Dungeness RSPB Thursday 9th Sept

Blue skies and a warm breeze greeted Alan Roman and myself at Dungeness yesterday morning. I wasn't surprised that we ended up logging 48 species of birds during the course of the day but I was surprised at the amount of butterflies on the wing. And given that I didn't manage any decent bird pictures it's just as well there were. Pictured above is one of my favourites, a Small Tortoiseshell.

Hirundines were the most plentiful birds on site today with Swallows and Sand Martins the most numerous and just a few House Martins. A last minute Swift would have been good to see but it didn't happen, A long time now to wait for my next sighting of these enigmatic birds. Although enigmatic was well represented in the shape of a couple of Hobbies who were feasting on an abundant supply of dragonflies, mainly Migrant Hawkers, two of which are pictured below.

The bushes opposite Christmas Dell hide were full of small birds but they were playing hard to get, giving tantalising glimpses but no more. Some of these were Common Whitethroats, Robins, Great Tits and Blue Tits and a singing Cetti's Warbler, but surprisingly the majority appeared to be Reed Warblers even though the habitat seemed a bit incongruous.

The walk between Christmas Dell and Denge Marsh hide produced more butterflies. There were quite a few of what I think (and hope) are Small Heaths, pictured below which i've hardly seen any of this year. Below that is a species i'm more sure of, a Small Copper and one of several seen during the day. This one appears to have just laid an egg.......or is it sitting on a piece of lucky Rabbit poo, or maybe it's dung rolling like the beetles I watched in the Lake District last week, either way it gives a good size comparison!

Kestrel, Little Egret, Grey Heron and a fly over flock of Linnets were added to the bird list before we reached Denge, and before going in the hide we turned left along the track and found the almost resident Great White Egret in the distance, hanging out with three or four more Herons and some Mute Swans. This is without doubt still a great bird to see, but it struck me that a couple of years ago seeing this elegant visitor would have been incredibly exciting, how quickly the excitement fades though when the exotic becomes a bit more familiar.

We retraced our steps back towards the viewing mound and came across the two butterflies shown below. I'm going to stick my neck out and say that they are female Common Blues, time (and a certain butterfly expert) will tell if i'm right but either way the colours are fantastic. The third picture I think is probably a Small Skipper but as above, time will tell!

From the mound we saw Marsh Harriers quartering the reed beds in the distance and also quite a long view of a Bittern flying sedately across the reserve before landing in the reed beds somewhere to the East of Denge hide. We couldn't top that so we made our way back to the visitor centre for lunch. After which we decided on a spot of sea watching in front of the power station at Dungeness beach. This would have been a good idea on a calm day but by now the early breeze was considerably stronger making standing upright difficult and holding a scope or binoculars steady downright impossible! So it was back to the car with just a couple of beachside Wheatears as our only consolation.

Last stop was the ARC site and Hanson hide where it was nice to see good numbers of Pochard, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard and a few Wigeon, signs of things to come I think. Waders were represented by Lapwings, a couple of handsome Black-tailed Godwits, a single Dunlin and another single wader which after a lot of discussion and head scratching, which is a pretty common feature of my bird watching, turned out to be a Little Stint, only the second i've seen. Equally pleasing for me was a Black Tern among the two ot three juvenile Common Terns which danced gracefully up and down above the wind blown lake.

I'll end the post with this picture of a Red Admiral, a reminder of the fading glory of the summer.

Elmley Butterflies and New Hythe

As I said in my post yesterday, Elmley was awash with butterflies on monday. In all I counted twelve species assuming the Skippers don't trip me up!

COMMON BLUE

The Common Blues lived up to their name and were seen (and followed) at regular intervals during my walk.

GATEKEEPER

GATEKEEPERS

For sheer numbers the Gatekeepers won hands down. I wouldn't say there were swarms of them but if you put them all together you would have had a fair sized cloud.

SMALL TORTOISESHELL

This seems to have been a good year for Small Tortoiseshells, last year I saw nowhere near the number that i've seen this year at various sites in Kent & Sussex.

SIX SPOT BURNET, SMALL SKIPPER & UFO

I know the Burnets are moths not butterflies but they look nice so i've included them. I seem to be seeing more 6 spots about now where as earlier in the summer the 5 spot seemed more prolific.

COUNT THE BUTTERFLIES

On the approach to the third hide there were four or five of the large plants pictured above which I think are Greater Burdock, and there were maybe 100 butterflies on and around them. I don't think i've ever seen so many butterflies in one small area. It was quite something walking past and seeing them all lift off and then quickly settle again.

SMALL SKIPPER

Skippers were another species that were well represented. I think they were mostly Smalls but I guess Essex and Large could also have been present, it's so difficult to tell, especially when they're on the wing.

