August2004

31st August - A walk along West Brook Valley in the morning wasn't very productive apart from 3 Sparrowhawks, 1 Lesser Whitethroat and 16 Chiffchaffs, so I changed tack and did a raptor watch at Shuart. The highlight was my first Honey Buzzard for the area (No. 181 for the year and 264 for the area), which circled Netherhale for 5 minutes before flying SW over St. Nicholas-at-Wade. Also seen were 4 Hobbies together, 2 Sparrowhawks, 8 Kestrels and 1 Marsh Harrier, whilst earlier in the morning Ken Lodge and Dave Sutton had seen the juvenile Montagu's Harrier. This is being seen occasionally, but is presumably hunting over a wide area. Others bits included 300 Swifts, 70 Golden Plovers, 60 Lapwings and 2 Little Egrets. An evening walk around the Reculver end included 2 Whinchats, 7 Ruff, 1 Knot, 7 Green Sandpipers, 3 Greenshank, 30 Dunlin, 1 Common Sandpiper, 12 Pochard, 1 Shoveler, 1 Little Egret and 300 Linnets.

30th August - A short morning walk around Shuart included 1 Whinchat, 1 Wheatear, 1 Peregrine, 2 Hobbies, 3 Sparrowhawks, 1 Marsh Harrier and a few of the commoner warblers. An afternoon look at the Reculver end included 1 Whinchat, 7 Ruff, 4 Green Sandpipers, 3 Greenshanks, 1 Knot and a few common warblers. A Golden Plover flew west offshore, and about 60 Sandwich Terns and a Manx Shearwater were feeding off Minnis in the evening.

29th August - A morning walk around Shuart suggested a small arrival of the commoner warblers, with 9 Willow Warblers, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Goldcrest, 5 Lesser Whitethroats, 8 Whitethroats, 9 Blackcaps, 7 Chiffchaffs and 2 Sedge Warblers. The first Wigeon of the autumn flew over, plus 5 Shoveler and 18 Teal. Other bits and bobs included an adult Peregrine, 2 Hobbies, 4 Kestrels, 2 Marsh Harriers, 46 Red-legged Partridges, 8 Grey Partridges, 4 Turtle Doves, 10 Long-tailed Tits, 25 Swifts W, 60 House Martins W, 1 Ring-necked Parakeet, 4 Song Thrushes and 2 Mistle Thrushes. About 200 Swallows flew west during the morning.

28th August - I obtained good views of the juvenile Montagu's Harrier as it flew across the Oyster Farm at Reculver early this morning. Still relatively quiet in the area with a Grasshopper Warbler seen by Mike Baldock the best of the rest. Otherwise 14 Wheatears, 4 Blackcaps, 2 Willow Warblers, 5 Whitethroats, 8 Turtle Doves, 3 Kingfishers, 1 Barn Owl, 1 Little Owl, 3 Marsh Harriers, 1 Peregrine, 3 Sparrowhawks, 6 Kestrels, 1 Common Buzzard, 7 Ruff, 1 Spotted Redshank, 3 Greenshank, 4 Green Sandpipers, 3 Common Sandpipers, 10 Little Egrets, 260 Mallard, 8 Teal, 12 Pochard, 2 Tufted Ducks, 74 Coot, 28 Dunlin, 16 Snipe, 164 Oystercatchers, 125 Turnstone, 1 Sanderling, 94 Sandwich Terns, 4 Golden Plovers, 32 Lapwing, 110 Ringed Plovers and 4 Common Terns.

27th August - An evening walk at Reculver included the first Spotted Redshank of the autumn, plus 6 Ruff, 3 Greenshanks, 5 Snipe, 3 Green Sandpipers, 1 Hobby, 1 Marsh Harrier, 8 Teal, 10 Pochard, 64 Coot, 30 Swifts and 1 Spotted Flycatcher.

26th August - Not much birding. At Reculver in the early morning there were 19 Little Egrets, 2 Wheatears and a Hobby, whilst 80 Gannets, 40 Sandwich Terns and an Arctic Skua were feeding off Minnis Bay.

