October 16th

We spent the morning ringing at Shuart and in four hours we counted 37 Fieldfares, 189 Redwings, 30 Blackbirds, 21 Bramblings flying W, 53 Redpolls, 49 Siskins, 1 Stonechat, 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 6 Mute Swans, 4 Chiffchaffs, 4 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Blackcaps, 10 Goldcrests, 25 Song Thrushes, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 28 Skylarks, 2 Kestrels, 3 Grey Herons, 1 Corn Bunting, 10 Swallows, 14 Goldfinches, 84 Chaffinches, 2 Sparrowhawks, 1 Siberian Chiffchaff calling repeatedly and moving from bush to bush before flying south, 1 Common Buzzard, 20 Robins and 1 Peregrine. 

 Birds ringed 55: Wren 3, Goldcrest 7, Chiffchaff 2, Robin 8, Reed Bunting 10, Blackcap 2, Cetti's Warbler 2, Blue Tit 3, Greenfinch 1, Song Thrush 8, Redwing 2, Blackbird 6, Green Woodpecker 1.

Between 0730 and 1300 Derek Smith walked from Shuart and along the railway embankment and recorded 3 Common Buzzards, 1 Peregrine with a kill, 1 Great White Egret near Shuart crossing, 46 Lapwings W, 1 Snipe W, 22 Skylarks W, 4 Swallows W, 2 Grey Wagtails W, 9 Bramblings W, 73 Chaffinches W, 60 Siskins W, 164 Redpolls W, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 23 Chiffchaffs and 85 Goldcrests.

This afternoon Matt birded at Reculver and found 1 Pallas's Warbler (198th), 1 Blackcap, 27 Goldcrests, 4 Bramblings, 4 Chiffchaffs, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Long eared Owl roosting in bushes, 20 Redwings, 12 Blackbirds, 1 Rock Pipit, 30 Chaffinches, 3 Fieldfares, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 2 Sandwich Terns, 1 Purple Sandpiper and 2 Swallows.

Pallas's Warbler - Matt Hindle

 

Great White Egret - Derek Smith

October 15th

After the early morning showers had moved through we had a ringing session at Shuart where we counted 240 Redwings, 70 Fieldfares, 2 Kestrels, 19 Chaffinches, 11 Bramblings, 1 Barn Owl, 71 Siskins W, 40 Goldcrests, 10 Long-tailed Tits, 40 Lapwings, 1 Woodlark calling and flying W (195th), 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 6 Redpolls, 21 Skylarks W, 2 Chiffchaffs, 1 Ring-necked Parakeet, 3 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Sparrowhawks, 1 Grey Heron and 2 Common Buzzards.

Birds ringed 57: Goldcrest 18, Chiffchaff 2, Long-tailed Tit 4, Wren 1, Robin 5, Great Tit 2, Blue Tit 1, Song Thrush 4, Redwing 5, Blackbird 14, Fieldfare 1.

Fieldfare

Redwing

Matt had a birdwatch at Reculver this afternoon and saw 5 Stonechats, 12 Goldcrests, 4 Bramblings, 3 Swallows, 11 Pink-footed Geese  flying NW out to sea (196th), 35 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 60 Redwings, 24 Blackbirds, 1 Fieldfare, 3 Chiffchaffs, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Merlin, 1 Peregrine, 1 Lesser Redpoll and 20 Song Thrushes.

Richard Collins saw 172 Dark-bellied Brent Geese and 20 Kittiwakes flying W at Reculver. 

Also, today, Chris Tedder found a Snow Bunting (197th) at the east end of Coldharbour, the first record of the year having not been seen previously at Reculver. 

