April 30th
On a cool and mainly overcast morning we walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and then on to the Oyster Farm lagoons. We counted 15 Whitethroats, 1 Blackcap, 4 Goldfinches, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Marsh Harrier, 6 Linnets, 9 Mallard, 2 Tufted Duck, 1 Shelduck, 1 immature male Eider, 6 Ringed Plovers, 102 Sanderling, 8 Oystercatchers, 2 Turnstone, 17 Swallows W, 3 Stonechats, 1 Little Egret, 1 House Martin W, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits W and 1 Greenshank.

Immature male Eider

Sanderling moulting into summer plumage

April 29th
Anne and I have spent the last four days visiting our daughter Louise in the Peak District so Matt has been covering the area in our absence.

High Peak country, Derbyshire

Matt spent the morning ringing south of the railway line during which time he saw 1 Cuckoo, 2 Blackcaps, 9 Whitethroats, 8 Sedge Warblers, 3 Reed Warblers, 1 Garden Warbler, 32 Corn Buntings, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 9 Goldfinches and 1 Tree Pipit W (156th).

Birds ringed 12: Garden Warbler 1, Whitethroat 2, Sedge Warbler 2, Reed Bunting 2, Blackcap 1, Linnet 2, Dunnock 1, Blackbird 1.

Garden Warbler

This afternoon he walked from Reculver to Coldharbour and saw 3 White Wagtails, 1 male Wheatear, 2 Stonechats and 1 Kingfisher.

April 28th
Between 0600 and 0800 Matt walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and saw 82 Sandwich Terns feeding offshore, 5 Gannets, 9 Whimbrel flying W, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 male Wheatear, 4 White Wagtails on the beach at the Wantsum outflow, 2 Grey Partridges, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Lesser Whitethroat and 3 Blackcaps. 

April 27th

Matt walked from Reculver to Cold Harbour and back and saw the following: 82 Sandwich Terns, 8 Mediterranean Gulls, 6 Whitethroats, 1 Swallow, 12 Yellow Wagtails, 2 Common Terns, 9 Sedge Warblers, 2 Shelduck, 2 Stonechats, 3 Whimbrel, 1 male Wheatear, 85 Sanderling, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Dunlin, 8 White Wagtails on the beach at Cold Harbour, 1 Reed Warbler, 2 Little Egrets and 1 Blackcap.
Marc Heath was also out between 0545 and 1000 and recorded 6 Blackcaps, 21 Whitethroats, 2 Chiffchaffs, 145 Sandwich Terns, 70 Sand Martins, 12 Common Scoter, 2 Fulmars, 22 Linnets, 11 Yellow Wagtails, 4 Grey Partridges, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Common Sandpiper, 9 Sedge Warblers, 4 Oystercatchers, 1 Little Egret, 1 Marsh Harrier, 4 Reed Buntings, 1 Stonechat, 2 Shelduck, 3 Whimbrel, 7 Mediterranean Gulls, 1 Wheatear, 40 Sanderling, 7 White Wagtails, 2 Reed Warblers, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 5 Sedge Warblers, 12 Whitethraots, 15 Turnstone, 3 Common Terns and 5 Ringed Plovers.

Grey Partridges - Marc Heath

Whimbrel - Marc Heath

Male Yellow Wagtail - Marc Heath

April 26th
Matt birded most of the area from 0430 to 1130 ending up with 81 species. Birds seen were 5 Lesser Whitethroats, 16 Blackcaps, 47 Sedge Warblers, 1 Kingfisher, 2 first winter Mediterranean Gulls, 14 Yellow Wagtails, 82 Sandwich Terns moving east, 75 Whitethroats, 26 Shelduck moving east, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Fulmar, 15 Turnstone, 2 Common Sandpipers, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Grey Plover, 63 Sand Martins, 2 Willow Warblers, 30 Reed Warblers, 2 male Marsh Harriers, 23 Oystercatchers, 65 Sanderling, 3 Dunlin, 2 Cuckoos, 1 Whimbrel, 13 Swallows, 3 Grey Herons, 1 Merlin, 8 Chiffchaffs, 35 Common Scoter, 16 Common Terns, 7 Cetti's Warblers, 2 Grey Partridges, 3 Long-tailed Tits, 1 Wheatear, 4 Stonechats, 3 Little Egrets, 22 Corn Buntings, 1 Sparrowhawk, 3 Common Buzzards, 2 Gadwall, 3 Coot, 2 Jays, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Kestrel, 1 Garden Warbler (154th) and 1 Redwing.
Chris Tedder spent most of the day birding at both ends of the Marsh and her highlights were 1 Hobby (155th), 2 Garden Warblers, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 1 House Martin, 9 Mediterranean Gulls, 6 Wheatears, 2 Gadwall, 1 male Whinchat, 25 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Blue-headed Wagtail and 3 Marsh Harriers. She also found 1 Hairy Dragonfly and a Wall Brown butterfly.