25th August - Still quite a few terns at the Minnis Bay end, with 350 Sandwich Terns and 125 Common Terns roosting or feeding. The birds feeding offshore were accompanied by 80 Gannets and 4 Arctic Skuas plus quite a lot of gulls. Apart from a late Nightingale at the Stables, migrant passerines were generally absent or in low numbers, but included 1 Whinchat, 9 Wheatears, 3 Chiffchaffs, 1 Cuckoo (which was attacked by a Peregrine, but survived), 18 Whitethroats, 40 Yellow Wagtails, 500 Linnets, 32 Swallows W and 20 Reed Buntings. Other sightings included 350 House Sparrows, 1 Hobby, 2 Marsh Harriers, 3 Sparrowhawks, 1 Common Buzzard, 5 Kestrel, 9 Green Sandpipers, 5 Ruff, 22 Dunlin, 1 Common Sandpiper, 3 Greenshanks, 4 Golden Plover, 6 Whimbrel W, 2 Snipe, 2 Corn Buntings, 1 Little Egret, 4 Pochard and 12 Turtle Doves.

24th August - A large tern influx this morning with about 2.000 Common Terns W and 500 present at Minnis Bay and 400 Sandwich Terns W and 300 present, plus 1 Little Tern. Other sightings included 40 Gannets feeding offshore, 6 Arctic Skuas harassing the terns, 2 Grey Plover W, 2 Dunlin W, 6 Teal W, 8 Common Scoter W and 45 Swifts W. A juvenile Montagu's Harrier was seen at Reculver by Chris Hindle in the evening, plus 7 Ruff, 6 Greenshank, 24 Teal and 4 Green Sandpipers, whilst my evening walk along the sea-wall at Reculver included 1 Arctic Tern (No. 180 for the year), 2 Black Terns, 265 Sandwich Terns and 350 Common Terns, all moving west, presumably to roost somewhere around the Swale. Other bits included 24 Dunlin, 6 Common Sandpipers, 2 Greenshank and 10 Little Egrets.

23rd August - I naively thought that overnight rain and a SE wind might produce something, but if it did, I didn't see it. Amongst the few things noted in an early morning walk at Reculver were 25 Little Egrets, 1 Hobby, 3 Green Sandpipers, 2 Greenshank, 2 Curlew, 15 Teal, 12 Dunlin, 14 Snipe, 60 Redshank, 1 Wheatear, 6 Common Sandpipers, 15 Common Terns and 4 Sandwich Terns.

22nd August - A morning walk round the area revealed a continuing dearth of migrant passerines, but there were a few sightings of interest. Birds seen included 1 fem/imm Garganey, 3 Ruff, 3 Green Sandpipers, 7 Greenshanks, 170 Golden Plovers, 10 Common Sandpipers, 46 Teal, 6 Dunlin, 33 Snipe, 24 Little Egrets, including 18 W, 6 Grey Herons, 4 Arctic Skuas, 3 Marsh Harriers, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Peregrine Falcon, 4 Kestrels, 1 Barn Owl, 8 Gadwall, 220 Mallard, 1 Whinchat, 7 Wheatears, 4 Lesser Whitethroats, 3 Willow Warblers, 6 Chiffchaffs, 60 Whitethroats, 2 Blackcaps, 25 Common Terns, 8 Sandwich Terns, 2 Kingfishers, 1 Gannet, 8 Turtle Doves, 2 Corn Buntings, 60 Yellow Wagtails, 58 Coot and 20 Little Grebes.

21st August - A seawatch at Reculver from 06:00-10:15 in moderate NW winds included a sub-adult Long-tailed Skua (No. 179 for the year), 65 Arctic Skuas W, 3 Bonxies W, 60 Common Terns W, 40 Sandwich Terns E, 9 Gannets W, 1 Shelduck W, 2 Pochard W, 3 Sanderling W, 1 Grey Plover W, 12 Fulmars W, 4 Kittiwakes W, 1 1st winter Mediterranean Gull W, 1 Great Crested Grebe and 8 Dunlin W. A probable Sabine's Gull was not seen well enough to be able to submit the record.