Snow Bunting - Chris Tedder

October 14th

On a sunny morning with a fresh easterly wind blowing we spent two hours at the Towers from 0700 and had a very enjoyable seawatch with most of the bird we recorded flying W, but with some passerines flying in off the sea. We counted 452 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 78 Gannets, 125 Wigeon, 6 Red-throated Divers, 6 Redwings in off, 2 Goldcrests in off, 59 Common Scoter, 1 Great Skua E, 9 Sandwich Terns, 7 Rock Pipits, 17 Skylarks in off or flying W, 1 Curlew E, 25 Teal, 2 Guillemots E, 3 Red-breasted Mergansers, 2W, 1E, 1 Grey Plover, 2 Chaffinches in off, 4 White-fronted Geese E, 22 Starlings in off, 1 Black-throated Diver, 1 Short-eared Owl in off sea seen all the way from the wind farm and 1 Little Egret.

Just after midday Derek Smith was rewarded for his long hours out birding when he found a Radde's Warbler (193rd) at a private site near Shuart and managed to shoot off some record shots before it disappeared. Despite extensive searching this afternoon it could not be refound. This is the second record of this very skulking species after the first one was found by Barry Matlock at Bishopstone Glen on 12th October 2008. 

Radde's Warbler - Derek Smith

 He also found a Yellow-browed Warbler in the same area.

Yellow-browed Warbler - Derek Smith

After our seawatch Matt walked around Reculver and recorded 8 Goldcrests, 3 Chiffchaffs, 30 Redwings, 150 Starlings, 3 Fieldfares, 20 Lesser Redpolls, 1 Firecrest and 1Blackcap. At  Chamber's Wall he saw 20 Goldcrests , 30 Redwings, 2 Chiffchaffs, 1 Blackcap, 15 Blackbirds, 10 Song Thrushes, 1 Kestrel and 1 Cetti's Warbler.

Goldcrest

Redwing

Dave Smith was also out this afternoon and saw a Jack Snipe (194th) between Coldharbour and Plumpudding and also 1 Brambling, 5 Chiffchaffs, 2 Blackcaps and good numbers of Goldcrests, Redwings and Fieldfares.

October 13th

After the heavy overnight rain we thought we would try ringing at Reculver this morning but the rain soon returned so we had to give up. Birds we saw during a couple of hours included 362 Redwings flying W, 62 Fieldfares flying W, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Little Owl, 1 Grey Wagtail, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 3 Goldcrests, 4 Blackcaps, 10 Song Thrushes, 8 Chiffchaffs, 34 Chaffinches flying W, 1 Grey Heron, 12 Redpoll flying W, 11 Blackbirds, 1 Redstart and 6 Siskins flying W. 

 Birds ringed 9: Goldcrest 1, Chiffchaff 3, Blackcap 3, Robin 1, Song Thrush 1.

After this, Matt walked along the seawall from Reculver to Coldharbour and recorded 6 Gannets, 59 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 50 Meadow Pipits, 60 Golden Plover, 3 Skylarks, 2 Rock Pipits, 2 Stonechats, 2 Little Egrets, 2 Lapland Buntings flying S at Coldharbour, 20 Goldfinches, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Snipe, 27 Redshank and 1 Dunlin.

Derek Smith was also out birding and visited Shuart, Plumpudding, Chamber's Wall, Coldharbour and the embankment. He recorded 44 Dark-belled Brent Geese W, 4 Gannets W, 3 Common Buzzards, 38 Lapwings W, 36 Skylarks SW, 1 Rock Pipit, 4 Stonechats, 1 Grey Wagtail W, 12 Chaffinches W, 6 Cetti's Warblers, 35 Chiffchaffs, 6 Goldcrests, 2 Lapland Buntings and 18 Corn Bunting.

October 12th

We had an enjoyable walk this morning from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and saw a good range of species. Birds we counted included 1 Kestrel, 9 Chaffinches, 10 Chiffchaffs, 20 Redwings, 2 Blackcaps, 75 Redpoll flying W, 4 Robins, 51 Skylarks flying W, 5 Cetti's Warblers, 44 Lapwings, 53 Golden Plovers, 2 Little Egrets, 16 Redshank, 16 Reed Buntings, 10 Stonechats, 6 Turnstone, 9 Meadow Pipits, 17 Oystercatchers, 1 Curlew, 1 Ringed Plover, 1 Dunlin, 1 Greenshank flying W and calling loudly, 17 Siskins flying W, 6 Goldfinches, 2 Rock Pipits, 4 Crossbills flying W, 3 House Martins flying W, 2 Corn Buntings and 2 Goldcrests.

