil M)
Thursday 19th May 2011 Kingsgate
Area
Top quality spring birding at Kingsgate this morning. A Canada Goose
circled Whiteness a couple of times before flying off strongly west and
there was a drake Mandarin on the reservoir - not surprisingly the
first for the area. (F Solly)
Wednesday 18th May 2011 Worth Area
As
reported yesterday the Woodchat Shrike was still showing well but at
distance, some record photographs were taken but the weather conditions made
it difficult for us, (Gadget)
Wednesday 18th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
A cloudy blustery sort of day out today - I
checked most of the bushes and then watched the incoming tide before coming
home. It was very quiet and I mean very quiet - a trickle of Swifts
overhead a single Black Tailed Godwit and a Marsh Harrier the
highlights. I took a few notes which were 2 Little Egrets, 1 Brent,
6 Bar-tailed Godwit, 5 Grey Plover, 1 Ringed Plover, 2
Whimbrel, 4 Sanderling, 15 Sandwich Tern and 5
Common Terns. (Phil M)
Tuesday 17th May 2011 King George VI Park &
Ramsgate Cemetery
After a couple of days of trying to get a good look at the spotted
woodpecker in King George VI park I managed to find the tree where they are
nesting. Saw both the male and female Great Spotted Woodpecker
feeding some very noisy young...awesome. Also saw the Green Woodpecker
again in Ramsgate cemetery. Brilliant flash of yellow on its rump when in
flight. Thought I might have a chance of spotting some Crossbills in the
pine trees there as you've reported some have been seen flying in the area
but no luck yet. (Keith Ross)
Tuesday 17th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I went down and watched between 07.00 and 11.30
and Craig stayed on until 2.45 today. It was quiet over all but good numbers
of Swifts were moving - that was about it mind you. Other than a Common
Buzzard south at 09.20 the only other noteworthy things were 2
Bullfinch in Stone Lees, 2 Black-tailed Godwits and a Hobby
that Craig had after I left. The other notes for the day included: 4
Little Egret, 3 Whimbrel, 8 Bar-tailed Godwit, 9 Grey
Plover, 10 Ringed Plover, 19 Sanderling, 17 Dunlin,
1 Common Sandpiper, 18 Sandwich Tern, 2 Common Tern,
120 Swallow, 59 House Martin, 610 Swifts and there was
a new Garden Warbler singing from the hover port trees to go with the
resident one in Stone Lees. (Phil M)
Monday 16th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
The entire area was covered this morning between
about 05.00 and 11.30 but other than a Spotted Flycatcher on the
hover port it was pretty much dead as a dodo on the new arrival front. The
tide wasn't much better - 72 Ringed Plover, c10 Grey Plover, 7
Bar-tailed Godwit, 3 Whimbrel, 20 Sanderling, 10
Dunlin, 1 Turnstone, 1 Brent, 10 Sandwich Tern, 3
Common Tern and 3 Little Tern being about it. There were also
4+ Turtle Dove, 1 Cuckoo, 1 Garden Warbler, 1
Nightingale, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Hobby, 2 Peregrine
and 2 Yellow Wagtails. (Phil M)
Sunday 15th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
Craig and I watched between 5.30 and 9.30 - the
tide being the focus of most of our attention given the blustery n/westerly
which made the bushes quite hard work. There were 2 new Garden Warblers
(as well as the resident bird in Stone Lees) plus the Nightingale and
overhead a few Swallow, House Martin and Swifts went through as did a single
Yellow Wagtail and another flock of 12 Crossbills which flew
low north over Stone Lees and off along the cycle path. The tide was fairly
average - 100 Ringed Plovers, 6 Grey Plover, 40 Sanderling,
45 Dunlin, 2 Whimbrel, 12 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2
Greylag and most unusual of all there were 3 more Mute Swans
sitting out on the mud when we arrived. At 8.20 Craig picked out a Hooded
Crow feeding in the salt marsh with a dozen or so Carrion Crows - a very
good bird for Pegwell. (Phil M)
Saturday 14th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I arrived at 5.30 only intending to wait for the
tide to arrive and head for home mid morning. I wasn't expecting much given
the weather (very cold, very clear and a westerly breeze) but it turned out
far better than I'd expected. The bushes were so bird free that for the
first half an hour I wandered around the hover port taking photos of the
plant life - I had seen a 'bunch' of 6 Avocets out near the river
first scan (but not after) otherwise the mud looked as I'd anticipated ...
