Dungeness and a bit of Purple Rain

10/6/12

It was a trip to Dungeness today. After being let out for the day we decided to make a day of it and go somewhere we don't usually go.

On the way there, specifically along Stone Street, there were loads of Great Spotted Woodpeckers and we managed to spot a Buzzard sitting on a tree stump in a field as well.

Common Buzzard

Once we had arrived, our first port of call was the nets near the power station to see if there was anything there, there wasn't. So we wandered around the bushes to see if we could see anything in amongst them, we saw Wood Pigeons, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long-Tailed Tits, Whitethroats, Linnets, Blackbirds, Starling, Magpie, Crow, Herring Gull and a Coot on the water.

Linnet

We then headed off towards the beach for a bit of sea watching. On our way there we picked up Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail and Black Redstart. Unfortunately I couldn't get a picture of the Black Redstart.

Pied Wagtail

Whilst sea watching we saw a Great Black Backed Gull, Common Tern, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Cormorant and Sandwich Tern. No Skuas or Shearwaters that we were hoping for which to be honest is a bit of a bummer. On our way back to the car we did see a Hobby that flew over head.

We then made our way to the bridge at Dengemarsh where the Purple Heron had been seen. On our way we picked up a Yellow Wagtail on the wires, a Stock Dove on a out building, Greylag Geese and Mute Swans. While there we saw Pochard, Tufted Duck, Reed Bunting, Sedge Warbler, Mallard, Rook, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Shelduck, Reed Warbler and Oystercatcher. It then started to rain and we had been there a while and decided to move round to the reserve itself because we didn't want to miss out on a day out and it had been seen from the the Dengemarsh Hide but by the time we got back to the car the remaining people at the bridge called out to say they just saw it so we made our way back and after a wait of 15 minutes(ish) we saw the Purple Heron as it got up and then went back down just a few feet away from where it had started. We did see it a second time but even more brief than the first view which meant no pictures unfortunately.

We then went to the ARC Pit after to see what was there and that gave us a few new ones for the day. In the pool just before the hide there were a pair of nesting Coots and a single Little Grebe and on the bank beyond the pool was a Green Woodpecker. Once inside the hide there wasn't a lot to be seen, but a couple of new ones in Canada Geese, Shoveler, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull and Gadwall.

After this we then moved on to the reserve itself, once again not too much to be seen apart from Common Gull, House Sparrow and Collared Dove that were new to the day list. No luck finding the Tree Sparrows on the reserve or the Red Crested Pochard that had been reported. As we drove out the reserve looking for Tree Sparrows again we couldn't find them, only Great Tits and a lone Hobby on a fence post. I then saw a Sparrow looking bird fly out of a bush out the front of the house at the entrance so I told Dad to turn around and we'll have another look, sure enough we had found some Tree Sparrows! They were quite active for five minutes and then a Sparrowhawk turned up and it all went a bit quiet, whilst waiting for them to reappear a Cuckoo flew past adding to the list. The Sparrowhawk didn't move off for quite a while and then when it did the Sparrows were still a bit hesitant leaving me with record shots but its a shot never the less.

Hobby

Tree Sparrow

On the way home we didn't see too much but then as we were coming into Canterbury I saw a bird sitting on a street light and I thought that looks a bit odd and then the otherside of it didn't have a tail either and I quickly realised it was a Little Owl! We then pulled into the next road and walked back and it saw me coming and flew into the trees which was probably best for me then the light wouldn't be as strong around it and I managed to get some shots of it.

Little Owl

Little Owl