January 15th
The foul weather of yesterday continued until 1330 this afternoon when the clouds moved away to the east and the sun came out. We walked from Reculver to Coldharbour and counted 1,000 Dark-bellied Brent Geese feeding on the grass fields, 1 Kestrel, 1 Short-eared Owl, 16 Corn Buntings, 10 Cormorants, 4 Mute Swans, 10 Turnstone, 58 Ringed Plovers, 3 Purple Sandpipers, 6 Sanderling, 1 Lapland Bunting, 2 Little Egrets, 18 Mallard and 20 Oystercatchers.

Purple Sandpiper

At Shuart, Matt counted 4 Common Buzzards, 2 Marsh Harriers, 1 Kestrel, 1 Sparrowhawk, 12 Herons, 1 Little Egret, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers and 1 Green Woodpecker.
Also this afternoon Bob Hinge cycled from Minnis Bay to Reculver and found a Shore Lark (110th) on the beach between Plumpudding lagoon and Coldharbour before it flew off west. He also saw 30 Ringed Plovers and 1 Knot (111st).

January 14th
With the tide a long way out we managed a walk from Reculver to Coldharbour this morning before the rain and gale force winds arrived. We couldn't find the Lapland Buntings but we did see 176 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 1 Kestrel, 1 Kingfisher, 59 Mute Swans, 2 Shelduck, 5 Redshank, 2 Marsh Harriers, 28 Reed Buntings, 1 Common Buzzard, 12 Mallard, 1 Yellowhammer, 2 Tree Sparrows, 20 Corn Buntings, 15 Ringed Plovers, 1 Turnstone and 14 Meadow Pipits.

Male Reed Bunting

January 13th
On a sunny but increasingly windy morning we walked from Reculver to Coldharbour. Birds we saw included 2 Kestrels, 608 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 1 Kingfisher, 10 Mute Swans, 16 Oystercatchers, 16 Cormorants, 9 Redshank, 15 Ringed Plovers, 82 Corn Buntings, 1 Tree Sparrow, 60 House Sparrows, 24 Reed Buntings, 7 Shelduck, 1 Curlew, 10 Mallard, 2 Stonechats, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Turnstone and 12 Meadow Pipits.
We also met Chris White who had earlier seen the 5 Lapland Buntings feeding on the shingle before they flew inland to the grass fields.

January 12th
With a strong SW wind blowing this morning we walked in more sheltered sites at Shuart and Reculver. We saw 1 Kestrel, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Common Buzzards, 3 Jays, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Barn Owl, 2 Tufted Duck, 1 Grey Heron and 4 Yellowhammers.
Derek Smith walked from Shuart to Plumpudding between 1440 and 1700 and recorded 16 Grey Herons in a field near Brooksend, 1 Great White Egret flying E over Shuart, 1 Little Egret, 2 Common Buzzards, 1 Peregrine, 2 Kestrels, 1 Water Rail, 1 Barn Owl, 1 Chiffchaff and 1 Firecrest.

January 11th
On a breezy and cool morning we walked from Chamber's Wall to the Oyster Farm lagoons and recorded 28 Mute Swans, 1 Kestrel, 68 Corn Buntings, 8 Chaffinches, 2 Marsh Harriers, 10 Blackbirds, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Redshank, 1,130 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 54 Mallard, 3 Shelduck, 1 male Lapland Bunting, 42 Oystercatchers, 8 Meadow Pipits, 1 Little Grebe, 6 Ringed Plovers, 8 Turnstone, 1 Little Egrets and 8 Goldfinches.

Male Lapland Bunting

We met with Julian and Alex Perry at the Lapland Bunting and after we left them, on their walk back to Reculver, they saw a Peregrine and also 1 Purple Sandpiper roosting with 30 Ringed Plovers.

Purple Sandpiper - Alex Perry

January 10th
With a fresh NW wind blowing we had an uneventful one and a half hour seawatch at the Towers with Chris Tedder. All we managed to count were 18 Red-throated Divers, 417 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 9 Common Scoter E, 21 Grey Plover W and 4 Great Crested Grebes.
After this we had a walk out onto the Marsh and recorded 1 Redwing, a scarce bird here at the moment, 5 Mute Swans, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Marsh Harriers, a flock of 26 Linnets and 1 Chiffchaff.
Also this morning, Mike Roser found 2 Lapland Buntings still near Coldharbour.

Today I received information about a first year Sedge Warbler we ringed on Reculver Marshes on 26th August 2019. It was controlled at Tour aux Moutons, Donges, Loire-Atlantique, France on 8th September 2019 and had flown 508 km SSW.

January 9th
On a very windy and drizzly morning we walked from Reculver to Coldarbour with Ray O'Reilly. On our way back the rain gradually stopped but the wind still made birding difficult. We managed to record 550 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull E, 14 Mute Swans, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Grey Plover, 4 Shelduck, 22 Ringed Plovers, 14 Mallard, 8 Turnstone, 28 Dunlin, 11 Sanderling and 1 Redshank.

