The RSPB Community

Good birds to brighten a wet Friday

Heather Chantler — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:50:18 GMT

The weather may still be rather unseasonal but we were treated to a flurry of good birds this morning. A red-rumped swallow showed well in front of Hanson Hide on the ARC site during the morning and a spotted flycatcher was seen there as well. Just off the reserve a bee-eater was seen feeding over the Long Pits before flying off high towards the Dungeness Point. The bittern has continued to boom all week and can be heard from the viewing ramp overlooking Hookers Pit where cuckoos have been putting in an appearance as well. The weather forecast for the weekend looks to be improving so let's all hope we see some sun and some good birds!

Swift, Swallow and house martin...

Mary — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:28:27 GMT

Swift, swallow and house martin were in abundance over Burrowes pit in the showery weather today. Other sightings included cuckoo, spotted flycatcher in the willow trail at ARC, hobby at Makepeace hide and two little gull at Denge Marsh.

Dungeness and the very blustery day!

Heather Chantler — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:52:05 GMT

What do you do if your Wildlife Explorer group meets at a very windy place?

Make kites, of course!

Whilst the Marsh Harrier team were off surveying breeding bitterns and harriers, the Purple Heron team got down to making Fish Kites. Using wire, sticks, string and crepe paper they produced some amazing kites: colourfully decorated and carefully constructed. They were then off to a suitably windy place to fly them..which they all did beautifully.

Our next meeting will be our annual trip out. On Saturday 22 June 2013 we will be meeting at Bedgebury Pinetum for a day out exploring trees and woodlands. If you are aged 7 to 16 years old and you would like to join us please contact Heather Chantler ( RSPB Dungeness Wildlife Explorer leader) for details on 01797 320588.

Save £10 when you buy two 12.75kg sacks.....

Mary — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:39:35 GMT

Pop in to the RSPB Dungeness shop and save £10 when you buy any two single 12.75 kg sacks of selected bird seed and seed mixes.

Offer ends 4 June 2013, subject to availability. Offer excludes 12.75kg Premium peanuts, Buggy nibbles and High energy sprinkles.

The shop at RSPB Dungeness is open from 10am to 5pm every day.

Another egret

Chris Hawkins — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:41:02 GMT

A cattle egret was found yesterday afternoon (with the cattle!) in a field to the right of the entrance track. It has been present all day today, although it has been disappearing into a ditch fairly regularly. A scaup is still around (currently on the ARC pit) and there are plenty of hobbies hunting over Hooker's pits and Denge Marsh.

Cronk, cronk!

Chris Hawkins — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:16:53 GMT

A pretty miserable, cold and grey day was brightened by the news that the local ravens appear to have fledged three young. A good selection of waders (dunlin, sanderling, common sandpiper and black-tailed godwit were on the islands of Burrowes pit and the scaup were still present.

Hobbies

Mary — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:00:09 GMT

On this bright sunny day with a gentle breeze there has been four hobbies over Denge Marsh and ARC and a merlin seen at Scott hide and Denge Marsh. A pair of Scaup were still on Burrowes pit viewable from Dennis's hide. The bittern continues to boom at Hookers's pits. Other sightings included nine whimbrel at Denge Marsh, Cuckoo and swift at ARC, blackcap near Boulderwall farm and a jay at Scott hide.

Pair of scaup

Mary — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:39:42 GMT

A pair of Scaup were in view from Dennis's hide again today. With the strong winds and showers, swift, house martin and swallow have been easy to spot over the reserve. Other sightings include a hobby and a merlin over Denge Marsh, a cuckoo at Hookers's pits and nine turnstone on Burrowes pit.

Pectoral sandpiper on Denge Marsh

Chris Hawkins — Sat, 11 May 2013 15:31:00 GMT

A pectoral sandpiper was found on Denge Marsh, late morning. This is only our second May record of this scarce visitor. Also on Denge Marsh were three whimbrel, two curlews and a greenshank. Four hobbies were seen over Hooker's pits, where the bittern was booming. Another hobby could be found alongside the entrance track for most of the day. Dunlin, turnstones and Sandwich terns were all seen from the Visitor Centre along with good numbers of swallows and swifts.

Nightingale still singing...

Mary — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:52:32 GMT

A nightingale was still to be heard around the water tower pits on ARC this morning. On the ARC site there was also a blackcap and a greenshank. Over the main part of the reserve little, Sandwich and common tern were seen flying. Common tern have also taken up residence on some of the floating rafts at Denge Marsh. At Hookers's pits a bittern continues to boom and a lesser whitethroat was spotted. A hobby was also flying over the reserve today.

