Trip reports

Dungeness

Sunday, 11 September 2011

The tail-end of hurricane Katia was already making its presence felt when we arrived at our usual meeting place by the old lighthouse at Dungeness. The forecasters were saying that the stronger winds and rain would move up the west coast and into Scotland by Monday and the south east should be dry but breezy. Breezy it was. A small flock of linnets landed close to the car park as we set off for the beach and we were pleased to see several wheatears feeding in the lee of gorse bushes that cover most of the area between the car park and the power station. Taking what little shelter we could behind the bird hide situated on top of the shingle beach, we scanned the turbulent waters in search of seabirds. The huge swell and strong winds made the watching very unpleasant and the bird sightings difficult. Terns flew close to the shore, almost skimming the mountainous waves. We identified black, sandwich and common, but they were not easy to see because most hugged the grey waters and disappeared from sight in the deep troughs. Very few birds broke the skyline apart from a distant gannet and a few cormorants. Looking westwards along the beach up to the "patch" there was no sign of any birds, nor even of the "patch", the sea being so rough. It was decided not to stay long and move on to a more sheltered place to seawatch.
Driving a short distance along the road, we parked up, cleaned the salt residue off our optics, and made our way out towards the fishing boats hauled up onto the beach that faces to the east. Before reaching the beach we passed the usual flock of gulls that like to gather and roost on the large expanse of shingle alongside the concrete road. We stopped to scan the birds and helped some members to identify the different species, which included herring, lesser black-backed and greater black-backed gull; also, later, we found the now seemingly resident glaucous gull.
With the wind at our back we stood on the crown of the east beach and looked out over calmer waters, but again there was little to be seen apart from a few more terns, mostly sandwich and common, a great crested grebe, a brief view of an auk (we think razorbill) and one turnstone as it flew along the beach. Sand martins began to arrive from across the water with a few swallows as companions. Looking west behind the nuclear power station, dark grey, heavy clouds were building quickly as we made our way back to the cars. One brief shower caught up with us, but we hardly got wet.
Moving on to the ARC pits and quickly to the hide, we heard a cettis warbler call and some members had a very brief glimpse as it flew to the side of the hide. Greylag geese were in abundance, as were lapwing. Several species of duck, along with coots and a few mute swans, dabbled in the sheltered waters of the lake. Dunlin, redshank and one ruff were seen scurrying around on the small islands that are clustered in the shallows to the north end. The sun broke through the stormy cloud as we headed back to the cars and made our way to the other side of the road.
On the track heading towards the reception centre we were looking for the cattle egret reported in that area. Suddenly a strange shape appeared to the side of the road, then moved to the middle. I stopped the car and tried to make out what it was we were looking at, when it began to move again. It then became clear, it was a stoat carrying, dragging a dead rabbit. The animal had to keep stopping as its prey was larger than it was. I slowly moved the car forward and got my camera out, but the stoat and its prey disappeared over the side of the road and into the cover of the vegetation. Another member got out of his car and searched the area, but found no sign of the animals. There was no sign of the cattle egret either.
At the reception centre we had our lunch, seated on the picnic tables, sheltered from the strong westerly winds by the sallow bushes and in the now constant sunshine. The long line of rain clouds had moved further inland and were giving the Romney marsh and Ashford area a good soaking. The movement of sand martins and swallows continued all day as the small birds battled their way across the whole area, ever westward against the prevailing winds.
Walking round the reserve and calling in on some of the hides we managed to see a few more species along the way, including ringed plover and greenshank. The bramble bushes along the route were laden with ripe blackberries, no doubt a result of our extraordinary spring weather conditions. On entering the Denge marsh hide, the last of the day, one of the first birds we saw was the great white egret. It was standing on the far side of the lake preening itself. The bird spent some time with its grooming before setting off on a hunt for food. With a common sandpiper seen on one of the islands our species list for the day was nearing fifty.
As we left the hide to join the main track, a large white bird landed across the dyke about forty yards from us. At first we thought it was the great white egret, but as we studied the subject more carefully it was agreed that this large, almost white bird was in fact a very pale grey heron. This heron will no doubt cause a lot of confusion with some birders when seen from a distance.
Next stop was at the top of the mound to scan the reed bed in an ever hopeful search for the elusive bittern - no luck for us today. A hobby flew across in front of us and a few moments later a kestrel flew the other side. This gave rise to a discussion on the ways to enable birders to identify similar-looking raptors, while all the time overhead the constant flow of sand martins and swallows also started another talking point, as these small birds persevered against the buffeting wind.
Common lizards basked in the sun on the top of old ant hills and later a brief view of a couple of grass snakes finished the walk back to the centre. Dutifully we reported the odd-coloured grey heron to those in charge, but they knew all about it and showed little interest - obviously not that odd.
On the drive out from the centre two whinchats sat obligingly on the fence, but there was no sign of the tree sparrows by the house. A quick look at the ARC pits again as the cattle egret had been seen in the area - no luck for us, but one of our group stayed on until sunset and managed to see the bird.
Again, another successful September field trip, and the weather was a lot better than originally forecast. A good time was had by all, with at least three new birds (lifers) for some of our group. Our bird species list ended up close to sixty for the day.