Many thanks to Greenie (click on the link to visit his blog) for pointing out that the Skippers are probably the Essex variety, which i'm happy to take his word for. And also that the plant below is indeed Sea Lavender.

SMALL COPPERS

Two Small Coppers at the same time! How good is that? I don't know what the plant is in the picture above and the one below but whatever it is the butterflies absolutely loved it. There were only three of these lovely little plants just as you come to the tall hide on the right by the sea wall but I wish there had been more.

BROWN ARGUS

The same plant was also very attractive to the Brown Argus there were three here and that was the only place I saw this species. It's easy to see how they are mistaken for Common Blues when their wings are closed.

COMMON BLUE

Yes, I know i've already featured Common Blues but I liked this picture and it does highlight the difference with the Brown Argus.

BROWN ARGUS AND COMMON BLUE

Just for good measure here's a shot of the two of them together with their wings open.

And finally...........................I had a quick hour down at the Sunken Marsh this morning in a last ditch attempt to add the very elusive Turtle Dove to my New Hythe year list and yippee, there it was sitting on the wires waiting for me! All things come to those who wait and persevere. Shame about the photo though, in my haste to record the occasion before it flew off never to be seen again, I failed to check the camera settings, hence the odd exposure.

TURTLE DOVE

Purple Patch

I'm not really much of a football fan but I do like watching England play so I feel I should make some reference to England's World Cup adventure in South Africa. I've given it a lot of thought and considered every angle but I always seem to come back to the same conclusion: IT'S ONLY A GAME!



So, i'm eating my cornflakes this morning, sleep still in my eyes and as always, wondering what day it was, when all of a sudden my mobile gently announced the arrival of a text message. It was Alan Roman asking if I'm going down to find the Purple Heron at Dungeness RSPB today. I was going to go to New Hythe originally but being weak willed and at my most vulnerable I agreed to go.

We arrived at the Denge Marsh road viewpoint at about 10 o'clock to find the RSPB volunteer warden on lookout duty by the side of the road. He pointed out where the nest site was located and within ten minutes we had our sighting and a couple of long distance record shots of what I believe to be the female. It was as easy as that!

PURPLE HERON

PURPLE HERON

The Kestrel chicks were there to greet us at the reserve entrance, looking as if their maiden flights were imminent and a single Tree Sparrow sat on the roof above the nest box on the barn wall at Boulderwell farm.

The Blue Viper's Bugloss that covers the site has now been joined by Yellow Horned Poppies, this together with the emerging Foxgloves and many other wildflower species painted a lovely, colourful picture in the glorious sunshine.

YELLOW HORNED POPPY

This same glorious sunshine kept bird activity quite low although most of the usual species could be found including Little Egret, Lapwings, Oystercatchers and Green Woodpecker. The LBJ's were well represented by Reed and Sedge Warblers, Dunnocks and Common Whitethroats.

I found the little bee species below on a lakeside gravel bank and I think it's probably a Sharp Tailed Bee. I can find very little info about it but hopefully i've ID'd it correctly.

SHARP TAILED BEE

A little further along I noticed this Pike in exactly the same spot as I found one some weeks ago. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same one. If it is it's grown a bit since last time. These fish are not the sharpest tools in the box but when they get bigger their teeth certainly are, I've seen first hand what their teeth can do to a persons fingers. Mind you he shouldn't have put them there in the first place!

JACK PIKE

Not too many birds to report on the water. Pochard, Tufties, GC Grebe, Greylag and Canada Geese, Moorhens, Mallards, Cormorants and of course the humble Coot. Mute Swans are particularly well represented at the moment and the one below had found a way to keep it's head cool.

BOTTOMS UP!

The five (or six) spot Burnets were in abundance, especially in areas where the thistles are emerging. I know I posted a picture very recently but this was the first time i'd photographed fifteen spots (or eighteen)! Or should I say thirty spots...........you do the maths.

BURNETS

Lunch should have been taken at the viewing mound bench but the RSPB have turned it into a temporary, well, viewing mound really, for the Purple Herons. There were tables laid out with RSPB wares for sale, scopes bristling along the trackside like radar dishes waiting to pick up and broadcast their every move and volunteers available to answer all the questions you might ask. The most common one being: " is that a Purple Heron or a Grey Heron over there? " It's not that easy to tell from a distance. So we had our lunch sitting on the gravel further down. During which the highlights were Swifts, all heading south strangely, Swallows, Linnets and a booming Bittern which at first I put down to Alan blowing into his bottle of juice but he assured me he didn't.

