Leisurely birding the Dungeness area

An unexpected message from Brian this morning had us heading for Dungeness. We headed for the beach for a casual seawatch with no real targets in mind. The sea was tranquil as was expected, and the only birds seen in any numbers were Gannets and Sandwich Terns. Brian managed to pick out an Arctic Skua a long way out and I picked it out as it passed in front of one of the ships on the horizon. With the sea so quiet we turned our attention to the power station compound. Movement on the compound wall alerted us to two Wheatear and a Whinchat. A Raven was found resting on the top of one of the buildings and a Sparrowhawk was seen flying through the compound, where it must have caught something as it was seen struggling with its prey on the other side of the fence. As we resumed the seawatch a flock of more than a hundred Sand Martins came past the hide and headed towards the power station. We scanned the "patch" and picked out a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull among the numerous Herring and Black-headed.

When there are no locals present, you know it's going to be slow-going

Old and New Lighthouses

A brief stop at Boulderwell Farm added five cattle Egrets to the growing day list. We then drove to Scotney GPs and walked to the "The Sandpit" an area we had not visited before. A Pectoral Sandpiper had been reported the previous day but there had been no reports today. Four birders were already present and we were told the Pec Sandpiper was still present but had flown behind the largest sand banks and lost to view. It would take us almost two hours before we re-located it, that was when a Marsh Harrier came through flushing everything present. During the two hours of searching for the Pec, we added three more species of Sandpiper, with counts of Two Wood, three Common, and nine Green Sandpipers. Ringed Plovers were present in good numbers and a single Little Stint was seen among them. Avocets, Blackwits, Dunlin, Greenshank, and Redshank were also present. A Peregrine dropped in to bathe in one of the pools and a Hobby and a Sparrowhawk flew across the pit.

The Sandpit

We drove back towards the reserve and scanned ARC Pit. Water levels were good and several shingle islands were exposed for the birds  We were told there had been a Glossy Ibis present earlier and Brian found it feeding at the water's edge. A juvenile Black Tern was picked out as it flew across the distant island and seven Garganey were present. 

Garganey

We finished the morning's birding on 93 species.

Hudsonian Godwit, Burton Mere Wetlands

Hudsonian Godwits occur very rarely in Britain and the only birds since I began travelling further afield in 2010 have been one in Somerset in 2015 and another individual in Fife in 2020. Fife was never an option and although the Somerset bird remained for ten days we somehow contrived to miss it. Something we have regretted ever since. 

Nine years later one is reported at Burton Mere Wetlands in Cheshire on the 13th, although it showed well during the morning, it went missing early afternoon and wasn't seen again. After four days of no sightings, it reappeared again on the 18th. It showed well for much of the day until it was reported as flying toward the Dee Estuary at 19.50. By this time we had decided to make the trip hoping it would return.

We left at 6am with a 210-mile journey up the M1 and M6 ahead of us. Halfway into the trip, the Godwit was reported, we were pleased that it had returned to the reserve, although we still had over two hours driving ahead of us. We arrived shortly before 10am and headed along the path towards Border Hide. The hide was packed, Brian managed to grab a spot on one of the benches, and I decided to stay at the back where birders were using their scopes. I set mine up so I had a clear view of the pool between the birders using the benches. My first view of the bird was while it was sleeping among a flock of Black-tailed Godwits. As birds shuffled backward and forward among the flock it would sometimes disturb the Hudsonian allowing brief views of the head and bill before it resumed its sleep. When a Shoveler came crashing through the flock the Hudsonian Godwit reacted with a couple of wing stretches, revealing the dark underwings much to the delight of everyone inside the hide.

As more birders arrived, the volunteers politely asked people who had been present for a while if they would mind making room for other birders waiting outside, which we duly did.

The first view we had of the Hudsonian Godwit

The Hudsonian Godwit was well hidden at this point

Finally, the head and bill were visible

A wing stretch  

My first visit to this reserve and I was very impressed. The staff and volunteers were friendly and engaging as well as the directions to the hide and the viewing of the bird once in the hide.

Canvasback at Abberton

I managed to see the Canvasback in November last year, however, the bird remained distant throughout my visit and the viewing location could have been better. It was with a large raft of Common Pochard and we had to try to pick it out as it swam between trees and bushes near the water's edge. 

On the 11th of August, a possible drake Canvasback was reported again at Abberton, the next day it was reported again as a "possible" and then later confirmed that evening. Brian was away entertaining the Grandchildren until Friday 16th, so our first opportunity was on his return on Saturday. 

We arrived at Layer Breton Causeway just after midday and were quickly told the general area the bird had been seen in by JP and ST. The bird was soon found and gave some decent if distant scope views. It would constantly dive to feed and didn't allow much time to view it before it was under the water again. We watched it for the next two hours and then it suddenly swam fast and direct towards us and the causeway. It left the water and walked onto the bank where it began preening. After an hour or so it eventually sat down and promptly went to sleep. 

This allowed us to scan the surrounding area, finding three Spoonbill, several Great White Egrets, and a single Cattle Egret. Also noted were Green and Common Sandpipers and a juvenile Little Ringed Plover.

The Canvasback was distant and close to the trees on the left-hand side upon arrival

Temminck's Stint, Blue House Farm

Brian offered to take me to Blue House Farm this afternoon, and I was happy to accept. We arrived at the small car park off Fambridge Road to find it full, luckily a birder was just returning allowing us to grab his space.

I have only visited Blue House Farm Reserve once, probably twenty years ago. Although I did walk to the River Crouch from the car park last year for a Montagu's Harrier. To reach the first hide it's a walk of 1km. The hide is quite small and there was limited space inside when we entered. The main reason for the visit was the hope that the Temminck's stint was still present, and thankfully it was. In fact, it was asleep on a small shingle island right in front of the hide. It soon woke and treated us to cracking views as it fed among the shingle and then at the water's edge.

Temminck's Stint

As some of the birders began to leave, it allowed me to set up the scope and scan the rest of the marsh. Nine Spoonbills were seen at the far right of the marsh and three Wood Sandpipers and Three Curlew Sandpipers were new additions to my year list. At least eight Green Sandpipers were present as were 2 Greenshank and four Common Sandpipers. Treble figures of Black-tailed Godwits were also present as were Ringed Plovers, Oystercatchers, Avocets, and Ruff. 

The clouds began to darken above us, so we headed for the car park to avoid a soaking.