Curlew at Coldharbour

Derek Smith had a really good morning walking from Shuart to Plumpudding and along the railway embankment before returning via Coldharbour between 0700 and 1300. He counted 2 Common Buzzards, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Merlin S, 252 Lapwings W, 1 Snipe, 1 Greenshank, 6 Bar-tailed Godwits, 1 Water Rail, 112 Woodpigeons W, 2 Ravens, 37 Skylarks W, 9 Pied Wagtails W, 1 Grey Wagtail W, 75 House Martins W, 1,560 Starlings W, 760 Redwings W, 12 Fieldfares W, 145 Blackbirds W, 3 Mistle Thrushes W, 1 Ring Ouzel on the embankment, 9 Stonechats, 43 Crossbills W, 16 Brambling W, 188 Chaffinches W, 64 Linnets W, 7 Greenfinches W, 385 Redpoll W, 163 Siskins W, 38 Goldfinches W, 6 Cetti's Warblers, 6 Blackcaps, 14 Chiffchaffs, 6 Goldcrests and 39 Corn Buntings.

October 11th

This morning we had an uneventful walk from Chamber's Wall to the Oyster Farm lagoons and saw 6 Chiffchaffs, 2 Kestrels, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Golden Plover, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 5 Coot, 3 Little Egrets, 13 Redshank, 8 Oystercatchers, 35 Mallard, 6 Corn Buntings, 2 Curlew, 3 Common Gulls W, 1 Kittiwake, 1 Grey Heron, 18 Skylarks W, 5 Redwings and 3 Goldcrests.

Richard Collins had a seawatch from Reculver between 0820 and 1005 and counted 120 Oystercatchers E, 20 Cormorants, 6 Gannets, 1 Common Gull, 3 Kittiwakes, 1 Little Egret, 5 Sandwich Terns, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Great Skuas, 2 Pied Wagtails and 1 Meadow Pipit.

Derek Smith walked from Shuart to Plumpudding and back between 0700 and 1100 and saw 1 Peregrine, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Ring Ouzel, 165 Redwings W, 18 Song Thrushes W, 11 Skylarks W, 20 Crossbills W, 9 Siskins W, 8 Redpolls W, 36 Chaffinches W, 1 Brambling, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 12 Blackcaps, 44 Chiffchaffs and 20 Goldcrests.

Also this morning, Mike Bedwell found a Black Redstart at Reculver and at Shuart, Tony Swandale found a Dartford Warbler and recorded over 1,300 Redwing flying W.

October 10th

On a sunny but chilly morning we walked from Reculver to Coldharbour and returned by way of the railway embankment and Green Wall. We counted 13 Chiffchaffs, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 13 Pied Wagtails, 14 Mute Swans, 31 Meadow Pipits, 1 Turnstone, 3 Stonechats, 2 Little Egrets, 1 Oystercatcher, 14 Goldfinches, 11 Cormorants, 22 Swallows flying W, 24 Chaffinches W, 2 Redshank, 14 Mallard, 38 Redpoll flying W, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 12 Skylarks, 1 Kestrel, 163 House Martins flying W, 1 Golden Plover, 5 Teal and 1 Kingfisher.

Male Stonechat

Derek Smith and Patrick Giles arrived at Shuart at 0630 and walked to Plumpudding, the embankment and Coldharbour and then returning via Brooksend and Netherhale and arriving back at Shuart at 1300. They recorded 2 Little Egrets, 80 Lapwings, 52 Golden Plovers, 2 Ravens W, 1 Snipe, 220 House Martins W, 6 Pied Wagtails W, 42 Skylarks W, 5 Stonechats, 167 Linnets W, 69 Chaffinches W, 7 Goldfinches W, 1 Brambling W, 63 Redpoll W, 79 Siskins W, 42 Crossbills W, 6 Cetti's Warblers, 19 Blackcaps, 115 Chiffchaffs and 2 Goldcrests.