SMALL TORTOISESHELL

Most of the butterflies seen today were Small Tortoiseshells, as was the case in Dorset last week, must be good news. Feast your eyes while you can.

AND AGAIN

Finally, yet another picture of a Sedge Warbler. Sorry, but you have to take what you can get when the sun is high and the birds aren't obliging.

SEDGE WARBLER

Christchurch, New Hythe and a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!

After a great weekend in Dorset I got home monday evening suitably exhausted and slightly sunburnt after three long days by the River Avon and three long evenings in the Fisherman's Haunt Inn. Well somebody's got to do it!
Today Carol and I had a nice walk around New Hythe lakes in the sunshine and then in the afternoon I was up a tree in the back garden doing my lumberjack impression when I managed to poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick, not recommended! The reason i'm telling you that is to explain the lack of text in this post it's a bit of a struggle using one eye, so apologies and I hope you like some of the pics. Up to the Banded Demoiselle are from Dorset and the rest are from New Hythe.

SMALL TORTOISESHELL



COMMON TERN


AND AGAIN

AND AGAIN

SEDGE WARBLER

BANDED DEMOISELLE

MEADOW BROWN

CINNABAR MOTH

COOT AND MUM

BLACK TAILED SKIMMER

AND AGAIN

BRIMSTONE

New Hythe & Garden 23rd April

HOUSE SPARROW

We had a welcome visit from our local Fox this morning. He likes to sit at the bottom of the garden soaking up the early morning sun, yawning, and having a jolly good scratch. He seems quite at home and doesn't worry too much about the activity within the house, I even opened the patio doors for a clearer shot and he wasn't too bothered, mind you he's a fair distance away and I don't think he would like it if I ventured out on to the patio.

New Hythe was sparkling this morning, the sun was bright and warm and the sky was cloudless. The air was full of birdsong as I started my walk, I think they liked it as much as me although I did refrain from adding my voice to the choir.

First bird on the list was a Cetti's Warbler which flew out of the reeds opposite the fishermans hut at Brooklands where I was trying to get a glimpse of a Sedge Warbler. I wasn't successful but 100 yards further along I heard and then saw my first Reed Warbler of the year. I subsequently heard a few more on the way round.

WHITETHROAT

Whitethroat are now well established for the summer and can be heard singing their scratchy song from every other bush.....nearly. I think they are even more common than the Blackcaps which are abundant here this year.

In and around the Sunken Marsh were two nest building Linnets, and Reed Buntings, Chiffchaffs, Chaffinchs, Cetti's, Blackcaps, Greenfinchs and Wrens were all adding their individual performance to the concert of sound. I arrived at the southern edge of the Marsh for another game of spot the Sedge Warbler which was singing again from the same reedbed as the previous occasions. The only difference on this occasion was that I at last got a fleeting glimpse as he rose to the top a reed stem before presumably seeing me and descending, not to be seen again. Two New Hythe year ticks already. I was on a high, but not for long!

The East Scrub was filled with the rich, mellow and unmistakeable notes of Nightingales singing from every corner, it was like having Nightingale surround sound, Berkeley Square has got nothing on the East Scrub in full flow. Unfortunately I was bought back to earth with a bump when I reached the stream which suffered some kind of pollution last weekend as mentioned in my posting of 19th April. I was hoping the spillage would turn out to be innocuous but my hopes were dashed when I counted at least a dozen dead Eels in the water, a species already seriously under threat, as well as two dead Tench and a dead Pike, this was just a quick look, there must be lots more. Sorry about the gruesome pictures.

EEL

TENCH

PIKE

I managed to find the Ranger, who amazingly was unaware of any wildlife fatalities attributable to the pollution but told me that the Environmental Agency took a sample of the water yesterday and would be acting accordingly. While I was there he phoned his boss to report my findings. This stream was the home of many Water Voles last year and apparently one had been sighted there just before the pollution, even today there were Moorhens on the water feeding on the vegetation, bad news all round I fear.

HERON SNR & JNR & JNR & JNR

The Heronry was busy today, lots of new mouths to feed including the three above, yes there are three. Lets hope they aren't being fed from the aforementioned stream!

The return trip down the river and back to the car park produced among other stuff, seven Shelduck, a Sparrowhawk over which was the only raptor seen, a few Jays , a Stock Dove, a House Sparrow unusually and a Mistle Thrush in it's usual position behind the old Cafe building.

There were also nine species of Butterfly on the wing which were, in no particular order: Small White, Large White, Comma, Speckled Wood, Brimstone, Peacock, Orange Tip, Holly Blue and a Small Tortoiseshell.

SPECKLED WOOD

SMALL TORTOISESHELL

SMALL TORTOISESHELL

ORANGE TIP

ORANGE TIP