20th August - A morning look in the Reculver area included 1 Little Ringed Plover, 10 Whimbrel W, 3 Wood Sandpipers, 5 Green Sandpipers, 5 Greenshank, 6 Common Sandpipers, 15 Snipe, 3 Little Egrets, 5 Grey Herons, 72 Teal, 1 Pintail, 1 Shoveler, 1 Pochard, 53 Coot, 1 Corn Bunting and 12 Swifts W.

19th August - A very quick morning look at the Reculver end included 2 Wood Sandpipers, 3 Greenshanks, 6 Green Sandpipers, 2 Snipe, 64 Teal, 1 Shoveler, 4 Little Egrets, 18 Little Grebes, 20 Tufted Ducks and 52 Coot.

17th/18th August - No birding for me. Neil Faulkner saw 3 Black-tailed Godwits on the 17th, a scarce bird in this area.

16th August - An early morning look at Shuart and near Reculver for passerines wasn't great, but a few were seen, including 6 Willow Warblers, 12 Chiffchaffs, 4 Blackcaps, 3 Lesser Whitethroats, 1 Garden Warbler, 30 Whitethroats, 4 Spotted Flycatchers, 16 Turtle Doves, 15 Long-tailed Tits and the first Grey Wagtail of the autumn. Raptors noted included 1 Hobby, 4 Sparrowhawks, 3 Kestrels and a Marsh Harrier. An evening walk at Reculver included 3 Wood Sandpipers, 15 Snipe, 4 Green Sandpipers, 160 Golden Plovers, 3 Greenshanks, 8 Common Sandpipers, 3 Dunlin, 3 Little Egrets and 9 Turtle Doves. Still high numbers of Swifts about, with 1,600 west between 17:30 and 20:00.

15th August - Where are all the passerines? Very few migrant landbirds in the area at the moment. A few waders still at the Reculver end this a.m., including 6 Wood Sandpipers, 5 Green Sandpipers, 5 Greenshanks, 6 Dunlin, 27 Snipe, 5 Common Sandpipers, 1 Golden Plover and 1 Curlew W. A Pintail, 3 Shoveler, 48 Teal and 49 Coot were also seen, plus 2 Marsh Harriers, 20 Common Terns, 1 Cuckoo, 2 Little Egrets and 9 Grey Herons, including a flock of 4 moving west.

14th August - An early morning visit to Reculver included a remarkable total (by Reculver standards) of 16 Wood Sandpipers and 10 Green Sandpipers, plus 5 Greenshanks, 50 Dunlin W, 6 Gannets, 1 Knot, 1 Whimbrel, 5 Snipe, 5 Common Sandpipers, 32 Teal, 1 Shoveler, 2 Common Scoter, 1 Hobby, 1 Marsh Harrier and 2 Little Egrets. A quick mid-morning look at the Minnis Bay end included 3 juvenile Marsh Harriers, 1 Peregrine Falcon, 39 Greylag Geese, 2 Barn Owls, 2 Spotted Flycatchers and the first Whinchat of the autumn. A Pomarine Skua, 2 Bonxies, 20 Arctic Skuas and 3 Black Terns were reported on the Birdguides website for Reculver up to 08:30. An evening walk at Reculver included 2 Cuckoos, 15 Wood Sandpipers, 1 adult male and 2 juvenile Marsh Harriers, 1 Hobby, 1 Pintail, 5 Greenshanks, 6 Green Sandpipers, 8 Common Sandpipers and 12 Snipe.

13th August - Rather cool again with a moderate westerly wind. An early morning walk in the Shuart area saw the first Garden Warbler and Goldcrest of the autumn. Other bits and bobs included 6 Willow Warblers, 5 Chiffchaffs, 30 Whitethroats, 4 Spotted Flycatchers, 18 Turtle Doves, 2 Sparrowhawks, 1 Marsh Harrier, 5 Kestrels, 26 Teal, 6 Gadwall, 10 Tufted Ducks, 3 Green Woodpeckers and 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers.

