Sightings November 2010

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1st Blackbirds and Starlings arrived in good numbers during the day and there was a steady trickle of Skylarks, Chaffinches, Siskins and Redpolls overhead during the morning. There were four Firecrests and a flock of 13 Long-tailed Tits (one of which seemed likely to be of the europeaus race) in the area. Other birds passing overhead included a Buzzard, 150 Stock Doves, five Swallows, 19 Bramblings, a Lapland Bunting and a Corn Bunting of note.
2nd The highlight of the day was a Stone-curlew seen in the Desert in the afternoon but there was very little else to be seen.
3rd A few Stock Doves, Skylarks and finches passed overhead but it was otherwise a very quiet day.
4th A day of strong winds and limited coverage produced a Great Northern Diver and a Goosander offshore of note.
5th Another dismal day and very little to be seen. Two Merlins, a lingering Sandwich Tern, three Swallows and three Black Redstart were the only notable birds. 
6th Limited coverage in the Observatory area again but this time due to the discovery of this superb Red-flanked Bluetail in roadside bushes at Dengemarsh Lane. This is the first Dungeness record of this species in an autumn which has seen unprecedented numbers arriving into Britain.

Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus   Dengemarsh   6th November 2010

7th A Woodcock and two Firecrests were of note in the bushes but it was mainly overhead where most of the days interest lay. At least 19,000 Starlings along with a Marsh Harrier, two Sparrowhawks, 147 Stock Doves, seven Swallows, 24 Tree Sparrows, 726 Chaffinches, 29 Bramblings, 51 Redpolls and a Lapland Bunting arrived from the east. Offshore, good numbers of Brent Geese passed by along with other wildfowl including 26 Wigeon 14 Pintail and three Goldeneye whilst a Little Gull and over 200 Gannets were feeding.
8th The day began with strong southerly winds and a seawatch during the first hours of daylight produced a variety of duck in small numbers moving and including 45 Wigeon, five Pintail, four Gadwall, two Velvet Scoters and 15 Red-breasted Mergansers and a few Gannets, Kittiwakes and a single Pomarine Skua flying east. However, the wind steadily increased during the morning to a Force 8-9 and combined with heavy rain/poor visibility resulted in a superb seawatch in the afternoon. In 3.5hours there were five Balearic Shearwaters, a Leach's Petrel, 31 Fulmars, 850 Gannets, three Arctic Skuas, a juvenile Long-tailed Skua, ten Pomarine Skuas, 20 Great Skuas, 18 Little Gulls, a Mediterranean Gull, 2000 Kittiwakes and a Sandwich Tern flying east, mostly very close inshore and even over the beach itself.
9th Very quiet after the excitement of the last few days with just a trickle of ducks including 17 Eiders flying west and a Little Gull offshore. Nothing worth mentioning on the land.
10th  A bright morning resulted in a small visible migration with the highlight being four Lapland Buntings along with 700 Starlings, three Bramblings, 55 Goldfinches and 26 Redpolls. A Little Egret was seen at the Long Pits in the afternoon. It was fairly quiet offshore although single Velvet Scoter, Great Skua, Mediterranean Gull and Little Gull were seen.
11th A day of stormy weather failed to produce anything more than three Little Gulls and 90 Kittiwakes. 
12th Another wet and windy day and with very little to be seen.
13th A small movement of finches occurred with 35 Chaffinches, a Brambling, 200 Goldfinches and 16 Siskins of note but very little else was seen other than a Black-throated Diver on the sea off the fishing boats and a party of three Little Gulls which flew east.

Also of interest, a Grey Phalarope was found initially on the pit just to the north of the Scotney Farm track, but it was fairly mobile and visited various sites before settling on the pit just to the south of the caravan park to the north of Scotney.

Grey Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius   Scotney

14th Still wet but not as windy as in recent days resulted in a large movement of finches overhead with 38 Chaffinches, 11 Bramblings,  360 Goldfinches, 400 Sisikins and 295 Redpolls. A few birds in the bushes included two Blackcaps, three Firecrests and at least one the ringed europeaus Long-tailed Tits.

The highlight though was a first-year Glaucous Gull which spent 40 minutes or so in the gull roost on the Point.

The Grey Phalarope was on the main Scotney pit this afternoon.

15th Mainly small numbers of birds continued to pass overhead but with a couple of notable highlights in the forms of a Wood Lark and a flock of six Twites. Very little to report from the trapping area other than the same three Firecrests as yesterday.

The first-year Glaucous Gull was still on the beach at the fishing boats along with hundreds of other gulls including a Mediterranean Gull and two Yellow-legged Gulls.

Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus   First-year

This bird is easy to recognize individually as it has no tail feathers.

