Dungeness

Today we made our first visit of the year to Dungeness, beginning with a seawatch from the hide. We were greeted with fierce south-westerlies. The freezing cold winds and the low sun made viewing conditions difficult, but we managed to add Gannet, Kittiwake as well as Razorbill and Guillemot to the year list.

Sunrise at Dungeness

We had a brief look at Arc Pit, but water levels were very high, resulting in no exposed islands, thus no waders were present. A flight view of a Bittern was the best we managed.

We headed across the road and parked up by Boulderwall Farm and enjoyed good scope views of two Ravens feeding on a goose carcass and a Glossy Ibis emerged from a ditch for another year tick. A drive around Walland Marsh produced two groups of Bewick's Swans and then the three Whooper Swans we were searching for were found.

Glossy Ibis

We stopped at Swalecliffe on the way home hoping to see the Pallas's Warbler, but although we heard the bird calling we didn't manage any sightings. The foreshore held good numbers of Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Turnstone, Redshank, Sanderling, and Oystercatchers, but there was no sign of the reported Purple Sandpiper among them.