12th August - Cool and showery, and it didn't feel like much was happening in the early morning. A family party of Sparrowhawks were making a lot of noise near Reculver, plus 1 Hobby, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 12 Chiffchaffs and 18 Whitethroats, but most places not looked at. An evening visit to Reculver included 4 Wood Sandpipers, 3 Ruff, 22 Common Sandpipers, 3 Snipe, 2 Greenshank, 40 Redshank, 6 Dunlin, 2 Golden Plovers, 60 Lapwing, 1 Curlew, 7 Common Terns, 5 Sandwich Terns, 6 Little Egrets, 5 Grey Herons, 14 Teal, 4 Shoveler, 1 Pochard and 80 Swifts.

11th August - Rather quieter than of late. An early morning visit to Reculver included 3 Willow Warblers, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 5 Chiffchaffs, 150+ Yellow Wagtails, 1 Cuckoo, 200 Linnets, 12 Chaffinches, 2 Marsh Harriers, 1 Sparrowhawk, 8 Kestrels, 25 Golden Plovers, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Greenshank, 6 Snipe, 10 Common Sandpipers, 4 Whimbrel W, 8 Dunlin, 36 Redshanks, 400 Swifts W, 300 Sand Martins feeding over the fields, 30 Swallows W, 26 Gannets E, 9 Little Terns, 2 Little Egrets, 5 Grey Herons, a few Common and Sandwich Terns, 126 Mallard, 1 Shoveler, 6 Teal, 20 Tufted Ducks and 1 Pochard. An evening visit to Reculver included 1 Wood Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper, 3 Greenshanks, 45 Redshanks, 15 Common Sandpipers, 3 Snipe, 6 Dunlin, 1 Kingfisher, 26 Common Terns and a dense flock of about 500 Swifts west over the Towers as it was getting dark.

10th August - A soaking overnight and in the first part of the morning, with 1.5 inches of rain in the area. A large arrival of Wood Sandpipers and Curlew Sandpipers in east Kent wasn't really reflected at Reculver, although 1 Wood Sandpiper did fly west offshore. There were also 6 Green Sandpipers, 2 Greenshank W, 26 Common Sandpipers, 3 Snipe, 7 Golden Plovers W, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 33 Black Terns, 5 Little Terns, 80 Common Terns, 30 Sandwich Terns, 6 Gannets (including an adult sitting on the beach at Reculver!), 2 Tufted Ducks W, 1 Gadwall, 12 Common Scoter, 1 Corn Bunting, 1 first winter Mediterranean Gull, 1 Marsh Harrier, 3 Little Egrets, 2 Willow Warblers, 12 Grey Partridges, 3 Blackcaps and 6 Chiffchaffs. An afternoon visit in the Minnis area included 4 Wood Sandpipers, 3 Green Sandpipers, 1 Greenshank, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Teal, 8 Ruddy Ducks and 1 Willow Warbler, whilst an evening walk at Reculver was productive, with 2 Temminck's Stints together, plus 1 Little Stint, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 35 Snipe, 8 Dunlin, 1 Whimbrel W, 12 Common Sandpipers, 80 Swifts, 40 Swallows W, 60 Yellow Wagtails, 4 Gannets, 40 Common Terns and a flock of 35 Black Terns heading west. The Temminck's Stints were the 2nd and 3rd in the area this year, although before this there had been only one record.

