Heading to kent this morning we had a couple of targets in mind. The first stop was a search for a Grey Phalarope on the sea at Dungeness. We arrived at sunrise but after several trudges, up and down the length of the shingle beach we failed to locate the phalarope. While searching for the Phalarope we picked out what looked like a distant Sabine's Gull but it disappeared before a positive identification could be made. Two male Eider ducks were picked out as they headed south past the fishing boats.
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| Sunrise at Dungeness |
A quick check of the bird news services informed us that the Osprey at Appledore was showing well. We parked up off the road by the bridge and headed down the track, to find the Osprey sitting in the middle of a field. After a few minutes, it flew up onto a nearby telegraph pole. It didn't stay there long and soon headed back to its favourite dead tree.
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| Osprey |
The main target today was the Sabine's Gull at Port Lympne Safari Park. As we drove down the entrance track we could see the Sabine's Gull on the grass by a car passing area. It fed just feet from the small group of birders. If any Black-headed Gulls tried to feed in the same area it quickly saw them off and would regularly pull worms out of the ground on its small circular trips in front of us.
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| Sabine's Gull |
Before heading for home we stopped at Dungeness for another search for the Phalarope, only to be told it had flown south an hour ago and had not been seen since. We settled for a brief seawatch from the hide and picked out an Arctic Tern feeding over "The Patch" for a bonus year tick. Then the Sabine's Gull flew straight past us along the shoreline. It made several flights back and forth and was still showing well when we decided to head home.
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| The Sabine's Gull at Dungeness |
