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| The 2006 Annual Report is now available and costs £7.50 (inc. p&p) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st | The
sea continues to provide all the interest although
this time in rougher conditions. Seven Balearic
Shearwaters flew west along 14 Arctic Skuas,
a Great Skua and 164 Kittiwakes. In
addition a large movement of terns also occurred
with an adult Roseate Tern, 1400 Common
Terns, 17 Arctic Terns, 19 Little
Terns and 22 Black Terns.
Four Yellow-legged Gulls and three Mediterranean Gulls were feeding offshore.
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| 2nd | Another day of seawatching and with the undoubted highlight of a Great Shearwater seen by one observer at 1310hrs as it flew south close inshore off the fishing boats. Other notable birds included four Balearic Shearwaters, four Arctic Skuas, a Great Skua, an adult Roseate Tern, six Arctic Terns, two Little Terns and four Black Terns. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd | The
wind and rain continues and most of the day was
spent seawatching yet again. A good westerly
movement of birds included four Manx
Shearwaters, five Balearic Shearwaters,
a Little Egret, nine Sanderling, 26 Arctic
Skuas, 92 Sandwich Terns, 1270 Common
Terns, seven Little Terns and six Black
Terns.
A juvenile Mediterranean Gull, four Yellow-legged Gulls and two Black Terns were also feeding offshore. |
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| 4th | Still
it blows but surprisingly there was more interest
on the land than at sea for a change.
Notable on the land was the first reasonable arrival of migrants with about 45 Willow Warbler being seen. Two Marsh Harriers, ten Turnstones, a Kingfisher, 350 Swifts and a Great Spotted Woodpecker were of note.
Of note offshore were just two Arctic Skuas and a steady trickle of Common Terns flying west throughout the day. |
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| 5th | A
drop in the wind produced another small arrival of
migrants with numbers dominated by 44 Willow
Warblers along with two Lesser Whitethroats
but the highlight of the day was this superb Long-eared
Owl found at the top of the estate. Two Hobbies
were also seen.
It was fairly quiet at sea but some prolonged watching eventually produced two Balearic Shearwaters, three Arctic Skuas and an Arctic Tern of interest. |
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| 6th | Very little to be seen. An Arctic Skua flew west and a Crossbill was heard in the morning. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7th | A
small arrival of migrants occurred after some rain
overnight with a Tree Pipit, a Redstart
and 24 Willow Warblers being seen.
Overhead, 280 Sand Martins and six Yellow
Wagtails passed through.
Two Arctic Skuas were lingering offshore. |
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| 8th | A
Balearic Shearwater and six Arctic Skuas
flew west and a juvenile Mediterranean Gull
and the second-summer Yellow-legged Gull
were feeding offshore.
It was quiet on the land with just two Sedge Warblers, a Garden Warbler and 12 Willow Warblers of note. |
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| 9th | An
increasingly wet and windy with most of the
interest at sea yet again. Various reports of
skuas offshore throughout the day suggests
something in the order of 20 Arctics and
three Pomarines being seen along with two Manx
Shearwaters and a Balearic Shearwater
and a flock of 34 Avocets. Three Yellow-legged
Gulls, two Mediterranean Gull and two
juvenile Arctic Terns were also seen.
280 Sand Martins flew south. |
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| 10th | Three Arctic Skuas and a Great Skua flew west and two Little Terns were feeding offshore. Very little to be seen on the land. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11th | A Little Egret flew over the Observatory and an Arctic Skua and three Black Terns flew west at sea. Still very little to be seen on the land. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12th | A day of very strong winds which made observations on the land almost meaningless. It was also very quiet offshore although a Balearic Shearwater and a party of three Little Ringed Plovers flew west. A Knot and three Whimbrel also flew west and the second-summer Yellow-legged Gull was still at the fishing boats. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13th | Even stronger winds and heavy rain limited observations to the sea but even here there was very little to be seen. Two Great Skuas flying east were the only noteworthy birds. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14th | A few migrants on or over the land included a Tree Pipit, 56 Yellow Wagtails, 12 Wheatears, a Garden Warbler and 25 Willow Warblers. A few Sandwich and Common Terns flew west at sea. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15th | There was a small but varied arrival of migrants on the land this morning with five Tree Pipits, 35 Yellow Wagtails, a Whinchat, three Sedge Warblers, a Garden Warbler, 30 Willow Warblers and a Spotted Flycatcher of note. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16th | Nearly
seven hours seawatching in a fresh south-east
breeze produced two Manx Shearwaters, two Balearic
Shearwaters, 10 Teal, 17 Shoveler,
525 Common Scoter, 30 Sanderling, 45
Dunlin, 17 Whimbrel, 11 Arctic
Skuas, three Little Gulls, 49 Kittiwakes,
256 Sandwich Terns, 1185 Common Terns
and 58 Black Terns.
13 Golden Plover flew over the area and 560 Sand Martin flew out to sea. |
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| 17th | A
three-hour seawatch in the morning produced a Red-necked
Grebe, 378 Common Scoter, 34 Ringed
Plovers, six Grey Plovers, 17 Bar-tailed
Godwit, a Greenshank, ten Arctic
Skuas, five Great Skuas, 38 Little
Terns and 45 Black Terns flying west.
A Hen Harrier also flew through. Also of note, a Cattle Egret was seen on the RSPB Reserve. |
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| 18th | Two Common Sandpipers were seen and five Arctic Terns flew west. 90 Swift flew over. A Spotted Flycatcher was also seen. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19th | Little to be seen in strong south-westerlies. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20th | Two
Whinchats were the only birds of note.
