I didn't manage a patch visit this weekend but was out birding all day Saturday and had a very brief excursion to Dungeness on Sunday. Four of us set out to east Kent on Saturday, we started at Stodmarsh and did a quick stop in the first hide then walked to where the boardwalk takes you back through the wood. Surprisingly there were good numbers of Marsh Harriers in the air from the hide battling the wind, possibly 6-8 birds in all, a Cetti's Warbler called from near the hide and small parties of Gadwall were dashing to and fro'. In the wood, Siskins were the order of the day with several flocks possibly totalling 100+ birds a few Goldfinches were mixed in and a Treecreeper and Great Spotted Woodpecker also showed briefly. After Stodmarsh we headed to Pegwell Bay hoping to meet the incoming tide, which worked out well, there were really good numbers of waders and gulls, a Merlin reported earlier didn't re-appear during our visit but the constant activity of the waders kept us interested, there were alot of Bar Tailed Godwits, the most I've seen for sometime and a couple of Black Tailed were also seen one close to the hide. I did have a glimpse of a bunting dropping in, infront of the hide which was almost certainly a Lapland but it didn't show itself again. Our final stop was Grove Ferry here we added the first Pintail of the day from the ramp and 2 Hen Harriers both female heading towards Stodmarsh. It was a tricky day in the constant wind but it was good to be out and be in good company.
Sunday, really was a brief stop at Dungeness, I stopped three times for a quick scan and managed to see 6 Bewick's and 9 Smew, including a stunning male, the third stop for Glaucous Gull was unsuccessful. I couldn't really have expected much more!
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