Ray O'Reilly - Outdoor trip organiser  - writes:- "Dungeness delivered again for our Kent Ornithological Society (KOS) August 2022 field outing. We had some last minute drama when the gulls took off screaming as an Osprey circled over Burrows Pit and drifted off towards Greatstone  - our 91st Species of the day!

Our group was made up of new attendees and regulars whose ages ranged from 9-83 years of age.

 We started off with a seawatch near the Power Station, observing adult Gannets (mainly) flop down onto the sea to rest before heading off fishing again with a splash.  A very smart adult pale morph Arctic Skua headed West harassing anything that came close to it and a pair of Peregrines were studied on the Power Station buildings through scopes, and a Grey Wagtail was on the filter beds.

 We headed over towards the bird observatory via the Old Lighthouse Garden where we almost immediately picked up a Pied Flycatcher that would fly down from a low perch to the ground in pursuit of insects.

 There were many Willow Warblers in the area,  mostly bright yellowish juveniles with some sporting bright aluminium rings.   I found a slender Robin type bird, brown above, paler below with a mottled breast shaking its tail that when viewed was bright rusty-red, it was a juvenile Common Redstart but alas, it vanished into the well vegetated garden - as birds so often do!

 The moat by the observatory was full of birds including Common and Lesser Whitethroats, Stonechats and a couple of Wheatears that showed well.

 After some discussion we decided to make the most of Lydd Firing ranges being open and so Galloways was our next destination, where  a mixed flock of Swallows, House and Sand Martins, four Whinchats and a male Black Redstart were the highlights.

 Our final stop before lunch was the ARC Pit and the Hanson Hide. The RSPB have done a lot of work in this area recently and the site now looks superb.  We were privileged with very close views of Common and Green Sandpipers and Black-tailed Godwits while Wood Sandpiper, Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers all gave good scope views.  Several Snipe and Dunlin were added to our daily total and then we were off to lunch at the main part of the reserve in the Visitor's Centre.

 We then walked around the reserve clockwise until reaching Denge Marsh were we saw nine Cattle Egrets, eight Great White Egrets and five Glossy Ibis intermixed with Grey Herons and Little Egrets.  It was a heron fest indeed - and unimaginable 15 years ago.

 At Hooker's Pit viewing ramp we found a very obliging juvenile Bearded Tit and a juvenile Water Rail showed well. A young Hobby wheeled by and a Common Gull that had eluded us all day was found by David Hale. Finally it was time for goodbyes and the Osprey drama. Until next time............'  Ray