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| The 2007 Annual Report is now available and costs £6.50 (inc. p&p) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st | The
year started well with a third-winter Caspian
Gull and an adult Yellow-legged Gull
roosting at the fishing boats whilst birds
offshore included a Great Skua, a Goldeneye,
over 200 Red-throated Divers and a handful
of Razorbills amongst larger numbers of Guillemots.
A Black Redstart was feeding around the
Observatory.
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| 2nd | Much quieter offshore with just a few Red-throated Divers and Guillemots offshore. The Black Redstart was around the Observatory again and the party of Long-tailed Tits was still feeding at the Long Pits. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd | An adult Caspian Gull was amongst large numbers of gulls at the Patch and the Black Redstart was around the Observatory again. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th | Very little to be seen. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th | Good numbers of Guillemots offshore and a Woodcock flew west but not a great deal else to be seen other than the first snowfall of the winter this morning. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6th | Very large numbers of Red-throated Divers offshore today although exact were difficult to determine with 424 flying east in the first 30 minutes and then 570 flew west in 75 minutes between 0915 and 1030hrs. Other notable birds included a Scaup, five Pintail, five Eider and a Woodcock flying west. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7th | Three Pochards flew east offshore and two Woodcocks and ten Long-tailed Tits were seen in the trapping area. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8th | Ten Long-tailed Tits were seen at the north end of the Long Pits. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9th | Another freezing cold morning with 342 Red-throated Divers and two Gadwall passing offshore whilst a Marsh Harrier, four Woodcocks, four Snipe, three Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Fieldfare, a Chiffchaff, a Firecrest and ten Long-tailed Tits were of note on the land. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11th | A Green Sandpiper on the ice at the Long Pits was an unusual winter record and three Woodcocks, two Snipe, a Firecrest and three Long-tailed Tits were of note. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12th | Big
numbers of gulls offshore included over 1000 each
of Common Gull and Kittiwake, an
adult Mediterranean Gull and a
second-winter Yellow-legged Gull. In
addition, 2200 Guillemots also flew south.
On the land, at least seven Woodcocks, two Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a Firecrest were seen. |
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| 13th | Large
numbers of birds offshore again with 347 Red-throated
Divers west in the morning and around 1300 Guillemots
west (mainly in the last couple of hours of
daylight) along with an adult Little Gull,
500 Common Gulls, a second-winter Yellow-legged
Gull and 300 Kittiwakes feeding
offshore.
It was generally very quiet on the land so it was a pleasant surprise to find four Firecrests at the Long Pits. |
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| 14th | What
looked like being a nice day was quickly spoilt by
the arrival of dense fog and making observations
very difficult. Five Woodcocks, a Snipe,
a Firecrest and 19 Long-tailed Tits were
the best that could be found.
The sea was invisible for most of the day. |
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| 15th | A strong southerly wind encouraged an easterly movement of Guillemots with 2675 birds in just over two hours in the morning. Very little else was moving other than 140 Red-throated Divers and 140 Kittiwakes. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16th | Good
numbers of Red-throated Divers and Guillemots
offshore again but the highlight of the morning
seawatch was a Balearic Shearwater which
flew east.
A check of the Long Pits produced two Firecrests and the regular flock of Long-tailed Tits. |
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| 17th | At least 2000 Guillemots were offshore again this morning but of much greater interest was a Puffin which flew west. Another Balearic Shearwater flew east and adult Mediterranean and Little Gulls were feeding offshore along with several hundred Kittiwakes. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18th | A
two-hour seawatch in the morning produced 683 Red-throated
Divers, 208 Common Scoters and around
1000 Guillemots flying west along with a
few Razorbills, a Pintail and a Velvet
Scoter. An adult Little Gull was also
at the fishing boats and a Yellow-legged Gull
was at the Patch.
A search of the bushes produced three Firecrests. Also of note, the drake King Eider which has been seen on at least 11th and 17th January off Pett Level finally drifted east into the greater Dungeness recording area at Jury's Gap during the afternoon. (the image shown below was taken yesterday when the bird was off Winchelsea Beach.)
In addition large numbers of gulls on the RSPB Reserve included a first-winter Iceland Gull, two second-winters and an adult Caspian Gull and this odd-looking third-winter individual.
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| 19th | Another day of strong winds and almost constant rain prevented much coverage other than seawatching where large numbers of Gannets, Kittiwakes and Guillemots continue to feed offshore and move west and a second-winter Mediterranean Gull was seen at the Patch. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20th | Another wintry day with frequent heavy rain throughout making observations very difficult at times and almost all effort directed at the sea. The clear highlight of the day was the King Eider finally making it into the Observatory recording area when it was seen at 0725hrs flying west close inshore. Very large numbers of other seabirds included 212 Gannets, 148 Red-throated Divers, about 4000 auks, mainly Guillemots but including at least 75 Razorbills, 1500 Herring Gulls at the Patch and about 600 Kittiwakes offshore. Other notable birds included a juvenile/first-winter Iceland Gull being seen at the Patch, a second-winter Caspian Gull and both adult Mediterranean and Little Gull. A Great Skua, four Pintails, two Velvet Scoters and 518 Common Scoters flying west. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21st | An
adult Iceland Gull flew west along the
beach at 0725hrs and lingered for a short time at
the Patch but could not be found later in the day.