dead! By about 6.15 or so I arrived at the Country Park and spotted a few
newly arrived waders out in the estuary mouth and eventually they built up
to a nice little gathering which contained two interesting things - firstly
a female Kentish Plover at 7.20 then a nicely marked Temminck's
Stint about half an hour later. The total mud flat counts ended up at 2
Brent, 4 Whimbrel, 6 Knot, 2 Greenshank, 79
Sanderling, 30 Dunlin, 257 Ringed Plover, 10 Grey
Plover, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 11 Bar-tailed Godwit, 4
Turnstone, 4 Sandwich Tern and 8 Common Terns. I left just
after 9.30 but bumped into Craig on his way down up near the Viking Ship so
went back with him and we carried on (mainly raptor watching) until almost
midday. All the small waders had flown off with the tide (mainly high
n/west) but we did see a Common Sandpiper and very probably a Little
Ringed Plover which flew off with two Ringos. The best thing we saw was a
fantastic flock of 35+ Crossbills (sorry Bead's) which flew down the
cycle path towards the car park then headed off north overland - the biggest
spring flock either of us have ever seen. We did also get a single Common
Buzzard and the other flyby counts included 1 Yellow Wagtail, 120
Swifts, 80+ Swallows and 72 House Martins. The only
other thing of note were 11+ Little Egrets scattered between the
Garage Pool and the river.
Saturday 14th May 2011 Dumpton Thanet
While doing the moth trap this morning, a Cuckoo
flew over the field behind my house then landed in one of the hawthorn
bushes and started to call, other bits noted: 9 Starlings, 3
Blackbirds, 5 House Sparrows, 4 Greenfinches, 4 Blue
Tits, 2 Great Tits, 5 Collard Doves and a Wren,
(Gadget)
Saturday 14th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
Started at 5.45am with a female Northern Wheatear on the West Cliff,
Ramsgate and cycled to the far end of the Hoverpad up to 8am. 2 Spotted
Flycatcher, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 10+ Common Whitethroat,
6+ Blackcap, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, a
steady trickle of Swallows heading North low over the bay plus a few
Swifts. A pair of unidentified Geese flew high down the Stour Valley
and out over the bay then about an hour later a pair of Barnacle Geese
appeared flying low along the edge of the hoverpad before gaining height and
heading inland. Also 7 Mute Swans flew in and landed in the river.
Other bits noted were 1 Little Egret, 100+ Ringer Plover, 60+
Dunlin, 4 Grey Plover, 5 Sanderling, 10 Bar-tailed
Godwit, 1 Whimbrel, 1 distant Commic Tern and 3
Sandwich Tern. (Nick Lever)
Friday 13th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I watched between 5.30 and 12.00 seeing: 3
Little Egret, 1 Mute Swan, 2 Brent, 1 Hobby, 1
Avocet, 5 Whimbrel, 10 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Greenshank,
6 Grey Plover, 40 Ringed Plover, 1 Little Ringed Plover,
2 Knot, 22 Dunlin, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Little
Stint, 1 Ruff, 30 Sandwich Tern, 3 Common Tern, 4
Turtle Dove, 1+ Cuckoo, 100+ Swallow, 1 Sand Martin,
24 House Martin, 50 Swift and 1 Nightingale. The bushes
were amazingly hard work once again ... is spring in this regard over with
already? The only other bit of local news is that Craig had two Honey
Buzzards fly north after I left yesterday. (Phil M)
Friday 13th May 2011 Ramsgate Canterbury Rd East
Another Spotted Flycatcher in the trees along the track next to
the Shell garage on Canterbury Rd East this morning. (Scott)
Thursday 12th May 2011
Ramsgate Late News
A Honey Buzzard
flew north-west low over Ramsgate at lunch-time giving very nice views as it
did so, (F Solly)
Thursday 12th May 2011 Pegwell clifftop
My evening stroll around the cliff top
delivered a Spotted Flycatcher on the fence of the paddock next to
the farm garden. (Scott)
Thursday 12th
May2011 Ramsgate Area
A very low Red
Kite being mobbed by parakeets in George V park Ramsgate at
19-30hrs. Which then flew off towards the Ramsgate Cemetery catching the
thermals. (Becky J)
Thursday 12th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I watched between 5.30 and 10.00 (ish) and it was