April 25th
We just about managed to avoid the heavy showers that were moving up from the south as we walked from Reculver to Coldharbour this morning. We recorded 20 Sand Martins, 10 Sandwich Terns, 2 Red-breated Mergansers E, 16 Oystercatchers, 5 Whitethroats, 8 Linnets, 6 Shelduck, 2 Mute Swans, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 6 Yellow Wagtails, 2 Little Egrets, 2 Grey Herons, 15 Turnstone, 3 Mallard, 3 Swallows W, 2 Marsh Harriers, 2 Ringed Plovers, 1 Common Sandpiper and 1 Wheatear.

Male Yellow Wagtail

April 24th
On a cloudy but bright morning we walked from Chamber's Wall to the Oyster Farm lagoons and recorded 15 Linnets, 10 Goldfinches, 25 Whitethroats, 3 Blackcaps, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 4 Grey Herons, 6 Reed Buntings, 12 Sedge Warblers, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 17 Mallard, including a female with 6 young ducklings, 3 Mute Swans and 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. From Coldharbour onwards we saw 17 Oystercatchers, 2 Turnstone, 1 Little Egret, 2 Marsh Harriers, 6 Ringed Plovers, 1 Stonechat 1 Mediterranean Gull E, 1 Whimbrel, 5 Shelduck, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Sandwich Terns, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 2 Common Sandpipers, 18 Corn Buntings, 1 Greenshank, 2 Redshank and 1 Willow Warbler.

Meadow Pipit

A Red Kite flew W at Bishopstone this morning.

April 23rd
It was cloudier this morning as we walked along the seawall from Reculver to Coldharbour with the tide going out. We recorded 40 Sand Martins at the colony, 8 Whitethroats, 6 Mallard, 5 Mute Swans, 11 Linnets, 1 immature male Eider, 6 Ringed Plovers, 14 Oystercatchers, 2 Greenshank, 3 Redshank, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Common Sandpiper, 3 Grey Herons, 4 Reed Warblers, 1 Corn Bunting, 3 Shelduck, 2 Little Egrets, 1 Fulmar W, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Cuckoo, 11 Sedge Warblers, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Curlew, 2 Stonechats, 1 Kestrel and 1 Whimbrel.
At Hillborough Marc heath had a singing Yellowhammer this morning.

Tree Mallow on the beach at Coldharbour

In the afternoon Bob Dean found a Turtle Dove (153rd) at Chamber's Wall.

April 22nd
On yet another beautiful morning we walked from Chamber's Wall to the Oyster Farm and back along the railway embankment. Birds we saw included 33 Whitethroats, 5 Blackcaps, 5 Reed Warblers, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Grey Herons, 5 Mallard, 2 Greenshank, 1 Coot, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Merlin being unsuccessfully chased by a female Peregrine, 4 Oystercatchers, 3 Corn Buntings, 1 Stonechat, 3 Common Sandpipers, 2 Shelduck, 1 Redshank, 3 Mediterranean Gulls E, 3 Ringed Plovers, 1 Cuckoo, 1 Green Sandpiper, 10 Linnets, 18 Sedge Warblers, 1 Grasshopper Warbler reeling in the Oyster Farm and 1 Chiffchaff.