October 9th

We arrived at Reculver late this morning as I had to take my car to Canterbury for its MOT and a service. We eventually arrived at a sunny Reculver at about 0915 and walked inland and counted 4 Pied Wagtails, 12 Chiffchaffs, 2 Grey Herons, 4 Blackcaps, 5 Mute Swans, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Crossbill calling loudly and flying NW, 6 Song Thrushes, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Green Woodpecker, 2 Coot, 2 Siskins, 8 Robins, 4 Swallows, 17 Goldfinches and 2 Sandwich Terns out by the red buoy. 

There were also still good numbers of Migrant Hawkers and Red Darters taking advantage of the warm and sunny conditions.

Male Migrant Hawker

October 8th

Although the drizzle held off this morning there was a very strong and blustery SW wind blowing that prompted a westerly hirurundine movement low along the seawall and the beach. In the ninety minutes our walk took we counted 1,082 House Martins and 121 Swallows. Other birds we saw included 4 Pied Wagtails, 21 Meadow Pipits, 7 Linnets, 7 Redshank, 2 Kestrels, 1 Little Egret, 38 Goldfinches, 1 Stonechat, 5 Reed Buntings, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Curlew, 1 Oystercatcher, 1 adult winter plumaged Mediterranean Gull, 2 Coot, 15 Mallard, 1 Turnstone, 14 Cormorants, 2 Chiffchaffs and 4 Robins.

Male Ring Ouzel seen at Plumpudding Riding Centre yesterday - Glynn Crocker

October 7th

We spent a sunny but breezy morning ringing at Reculver where we saw 35 Chiffchaffs, 45 Cormorants flying N, 1 Firecrest, 15 Chaffinches, 2 Grey Herons, 24 Blackcaps, 15 Robins, 3 Grey Wagtails flying W, 9 Siskins, 20 Song Thrushes, 12 Goldcrests, 10 Pied Wagtails, 29 Goldfinches, 2 Coot, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 2 Swallows W, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 8 Redpoll W, 1 Kestrel, 24 Meadow Pipits, 4 House Martins W, 1 Short-eared Owl, 1 Moorhen, 5 Mute Swans, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Stonechat 1 Peregrine, 1 Little Egret, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Common Buzzard and 1 Kingfisher.

Birds ringed 61: Long-tailed Tit 1, Wren 1, Firecrest 1, Goldcrest 5, Chiffchaff 13, Blackcap 19, Robin 4, Chaffinch 2, Cetti's Warbler 2, Blue Tit 1, Great Tit 3, Dunnock 1, Song Thrush 4, Blackbird 4.

Female Firecrest

 

This afternoon Matt walked from Reculver to Plumpudding and back by way of the railway embankment. He counted 13 Chiffchaffs, 2 Wheatears, 1 Marsh Harrier, 4 Kestrels, 1 Sparrowhawk, 17 Stonechats, 15 Corn Buntings, 4 Little Egrets, 24 Goldfinches W, 72 Turnstones, 84 Ringed Plovers, 120 Sanderling, 15 Dunlin, 18 Sandwich Terns, 1 Gannet, 26 Meadow Pipits W, 7 Mediterranean Gulls, 31 Redshank, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 188 Oystercatchers, 14 Curlew,  6 Bar-tailed Godwits, 1 Grey Plover, 1 female Merlin, 2 Rock Pipits, 1 Ring Ouzel, 75 Lapwings, 35 Chaffinches W, 1 Common Buzzard, 70 Golden Plover, 5 Blackcaps, 24 Robins, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Siskin W, 1 Little Gull 1 flying high S and 3 Short-eared Owls at the Oyster Farm. 

Wheatear

Wheatear

Oystercatcher

October 6th

We spent another morning ringing at Shuart where we saw 3 Common Buzzards, 30 Chiffchaffs, 1 Barn Owl, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 40 Redpoll flying W, 2 Grey Herons, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 1 Mallard, 1 Ring-necked Parakeet, 4 Pied Wagtails, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Golden Plover, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Kestrels, 16 Skylarks, 1 Peregrine, 2 Swallows flying W, 8 House Martins flying W and 18 Crossbills flying W.