very quiet on the land though there were a few bits and pieces seen on the
incoming and dropping tides. The Spoonbill was still there early on
(fourth day) but possibly not later on and amongst a few newly arrived
wading birds were a nice adult Curlew Sandpiper, a Little Stint
and 16 more Black-tailed Godwits. There were also 2 Mute Swans,
3 Brent, 5 Greylag, 2 Gadwall and 3 Arctic Terns.
Overhead a trickle of Swallows, Swifts (100+ today) also a
group of 12 House Martins, the most of the whole spring as yet plus 3
Yellow Wagtails flew north but that was it. The Nightingale
and 2 or 3 Cetti's Warblers were also heard but none seen. Other
common stuff included 5 Little Egrets, 29 Dunlin, 2
Sanderling, 12 Ringed Plover, 2 Grey Plover, 17
Bar-tailed Godwit, 9 Whimbrel and 2 Turtle Dove. (Phil M)
Thursday 12th May 2011 Royal
Esplanade Ramsgate
Only escaped for half
and hour this lunch time to meet John B and show him a Moth that Francis
Solly had trap earlier in the week, while we were standing around up at the
Royal Esplanade 5 Common Swifts and a Sparrowhawk flew over
head, (Gadget)
Wednesday 11th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I watched between 5.30 and about 11.00
(sky-watching until just after 10.30) and covered all of the area except for
the cliff top and the farm today. Whilst overall it was like pulling teeth
trying to find anything newly arrived I did get two stunning birds today -
first a male Golden Oriole which was singing/screeching in the White
Poplar stand at the south end of the Country Park for ten minutes before
heading off low across the Country Park and about five minutes after it flew
off as I entered Stone Lees I heard an invisible Bee-eater calling
overhead, which called quite a few times but I could see absolutely nothing!
After a frantic 'look' in all directions I decided to go back out of Stone
Lees to look from the higher ground above the steps and eventually saw the
bird flying around high over the 100 acre field before heading off down
towards Princes Golf Course! After the Purple Heron yesterday I'm thinking
of re-naming the area as Med-well! Yesterdays Spoonbill was ever
present, hanging around the river in the main and 4 Black-tailed Godwits
arrived from upriver during the morning. My other notes for the day were: 2
Little Egret, 1 Brent, 4 Greylag, 25 Whimbrel, 6
Bar-tailed Godwit, 4 Dunlin, 6 Common Sandpiper, 2
Ringed Plover, 21 Sanderling, 16 Sandwich Tern, 1
Common Tern, 9 Little Tern, 2 Hobby, 5 Common Buzzard,
12 Swift, 54 Swallow, 3 House Martin, 1 Nightingale
etc. (Phil M)
Tuesday 10th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I watched between 5.20 and 10.30 today - the
bushes were very quiet, the only new grounded migrant that I saw was a
Wheatear that I spotted on Country Park otherwise it was very quiet.