Grey Heron in the mist

April 21st
Having just returned from California, Matt was out early to catch up with summer migrants and walked from Reculver to Plumpudding and back. We met him at Chamber's Wall and and his final totals included 13 Yellow Wagtails W, 25 Mediterranean Gulls, 17W 8E, 9 Sandwich Terns E, 32 Whitethroats, 1 Fulmar, 1 Whimbrel, 9 Shelduck, 6 Turnstone, 35 Sedge Warblers, 4 Redshank, 4 Swallows, 2 Stonechats, 2 Marsh Harriers, 1 Grey Heron, 11 Reed Warblers, 1 Little Ringed Plover W, 2 Corn Buntings, 3 Sand Martins, 3 Common Scoter, 4 Lesser Whitethroats, 3 Wheatears, 1 Chiffchaff, 3 Cuckoos, 1 Lapwing, 2 Grey Partridges, 2 Long-tailed Tits, 1 Fieldfare W, 6 Blackcaps,
3 Cetti's Warblers, 3 Song Thrushes, 2 Tufted Ducks, 1 Dunlin and 1 Short eared Owl.
Marc Heath walked from Chamber's Wall to the Oyster Farm between 0600 and 0930. He counted 4 Red-legged Partridges, 5 Skylarks, 13 Reed Warblers, 23 Whitethroats, 2 Mistle Thrushes, 6 Blackcaps, 23 Sedge Warblers, 1 Common Sandpiper, 3 Lesser Whitethroats, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 12 Reed Buntings, 25 Linnets, 4 Grey Partridges, 1 Redwing, 22 Corn Buntings, 5 Shelduck, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Whimbrel, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 10 Oystercatchers, 4 Tufted Duck, 1 Greenshank and 3 Dunlin. He also saw 2 Ringed Plovers, 1 Cuckoo, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Grey Plover, 1 Swallow, 1 male White wagtail, 23 Sand Martins, 2 Redshank, 18 Mediterranean Gulls, 1 Grasshopper Warbler reeling in the Oyster Farm, 2 Turnstone, 1 Short-eared Owl and 1 female Common Redstart.

Female Common Redstart - Alex Perry

Nick Hando and his family were in Thanet visiting again this Easter and on Saturday 20th at Bishopstone he recorded 62 Mediterranean Gulls in 8 flocks between 0715 and 0930.

Today he saw 38 Mediterrnaean Gulls flying E in 5 flocks as well as 1 Brambling in the bushes by the carpark, 1 Greenshank in off and high SE, 2 Whimbrel W, 2 Common Sandpipers on the rocks at the tides edge, 1 Curlew W and 2 Yellow Wagtails in off and flying S.

Also of note were some exceptional fossils, namely an Otodus obliquus shark tooth, the ancestor of Megalodon and Great White Shark and a fossilized pine cone which is very rare at Bishosptone.

Fossilized Pine Cone - Nick Hando

Otodus obliquus Shark Tooth - Nick Hando

April 20th
This morning we had intended to walk from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and along the seawall but as we were half way between the railway and the seawall we received a call from Marc Heath to say that there was a Grasshopper Warbler (150th) singing south of the railway. By the time we got there it had stopped singing and had probably moved on south but we were rewarded by finding a superb male Pied Flycatcher (151st) which spent about five minutes living up to its name before moving on.

Male Pied Flycatcher

Other birds we saw included 2 Blackcaps, 11 Whitethroats, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Reed Warblers, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 9 Mediterranean Gulls E, 2 Mallard, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Willow Warbler, 6 Linnets, 1 Chiffchaff and 2 Swallows.
Next we visited Shuart and recorded 3 Chiffchaffs, 5 Blackcaps, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Ring-necked Parakeets, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Corn Bunting, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, 1 Cuckoo, 1 Grey Heron and 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker.
On the way home we dropped in at Reculver and saw 2 Chiffchaffs, 1 Blackcap, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Moorhen, 1 Whitehroat, 3 Reed Warblers, 1 Green Woodpecker, 2 Mallard, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 2 Mediterranean Gulls and 2 Jays.
On his early morning walk from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and the Green Wall in addition to the Grasshopper Warbler, Marc recorded 1 Chiffchaff, 4 Blackcaps, 6 Red-legged Partridges, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 6 Greylag Geese, 1 Common Buzzard, 2 Jays, 1 Fieldfare, 10 Skylarks, 15 Whitethroats, 5 Reed Warblers, 14 Sedge Warblers, 4 Grey Partridges, 28 Mediterranean Gulls E, 1 Cuckoo, 1 House Martin, 5 Reed Buntings, 3 Marsh Harriers, 5 Shelduck, 3 Swallows, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Curlew, 2 Grey Herons, 1 Corn Bunting and 1 Kestrel.