January 8th
This morning we walked along the seawall from Reculver to Minnis Bay in unseasonably mild conditions. We recorded 2 Common Buzzards, 550 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 5 Mute Swans, 8 Great Crested Grebes, 75 Ringed Plovers, 46 Turnstone, 9 Shelduck, 1 female Goosander flying E, 41 Redshank, 70 Dunlin, 7 Grey Plovers, 80 Corn Buntings, 114 Oystercatchers, 5 Lapland Buntings flying to and from the grass fields, 12 Mallard, 7 Curlew, 4 Coot, 6 Stonechats, 18 Reed Buntings, 2 Little Egrets, 2 Rock Pipits, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Kestrel, 1 Pied Wagtail, 2 Gannets, 4 Sanderling and 3 Red-throated Divers.

Some record shots of the Lapland Buntings

January 7th
Matt dropped in to Shuart on his way to meet us at Reculver and saw 1 Barn Owl and heard 1 Little Owl.
We then walked up to Coldharbour and counted 550 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Kestrel, 3 Red-throated Divers, 1 Little Grebe, 34 Ringed Plovers, 6 Turnstone, 45 Golden Plovers, 9 Dunlin, 11 Redshank, 11 Mute Swans, 60 Corn Buntings, 15 Grey Plovers, 3 Yellowhammers, 5 Stonechats, 1 Lapland Bunting, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 8 Shelduck, 15 Mallard, 116 Oystercatchers, 2 Little Egrets, 10 Curlews, 31 Linnets, 1 Wigeon, 6 Gannets, 16 Reed Buntings and 1 Sanderling.

Adult Dark-bellied Brent Goose with 3 juveniles

January 6th
We had an excellent winter's morning birdwatch and saw some excellent birds. We completed our usual walk from Reculver to Coldharbour and inland and counted 1 Kestrel, 202 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 2 immature Shags, 1 Redshank, 36 Ringed Plovers, 6 Turnstone, 3 Mute Swans, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 4 Stonechats, 72 Oystercatchers, 16 Cormorants, 1 Black-throated Diver on the sea at Coldharbour, 2 Coot, 23 Corn Buntings, 4 Shelduck, 12 Mallard, 5 Curlew, 2 Lapland Buntings flying over the seawall at the Wantsum outflow calling, 1 Little Egret, 2 Ravens (109th) calling repeatedly as they flew low past us along the seawall, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Jays, 1 Teal, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Redwing, 6 Lapwings and 1 Grey Heron.

Ringed Plovers

January 5th
While Anne and I spent the day birding at Dungeness, Marc Heath walked from Reculver to Coldharbour and back along the embankment this morning. He recorded 2 Snipe, 4 Skylarks, 1 Golden Plover, 1 Barn Owl, 8 Grey Partridges, 15 Mute Swans, 6 Pheasants, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 45 Cormorants, 3 Meadow Pipits, 1 Water Rail, 57 Corn Buntings, 44 Reed Buntings, 5 Coot, 1 Little Egret, 3 Redshank, 133 Oystercatchers, 4 Dunlin, 11 Turnstone, 350 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 3 Shelduck, 12 Mallard, 3 Curlew, 5 Grey Plovers, 56 Sanderling, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Red-throated Diver, 30 Linnets, 35 Ringed Plovers, 1 Lapland Bunting near Coldharbour (108th), 2 Yellowhammers, 7 Tree Sparrows and 1 Black-throated Diver.

Tree Sparrow - Marc Heath

January 4th
It was cooler but sunny this morning as we walked from Reculver to Coldharbour and back. Birds we saw included 4 Turnstone, 582 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 46 Ringed Plovers, 6 Mute Swans, 41 Reed Buntings, 1 male Goosander flying E, 28 Corn Buntings, 1 Red-throated Diver, 1 Grey Plover, 12 Mallard, 3 Shelduck, 6 Skylarks, 1 Oystercatcher, 11 Sanderling, 135 House Sparrows, 2 Stonechats, 2 Tree Sparrows, 1 Yellowhammer, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Redshank and 1 Pied Wagtail.
Marc Heath began this morning at Shuart where he recorded 1 Little Owl, he then walked from Reculver to Coldharbour and back along the embankment. He counted 4 Common Buzzards, 3 Robins, 300 Dark-belleid Brent Geese, 7 Oystercatchers, 10 Stock Doves, 37 Cormorants, 1 Kingfisher, 2 Red-throated Divers, 6 Turnstone, 58 Ringed Plovers, 5 Meadow Pipits, 5 Redshank, 32 Reed Buntings, 6 Song Thrushes, 1 Snipe (107th), 50 Corn Buntings, 9 Tree Sparrows, 4 Shelduck, 1 Shag W, 2 Grey Plovers, 7 Mallard, 1 Little Egret, 2 Stonechats, 18 Linnets, 3 Skylarks, 18 Red-legged Partridges, 17 Mute Swans, 12 Yellowhammers, 1 Sparrowhawk, 5 Sanderling, 1 Great Crested Grebe and 1 Purple Sandpiper.