Some other birds made up for it though - an adult Purple Heron flew
low north then n/east out to sea/over Ramsgate and there were 3
Spoonbills today - yesterdays bird out on the mud plus a pair of 1st
year birds flew north west high over the Country Park. To top off a nice
morning a Black-throated Diver was feeding offshore for at least half
an hour as the tide dropped - I've seen as many Purple Herons here in spring
as I have Black-throated Divers I reckon? The only other stuff of note were
2 Avocets, 1 Black-tailed Godwit and 'the' Nightingale.
I took a few other counts too, 1 Brent, 2 Greylag, 1 Common
Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank, 14 Whimbrel, 4 Bar-tailed
Godwit, 2 Grey Plover, 14 Ringed Plover, 41 Sandwich
Terns and another 19 Jackdaws went south again today ... a bit
late for migration isn't it? (Phil M)
Monday 9th May 2011 King George VI park & Ramsgate Cemetery
Recent sightings in King George VI park include 2 Jays, Long-tailed
tits, Blackcap, Kestrel also my first ever sighting of a Green
Woodpecker in Ramsgate Cemetery made my day. (Keith Ross)
Monday 9th May 2011 Pegwell and cliff top
I had a day off work today for some birding
which was very enjoyable. Just common stuff - the only notable thing was a
Spoonbill which was showing nicely on the outgoing tide line at
Pegwell this evening. Viewed from by the hide until about 6:30 pm. (Scott)
Monday
9th May 2011 St peters, Broadstairs Thanet
Late News
A Neighbour in Mayville Rd, St peters, Broadstairs had
this bird in his garden on the 7th May, we think its a California Quail,
from North America, I'm guessing this type of bird cant fly that kind of
distant so most likely an escaped from somewhere.. Which ever it was still
nice to see, (Mark Milham)
Monday 9th May 2011 North
Foreland
This morning there again seemed to be an influx of Whitethroats
with several singing males. Overhead 1 Siskin, 1 Tree Pipit
and a late Brambling present at the top of Elmwood Avenue. (Simon
Mount)
Monday 9th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I awoke at stupid o'clock and went out to check
my moth traps to see there had been a bit of rain at some time overnight -
though as I would have been unconscious between about 10.30 and 4.00am I
knew not at what time? I got down the bay at 5.10 - the mud flat was quiet
(5 Black-tailed Godwits the only noteworthy things) but there were a
few newly arrived passerines around the Country Park which included 3 nice
Whinchat's and 2 Spotted Flycatchers. I also saw 2
Wheatears between Cliffsend and Pegwell. Overhead 2 Yellow Wagtails
and a Tree Pipit flew north early on otherwise it was quiet poor. I
did sky watch until about 11.30 but apart from 20 Jackdaws south (at
at odd time of year?) plus a few Swallows and Swifts which
included a flock of 20 birds feeding high up underneath a bit of white
cumulus, it was dead. My other notes were: 1 Brent, 2 Greylag,
3 Greenshank (inc 1 taken by a Peregrine), 19 Whimbrel, 28
Curlew, 32 Ringed Plover, 13 Grey Plover, 78 Dunlin,
8 Bar-tailed Godwit, 20 Sandwich Tern, 5 Turtle Dove,
2+ Cuckoo etc. (Phil M)
Monday 9th May 2011 North Foreland Golf-Course
Friday 6th May there was a single Moorhen on the reservoir along
the 7th fairway at NFGC, my first there. Unexpected but less so
than the one in my garden a few years ago. They do seem to get about.
(Brian Short)
Sunday 8th May 2011 North Foreland
Did not manage to get out until late morning. Migrants recorded today
were 2 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Redpoll, 2
Siskins and 2 Whinchat. A few Swifts and Swallows
moving through as well. (Simon Mount)
Sunday 8th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I watched between 05.00 and 10.00 leaving just
before the Sunday rush which coincided with the cloud breaking and the sun
breaking through so I shot off as I would have had my pants been on fire.
The early morning weather was flat calm, with much moody looking cloud and
the odd spit and spot of rain but not the forecast overnight rain that I was
hoping for and had jumped out of bed at just past 4.00 in hope of a wader
arrival. Anyway - it did feel really birdy but as it happened the weather
was far better for mosquito's than birds today. I did get a few bits - there
were 18 Common Sandpipers on the hover port apron during my first
stop (21 in all today) and there were singles of Ring Ouzel and
Blue Headed Wagtail on the Country Park. Otherwise a five hour trudge
was broken by bouts of watching the ever dropping tide plus a bit of a
natter with mister Shrimpfarmer who arrived at some point. There were a few
new Reed Warblers (at least 15 today) since yesterday plus a few
Swifts and Swallows were seen ... etc ... yawn! My notes for the
day included: 2 Little Egret, 1 Brent, 2 Greylag, 76
Ringed Plover, 7 Grey Plover, 30 Dunlin, 2 Greenshank,
23 Bar-tailed Godwit, 8 Whimbrel, 52 Sanderling, 8
Sandwich Tern, 3 Common Tern, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 4
Turtle Dove, 2+ Cuckoo, 1 Hobby etc. (Phil M)
Saturday 7th May 2011 St Peters Broadstairs
A day gardening. I was surprised to find a Willow
Warbler in the young ash at the bottom of the garden and later a
Garden Warbler singing. (It's not much of a tree!) Swifts were
passing through followed by a Hobby. (John Carnell)
Saturday 7th May 2011 North Foreland
An obvious arrival of Swifts this morning with 11 seen. Other
migrants included singles of Willow Warbler, Wheatear, Sand Martin, Tree
Pipit and Spotted Flycatcher. A couple of Mute Swans flew
through and a Whimbrel. On the golf course 2 Yellow Wagtails.
