Dungeness (5 October 2024)
An excellent trip with fine, warm weather which may not have been brilliant for sea watching but which suited us! Our first stop was Dungeness steam railway station area where we were kindly met by Owen Leyshon. He’s been warden of the Dungeness Estate for 27 years. His briefing on what was around encouraged us to head inland along the power station fence to the scrub around the Polish war memorial, rather than doing a sea watch. It paid off and we found a Whinchat posing nicely, a Wheatear, dozens of Meadow Pipits, Pied Wagtails, Chiffchaffs and Stonechats all feeding on what was obviously a bounty of invertebrate life on the plants and stony ground. The number of hunting Kestrels in the area was also impressive. Our best find was a female Black Redstart on a chalet roof. They are around all year but finding them always feels like an achievement. A local birder pointed out a Peregrine pressed tightly against a pylon strut and later one called loudly incessantly and flew around the power station until a larger female appeared. A pair of Ravens also flew in display over the power station and were visible from the station car park. A view of a Buzzard, a Raven and a Magpie perched on telegraph wires (telegraph post in the Buzzard’s case) really showed the difference in their sizes. A steady trickle of Swallows headed south all day, feeding on their way, and accompanied by House Martins and the occasional Sand Martin.
Not wishing to miss a glimpse of the sea, a few of us did a quick sea watch while others enjoyed coffee and Ravens. It was quiet but still nice to see Gannets fishing, Harbour Porpoises and a group of 17 Common Scoter flying past in convoy. By now it was 12:50 so if we wanted any chance of seeing different species we had to move on. Off we drove to the Arc Pits on the RSPB reserve and had our lunch in Hansen hide whilst wildfowl watching…or at least those people who hadn’t already eaten their sandwiches did. The highlights here were a Black-necked Grebe in non-breeding plumage, a fly-in Great White Egret and lurking Snipe. Shoveler, some still partly in eclipse, seemed to be the main ducks with a scattering of Teal, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Mallard and Wigeon. Lapwing and Cormorants sat on the islands along with the waterfowl. Little Grebe scooted around near the hide. A distant Marsh Harrier was seen, Cetti’s Warblers were heard and again there were lots of Chiffchaff.
By now we were really running short of time so headed for the main reserve, spotting a Cattle Egret from the bus. First stop, Dennis’s hide with views over Burrowes Pit. Here we struck lucky and found 3 larophiles (gull nerds), who patiently pointed out 2 Caspian Gulls: a 3rd calendar year bird hatched in 2022 and a 1st winter hatched this year. They looked surprisingly different! Great Black-backed Gulls dwarfed them and Herring Gulls made them harder to pick out. If you weren’t into your gulls Golden Plovers, more hirundine, a Redshank, Shelduck, 2 more Great Whites and a Little Egret offered alternatives.
At 3pm we finally made it into the Visitor Centre just at the moment that the regular Glossy Ibis landed on the island, right in front of the window! After showing us it’s iridescent green and purply-brown patches it flew on to the island in front of Frith screen and gave us second views. News suggested that for once there was something to see from Christmas Dell hide because vegetation had been cut back and indeed there were at least 19 Snipe clustered among the cut stems. Back on the path many more Chiffchaff shot back and forth between the bushes, delighting Clare. The cattle on the Hayfields area were accompanied by 4 easy to view Cattle Egrets but they don’t raise the same excitement that they did even a couple of years ago. Some of us walked quickly on to Denge Marsh hide. We didn’t add any extra birds, but ongoing island creation was interesting to see and had already attracted gulls and Lapwing. From here it was a brisk walk back to the car park for our 4:50pm departure because the main gates closed at 5pm! We’d had an excellent variety of birds and especially good views of the Whinchat the Glossy Ibis. Thanks as ever to Huw for driving.
by Rebecca Dunne
Species: Black Redstart, Black-necked Grebe, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Caspian Gull, Cattle Egret, Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Common Scoter, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Feral Pigeon, Gadwall, Gannet, Glossy Ibis, Golden Plover, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Raven, Redshank, Robin, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Snipe, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Teal, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Wheatear, Whinchat, Woodpigeon, Wren