We set off early this morning with clear skies overhead, but as we approached Dungeness we found a thick sea mist had descended over ARC Pit. Hanson hide was still closed, so we headed along the shingle path towards the viewing screen. This screen was also boarded up but a short distance beyond it we found our target bird, a Glossy Ibis. Luckily it was relatively close to the bank enabling us to pick it out through the thick mist.
We returned to the reserve and although the main gate was still locked the public footpath was open. We joined three other birders along the track, all hoping the Collared Pratincoles present yesterday had stayed overnight. The mist made visibility challenging, but we managed to pick out a couple of Great White Egrets. There had been no sign of the Pratincoles until the warden came down the track to tell us two had been seen flying over the sheep fields bordering the path to Denge Marsh. We quickly spotted one and then two birds hawking over the fields. The mist had by this time cleared and unbelievably a third bird appeared! Before leaving we had several sightings of all three birds in the same field of view.
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| Collared Pratincole |
We headed for the beach, but the mist was so heavy sea-watching was impossible. We got lucky when a single Sandwich Tern flew along the beach for a much-needed addition to the year list.
We dropped in at Oare Marsh on the way home and with the help of a local birder managed to scope a distant Turtle Dove perched on a telegraph pole. and a male Eider was found resting on a shingle bank at the mouth of the creek for an unexpected year tick.
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