(Simon Mount)
Saturday 7th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
An absolutely beautiful morning weather-wise
which felt really birdy until about mid morning when all enthusiasm
collapsed as it does around the circus that is a weekend day at Pegwell. I
awoke just after 4.00am and hoping for rain and a drop of waders down the
bay, poked my nose out of the window to see the ground was bone dry - there
was a chance of rain but there certainly hadn't been a drop overnight which
was disappointing. As I was up and very awake I decided to go down very
early anyway, arriving at 5.00 in cloudy conditions that did give way to a
few very light showers up until about 8.30 or so, also a stunning double
Rainbow which was one of the best that I can remember in years? The morning
dropping tide was ruined by some bloke in a micro light who was flying back
and forth across the bay very early on in the morning once again. There
didn't look to be too much out there but there was a slight increase in
waders - 100 Bar-tailed Godwits were hanging around at first light, a
flock of 7 Common Sandpipers flew out of the river (8 in all today)
and amongst a scattering of smaller stuff the Ringed Plover count
rose to 140 birds before the tide dropped too far to take any more counts.
There were also 3 Greenshank, 60+Curlew, 14 Whimbrel, 9
Grey Plover, 16 Knot and best of all a stunning flock of 70
Black-tailed Godwits which flew in from inland about mid morning. I
think it's the most I've ever seen at Pegwell - certainly a spring record
for me anyway and possibly an area record for the time of year? Other odds
and ends included the last of the Brent (a single bird), 1 Greylag,
2 Common Tern and about 4 Little Egrets. The early morning
overhead condition encouraged a few more Swifts into view (31 north
today) and about 40 Swallows were seen during the morning before we
left at about 11.30. I combed the bushes to death but try as hard as I might
I couldn't find anything out of the ordinary today. The other things that I
took note of were 1 Cetti's Warbler, 3 Sedge Warbler, 10+
Reed Warbler, 6 Willow Warbler, 20 Blackcap, 1 Garden
Warbler, 40 Whitethroat, 8 Lesser Whitethroat, 1
Nightingale, 3 Yellow Wagtail - north, 3+ Cuckoo and 3
Turtle Doves. (Phil M)
Saturday 7th May 2011 Garden Dumpton Thanet
Sitting in the garden this afternoon just relaxing like one dose on day's
like today, I was pleasantly surprised with 8 House Sparrows, 5
Starlings, 3 Blackbirds 5 Greenfinches,4 Blue Tits,
2 Great Tits, and 4 Collard Doves, The House Sparrows being
the biggest number this year and a welcome return to my garden, (Gadget)
Friday 6th May 2011 Stodmarsh NNR
A quiet stroll from Grove ferry to Stodmarsh Village
this evening. Highlights were a pair of Barn Owls hunting together
and two Hobby. (John Carnell)
Friday 6th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
The long trudge was followed by the long stare
into the sky session - but little was seen today even though the weather was
lovely. I arrived at 6.15 and left by 11.30 seeing: 2 Little Egret, 1
Brent, 57 Shelduck, 1 Merlin, 1 Hobby, 2
Common Buzzard, 2 Marsh Harrier, 3 Greenshank, 70
Bar-tailed Godwit, 9 Whimbrel, 14 Sanderling, 9 Dunlin,
6 Knot, 16 Grey Plover, 20 Ringed Plover, 1+ Cuckoo,
1 Short-eared Owl, 3 Turtle Dove, 1 Nightingale, 1
Cetti's Warbler, 1 Tree Pipit, 40 Swallow, 12 House
Martin and 6 Swift etc. (Phil M)
Thursday 5th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
Another 6.15 - 12.30 session was spent mooching
around the area prior to the obligatory sky watch from mid morning. Top bird
of the day was a nice low level Red-rumped Swallow flying northwards
that I picked up ahead of me as I made my way out of Stone Lees at 8.10 -
other non-daily stuff included a Short-eared Owl across on the point
plus single flyover Merlin, Redpoll and Crossbill but
little else. The Bar-tailed Godwit flock was down to 230 today - they
will all be gone soon by the looks of it? Craig also had a Raven up
