June 30th
It was thoroughly unpleasant this morning as we walked from Reculver to Coldharbour with a fresh northerly wind and rain. The rain relented as we returned towards Reculver but there was not a great deal to see just 1 Curlew, 8 Goldfinches, 1 Fulmar flying E, 3 Little Egrets, 11 Linnets, 2 Common Terns, 6 Turnstone, 1 Whitethroat, 2 Ringed Plovers, 2 Oystercatchers and 1 singing Blackcap.
June 29th
On a cloudy and breezy morning we walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and on to the Oyster Farm lagoons. We saw 1 Common Buzzard, 9 Whitethroats, 2 Cuckoos, 11 Linnets, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 6 Coot, 7 Mallard, 6 Oystercatchers, 11 Turnstone, 3 Little Egrets, 6 Gannets flying E, 1 Common Tern, the first juvenile Black-headed Gull of the year, 1 Stonechat, 1 Curlew, 2 Ringed Plovers and 2 Shelduck.
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| Turnstone |
June 28th
After heavy overnight rain this morning was misty and muggy as we walked from Reculver to Coldharbour and back. We counted 3 Whitethroats, 6 Goldfinches, 3 Sandwich Terns flying E, 4 Linnets, 2 Little Egrets, 10 Oystercatchers, 3 Stonechats, 2 Marsh Harriers, 21 Mallard, 2 Tufted Duck, 1 Common Tern, 2 Redshank, 2 Turnstone, 1 Pied Wagtail, 4 Ringed Plovers and 1 Ring-necked Parakeet flying W past the Towers.
June 26th
We spent the morning on the Marsh south of the railway and saw 4 Whitethroats, 4 Common Terns flying south to the Stour Valley, 1 Cuckoo, 1 Kestrel, 1 Curlew, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 8 Sedge Warblers, 4 Reed Warblers, 8 Linnets, 1 Common Buzzard and 1 Blackcap. We sat beside an area that had a large patch of Red Clover and saw many bees including 1 Shrill Carder Bee, 2 Red-shanked Carder Bees and 2 Garden Bumblebees.
Birds ringed 23: Linnet 2, Sedge Warbler 5, Reed Warbler 2, Whitethroat 3, Great Tit 8, Blackcap 1, Dunnock 1, Blackbird 1.
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| Red-shanked Carder Bee |
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| Garden Bumblebee |
June 25th
It was a quiet morning with the tide out and light rain falling as we walked from Reculver to Coldharbour. All we saw were 5 Whitethroats, 1 Cuckoo, 1 Kestrel, 3 Little Egrets, 1 Redshank, 10 Linnets, 5 Stonechats, 8 Ringed Plovers, 6 Mallard, 8 Oystercatchers, 1 Shelduck, 1 Curlew, 1 Great Crested Grebe and 4 Swifts flying W.
June 24th
This morning we completed our second visit to our 1 km Turtle Dove Survey square and again failed to hear or see any Turtle Doves. The southern boundary of the square borders the Thanet Way between Wagtail Farm and St Nicholas Court Farm and then includes Potten Street Road and Potten Street and then the track leading up to Chamber's Wall car park. Birds we did record were 13 Reed Warblers, 1 Chiffchaff, 4 Blackcaps, 1 singing Corn Bunting, 7 Linnets, 14 Goldfinches, 1 Common Buzzard, 6 Chaffinches, 5 Whitethroats, 6 Skylarks, 4 male Reed Buntings, 1 Sedge Warbler, 3 Lapwings and 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker.
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| Preening Goldfinch |
June 23rd
At last a sunny and relatively mild morning with no rain as we walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and then on to the Oyster Farm lagoons. Birds we saw included 12 Whitethroats, 11 Linnets, 3 Goldfinches, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Chiffchaff, 45 Swifts feeding over the Marsh, 4 Little Egrets, 16 Mallard, 4 Oystercatchers, 4 Shelduck, 16 Turnstone, 2 Ringed Plovers, 1 Lapwing, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Kestrel, 2 Common Gulls, 1 male rubicola Stonechat, 1 Coot, 1 Cuckoo and 1 Curlew.
There appeared to have been a hatch of Red Admirals with about a dozen counted whilst at Coldharbour there are now 43 Pyramidal Orchid spikes.
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| Female and male Shelduck |
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| Red Admiral |
June 22nd
The dreadful cool weather continues with rain and wind. This morning we had a rainy hour's walk at Shuart but only saw 1 Ring-necked Parakeet, 2 Blackcaps, 1 Jay, 3 Chafinches, 1 Chiffchaff and 1 Common Buzzard. After this we had half an hour at Reculver where we counted 19 Gannets flying E.