Nightingale sings...

Mary — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:53:30 GMT

A Nightingale was at the water tower pits on the ARC site today along with a cuckoo. A bittern continues to boom throughout the day at Hookers's pits. Two hobbies were in flight over Hookers's pits as well. Other sightings included little ringed plover at Scott hide and bar-tailed godwit on Burrowes pit.

The start of a purple patch?

Chris Hawkins — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:59:12 GMT

A purple heron flew from the Denge Marsh gully this morning and disappeared into the fog in the direction of the observatory.

Highlights over the weekend included: Garganey – a drake at Denge Marsh on 4th. Red-breasted merganser – one on Burrowes pit and then on ARC on 4th. Great white egret – one on 5th. Bittern – booming at Hooker’s pits. Common buzzard – five over the reserve on 5th. Hobby – five over ARC and Hooker’s pits on 5th. Grey plover –one on New Diggings on 5th. Dunlin – four on Denge Marsh on 5th. Whimbrel – several around the site on 5th. Greenshank – one near the viewing screen on 5th. Common redstart - one near the pines at the ARC site on 5th. Whinchat – one near the entrance track on 5th. Lesser whitethroat – one near Denge Marsh hide on 5th.

Red-rumped swallow

Mary — Sat, 04 May 2013 15:12:47 GMT

A red-rumped swallow was seen again today over Burrowes pit and the bittern continues to boom at Hookers's pits. Other sightings included a drake garganey at Denge Marsh and a red-breasted merganser first on Burrowes pit and then on ARC pit. Linnets were also around today at Denge Marsh and alongside the main access track.

Should be a good weekend...

Chris Hawkins — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:59:00 GMT

The sun is shining and it looks like the good weather is set to last throughout the weekend - although we might get a bit of channel cloud tomorrow which could bring a few migrants to ground. Highlights today include common buzzard, hobby, whimbrel, avocet, nightingale and lesser whitethroat ( the latter two near the ARC car park. Late yesterday afternoon a red-rumped swallow was seen from Dennis's hide and a ring-necked duck was on New Excavations.

Don't forget our optics demo this weekend - we're currently offering 10% of most RSPB binoculars.

Swallows, swifts and house martins...

Mary — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:26:00 GMT

Swallows, swifts and house martins have been much in evidence over Burrowes pit and ARC pit on this overcast day. At 4.30pm a red-rumped swallow was spotted among the swirling birds from Dennis's hide. The bittern is still booming away at Hookers's pits. Warblers are in full song around the reserve with plenty of sedge warblers, whitethroats and reed warblers. A garden warbler was also spotted along the return trail near the children's minibeasting area and a willow warbler in the car park. Other sightings included a redpoll at New Excavations, yellow wagtail at Makepeace hide and Denge Marsh and a cuckoo at ARC.

10% off RSPB binoculars and optics demo on 4-6 May 2013

Mary — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:22:23 GMT

We are offering 10% off selected RSPB binoculars until 21 May 2013 (subject to availability).

Our range of excellent RSPB binoculars offers something for everyone, whether you are an expert or a novice.

Why not pop in to the RSPB Dungeness shop sometime in the next couple of weeks and try some out.

We are holding an optics demo over the coming bank holiday weekend (4-6 May 2013) if you would like try some binoculars and have a chat about them with our staff and volunteers.

How many plants do you need to produce enough oxygen to survive for one hour?

Heather Chantler — Thu, 02 May 2013 11:21:32 GMT

That was the tricky question we posed the Wildlife Explorers at their meeting last week ....

Wildlife Explorers at RSPB Dungeness spent last Saturday morning exploring the importance of plants! Did you realise just how many items in your shopping basket are plant based? From clothing, food and paper goods to cuddly toys, CDs and medicine: plants play an enormous part in all our lives. But perhaps the most important thing we get from plants is oxygen. We put a volunteer into the Atmos-Sphere and the children had a limited amount of time to work out how many plants we each need to be able to survive before the volunteer would run out of oxygen!

Any guesses? Well, the answer is 1412 plants (each having 30 leaves) are needed to give off enough oxygen for a human to survive for an hour! That’s amazing! It got us thinking about how many leaves are on the average tree - but that's an investigation for another meeting, I think!

No children were harmed during our experiment but a lot of fun was had by all!

The RSPB Dungeness Wildlife Explorer group (The Purple Herons) meet once a month at the Visitor Centre for fun, games, exploration and friendship based around the environment. Our Marsh Harrier group for children in Key stage 3 and above meets three times a year to carry out practical conservation tasks on the reserve.

