Thanet, Elmstone, & Preston 25/03/23

-

The day started in Thanet at Foreness Point, which proved fairly quiet, an immature drake Eider offshore being the only bird of note. From there we went to Northdown Park which felt more spring-like in the sunshine, also with much more shelter from the strong wind. Birds included Green Woodpeckers and a Mistle Thrush though not the hoped for Firecrest.

The next destination was Elmstone, hoping that the overwintering Hume's Warbler was still present, there having been no news on it for a week. Parking near the substation there was no sign of the bird for nearly an hour, then it was heard to call from the opposite side of the building. Very good views were later obtained from that spot, the warbler calling on many more occasions. What at first seemed to be heavy moult on the head was more likely nectar contamination as a result of probing in blossom. Several Chiffchaff were also seen plus a male Blackcap.

To finish the day we stopped near Preston to view a large ploughed field containing cattle in one area. There were six Cattle Egrets around the animals, plus unexpectedly a Little Egret. Also in the field were about 20 alba wags, of which 2-3 were smart White Wagtails. Three or more Corn Buntings included singing males.

Alexanders in Northdown Park

Hume's Warbler





Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret and Little Egret

White Wagtail


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Northward Hill 25/06/25

-
Image
Another warm day so I spent the afternoon locally, at Northward Hill. The main quarry was White-letter Hairstreak, with about six being seen.. However, it was hard work and none came low, favouring instead the tops of Elm saplings. Whilst looking for WLH a White Admiral flew through and there were several Silver-washed Fritillary. Ringlet were in good numbers as were Marbled White. A few Peacock, Red Admiral, and Comma were also present. A couple of Lesser Whitethroat were singing and Blackcaps were still in fine voice. White-letter Hairstreak Ringlet Peacock
Read more

Sandwich/St.Margaret's 30/08/25

-
Image
The day started at Sandwich looking for a Spotted Crake mentioned on Birdguides. We parked at Sandwich Quay and then walked along the river for about 35 minutes during which a number of House Martins were seen, also three Clouded Yellow. On reaching New Downs South Pool the crake was on view straight away, venturing out from the reeds. It was backlit for much of the time so tricky to photograph. A Snipe was also there plus a number of Coot. In the afternoon we headed towards St. Margaret's, parking up in a layby on the Dover Road. Three Dotterel were present in a stubble field which had been harrowed. Excellent views of the birds were obtained, a n adult with two juveniles. The adult Dotterel was the first I've seen for a long time. The final stop was a brief look for Chough near Dover Castle. Eight birds were near the aviary and so quite distant. Spotted Crake The walk along the Stour Juvenile Dotterel  Adult Dotterel   
Read more

Elmley 16/09/25

-
Image
Less windy today and mostly sunny so I made what was belatedly my first visit to Elmley this year. The male Red-footed Falcon, initially found a couple of days ago, had been reported earlier th is morning.  To start with there was no sign of it after I arrived, however I  walked down to the brickfields and was surprised to see the bird there. It was sitting i n a grassy field though soon flew off, back up the track towards the oaks.  Good views of the falcon were then obtained, both in flight and sitting in the trees. It seemed to be a second-winter bird on account of some barring on the underwing due to a mixture of old and new flight feathers. It seems quite possible this bird is the same as that exactly one year ago when in juvenile plumage.  There were also a couple of Hobbies in the same area today. This was my first outing using the new OM1 so a bit of a learning exercise in how best to use it. First view of the falcon. Red-footed Falcon  Hobby 
Read more