June 20th
It was overcast and drizzly this morning as we walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour. One or two returning waders were in evidence with 3 Curlews flying inland towards Pegwell Bay and 1 summer plumaged Dunlin flying in off the sea. Other birds seen were 7 Whitethroats, 13 Linnets, 4 Goldfinches, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Turtle Dove "purring" at Chamber's Wall, 6 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Cuckoo, 4 Little Egrets, 3 Coot, 5 Mallard, 2 Shelduck, 3 Turnstone and 1 Yellow Wagtail.
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| Turtle Dove |
June 19th
On an overcast and much cooler morning we walked from Reculver to Coldhabour and saw 1 Blackcap, 7 Goldfinches, 4 Pied Wagtails, 11 Sand Martins, 37 Mallard, 4 Whitethroats, 6 Ringed Plovers, 3 Shelduck, 4 Turnstone, 1 Stonechat, 2 Oystercatchers, 3 Little Egrets, 4 Linnets, 2 Avocets briefly in one of the Oyster Farm lagoons before they flew E, 1 Fulmar around the towers and 1 Kestrel.
For those birders who regularly seawatch from the Towers you will know the Red Buoy very well as one of the few objects offshore to help sight passing skuas etc. Four nights ago a surprised Herne Bay resident was woken by a red light flashing outside his house in the middle of the night only to find that the buoy had washed up on the town beach.
This morning a Trinity House boat was in the process of replacing it offshore from the Towers ready for autumn migration!
Derek Smith had a walk at Plumpudding where he found 4 Southern Marsh Orchids.
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| Southern Marsh Orchid - Derek Smith |
June 17th
After violent overnight thunder storms and over an inch of rain it was still raining this morning when we got up and so we didn't arrive at very humid Reculver until 0930. We walked from the Towers to Coldharbour and back and counted 4 Pied Wagtails, 1 Kestrel, 5 Whitethroats, 5 Little Egrets, 4 Shelduck,13 Mallard, 1 Redshank, 2 Sandwich Terns, 4 Oystercatchers, 4 Ringed Plovers, 1 Coot, 1 Corn Bunting, 1 Cuckoo, 23 Turnstone, 10 Meadow Pipits, 3 Swifts and 1 Green Sandpiper.
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| Male Pied Wagtail |
June 16th
On another steamy morning relieved only by a light southerly breeze we walked from Reculver to Coldharbour and back. We saw 6 Swifts screaming as thet flew around the Towers, 2 Pied Wagtails, 6 Oystercatchers, 7 Whitethroats, 5 Stonechats, 1 Kestrel, 12 Mallard, 11 Linnets, 2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying W, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Common Tern, 1 Corn Buntings, 15 Turnstone, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 5 Coot, 1 Cuckoo, 7 Skylarks, 2 Shelduck and 1 Blackcap.
We also found a female Broad-bodied Chaser beside the seawall.
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| Female Broad-bodied Chaser |
June 15th
This morning we completed our second Turtle Dove Survey count in the square TR2667 that includes Shuart Lane and Shuart Farm but did not see ot hear any Turtle Doves. Birds we did see however were 4 Skylarks, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Red-legged Partridge, 1 Greenfinch, 2 Cuckoos, 6 Blackcaps, 2 Lapwings, 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Chiffchaffs, 2 Moorhens, 1 Jay, 4 Goldfinches, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Whitethroat, 2 Reed Warblers, 2 Mistle Thrushes, 7 Chaffinches, 1 Ring-necked Parakeet and 8 Long-tailed Tits.
After this we visited Reculver on the way home and recorded 5 Blackcaps, 1 Cuckoo, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 2 Whitethroats, 4 Great Crested Grebes, 1 Chiffchaff and 2 Goldfinches.
June 14th
On another scorcher we walked from Chamber's Wall to the Oyster Farm lagoons and recorded 15 Linnets, 9 Whitethroats, 9 Goldfinches, 5 Cetti's Warblers, 2 Kestrels, 5 Mallard, 6 Ringed Plovers, 5 Oystercatchers, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Pied Wagtail, 4 Little Egrets, 3 Swifts W, 1 Corn Bunting and 2 Shelduck.
In addition to the birds we also found our first 14 Pyramidal Orchids of the year, 1 Norfolk Hawker dragonfly and 5 Small Heath butterflies.
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| Male Linnet |
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| Pyramidal Orchid |
This evening Jum Bloor saw a Common Sandpiper at Coldharbour and a Green Sandpiper in the Oyster Farm.
June 13th
We spent the morning ringing on the Marsh south of the railway but although we didn't ring a great many birds we did ring 2 Yellow Wagtails and caught a Belgian ringed Sedge Warbler. Birds we saw during the morning included 1 Cuckoo, 12 Whitethroats, 1 Green Woodpecker, 8 Goldfinches, 1 Grey Partridge, 2 Corn Buntings, 6 Mallard, 1 Kestrel, 1 Grey Wagtail, 6 Sedge Warblers, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Lapwing and 1 Common Tern.