Also of note, two White Storks flew north over Lydd. |
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| 21st | The highlight of the day was two Ospreys which flew south during the morning. A Little Egret flew south over the area in the evening and 192 Sand Martins, 54 Yellow Wagtails and a Crossbill also passed through. 33 Willow Warblers and a Spotted Flycatcher were seen in the bushes. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 22nd | A
handful of grounded migrants were seen and there
was a trickle of birds overhead including three Tree
Pipits, 43 Yellow Wagtails, a Redstart,
two Whinchats, 15 Wheatears, 22 Willow
Warblers and a Spotted Flycatcher.
Very quiet offshore with just three Arctic Skuas and a Black Tern of note. |
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| 23rd | The
main feature of the day was an excellent passage
of raptors during the morning and early afternoon.
The best of the birds were a Buzzard and 12
Marsh Harriers but the most remarkable
feature was the total of 52 Sparrowhawks
followed by 41 Kestrels, a Hobby and
four Peregrine Falcons. Other migrants
passing overhead included 20 Swifts, five Great
Spotted Woodpeckers, 200 Sand Martins,
500 Swallows, 55 Yellow Wagtails and
a Tree Pipit. Grounded migrants remained
scarce with just a few Willow Warblers and
a Spotted Flycatcher being seen.
The sea was generally quiet although an hours watch in mid-afternoon produced seven Black Terns and three Little Terns flying west. Also of note were two Cranes which flew over the ARC Pit at 1600hrs and appeared to land somewhere near the Oppen Pits. |
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| 24th | The
two Cranes were present on the Reserve for
much of the day but in the evening they made a
circuit of the Point and thus flew into
Observatory airspace.
Otherwise, the main interest was at sea, in at times miserable weather, where a party of five Shags were seen sitting on the sea before flying north and a Sooty Shearwater, five Great Skuas, 25 Arctic Skuas, two Little Gulls, 40 Arctic Terns and 35 Black Terns flew west. |
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| 25th | A
Little Egret flew out to sea and 1000 Sand
Martins and 300 Swallows were feeding
over the area.
The two Cranes were present at ARC for most of the afternoon and even engaged in several bouts of "dancing".
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| 26th | A
first-winter Shag drifted by close inshore
and a feeding flock of terns included three Black
Terns and which in turn attracted three Arctic
Skuas. A Little Gull and two Yellow-legged
Gulls were also seen.
There was very little to be seen on the land. Elsewhere, the two Cranes were feeding on ARC for much of the day and a splendid Hoopoe was seen at Greatstone. According to the farmer this bird has been there since last Wednesday.
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| 27th | A
day with very few migrants suddenly came alive
between 1145 and 1215 when two Ospreys, a Honey
Buzzard, a Common Buzzard and a Marsh
Harrier flew over the area. Grounded migrants
included a Whinchat, six Willow Warblers
and a Spotted Flycatcher whilst 25 Swifts
also flew over.
Two Arctic Skuas and two Black Terns were feeding offshore. The Hoopoe was still showing well at Greatstone and the two Cranes spent much of the day at ARC.
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| 28th | Despite
a damp, overcast morning and a light breeze there
was only a slight increase in numbers of migrants
with a male Redstart, a couple of Blackcaps,
the first migrant Chiffchaff, a dozen or so
Willow Warblers and a Spotted Flycatcher
of note in the bushes. A Crossbill also
flew over.
An Arctic Skua, a Little Gull and two Black Terns were lingering offshore again. The two Cranes were still being seen around the RSPB Reserve but the only news of the Hoopoe was in the negative. |
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| 29th | Another
good looking morning for grounded migrants which
yet again failed to produce anything more than a Sedge
Warbler and a handful of Willow Warblers.
A Crossbill, 20 Yellow Wagtails and
2000 Swallows also flew through.
Seawatching was fairly productive with over fours watching producing a Sooty Shearwater, a Gadwall, 25 Grey Plovers, 13 Sanderlings, 35 Arctic Skuas and three Great Skuas. The two Cranes were seen at ARC again. |
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| 30th | Raptor
watchers were well-rewarded by two Honey Buzzards
passing over the area during the morning. Five Sparrowhawks,
a Merlin and a Hobby were also seen.
There was a small, but varied, arrival of commoner migrants on the land including 12 Golden Plovers, 500 Sand Martin, 500 Swallows, a Tree Pipit, 125 Yellow Wagtails, four Whinchats, eight Lesser Whitethroats, 14 Willow Warblers and two each of Pied and Spotted Flycatchers. Seawatching was slow with just 20 Teal, a Sooty Shearwater, a Pomarine and five Arctic Skuas and a Black Tern. The two Cranes continued to be seen around the RSPB Reserve during the day.. |
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| 31st | Another
movement of raptors occurred during the morning
with both Honey and Common Buzzards
being seen along five Marsh Harriers, six Sparrowhawks
and four Hobbies. Large numbers of
hirundines passed through including 2000 House
Martins. and 13 Grey Herons, ten Swifts
and 125 Yellow Wagtails were also of
interest.
There were very few birds in the bushes but they did include Pied Flycatcher. The sea was only looked at briefly but it was clearly fairly quiet with just 30 Teal, three Wigeon and two lingering Arctic Skuas of note. Also of interest, a first-year White-winged Tern was seen briefly on ARC during the morning before being relocated there later in the afternoon. Two Cranes were also seen here.
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