January 3rd
After a drizzly start it became a bit brighter this morning as we walked from Chamber's Wall to the Green Wall and back via Coldharbour. We counted 2 Kestrels, 27 Mute Swans, 34 Chaffinches, 2 Moorhens, 2 Chiffchaffs, 36 Corn Buntings, 3 Yellowhammers, 140 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 3 Tree Sparrows, 14 Reeed Buntings, 1 Grey Plover, 5 Turnstone, 18 Mallard, 3 Shelduck, 1 Common Buzzard and 3 Coot.
Marc Heath was also out birding at Reculver before walking to Coldharbour. He saw 4 Robins, 13 Meadow Pipits, 1 Marsh Harrier, 19 Lapwings, 27 Cormorants, 30 Mute Swans, 9 Corn Buntings, 2 Kestrels, 1 Green Woodpecker, 2 Green Sandpipers, 1 Chiffchaff, 24 Reed Buntings, 2 immature Shags, 2 Oystercatchers, 6 Stock Doves, 1 Kingfisher, 3 Little Grebes, 420 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 19 Redshank, 1 Grey Plover, 3 Shelduck, 18 Mallard, 1 Yellowhammer, 2 Stonechats, 2 Pied Wagtails, 1 Black Redstart, 1 Black-throated Diver and 1 Red-throated Diver.
Marc then had a seawatch at the Towers between 1130 and 1420 and recorded 21 Red-throated Divers, 25 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 4 Great Crested Grebes, 1 Wigeon, 1 Gannet, 1 Curlew and 1 Slavonian Grebe (106th) drifting west past the Towers at 1420. It was later seen at 1500 at Swalecliffe.

Slavonian Grebe - Marc Heath

January 2nd
On an overcast morning we walked from Reculver along the seawall to Coldharbour. We counted 24 Mute Swans, 305 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 6 Red-throated Divers, 1 Kingfisher (102nd), 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Great Crested Grebes, 1 Curlew, 21 Shelduck, 4 Shoveler, 15 Oystercatchers, 2 Little Egrets, 5 Stonechats, 1 Yellowhammer, 38 Ringed Plovers, 15 Redshank, 6 Turnstone, 12 Mallard, 2 Teal, 3 Coot, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Gannet (103rd), 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Sanderling, 1 Red Kite (104th) and 1 immature Shag fishing off Reculver.
Later in the day Chris Tedder saw a Peregrine (105th) at Reculver.

January 1st - 101 species
As usual we spent the first day of a new year birding on the Marsh to see how many species we could see and ended as it was getting dark on 90 species. Conditions were ideal as it was a windless day that began with early sunshine but then turned cloudy.
The first bird of the day was quite a rarity for the area. As Matt drove over to pick me up he stopped at Reculver and heard a Tawny Owl calling.
We then drove to  Chamber's Wall and walked out onto the Marsh as it began to get light and counted 2 Water Rails, 2 Grey Partridges, 4 Yellowhammers, 4 Tree Sparows, 2 Chiffchaffs, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 7 Linnets, 1 Common Buzzard, 7 Teal, 4 Corn Buntings and 2 Fieldfares.
Our next stop was Reculver where we had a look at the sea and then walked inland. We saw 1 Black-throated Diver sitting offshore, a species we didn't record at all last year, 6 Red-throated Divers, 120 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 1 Common Scoter, 2 Great Crested Grebes, 3 Green Sandpipers, 12 Teal, 3 Shoveler, 1 Tufted Duck, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Jay, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 female Goosander, 1 Cetti's Warbler and 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker.
We spent the next couple of hours walking from Shuart to the sea and back via Brooksend and Netherhale. Species we recorded here included 6 Common Buzzards, 1 Goldcrest, 2 Ring-necked Parakeets, 2 Jays, 1 Chiffchaff, 6 Gadwall, 3 Marsh Harriers, 31 Corn Buntings, 2 Grey Wagtails, 1 Stonechat, 40 Golden Plovers, 2 Curlew, 1 Little Egret, 2 Great White Egrets, 4 Grey Herons, 1 male Goosander, 1 Shelduck, 4 Little Grebes, 50 Lapwings, 4 Yellowhammers, 1 Barn Owl being mobbed by 4 Jays and 1 Firecrest.
This aftenoon was a bit of a struggle having seen so many species in the morning but we did manage to see 21 Shelduck, 1 Black Redstart, 1 Shag, 1 Short-eared Owl and 1 Rock Pipit.

Marc Heath and Julian and Alex Perry were also out all day and their highlights included 1  Woodcock, 1 Black-throated Diver, 1 Shag, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 10 Tree Sparrows, 13 Yellowhammers, 1 Merlin, 1 male Goosander, 1 Great White Egret, 4 Short-eared Owls, 65 White-fronted Geese flying N at Brooksend, 1 ring-tailed Hen Harrier and 3 Firecrests.
I met Chris Tedder at Reculver in the afternoon and during the day she had seen Sparrowhawk, Redwing, Pochard, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Little Owl, species that we had not recorded taking the days total for all seven of us to an impressive 101 species.

Sunrise at Chamber's Wall