Bank Holiday Birding and recent stuff

Managed several patch visits this weekend as well as a nice afternoon at Oare Marshes and a quick drive over to Otford for the WESTERN RUFOUS TURTLE DOVE, which showed well after only about an hour waiting, always nice to see a new bird and conveniently close to home!
The new patch has been busy in the last week, lots of things arriving good numbers of SWIFT, SAND MARTIN, SWALLOW and HOUSE MARTIN. A couple of LESSER WHITETHROATS are rattling around the patch and a CUCKOO has been calling for about a week. Notable birds new for the year have been COMMON SANDPIPER, COMMON TERN (3 today) and a DUNLIN whizzed around the upper lakes. A few YELLOW WAGTAILS have been seen including a flock of 7 that dropped in briefly last weekend a PEREGRINE was only the second of the year and a nice surprise was a SHORT EARED OWL that flew up from the long grass in the small water meadow.
On Saturday afternoon a stroll round Oare Marshes was a nice change of scenery, about 4 WHIMBREL were milling around the reserve and the LITTLE GULL was busy feeding over the east flood for most of the afternoon. Good numbers of SEDGE WARBLERS were in song and BEARDED TITS called almost continuously but didn't give themselves up easily, allowing only a few fleeting flight views in almost 30mins scanning the reeds. A LESSER WHITETHROAT and a NIGHTINGALE sang from the same group of bushes at the entrance to the west flood footpath. Birds of prey were thin on the ground with 1 KESTREL, 1 SPARROWHAWK and 2 BUZZARDS. There were still good number of BLACK TAILED GODWITS most in resplendent summer colours, AVOCETS were dotted around probably about 10-12 in all.
The random HAWFINCH photo is from a work trip to Portugal!
 Various photos from the weekend follow.

Hawfinch - Portugal

Little ringed Plover

Little Gull

Whimbrel

Chiffchaff

Common Tern

Tufted Duck

Kingfisher

Reed Bunting