Dungeness ... Thursday 5th May 2011

I started the day with a very productive seawatch from 6.20 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. at Dungeness Point.
The highlights were 15 POMARINE SKUAS (13 pale- and two dark-phased), a dark-phased Arctic Skua, two summer-plumaged BLACK-THROATED DIVERS, two Black Terns, 200+ Common Terns, an Arctic Tern, four Sandwich Terns, 14 Little Terns, four Little Gulls, 18 Kittiwakes, 25+ Gannets, 12 Whimbrel, a Guillemot, three Razorbills, 88 Common Scoters, four Swallows and two geese that were too distant to identify.


GANNETS

I then moved to the Old Lighthouse and the area around the observatory where just a single Wheatear and at least 10 Common Whitethroats were on show.


WHEATEAR

On to the fishing boats where I soon picked out the long-staying second-year GLAUCOUS GULL and another two summer-plumaged BLACK-THROATED DIVERS passed over the sea. Six Great Crested Grebes and another distant unidentified goose were the best of the rest.



GLAUCOUS GULL

I then drove round to Dengemarsh in the hope of seeing the Purple Heron, but it didn’t appear whilst I was there. I did see a pair of Marsh Harriers and heard a BITTERN booming and there were also four Sedge Warblers on show.


MARSH HARRIER

Another short drive and I was at the ARC Pit where a pair of Marsh Harriers, three Greenshanks, at least four Sedge Warblers, a Little Ringed Plover, three Ringed Plovers and 15 Bar-tailed Godwits were present.

I finished the day at the RSPB reserve where two Hobbies were putting on a aerial spectacular and many Common Whitethroats, Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers and five Cetti’s Warbler were singing. Three Common Terns were seen and a BITTERN was heard booming from the ramp at Hookers Pit.

Paul