Birds ringed 15: Wren 1, Reed Warbler 1, Chaffinch 2, Whitethroat 5, Sedge Warbler 2, Yellow Wagtail 2, Dunnock 1, Song Thrush 1
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| Male Yellow Wagtail |
June 12th
We had an uneventful morning walking from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and the Oyster Farm and only saw 12 Linnets, 16 Goldfinches, 6 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Common Tern, 8 Whitethroats, 1 Mallard, 5 Little Egrets, 4 Oystercatchers, 4 Ringed Plovers, 2 Turnstone, 2 Swifts and 1 Common Buzzard.
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| Yellow-horned Poppies |
June 11th
We spent the morning ringing at Shuart where the morning began cloudy but with the sun coming out later. Birds we saw included 2 Red-legged Partridges, 1 Jay, 3 Mistle Thrushes, 1 Green Woodpecker, 12 Whitethroats, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Mallard, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 2 Ring-necked Parakeets, 1 Cuckoo, 2 Blackcaps, 4 Common Buzzards, 12 Goldfinches, 4 Little Egrets, 3 Kestrels, 4 Grey Herons, 2 Tufted Duck, 4 Sedge Warblers, 16 Reed Warblers, 1 Marsh Harrier, 3 Red Kites flying W, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Turtle Dove and 8 Lapwings.
Birds ringed 27: Sedge Warbler 2, Reed Warbler 11, Robin 2, Lesser Whitethroat 2, Cetti's Warbler 1, Reed Bunting 2, Whitethroat 3, Goldfinch 1, Greenfinch 1, Dunnock 1, Blackbird 1.
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| Lesser Whitethroat |
We have already received information concerning the ringing details of a female Cetti's Warbler we caught at Shuart this morning. It had originally been ringed at Icklesham, East Sussex on 14th September 2020 and had flown 67 km NE to reach Shuart.
Cetti's Warbler
June 10th
We spent the morning ringing at Reculver and between 0530 and 1100 we counted 8 Whitethroats, 7 Blackcaps, 3 Chiffchaffs, 3 Mallard, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Cuckoos, 5 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Hobbies, 100 Sand Martins, 2 Red Kites flying W, 15 Reed Warblers, 10 Long-tailed Tits, 1 Turtle Dove, 1 Kestrel, 1 Mediterranean Gull and 2 Jays.
Birds ringed 21: Chiffchaff 1, Long-tailed Tit 2, Robin 4, Cetti's Warbler 2, Whitethroat 2, Reed Warbler 7, Blackcap 1, Dunnock 1, Song Thrush 1.
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| Adult Reed Warbler |
Chris Tedder found 2 mating Fiery Clearwings Pyropteron chrysidiformis on the seawall today. These are very rare and endangered UK moths.
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| Fiery Clearwing - Chris Tedder |
She also discovered 3 Small Blue butterflies.
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| Small Blue - Chris Tedder |
June 9th
On another glorious morning we walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and saw a few more birds than on recent days. We counted 1 Red-legged Partridge, 1 Grey Wagtail, 6 Goldfinches, 6 Whitethroats, 1 Marsh Warbler singing briefly from vegetation by the Wantsum before flying up river (170th), 5 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Blackcap and 15 adult Mediterranen Gulls flying high E and calling frequently. We also saw 1 Cuckoo, 3 Mallard, 9 Turnstone, 2 Oystercatchers, 2 Marsh Harriers, 4 Ringed Plovers, 2 Stonechats, 3 Shelduck, 1 Lapwing W, 2 Tufted Duck, 2 Coot and 8 Linnets and we found a Wall Brown at Coldharbour.
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| Male Tufted Duck |
June 8th
It was another beautiful summer's morning as we walked from Chamber's Wall to the Oyster Farm lagoons and recorded 12 Whitethroats, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Blackcap, 3 Goldfinches, 1 Green Woodpecker, 15 Mallard, 8 Turnstone, 5 Oystercatchers, 4 Ringed Plovers, 12 Linnets, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 1 Kestrel, 3 Yellow Wagtails and 7 Coot. We also saw our first Painted Lady of the year.
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| Painted Lady |
June 7th
On a warm and sunny morning there was not a great deal to be seen on our walk from Reculver to Coldharbour so I took the opportunity afterwards to count the Sand Martins holes in use at Bishopstone. On our walk we counted 1 Blackcap, 5 Oystercatchers, 1 Pied Wagtail, 7 Whitethroats, 1 Lapwing, 2 Kestrels, 3 Shelduck, 8 Linnets, 8 Mallard, 4 Ringed Plovers, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 19 Turnstone and 5 Stonechats.
