Seawatching for Skuas

Sea watching at the Dungeness point tonight from 5.30 to 7.30pm included 4 Great Skuas (in 2 pairs in half-hour succession). 1 Arctic Skua harrowing terns just within first buoy. Two distant commic tern flocks moving east against the horizon of 32 and 15.
22 C. Scoter, small numbers of Gannets feeding inshore. 3 Guillimots drifting on the sea, 1 Wheatear by the lighthouse. Unlucky not to have found a much hoped for Pomarine skua.

First Cuckoo of spring 17.30 pm

Phew, at last a Cuckoo heard from the garden but probably some miles away calling from around the Stone wood area. Here's hoping for much more Cuckoo activity to come from this fast declining bird.

5.00 am garden Dawn Chorus

A still and warm morning made it easy to pick-up distant bird song. This morning Nightingale, Blackcap and Chiffchaff could be heard alongside Robin, Wren and Blackbird. Our garden Song thrushes seem to be having a rest from song for now. Spoiling everything melodic, was a rowdy chorus from our village carrion crows. Tawney and Little Owl were calling to. The bird I was hoping for most, Cuckooo is still absent.

Song Thrushes are successfuly breeding

We've had two faithful Song thrushes spending a great deal of time in the garden this spring, and we saw an attempt nest building as early as February. The birds seemed to have been inseparable, so I was surprised to see both of them are now collecting earthworms from the lawn and then swiftly returning to a hidden nest in the Blackthorn hedge at the bottom of the garden. This is great news, that they have managed to get to the fledgling stage in a garden patrolled by the notorious nest raider, the Magpie.


Similarly, our garden Blackbirds are at the same breeding stage, again collecting worms for feeding chicks. I feared the worst for both birds this year as Magpies are also nesting in a tall Spruce just 40 feet above the Blackbirds nest. Fingers-crossed that the birds continue to successfully rear their broods.

Little Terns at Dungeness

One of two Little terns at the 'patch this morning'

Just arriving at the Dungeness point this morning for a sea watch, I met two fishermen who said they'd just seen a Hoopoe on the concrete path by the power station wall. So, their began my one hours search - sadly all hopelessly in vain! On the positive side, I saw a Peregrine dive bomb and clip a Raven on the ground! Brave or stupid, the Peregrine moved on and the Raven merely rearranged its feathers.



Ravens seen past the power station and looking back to Denge marsh gulley

Plenty of Common Terns feeding at the patch at Dungeness

On the sea, just a few Brent Geese and one Whimbrel on the move. Things looked quiet so I just watched the Little Terns and a flock of 100+ common Terns feeding at the patch. Once many decades ago, a breeding bird at Dungeness, now Little Terns are just a passage migrant or possibly visitors from the dwindling Rye harbour colony. At the 'patch', the 2 Little Terns charged up and down the low water mark occasionally diving for sprats - it was great to watch.

Lesser spotted woodpecker and Bullfinch - spring records at last!

Common Buzzard flying over the garden heading towards Stone Wood this morning

An early morning Cycle ride from Shadoxhurst, with frequent stops at Duck Lane and through to Stone wood, at last brought a record of Lesser Spotted woodpecker calling from private land at the bottom of the lane. A pair of Bullfinches where present on the woodland fringe here too.

Great Spotted woodpeckers were very much in evidence with frequent drumming and squabbles between rival territorial birds, and there were at least 3 pairs seen on this route. Suprisingly, the only Nuthatches I've heard are the ones often in gardens along Hornash Lane. The farm buildings at the top of Duck lane had 2 Swallows and 2 Linnets sitting on wires. Blackcaps are much in evidence everywhere. There were singing Nightingales thinly spread across the woodland with the highest density within Stone Wood, where dense young woodland makes an inpenetratable barrier to access and even view. Willow warblers are present here to. No sign of Whitethroats yet, but there is a great chunk of spring still to come

On a charge, GS woodpecker about to see-off an intruder to it's territory.

Speaking to a land and pheasant shoot owner in the woods this morning, made me worry about the safety of our growing Buzzard population, with one bird seen overhead as I spoke. The owners had equal vitriol for some 4x4 off-roaders over-running their land (point agreed), and then Buzzards, whom they blamed for everything else. Hmmn, - good job I didn't mention foxes....

Pirouetting Sparrowhawks clasp and fall in display

The fine blue sky weather continues, and so does my encounters with our local Sparrowhawks. It would be no exageration to imagine that our female Sparrowhawk seems to be prospecting and on the wing for most mornings this week. Despite flying high she's still easy to spot against such an uninterrupted and tranquil sky.
So, earlier in the week I'd noticed how Sparrowhawks have a distinctive display flight involving fanning out the white undertail covets (just the female?) and then performing a number of stoops and climbs and occasional slow stiff wing claps. Today, I discovered that once the female has encouraged a male to join her (at some height to), the two birds can then perform a talon clasped display in the manner of perhaps larger birds of prey such as Buzzards and Eagles. If someone had told me that Sparrowhawks were capable of such exhilarating display, I probably would have had some doubts without seeing any images... ..so lets have a look at the quick burst of images I captured.


Good but distant views of our female Sparrowhawk white undertail covets on display showing well today. Image below is a compilation of our resident 'pair' pirouetting just moments after.