Seymour Birdies Diary: A Day at Dungeness

14th September 2024

A warm, sunny and a rare calm day at Dungeness. Starting by the miniature railway station there were quite a few insects around and I had not seen so many Small Heaths for many a year.

Small Heath

Small Copper

Common Darter

Also around the Gorse bushes was a pair of Stonechats, although only the male was in the mood for photos.

A quick look around The Moat produced a blank, so off the see what the fishing boats had to offer. Very quiet with no passerines at all, except for three Wheatears which had taken a liking to one of the boats.

At the ARC pit a Little Egret was fishing not far from the hide, but unfortunately the Glossy Ibis was on the far bank and therefore rather distant. Just look at those yellow feet on the egret.

On the RSPB reserve all the action was on Burrowes Pit. At the southern end two Black Terns were entertaining the troops with several flights past the viewpoint.

Whereas at the northen end of the pit an American Golden Plover was resting on one of the islands with a handful of Lapwings and Golden Plovers.

And to round off the day we stopped off at the Scotney Sandpits to try and find the Red-necked Phalarope that had been found there the day before. It was indeed easy to find with some great directions provided by the locals, but unfortunately just about as far away as it could possibly get, probably about 200 yards. But in my book good light is worth 50 yards so here are the results.