At Pett Level 0800 this morning hundreds of auks streaming west - 100 in 10 minutes, along with at least 25 red-throated divers - more of both on the sea.
Some of the auks were going past close enough to identify as guillemots even in the gloom - only 1 was a razorbill.
It’s unusual to see so many here in the bay.
Reported by: Cliff Dean
One of the key birds for the Rye Bay area is the shoveler duck.
It is named in the SPA description for the Dungeness to Pett Level site, see http://www.jncc.gov.uk/UKSPA/sites/England/UK9012091.htm
(Shoveler Anas clypeata, 419 individuals representing at least 1.0% of the wintering Northwestern/Central Europe population (5 year peak mean 1991/2 - 1995/6))
At the moment there are up to 160 shoveling away just at Ternery Pool .