near the sunken garden on his way down after work. Other notes for the day
included 3 Little Egret, 6 Sparrowhawk, 2 Peregrine, 1
Hobby, 20 Curlew, 10 Whimbrel, 5 Greenshank, 12
Redshank, 25 Grey Plover, 70 Ringed Plover, 9 Dunlin,
2 Sanderling, 1 Turnstone, 2 Turtle Dove, 5 Cuckoo,
2 Yellow Wagtail, 30+ Swallow, 3 Swift, 1
Nightingale, 12 Blackcap, 35+ Whitethroat, 6 Lesser
Whitethroat, 3 Sedge Warbler, 6+ Reed Warbler, 2
Cetti's Warbler, 6 Willow Warbler etc. (Phil M)
Thursday 5th May 2011 St Peters Broadstairs
At 09.25hrs an Osprey flying at Gull annoyance
height over the back garden, heading east. (John Carnell)
Wednesday 4th May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I arrived around 06.30 and did the entire circuit
before scanning the tide and sky from 9.00 with Craig who just arrived after
work. The bushes were fairly quiet overall but a bit of quality in the shape
of two Ring Ouzels were seen on the cliff top the only other new
things of this sort were 2 Willow Warblers on the cliff top then a
new Sedge Warbler and a Turtle Dove on the Country Park. 2
Yellow Wagtails, 2 Swifts, c20 Swallows, 3 House Martin
and 2 Hobby's went over too. The sky-watch was half reasonable today -
an Osprey flew west inland at 8.50 then a juvenile Rough-legged
Buzzard was seen circling between the Country Park and Manston at 10.20
then again at 11.35. Other raptors included about 10 Common Buzzards
(up to six together) and a single migrant Marsh Harrier went north
then thought better of it and shot through south. The tide turned up 2
Greenshank, 10+ Whimbrel, 670 Bar-tailed Godwit, 15
Sanderling, 40 Knot, 40 Grey Plover, 20 Ringed Plover
and a pair of Golden Plovers flew in from inland at one point. Other
bits included 2 Cuckoo, 8 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Garden
Warbler, 2 Cetti's Warbler and the Nightingale was singing
again from the same spot in the ditch round by Stone Lees again this
morning. (Phil M)
Wednesday 4th May 2011 North Foreland
Some observations from North Foreland today: At midday the gulls all kicked
up a fuss, alerting me to a party of 5 Buzzards flying out to sea.
Fifteen minutes later they were followed by, of all things, a Lancaster
Bomber flying out from Manston (photo of that on my Flickr page). Other
notables: two Wheatears at the lighthouse, at least 6 Swallows, and
two very vocal Whitethroats in the scrub beside the cycle path (Mark
Kilner)
Wednesday 4th May 2011
St Peters Broadstairs
Another flock of 7 Common Buzzards over the back
garden today at 1.15 A single bird flew west breaking away from the main
flock that drifted westward at quite a height. A Sparrowhawk joined
them for a while. (John Carnell)
Wednesday 4th May 2011 Ramsgate Area
4 Common Swifts over Duncan Rd this evening after 3 on 30th April
and 4 on 1st May. I also saw a distant Bonxie from the Harbour
Lights on 2nd May. (Nick Lever)
Tuesday 3rd May 2011 Ramsgate Thanet
Woke up early this morning to the rattling of a Lesser Whitethroat
in my tiny backyard in Ramsgate town centre. He stayed in the brambles (I'm
not much of a gardener) for at least a half hour. I wouldn't normally report
something like this but I considered it quite surprising. I imagine the bird
must have just flown in - if so, he's pretty late! (Richard Jermy)
Tuesday 3rd May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I watched between 7.45 and 11.30 today - the wind
was still very strong but not quite as bad as it was yesterday, still too
windy for any land birds though. I did have a walk around most of the bushes
then watched the tide and the sky with Craig plus there was a cameo
appearance from Mister no-legs himself - our Gadget! Other than 1100
Bar-tailed Godwits and 4 Avocets we saw very little today the
notes being: 2 Little Egrets, 2 Brent, 9 Whimbrel, 2+
Greenshank, 50 Grey Plover, 20 Ringed Plover, 70
Knot, 12 Dunlin, 6 Sanderling, 8 Turnstone, 10+
Swallows, 4 Sand Martin, 6 Swift and 1 Garden Warbler.