However, the juvenile Iceland Gull first
seen yesterday afternoon was feeding at the Patch
for much of the day. Also here among large numbers
of gulls were four Mediterranean Gulls and
a Little Gull.
In addition, seawatching produced 492 Red-throated Divers, four Eiders, 65 Common Scoters and another 4000 auks (mainly Guillemots) all flying west. A party of Long-tailed Tits were still feeding around the Long Pits and a Black Redstart was seen near the Observatory. |
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| 22nd | Another day with strong winds and prolonged heavy rain made observations difficult. Nearly three hours seawatching produced 12 Fulmars, 174 Common Scoters, three Velvet Scoters, seven Eiders, 260 Kittiwakes and 3000 Guillemots flew west. A check of the Patch in the late afternoon during a break in the awful weather produced a second-winter Caspian Gull but there was no sign of any Iceland Gulls. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 23rd | The juvenile/first-winter Iceland Gull flew west past the fishing boats in the morning and there were at least 1000 Guillemots feeding offshore (and another 500 passing through) along with 300 Great Crested Grebes and 100 Razorbills. Other birds moving west included 280 Red-throated Divers, three Eiders, three Velvet Scoters and 623 Common Scoters. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 24th | The
Iceland Gull was offshore again during the
morning along with an adult Mediterranean Gull
and plenty of Kittiwakes. Around 200 Red-throated
Divers and 1000 Guillemots along with
smaller numbers of Razorbills, a Red-breasted
Merganser and two Great Skuas also flew
west.
A check of the Long Pits produced a Woodcock and the regular flock of Long-tailed Tits whilst a fine male Black Redstart was feeding on the settling beds of the power station sewage treatment unit. |
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| 25th | After
yesterdays respite from the awful weather it
returned with a vengeance today with heavy rain
and near gale force southerly winds throughout.
Gulls continue to provide most of the interest
with an adult Glaucous Gull appearing on
the Point in the afternoon whilst thousands of Guillemots
were offshore again.
Land birds were barely looked for but a Snow Bunting appeared on the Point. |
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| 26th | Most
of the days interest was again offshore with an
excellent selection of gulls to be seen (and
better conditions for watching them) with the
juvenile/first-winter Iceland Gull, the
adult Glaucous Gull, a second-winter Caspian
Gull, an adult Mediterranean Gull and
three Little Gulls all being seen on the
beach or at the Patch.
Offshore passage was fairly limited with just 455 Red-throated Divers and 248 Common Scoters of note passing through during the morning and about 500 Great Crested Grebes and large numbers of Guillemots feeding in the calm waters off the fishing boats. |
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| 27th | Gulls continue to provide most of the interest with a new, immature Glaucous Gull being seen as well as the adult bird and the juvenile/first-winter Iceland Gull. Two adult Caspian Gulls, a Mediterranean Gull and a Little Gull were also seen at the Patch. Large numbers of Guillemots continue to feed offshore and move west. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 28th | The
adult Glaucous Gull was on the beach around
the fishing boats in the morning and in the
afternoon the juvenile Iceland Gull
followed a fishing boat inshore and spent a few
minutes on the beach before flying off towards the
Patch. Adult Mediterranean and Little
Gulls were also at the Patch in the morning.
Guillemots continued to move west during the day and large numbers were feeding offshore where there were also at least 1000 Great Crested Grebes. (Note there was a count of 2120 GCGrebes feeding in the waters off Lade Sands yesterday!!) A check of the bushes in the afternoon produced two Firecrests on the west side of the northern Long Pit and the regular flock of Long-tailed Tits. |
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| 29th | The
Iceland Gull showed very well at the
fishing boats in the afternoon as it came to
discarded fish offal. The Glaucous Gull
also showed well in the early morning and again in
the evening. At least 3000 Guillemots were
also seen.
A Great Spotted Woodpecker and nine Long-tailed Tits were seen in the trapping area. |
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| 30th | The
juvenile/first-winter Iceland Gull and
adult Glaucous Gull continue to show well
at times around the fishing boats and two adult Little
Gulls and an adult Mediterranean Gull
were feeding at the Patch.
Several 1000 Guillemots and increasing numbers of Razorbills were also feeding offshore. A Dartford Warbler was seen near the Britannia Pub as it followed a male Stonechat around the bushes. |
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| 31st | The
juvenile Iceland Gull and adult Glaucous
Gull were still present, mainly around the
Point/Fishing Boats area, and an adult Mediterranean
Gull and at least three Little Gulls
were feeding along the tide line or at the Patch.
Several thousand Guillemots were also
feeding offshore or moving east along with a few Razorbills.
The most unlikely event of the day, especially given the wintry weather, was a very early, large, easterly movement of Brent Geese with at least 2200 passing through. |
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