Birds ringed 35: Chiffchaff 18, Robin 4, Blackcap 10, Blackbird 3.

October 5th

We spent an excellent migration morning ringing at Shuart. In six hours we counted 150 Blackcaps, 60 Chiffchaffs, 10 Goldcrests, 4 Common Buzzards, 1 Barn Owl, 2 Pied Flycatchers, 153 Redpoll flying SW, 62 Siskins flying SW, 69 Crossbills flying W, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Jays, 2 Lapwings, 3 Bramblings, 6 Mallard, 16 Skylarks, 3 Mistle Thrushes, 10 House Martins, 8 Swallows, 1 Sparrowhawk, 15 Song Thrushes, 2 Grey Herons, 20 Chaffinches, 2 Redwings, 12 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Kestrels, 1 Cetti's Warbler and 30 Goldfinches flying W.

Birds ringed 114: Chiffchaff  21, Goldcrest 5, Long-tailed Tit 2, Blackcap 71, Robin 5, Pied Flycatcher 1, Blue Tit 3, Song Thrush 3, Blackbird 3.

Pied Flycatcher

This afternoon Matt walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and saw 6 Blackcaps, 14 Chiffchaffs, 23 Swallows W, 18 House Martins W, 47 Turnstone, 1 Grey Plover, 1 Knot, 1 Sandwich Tern, 21 Redshank, 45 Golden Plovers, 11 Corn Buntings, 2 Stonechats, 3 Kestrels and 1 Cetti's Warbler.

This evening I received ringing information about the dead juvenile Sandwich Tern I found on the beach at Reculver on July 31st this year. It had been ringed as a pullus on June 4th at Slijkplaat, Haringvliet, Zuid Holland, THE NETHERLANDS and had flown 206 km WSW to reach Reculver.

 October 4th

On another unpleasant day we had an hour's walk at Reculver after lunch and saw 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 10 Great Tits, 12 Blue Tits, 7 Song Thrushes, 4 Chiffchaffs, 2 House Martins W, 12 Swallows feeding around the Towers, 2 Wheatears, 4 Pied Wagtails, 1 Goldcrest and 1 Common Buzzard.

October 3rd

Having had over 40 mm of rain during the last 36 hours it was nice to be able to walk around Reculver this morning with only occasional light rain falling. We recorded 7 Chiffchaffs, 40 Lapwings, 3 Song Thrushes, 9 Chaffinches, 5 Redwings, 1 Ring Ouzel, 70 House Sparrows, 21 Swallows, 3 Little Egrets, 7 Pied Wagtails, 5 House Martins, 7 Robins, 4 Grey Herons, 35 Cormorants, 2 Ringed Plovers, 10 Mute Swans, 1 Kestrel, 2 Redshank and 12 Goldfinches.

Derek Smith walked from Shuart along the embankment and back via Coldharbour between 1230 and 1700. He counted 2 Sandwich Terns flying S, 1 Short-eared Owl, 2 Grey Wagtails flying W, 45 Song Thrushes, 60 Swallows flying S, 6 Bramblings flying W, 16 Chaffinches flying W, 5 Redpoll flying W, 2 Siskins flying W, 90 Robins, 11 Stonechats, 1 Whinchat, 4 Wheatears, 6 Cetti's Warblers, 18 Chiffchaffs, 3 Blackcaps and 17 Goldcrests.

 October 2nd

Today was a washout with a strong easterly wind and non stop rain. The only bird of interest I saw was a Swallow trying to find shelter along the rocks at Reculver car park, however I did receive an interesting control of a bird we ringed in 2017.

A first year male Lesser Redpoll ringed at Shuart on 9th November 2017 was controlled at Corrie Cravie, Isle of Arran, North Ayrshire, Scotland on 8th August 2020. This site is 628 km NW of Shuart. Many of the Redpoll that pass through Kent at this time of year come from Scotland.

Male LesserRepoll