RED KITE IN THE MORNING

Last week at Samphire Hoe,the action was mostly at sea with gannets feeding off shore along with red throated divers,great cested grebes, and a lingering shag.The bluethroat showed up after lunch in the bramble patches near the car park.
 Sunday morning on the cliffs brought a few yellowhammers and corn buntings and a red kite floated by on the breeze,the assumed male raven is still working hard providing food for the family.kittiwakes are back on the nest sites and continue the easterly movement towards St Margarets and beyond.

GREAT CRESTED GREBE

GANNETS GALORE

RED THROATED DIVER with a large fish which was eventually swallowed

RTD moulting into breeding plumage

SHAG

SUNNY SUNDAY about time too.

FAT YELLOWHAMMER- LOTS OF BREAD AND LOTS OF CHEESE?

LITTLE BIT OF BREAD &NO CHEESE

We tried to attract the attention of two fellahs looking for peregrines as the kite floated behind them,but to no avail.

RED KITE

 RAVEN with rather worn plumage..

BLACK HOLE

Highlight of this mornings walk around Langdon Cliffs was 5 black redstarts in the" Hole",also the first easterly movement of chaffinches was evident and a steady trickle eastward of lesser black backs all flying individually.A couple of white wagtails,a corn bunting and a stonechat also made the notebook.Also seen were messrs Ashton &Gutsell,amongst other unknown birders no doubt drawn to Dover by the Bluethroat.

BLACK REDSTART

BLUETHROAT TWITCHERS

ITS A CHILL WIND

The unrelenting easterly winds continue to chill us all,at least we can put extra layers on or stay indoors,spare a thought for our early summer migrants such as wheatears,sandwich terns and sand martins how do they survive?
Tuesday morning at Samphire Hoe gave me my first wheatear of the year,seemingly finding tasty morsels around the main car park.

The sea provided most interest with a steady stream of birds moving east into the teeth of the wind.
Gannets,sandwich terns,red throated divers,kittiwakes, great crested grebes the usual gulls and cormorants and a single black throated diver.

A WINDSWEPT RED THROATED DIVER
A male black redstart was uncooperative and was not popular with the local stonechats.

BLACK REDSTART IN ACTION

SANDWICH TERN

SAMPHIRE HOE and Paul Holt also turned up the goods  today when he found a BLUETHROAT in scrub around the back car park.

BLUETHROAT

The bluethroat is a rare passage migrant in Britain in spring on its journey to northern europe where it breeds among willows and birch forests.Expert opinion was that this was a first year bird,it was also a first for me in UK.

AROUND THE VERNAL EQUINOX

I have just watched a film called The Big Year,a salutary tale of obsessive twitching and where it can lead,be warned all of you boys doing the big year yourselves.

NEW MOON

In the mean time have had a few trips out despite the springlike weather.

GREY PLOVER

 OYSTERCATCHER

RINGED PLOVER
The above were seen on a brief walk along the sea wall at Reculver

SHAG,still a few hanging around Dover Harbour last weekend.

TUFTED DUCK Stodmarsh

50 BRENT GEESE flying east past Samphire Hoe

HARBOUR PORPOISE were very much in evidence in the calm waters off the Hoe on Tuesday

MEDITERRANEAN GULL this superb bird took a fancy to Franks left overs

F231 HMS ARGYLL going down channel
The reports of Black necked &Slavonian grebes at Seaton led to a brief afternoon trip there in a chill damp easterly breeze on Wednsday afternoon,of course they were on the far side of the lake,but at least  they were together.

DISTANT FUZZY GREBES

Had to go to Deal on Thursday to buy tickets for a gig at the Astor theatre,so popped in to Rest Harrow,hoping for a garganey,the teal of spring but had to make do with the usual teal,shoveller and tufties,one of which did a swim by the hide.

Today,Friday I braved the biting easterly wind and walked along the PoW pier and was rewarded with about ten Sandwich Terns feeding in the inner harbour.

SANDWICH TERNS

JUVENILE KITTIWAKE

THE SNOWS OF SAMPHIRE HOE

Following mondays snow,Samphire Hoe was a bleak but picturesque place on Tuesday,

PACK ICE BUT NO POLAR BEARS

IS THAT A YETI?

MINI MOGULS