Dungeness 1/10/26

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Another fine sunny day.

The first call was to the Observatory, mainly checking out the moat and nearby area.  It was generally quiet for birds with a Wheatear and several Stonechat being seen. In the Observatory garden we were shown several stick-insects, quite large specimens up to 10 cm in length. They are Mediterranean Stick Insects, a non-native species but with a few isolated colonies as in this case. Both green and brown forms were present.

A seawatch by the fishing boats yielded a number of Sandwich Terns feeding close inshore. Several Common Scoter were seen, albeit fairly distant, but there was little else of note.

At the RSPB reserve the Pectoral Sandpiper that has been present for nearly a week was seen from Dennis's hide in the company of a Ruff. Near Boulderwall Farm at least 10 Cattle Egrets were feeding amongst sheep on the marsh, giving close views.

The final visit was to Jury's Gap where the adult American Golden Plover was eventually found amongst the flock of several hundred European Golden Plover. The AGP had almost completely moulted out of summer plumage though the bold supercilia and greyish axillaries were key id features.

European Stick Insect



Wheatear

Sandwich Tern




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