9th August - Quite a few terns about off Reculver in the early morning, with 38 Black Terns, 52 Little Terns, 35 Sandwich Terns and 175 Common Terns. Other things offshore included 1 Garganey W, 4 Shoveler W, 8 Teal W, 244 Common Scoter E, 8 Gannets, 2 Dunlin W, 2 Whimbrel W, 1 Golden Plover W and 1 Green Sandpiper W. Waders present included 1 Little Stint, my 178th species for the year, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 1 Greenshank, 3 Snipe, 8 Dunlin and 8 Common Sandpipers. 1 Wheatear, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Shelduck, 4 Grey Partridges and 4 Little Egrets were also present. A seawatch off Minnis from 09:00-09:30 added 95 Common Scoter E, 14 Teal W, 2 Black Terns, 19 Little Terns, 30 Common Terns, 12 Sandwich Terns, 2 Common Sandpipers and a Grey Heron E o/s. A quick look at Shuart included 1 Sparrowhawk, 5 Spotted Flycatchers, 3 Chiffchaffs, 1 Snipe, 2 Barn Owls, 2 Kestrels and 1 Blackcap. Marc Heath saw Peregrine, Sparrowhawk, 4 Black Terns and a Cuckoo in off the sea at Reculver. An afternoon look at Minnis Bay included 1 Arctic Skua, 1 juvenile Kittiwake, 33 Black Terns feeding offshore, 6 Gannets, 1 ad w/p Mediterranean Gull, 1 Ruddy Duck, 5 Grey Herons, 10 Greylag Geese, 30 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 100+ Swifts W, 1 Golden Plover, 1 Snipe and 1 Tufted Duck.

8th August - An early morning visit to Reculver produced 26 Black Terns, 2 Ruff in from the north, 2 Arctic Skuas, 4 Little Terns, 210 Common Terns, 40 Sandwich Terns, 20 Gannets, 2 Common Scoter E, 3 Teal E and 4 present, 1 Golden Plover W, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Green Sandpipers, 12 Dunlin, 7 Common Sandpipers, 1 Knot, 16 Mallard, 5 Shelducks, 60 Lapwings, 1 Sparrowhawk, 3 Little Egrets and 1 Wheatear. An evening visit to Reculver included 12 Snipe, including a flock of 7 in off, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Greenshank, 10 Dunlin, 8 Common Sandpipers, 1 Green Sandpiper, 55 Redshanks, 3 Golden Plover W, 40 Lapwing, 1 Arctic Skua E, 70 Common Scoter E, 1 Great Crested Grebe o/s, 10 Sandwich Terns, 8 Common Terns, 48 Coot, 1 Shoveler, 2 Wheatears and 2 Jays.

7th August - A late morning visit to the Shuart area in rather hot weather included 1 Hobby, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Marsh Harriers, 4 Barn Owls, 4 Kestrels, 3 Spotted Flycatchers, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Willow Warblers, 3 Chiffchaffs, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers and 6 Long-tailed Tits. A late afternoon wader count was fairly productive, with 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Greenshank, 1 Green Sandpiper, 16 Common Sandpipers, 2 Snipe, 8 Dunlin, 3 Sanderling, 54 Golden Plovers, 38 Lapwing, 70 Redshank, 255 Turnstones, 64 Oystercatchers and 136 Ringed Plovers. Other birds noted included 3 Wheatears, 200 Linnets, 75 Sandwich Terns, 8 Common Terns, 30 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 2 Greater Black-backed Gulls, 1 Kittiwake, 2 Gannets, 7 Turtle Doves, 6 Little Egrets and 5 Grey Herons.

3rd-6th August - I gather that not a great deal was seen in this period, with a few Black Terns and waders being seen.

2nd August - A very brief early morning visit to Reculver included 1 juvenile Mediterranean Gull, 1 Greenshank, 2 Dunlin, 6 Common Sandpipers, 1 Curlew, 2 Gannets, 7 Sandwich Terns, 1 Shoveler, 8 Shelduck, 52 Mallard and 1 Marsh Harrier. Please note that there will be no further updates until next weekend.

1st August - An early morning walk in the Brooksend/Shuart area plus a quick look at the sea off Minnis Bay included 8 Willow Warblers, 3 Lesser Whitethroats, 3 Spotted Flycatchers, 3 Sparrowhawks, 1 Marsh Harrier, 2 Gadwall, 20 Mallard, 39 Greylag Geese, 20 Grey Partridges, 25 Red-legged Partridges, 40 Turtle Doves, 1 Barn Owl, 3 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 12 Common Scoter E, 1 Curlew, 1 Whimbrel, 30 Sandwich Terns and 18 Common Terns.