Mediterranean Gulls - Marc Heath

Between 0730 and 1300 Derek Smith and Kerry McDonnell birded from Shuart, along the embankment to Coldharbour and back via Netherhale. They saw 1 Dark-bellied Brent Goose W, 1 Eider, 2 Tufted Duck, 2 Marsh Harriers, 1 Sparrowhawk, 8 Common Buzzards, 52 Mediterranean Gulls W, 2 Common Terns, 1 Greenshank, 1 Whimbrel W, 3 Cuckoos, 4 Ring-necked Parakeets, 6 Song Thrushes N, 1 Redwing N, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Common Redstart, 38 Sedge Warblers, 4 Reed Warblers, 36 Whitethroats, 5 Lesser Whitethroats, 3 Willow Warblers, 11 Chiffchaffs, 18 Blackcaps, 6 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Coal Tit (152nd) moving W along the railway embankment and 8 Corn Buntings.
Julian and Alex Perry found 2 Red Kites at Potten Street this morning.

Red Kite - Alex Perry

April 19th
It was immediately apparent as we arrived at Chamber's Wall this morning that there had been an overnight arrival of Whitethroats and in our walk from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and back along the Green Wall we counted 18 singing males.

Male Whitethroat

Other birds we encountered included 1 Jay, 14 Linnets, 7 Reed Warblers, 7 Blackcaps, 4 Goldfinches, 3 Chiffchaffs, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Golden Plover, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 6 Mallard, 2 Tufted Duck, 3 Mediterranean Gulls E, 2 Gannets E, 8 Oystercatchers, 6 Ringed Plovers, 2 Greylag Geese W, 4 Swallows W, 12 Corn Buntings, 12 Sedge Warblers, 10 Mute Swans, 1 Greenshank W (146th), 1 Kestrel, 1 Grey Heron, 3 Common Buzzards and 1 Willow Warbler.
Marc Heath did a similar walk but earlier arriving at Chamber's Wall at 0545 and recorded 2 Red-legged Partridges, 5 Skylarks, 50 Cormorants, 2 Reed Warblers, 10 Whitethroats, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 12 Sedge Warblers, 2 Tufted Duck, 1 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcaps, 30 Corn Buntings, 1 male Whinchat (147th), 1 Short-eared Owl, 7 Shelduck, 9 Mute Swans, 10 Oystercatchers, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Curlew, 2 Whimbrel, 1 Swallow, 1 Redshank, 2 Stonechats, 5 Reed Buntings, 1 Wheatear, 2 Dunlin, 3 Ringed Plovers, 2 Greenshank W, 1 Marsh Harriers, 1 Lesser Whitethroat (148th) and 1 Merlin.
Derek Smith covered the eastern half of the Marsh between 0730 and 1200 walking from Shuart to Chamber's Wall and back via Plumpudding and Brooksend. Birds he saw included 18 Mediterranean Gulls, 4 Common Buzzards, 2 Marsh Harriers, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Tufted Duck, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Wheatear, 1 Common Redstart, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 32 Whitethroats, 37 Sedge Warblers, 3 Reed Warblers, 11 Blackcaps, 14 Chiffchaffs, 3 Willow Warblers, 5 Cetti's Warblers and 9 Corn Buntings.
Nick Keen was also out this morning and found 3 Ring Ouzels, 2 males and 1 female, together by the White Populars, 1 Cuckoo (149th) calling at the rear of the Oyster Farm, 1 Fulmar, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Grey Plover, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 2 Wheatears, 150+ Sanderling, 40+ Corn Buntings, 12 Whitethroats, 1 Reed Warbler and 10+ Sedge Warblers.
During the afternoon at Shuart, Marc Heath saw a male Brambling and a Brimstone butterfly.

Brimstone - Marc Heath

April 18th
It was another beautiful morning as we walked from Chamber's Wall to the Oyster Farm and there were some decent birds to be seen. We recorded 3 Whitethroats, 3 Blackcaps, 1 male Ring Ouzel in a field at Chamber's Wall (143rd), 8 Goldfinches, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Chiffchaffs, 1 Willow Warbler, 6 Mallard, 11 Sedge Warblers, 6 Song Thrushes, 47 Corn Buntings, 4 Tufted Duck, 6 Shelduck, 6 Ringed Plovers, 11 Oystercatchers, 1 Marsh Harrier and 2 Green Sandpipers.
From Coldharbour we added 3 Reed Warblers, 2 Redshank, 6 Wheatears on the beach, 25 Turnstone, 19 MediterraneanGulls flying E, 2 Whimbrel (144th), 1 Jay on the seawall, 2 Common Terns W, 4 Sandwich Terns W, 1 Curlew, 20 Meadow Pipits, 1 Little Ringed Plover flying W calling (145th), 1 White Wagtail, 1 Dunlin, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Grey Heron and 1 Common Buzzard.

