Pett Level
There were 360 Great Crested Grebes offshore today. The flock in Rye Bay is one of the largest in Great Britain, sometimes rising to more than 600 birds, and may well be the same as that counted at Lade Sands (also in the RX area, on the east side of the Dungeness peninsula) which peaked at 1,600 in the winter of 2002/3.
At Pett Level, the flock is not always easy to count since it’s composed of several smaller groups, some of which sail off round the corner beneath the cliffs where they are harder to see. This would account for the variations in Wetland Bird Survey counts from year to year quite apart from variations in the population. The latest report “Waterbirds in the UK 2006/7″ cites a mere 44 birds in 06/07, and none at all at Lade Sands. I’m sure there were plenty out there but they chose not to reveal themselves when the counts were made.
Since this species is difficult to catch for ringing, there’s little information on their movements, making it hard to say where these birds might have come from.
Apart from that, Pete Rouse saw 2 Merlins and 3 Marsh Harriers yesterday.