Ray O'Reilly, KOS Field Trip organiser and leader, writes:- 

'The September KOS field outing group visited sunny Dungeness on Sunday 3rd September. 

With high pressure weather systems dominating the weather, hope for unusual birds were low, but our KOS group recorded 81 species.  This was achieved without carrying out a sea watch and a few interesting avian delights were included in that total. 

 We were greeted by a migrating Spotted Flycatcher at our meeting point and saw another in the moat area surrounding the coastguard cottages later. Some lovely views of Willow Warblers were obtained, yellow in their juvenile plumage with some adults producing sub-song.  The ARC Pit was full of birds and we all enjoyed carefully picking through them on the busy mud and shingle spits.  Highlights included 2 Glossy Ibis, 3 Cattle Egrets, 2 Great White Egrets with another 3 later, several Common Snipe and 2 Little Ringed Plovers.

 On the same side of the road we visited the viewing screen and then walked onwards to the pines  - close to the water tower - and onto the shingle, where we watched a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk battling it out for a considerable amount of time. Lesser Whitethroat was added to the day list.

 Our visit to the main part of the reserve was disappointing.  I have never seen so few birds there and the view from the Scott Lookout was obscured by reeds and other vegetation.

 The group then drove to the Dungeness promontory where we took a walk around the bird observatory before lunch which was a lot more productive.  Birds seen included 3 Northern Wheatears, 4 Stonechat and a perched Peregrine.

 Throughout lunch a haar (sea-mist) had formed offshore and the lighthouse foghorn could be clearly heard so this scuppered our afternoon seawatch. 

 However all was not lost as we decided to go to Lade Gravel Pits  - an area behind the houses on the Littlestone Road -  where we found a superb transitional plumaged adult Black-necked Grebe with golden-ears and a blood-red eye. We also saw  c180 Mediterranean Gulls in every plumage imaginable. Our final stop was at Galloways where we enjoyed 6 Whinchats, more Stonechats and a passage of Sand Martins.

All in all a cracking day with great company.

 Thanks to Martin Casemore and David Walker  - Dungeness Observatory Warden - for their assistance throughout the day. 

Image supplied by Yuti Chernajovsky