Grey Phalarope at Dungeness

It seems many decades ago since I last saw a Grey Phalarope and so I'm very happy to find this one along the shoreline at Dungeness. At sea and at first sight, it appeared as just another dull diminutive wader, until it dropped down on top of the swell, spun around searching for surface plankton to eat. And that's the clue to a Phalarope, no other wading bird will naturally behave like this.

My one hour's sea watch came in a little window of sunshine amongst many storms that never seem to be far off the coast at the moment. See pic below.

Brent Geese migrating over Kent

Brent Geese over Packing Wood on route to Rye harbour

A rare sight in mid-Kent, migrating Brent Geese

Yesterday's light winds and clear sky seemed to trigger continental Brent Geese to make the move to our Southern estuaries and coast. At Dungeness, 4000 birds were seen, and then whilst walking at Packing woods we saw a further 500 birds cutting across Kent probably on a line from Margate to Rye.  Between 6 and 8.30pm I heard a further 3 skeins flying over Shadoxhurst, including one memorable moment when I was able to shine a spotight on the birds as they passed south overhead. It was also really exciting to hear other Kent birders on Twitter recording more Brents Geese passing over - suggesting a total number of birds running in thousands for the day.

Fly-by Little Egrets Dungeness

 A one hour sea watch from the fishing boats at Dungeness this afternoon was enlivened by a party of eight Little Egrets flying west down channel. At a similar time a distant dark and long tailed bird came into view, I was hoping it would be a Pomarine Skua, but as it came closer in from the horizon it turned out to be a migrating Marsh Harrier! Also present, there was a large number (hundreds) of Gannets feeding offshore and inshore Great crested Grebes numbers are building up for the winter. Calling in on the ARC pit this evening flying over the top of the many waterfowl, a single Brent Goose arrived and looked likely to roost for the night.

Alex Pastures a once moribund SSSI moving forward

With the kind permission of Mr Carl Floyd, owner of Alex Pastures, a collaboration between Butterfly Conservation, Kent Wildlife Trust and Moat Farm has begun, aimed at restoring the meadows to the species-rich unimproved grassland of the past.

The first stage has been to cut back invasive scrub (mostly blackthorn and bramble) to encourage the rarer meadow plants to re-establish themselves in the first of the two fields at Alex Pastures.  The first picture, below, shows the site entrance before work commenced.

Summer 2014, invasive scrub had over-run much of the original grassland

After scrub removal, just the deeply-rutted track has been left

The first cut and removal of scrub had an immediate effect opening up the meadow to a significant size.

Whilst wishing to return Alex Pastures to the high quality, rare, unimproved grassland of the past, the invasive scrub has allowed new colonisers to breed successfully on the site. These include Red Data listed Turtle Dove, fast declining Bullfinch (feeding flock of 7 there last night) and one of the highest concentrations of Nightingale in Orlestone Forest. Alex Pastures, at less than 15 acres, is a small site and balancing flora and fauna now present with the desire to return the meadows to the splendour of the past is going to be a skillful task.

The original grassland has been left surrounded by nothing much more than dry earth following the scrub removal. Next spring, if my memory serves me well, the fields will be peppered with hundreds of Primroses.

Panoramic of Alex Pastures top field showing scrub removal. The site margin left and to centre has a well developed scrub habitat - a stronghold of Bullfinch, Garden Warbler and Nightingale.

Clifden nonpariel in Shadoxhurst

The Clifden nonpariel is possibly the most beautiful moth I've seen in the UK. By luck and by Sian's initative (she put the Moth trap on) we managed to catch one on Saturday night in our garden moth trap. When we checked the trap at midnight, there was little indication of the surprise to come, as there was very little other Moths activity that night.  Once the Moth was found, there was little surprise to my local 'mothing' friends who believe, that despite its extreme rareness, Clifden nonpariel may be breeding in Orlestone Forest.

Seeing a Clifden nonpariel for the first time is as memorable as any other great first wildlife encounter, be it a stunning Peregrine falcon or a Stag Red Deer laden in antlers; they all share a magnificent presence. When you see this moth, you'll be impressed, firstly, by is its great size- nearly as big as the palm of your hand. Its wings are marbled beautifully, camouflaging cryptically against tree bark. Its patterning contrasts strikingly underneath with its silky white satin body and black and white boldly marked wing undersides. Its most memorable feature is still to come as its unique appearance is not fully revealed until the moth stretches its wings to reveal a striped black and azure blue underwing that beguiles every time you see it.

Local moth experts believing it has started to recolonise Victorian breeding site at Orlestone Forest. It could be that this moth may have been a immigrant, as its appearance coincides with easterly winds and many rare birds arriving on the east coast.

It's so rare that I can't guarantee I'll ever see a second one, even with the aid of a moth trap.  Luckily my memory of the first one caught in the garden will never be forgotten. Our Moth was released back to Orlestone Forest at Moat farm.

Clifden nonpariel (Blue Underwing), Shadoxhurst September 25th 2014

Pictures taken with Moth settled on glass

Peregrine high over the garden

Trying to do a little more birdwatching around the garden today, and almost at once this fine Peregrine appeared high overhead. Impossibly high in the sky, it occasionally stooped in pursuit of a pigeon passing below. Peregrine sightings probably average 2 or 3 birds a year now.

Autumn Burnished Brass Moth

In an effort to move on from my last post (ashamedly back in July), this splendid Burnished Brass Moth present in the garden tonight is a worthy new contributor. With the moth trap switched on for the first time in months and still running now, the familiar deep buzz of nomadic post-summer Hornets prevails around the light box. I will soon decide whether just to switch the light out, or risk a closer Moth inspection inevitably risking an unintentional encounter with the said bunch of angry wasps that I've unwittingly attracted to the Moth light.