There at least 6 Common Buzzards floating about here and there today
- perhaps more? (Phil M
Monday 2nd May 2011 Pegwell Bay
We watched between 7.00 and 11.30 this morning in
gale force n/east winds which made birding very tricky today. We did look
around the cliff top, hover port and Stone Lees but saw very little but
obviously much of the area was completely blown out. The mud flat was
littered with Bar-tailed Godwits once again and a few other waders were seen
and (rough) counts taken which were: 140 Oystercatchers, 4
Greenshank, 1150 Bar-tailed Godwits, 40 Knot, 30 Dunlin,
12 Whimbrel, 75 Grey Plover, 50 Ringed Plovers, 1
Little Egret, 2 Brent, 2 Little Tern, 1 Marsh Harrier,
2 Peregrine and 1 Hobby. A few Swallows and House
Martins went north too but not very many. (Phil M)
Sunday 1st May 2011 Ramsgate Area
Late News
Whilst walking from prestige to Pyson's road
was greeted with fantastic sightings of 14 Common Buzzards soaring
towards bookers on Pyson's road also 3 Swallows gliding over the
fields hunting insects. (Stephen Moulder)
Sunday 1st May 2011 Pegwell Bay
Don't know how rare a sighting this is but I spotted a Wryneck
perched on a fence post on one of the paths behind the bird hide on Sunday
afternoon. First time I've ever seen one so was quite a surprise and not on
the board of recent sightings. Only had time to focus my binoculars when it
few off into the bushes so sadly no photo. Also spotted a nice Yellow
Wagtail in the horse fields on the way back to Ramsgate and 2 Grey
Partridges in the field next to the Pegwell hotel. On the Saturday saw 2
Avocets close to the bird hide and hundreds of Bar-tailed Godwits.
(Keith Ross)
Sunday 1st May 2011 North Foreland
There seemed to be a few extra Whitethroats and Lesser
Whitethroats around this morning. Also 1 Willow Warbler and 2
Hobby. A lone Swift struggled against the stiff NE wind and on
the golf course there were 4 Yellow Wagtails. The best birds were a
Little Grebe present and 3 Green Sandpipers that flew through
heading NW. (Simon Mount)
Sunday 1st May 2011 Pegwell Bay
I had a lay in today so didn't go down until just
after 8.00 fully intending to go down watch the tide seeing as the wind was
very strong and from the east today and come straight back home. Luckily
after seeing how far out the incoming tide was I decided to have a quick
gander off the hover pad where after a few scans of the mud and a listen
around the reed bed and under-cliff I noticed three large raptors, which I
presumed to be 3 Common Buzzards heading across towards me from the
direction of the Country Park - the first one that I got the binoculars on
was a Rough Legged Buzzard the other two birds as it turned out were
Marsh Harriers. As I hurriedly searched about in my pocket trying to
get my camera out whilst still keeping the Buzzard in view I lost sight of
the bird but after a frantic scan where every raptor that I kept seeing was
one of the 2 Marsh harriers over and over again I picked the Buzzard up
flying a bit higher in the sky flying west across the Country Park inland.
Unfortunately it kept on going in that direction and was lost to view so
after sending out a few texts I carried on. There were many hundreds of
Bar-tailed Godwits out on the mud (800 today) plus slightly better
numbers of Grey Plovers (120+) and Ringed Plovers (61). There
were also 9 Greenshanks, 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Green
Sandpiper, 40 Knot, 15 migrant Turnstone, 6 Whimbrel
etc. I didn't see much going on overhead - 20 or so Swallows and
singles on House Martin, Swift and Tree Pipit went
north but I packed up at about 11.15 and had a wander back with Francis who
like me had had enough for the morning after the tide came up. The bushes
were far too blown out to bother with this morning. (Phil M)
Sunday 1st May 2011
Broadstairs Thanet
12 Common Buzzard circling over
Detling Ave Broadstairs at 12.35 pm heading towards King George VI Ramsgate,
(William Miles)
Sunday 1st May 2011 Ash Levels
A pleasant time spent down on the Ash Levels this
morning, with Lot of Whitethroats and at Least 5 Lesser
Whitethroats along the tracks, Sedge Warblers and Reed
Buntings were in and along most if not all the dikes, 4 Mistle
Thrushes along with 3 Fieldfare and 3 Ring Ouzels were out
in one of the fields, Linnets, Chaffinches, and Yellow Hammers
were also seen, Yellow Wagtails and Skylarks are in very good
numbers, there were a scattering of Swallows and my first Swift
of the year, 3 Cuckoos were heard and only 1 Grey Heron was
around, as I was driving off the levels 2 Grey Partridge were on the
track, (Gadget)