To find out more contact Heather Chantler 01797 320588

On this fine day....

Mary — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:13:40 GMT

On this fine day there was plenty to see on the reserve. A great white egret from Dennis's hid and at the south end of ARC. Also at the south end of ARC a spotted redshank. The bittern was booming at Hookers's pits. As wells as the sedge warblers and whitethroats around the reserve there were two lesser whitethroats at Christmas dell and a willow warbler at ARC. Mediterranean gulls were over Burrowes pit and comon terns over Denge Marsh.

A flurry of excitement..

Mary — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:03:06 GMT

There was a flurry of excitement this morning when a red-rumped swallow was spotted over Burrowes pit and resulted in the birders dashing our of the visitor centre abandoning their coffee! Other sightings included a hobby over the car park, a spotted redshank and a cuckoo at ARC. The flooded fields at Denge Marsh attracted a wood sandpiper, a greenshank, a ruff and some yellow wagtails..

Free bird identification book when you buy 8x32 Puffin binoculars

Mary — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:31:00 GMT

FREE copy of What's That Bird? (rrp £6.99) with every purchase of 8x32 Puffin binoculars!

The RSPB Puffin 8x32 binoculars are brilliant value entry level, yet high-quality binoculars. They're perfect for older kids and adults or as a second pair. Puffin binoculars are amazing quality compared to other binoculars in their price range and the lightweight design makes them easy to carry.

The simplest bird ID guide ever! RSPB What's that Bird? is the ideal pocket guide for birdwatching beginners. It's simple, visual approach shows you how to tell similar birds apart, in their key habitats and features over 150 common British and European species.

Pop into the RSPB Dungeness Visitor Centre to buy your pair of Puffins.

8x32 Puffin in black £54.95

8x32 Puffin in pink £59.95

Offer ends 10 June 2013

Sky is now clearing...

Mary — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:55:00 GMT

The sky is now clearing after a damp morning. Despite the damp we have had a whinchat at Denge gully and at Denge Marsh a spotted redshank, two greenshank and a dozen dunlin.

Once the weather cleared Bittern, yellow wagtail and whimbrel were found at Denge Marsh and Hobby, Hen harrier and great white egret at ARC.

A spotted redshank...

Mary — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:40:05 GMT

A spotted redshank was seen first thing this morning at the south end of ARC pit. One other wader, a bar-tailed godwit was at Denge Marsh. One great white egret is still around on New Diggings and bitterns are in evidence at Denge Marsh and Hooker's pits. Sedge warblers and whitethroats are all around the reserve and yellow wagtails were near the entrance today. A cuckoo was heard across the reserve though the bird was in the Christmas dell area.

Yellow wagtails...

Mary — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:42:11 GMT

A dozen yellow wagtails entertained visitors today at Christmas dell and Dennis's hide. Whitethroats and Sedge warblers were in good voice all around the reserve with swallows flying above. Other sightings included a lesser whitethroat at both Denge gully and Christmas dell, four redpoll in pine trees at ARC and two wheatear along the access track. A hobby and buzzard flew over and in the wader section there were three whimbrel at ARC and some dunlin and little ringed plover at Denge Marsh.

The wind chill is back....

Mary — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 15:50:00 GMT

The wind chill is back with the easterly winds but the sun is shining. The bittern started the day with his booming at Denge Marsh. A female redstart was spotted on the car park feeders by an early birder. A dozen or so yellow wagtails entertained visitors a short distance from the visitor centre. Other migrants included a few wheatear on the fields near the return trail, sedge warblers, whitethroats and a hobby flying eastwards. A male penduline tit showed briefly in the middle of the day in the reeds alongside the path to ARC Hanson hide.

Highlights on a rather damp day...

Chris Hawkins — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:26:25 GMT

A good variety of migrants around the site now - must be worth a visit this weekend. Who knows what might turn up!

Garganey – a male at Dennis’s hide.

Great white egret – three at Denge Marsh.

Little ringed plover – two at the south end of ARC.

Dunlin – eight on Denge Marsh.

Curlew – two near Christmas Dell.

Whimbrel – seven over Burrowes pit.

Common tern – one at Denge Marsh.

Yellow wagtail – three near Firth hide.

Blue-headed yellow wagtail – one near Makepeace hide.

Wheatear – three near the entrance track.

Whitethroat – two on ARC.

Sedge warbler – several across the site.

Reed warbler – several across the site.

Linnet – a number alongside the entrance track.