I had already checked last year's Sand Martins holes at Reculver to find that they had been destroyed by winter cliff falls so I went to Bishopstone instead where I counted 72 nests holes in use. I don't think that this is the complete total of nests in the area as there appeared to be more birds further down towards the headland which hopefully we will count in the next week or two.
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| Sand Martin colony at Bishopstone |
June 6th
The warm weather had returned this morning as we walked from Chamber's Wall to the Oyster Farm. It was still relatively quiet but we did see 1 Common Buzzard, 7 Goldfinches, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 12 Whitethroats, 1 Kestrel, 6 Linnets, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 7 Mallard, 1 Fulmar W, 19 Turnstone, 3 Oystercatchers, 6 Ringed Plovers, 4 Swifts W, 2 Mallard, 2 Lapwings, 1 Corn Bunting, 5 Coot, 1 Cuckoo and 1 Lesser Whitethroat.
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| Summering Turnstone |
There were at least 10 Long-horned Bees in our garden at at Bishopstone this afternoon
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| Male Long-horned Bee |
June 5th
We spent a very slow morning ringing at Reculver where we saw 6 Whitethroats, 4 Blackcaps, 2 Jays, 4 Mallard, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Chiffchaffs, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Cuckoo, 1 Pied Wagtail, 1 Kestrel, 35 Sand Martins and 25 Swifts. We also retrapped a male Reed Warbler that we first ringed as an adult on 7th July 2014 and is therefore at least eight years old.
Birds ringed 6: Chiffchaff 1, Blackcap 1, Reed Warbler 1, Great Tit 1, Blackbird 2
Derek Smith was also out this morning and walked from Shuart to Plumpudding and then up to Coldharbour and the back along the railway embankment. He counted 1 Little Egret, 2 Grey Herons, 1 Common Buzzard, 6 Tufted Duck, 2 Sandwich Terns E, 8 Oystercatchers, 2 Cuckoos, 2 Yellow Wagtails and 6 Cetti's Warblers. He also found the Bee Orchids near Shuart Farm.
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| Bee Orchids - Derek Smith |
June 4th
Yesterday's hot and hunid weather was replaced this morning with cooler conditions and the threat of thundery rain as we walked from Chamber's Wall to the Oyster Farm lagoons. We saw 6 Whitethroats, 6 Mallard, 1 Cuckoo, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Grasshopper Warbler on the railway embankment, 4 Goldfinches, 3 Little Egrets, 8 Linnets, 4 Oystercatchers, 4 Mute Swans, 11 Turnstone, 1 Sandwich Tern E, 8 Ringed Plovers, 2 Kestrels, 2 Tufted Ducks, 1 Common Tern and 1 Great Crested Grebe.
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| Grasshopper Warbler |
June 3rd
On an already very warm morning Matt walked from Shuart and we walked from Chamber's Wall and we met on the seawall before walking on to the Oyster Farm lagoons. Between us we recorded 3 Blackcaps, 6 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Cuckoos, 1 Red Kite, 1 Hobby, 7 Little Egrets, 2 Redshank, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 2 Stonechats, 2 Common Terns, 1 Grey Wagtail, 5 Lapwings, 6 Coot, 13 Mallard, 6 Ringed Plovers, 5 Turnstone, 3 Shelduck and 3 House Martins flying W.
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| Male Chaffinch |
June 2nd
We spent a very warm and sunny morning ringing at Reculver where we saw 4 Whitethroats, 6 Blackcaps, 7 Mallard, 3 Chiffchaffs, 40 Sand Martins, 1 Mistle Thrush, 4 Great Crested Grebes, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 3 Jays, 1 Hobby, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Little Egret, 1 Swift, 1 Corn Bunting, 8 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Turtle Doves, 3 Common Buzzards, 1 Moorhen, 1 Ring-necked Parakeet and 1 Cuckoo.
Birds ringed 15: Chiffchaff 1, Cetti's Warbler 2, Reed Warbler 4, Robin 2, Whitethroat 1, Blackcap 1, Chaffinch 1, Dunnock 1, Jay 1, Woodpigeon 1.
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| Jay |
June 1st
The month began with a sunny and very warm morning as we walked from Reculver to Coldharbour and back. We saw 1 Blackcap, 1 Pied Wagtail, 9 Whitethroats, 9 Oystercatchers, 2 Shelducks, 8 Linnets, 5 Stonechats, 1 Grasshopper Warbler reeling, 2 Lapwings, 12 Mallard, 6 Ringed Plovers, 1 Common Tern, 6 Gannets E, 2 Cuckoos, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Little Egret, 5 Coot, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Short-eared Owl and 1 Marsh Harrier.
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| Cuckoo |