Male Ring Ouzel at Chamber's Wall

6 Mediterranean Gulls and 1 Black-headed Gull flying east

April 17th
On a beautiful spring morning we walked from Reculver to Coldharbour and back along the railway embankment and Green Wall. We counted 1 Pied Wagtail, 4 Little Egrets, 41 Mediterranean Gulls flying high E in groups of up to 9, 10 Oystercatchers, 39 Linnets, 3 Grey Herons, 13 Mallard, 4 Shelduck, 2 Stonechats, 8 Ringed Plovers, 4 Redshank, 13 Turnstone, 3 Whitethroats, 1 Grey Plover, 12 Sedge Warblers, 79 Corn Buntings, 11 Common Scoter E, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 immature male Eider back after its recent trip to Swalecliffe and Seasalter, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Coot, 1 Jay, 2 Tufted Duck and 12 Sand Martins.

Male Whitethroat

Derek Smith walked from Shuart and along the embankment and then on to Coldharbour and Plumpudding between 0700 and 1030. He saw 2 Common Buzzards, 52 Mediterranean Gulls E, 4 Song Thrushes,  1 male Common Redstart on the railway embankment at Chamber's Wall, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 5 Whitethroats, 32 Sedge Warblers, 1 Reed Warbler, 9 Blackcaps, 4 Willow Warblers, 16 Chiffchaffs and 7 Cetti's Warblers.

Male Common Redstart - Derek Smith

This afternoon a short walk inland at Reculver produced 1 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Chiffchaffs, 3 Blackcaps, 3 Mute Swans, 2 Tufted Duck, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Coot, 3 Mallard, 1 Jay and 2 Grey Partridges.
Chris Tedder was also out and walked from Reculver to Chamber's Wall and recorded 1 Fulmar E, 5 Sandwich Terns E, 3 Gannets E, 7 Swallows E, 1 Yellow Wagtail in off the sea and 1 Firecrest at Chamber's Wall.

April 16th
It was a much better morning both weatherwise and birdwise as we walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and on to the Oyster Farm. We counted 4 Chiffchaffs, 2 Goldfinches, 22 Corn Buntings, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 2 Tufted Duck, 1 Green Woodpecker, 6 Sedge Warblers, 1 Marsh Harrier, 8 Mallard, 3 Little Egrets, 3 Redshank, 5 Turnstone, 8 Oystercatchers, 6 Mediterranean Gulls E, 1 Coot, 4 Ringed Plovers, 1 Fulmar E, 1 Wheatear, 1 Whitethroat, 28 Sanderling, 14 Linnets, 2 Shelduck, 2 Sandwich Terns, 1 Swallow, 1 Short-eared Owl, 1 Blackcap, 1 Reed Warbler (140th) and 1 Willow Warbler.

Male Tufted Duck

Sandwich Terns

Marc Heath was out before us and between 0600 and 1000 he walked from Reculver to Plumpudding and back. He counted 3 Blackcaps, 1 Common Buzzard, 2 Red-legged Partridges, 41 Sand Martins, 1 Common Sandpiper (141st) on the rocks below the Towers, 3 Canada Geese (142nd) on the sea before flying E, 15 Linnets, 10 Stock Doves, 6 Mute Swans, 14 Redshank, 10 Oystercatchers, 7 Ringed Plovers, 14 Mallard, 9 Skylarks, 2 Great Crested Grebes and 4 Shelduck. He also saw 11 Reed Buntings, 1 Little Egret, 5 Chiffchaffs, 3 Whitethroats, 2 Stonechats, 2 Wheatears, 11 Sedge Warblers, 2 Marsh Harriers, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Grey Heron, 40 Corn Buntings, 2 Tufted Duck, 4 adult Mediterranean Gulls, 2 Short-eared Owls and 2 Sandwich Terns.