16th Four Chiffchaffs and two Firecrests in the trapping area and a Kingfisher at the Long Pits were the only notable birds seen although there was another small movement of Starlings and finches including four Bramblings, 26 Siskins and 48 Redpolls.
17th A few birds flew west during the day including a Black-throated Diver, 96 Gannets, 26 Wigeon, four Eiders, 18 Red-breasted Mergansers, nine Little Gulls, 63 Kittiwakes and a Sandwich Tern and a Short-eared Owl came in off the sea. Large numbers of gulls on the beach included the first-year Glaucous Gull and three Yellow-legged Gulls.

Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus 

There was also a small increase in birds on the land and included a Woodcock and 23 Blackbirds.

18th A surprising seawatch this morning produced three Black-throated Divers and two Great Northern Divers passing west but not a great deal else other than nine Red-breasted Mergansers and two adult Mediterranean Gulls. The Glaucous Gull was showing very well at the fishing boats.

There was also a small arrival of birds on the land with five Woodcocks, 13 Redwings, four Chiffchaffs and a Firecrest of note.

19th A few more grounded migrants about today with two Woodcocks, four Snipe, 30 Robins, 24 Blackbirds, 11 Chiffchaffs and five Firecrests of note. Passage also continues overhead with good numbers of finches including 60 Siskins, 82 Redpolls and another Twite. Other notable birds included a Marsh Harrier, two Merlins, a Rock Pipit and a Brambling.

The first-year Glaucous Gull continues to show very well at the fishing boats (and in sunshine for the first time).

Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus  first-year 

20th The highlight of the day was a Yellow-browed Warbler which showed quite well in the trapping area for most of the day. There was also a decent arrival of other migrants including three Woodcocks, 15 Chiffchaffs and 16 Firecrests. There were also at least 15 Long-tailed Tits. Finch passage was reduced but did include a Brambling, 48 Siskins and 14 Redpolls.

The Glaucous Gull was still showing well on the beach around the fishing boats but there little evidence of any movement offshore.

21st At least one Snow Bunting and a Short-eared Owl flew over the area and the Glaucous Gull and Yellow-browed Warbler were still present. The trapping area held six Chiffchaffs and ten Firecrests and the finch passage continues with 105 Chaffinches, two Bramblings, 330 Goldfinches, 120 Siskins and 170 Redpolls and a Yellowhammer was also of note (only the second record this year!). 
22nd A Wood Lark flew over and the Glaucous Gull was still at the fishing boats but there was no sign of the Yellow-browed Warbler. There were also four Chiffchaffs, two Firecrests and nine Long-tailed Tits in the trapping area and Goldfinches, Siskins and Redpolls continue to pass through in reasonable numbers.
23rd A quieter day for visible migration but with the highlight of a party of five Ravens. Of the finches, the most significant were 48 Siskins and 33 Redpolls. There were two Chiffchaffs, two Firecrests and ten Long-tailed Tits at the Long Pits.

The Glaucous Gull was still showing well at the fishing boats.

24th Very little to report. There were a couple of Chiffchaffs, a Firecrest and at least one of the ringed europeaus Long-tailed Tits in the trapping area and a trickle of finches passing overhead including three Bramblings and 30 Siskins.
25th A Buzzard over the northern end of the recording area and 75 Kittiwakes flying south in the afternoon were the only notable records.
26th Despite the continuing, increasingly cold weather, there is little sign of any cold-weather movement so far. Two Black Redstarts around the Observatory building were the only birds of note although the trapping area was not checked.
27th An early morning snow fall and frequent further snow showers during the day produced a Great Skua, a Mediterranean Gull, 52 Teal, 78 Wigeon, two Shovelers and 38 Red-throated Divers offshore and 50 Siskins flew over.
28th Heavy snow during the morning again but still not a great deal to be seen other than a few birds moving south offshore and a Woodcock, two Snipe and three Chiffchaffs at the Long Pits. The best of the birds offshore were a flock of 32 Barnacle Geese, 152 Teal, two Gadwall, a Great Skua and a Mediterranean Gull.
29th More snow during the morning but still just a trickle of birds passing offshore and little in the way of cold-weather migrants on the land. Three Goldeneyes flew past and seven Snipe came in from the east and after an absence of over a week the first-year Glaucous Gull reappeared on the beach at the fishing boats. Three Cetti's Warblers, four Chiffchaffs and four Long-tailed Tits were seen in the bushes, 13 Siskins flew over and three Merlins were hunting around the fishing boats.
30th Another wintry day and a bit more activity offshore but still nothing obvious on the land. The best of the birds seen offshore were 70 Teal, 101 Wigeon, 17 Gadwall, 12 Shoveler and a Long-tailed Duck, six Little Gulls and an adult Mediterranean Gull. The Glaucous Gull was showing well again at the fishing boats where a Merlin was also hunting.