A bittern and a Slavonian grebe were seen from Christmas Dell hide and a black-necked grebe was on Denge Marsh. A male and two female red-crested pochards were on New Excavations and two goosanders were on the ARC pit. Seven smew (including two males) were seen around the site. Firecrest, long-tailed tit and chiffchaff were seen from the willow trail and a kingfisher flew past the Visitor Centre.
One part of the Dungeness shingle beach that has shown considerable natural change over the years is the south coast. This map shows Wickmaryholm Pit, on the south coast of Lydd Ranges in 1878. The is a natural shingle wetland and originally consisted of two areas of open water, divided by a tongue of shingle. This pit was once much further inland and fresher, as witnessed by the remains of the freshwater aquatic plants such as spiked water milfoil Myriophyllum spicatum in its peaty sediments. To the east was the smaller Abnor Pit and to the west was Tarts Cottage.
These were a fantastic series of Ordnance Survey maps covering the whole of the UK in amazing detail. It never fails to amaze me how they managed to be so accurate without the use of aerial photographs.
After this map was made Read the rest of this entry »
Highlights over the past few days have included, 4 Smew (1 drake), 3 Long-eared Owl, 32 Little Egret, Bittern, Kingfisher and 2 Marsh Harrier at Castle Water. On the Beach Reserve Dartford Warbler and Merlin were at Ternery Pool and Barn Owl and Marsh Harrier on Harbour Farm. Elsewhere the Black-necked Grebe, 3 Goldeneye and 4 Scaup were still present on Long Pit and 2 Long-eared Owl were at Narrow Pit.
Whilst at home in Northiam the amphibian season has been very slow starting, with only two male smooth newts and three adult common frogs observed in our garden pond at night so far, down on the coast the breeding season has commenced. Today I found several great crested newt eggs at Romney Warren (New Romney), the earliest I have ever found, although I suspect only because I have not looked at an earlier date. The eggs are likely to have been laid a few days ago. One of the folded leaves containing an egg is marked with a white arrow below.
The margins pf this particular pond were choked with Read the rest of this entry »
Christmas Day
Just in front of a flock of GC Grebes, and just for a split-second, I caught sight of a tight pack of smaller birds on the water, black & white and riding low. They vanished behind the swell of a wave but then failed to reappear. I ran up the shingle bank to get a better look, but couldn’t see them at all. I couldn’t think what they could have been…maybe auks, but not really… Then I noticed another black and white bird with the grebes, a duck: a Scaup! But it had a black back: a drake Tufted Duck, which you don’t expect to see on the sea.
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A kingfisher flew past the Visitor Centre yesterday morning, the black-necked grebe was once again at Denge Marsh and a Dartford warbler was seen near the hide there. This morning a male smew was on Burrowes pit and three red-crested pochards (two males and a female) were on New Excavations.
Visiting arrangements over the holiday period:
The main site and Visitor Centre will be closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and re-open on 27th December. The Hanson-ARC site will remain open throughout.
On Long Pit, the Black-necked Grebe is still present, as are four Scaup and a pair of Goldeneye, all showing well from the Harbour Farm Barns end of the pit, while Flat Beach Level held around 1000 each of Golden Plover and Lapwing, and probably as many again at Ternery Pool (below). This concentration of birds attracted the attentions of a marauding Merlin. Offshore, around 200 Common Scoter were close in from the old lifeboat house, along with small numbers of Great Crested Grebe, Wigeon, Red-throated Diver and even a Shelduck, with a few Gannet fishing further out.
In spite of the poor light, the present calm conditions make it relatively easy to see the hundreds of birds on the sea in Rye Bay.
There were still about 500 Great Crested Grebes yesterday, and the Common Scoters were closer to the shore, though I could find no Velvet Scoters among them.
There were also dense packs of Wigeon, several Red-throated Divers in flight and a single Black-throated Diver quite close in opposite Toot Rock.
Further out, Gannets were flapping about on the horizon.
Gulls can be a very tricky group, probably dismissed by most birdwatchers. David Cooper has a series of photos taken recently at Castle Water to show the Scandinavian Herring Gull Larus argentatus argentatus. Click here to see.
During an unsuccessful search for Water Pipits along the muddy edges of ditches where the reed has been newly cut, I came across hundreds of Swan Mussel shells littered among the spoil.
These large freshwater bivalves lead an uneventful life, nestling in the ditchbed ooze, whence they siphon food from the cloudy waters. Their shell is thin compared with their marine relatives, since it never has to contend with crashing waves. They are able to drag themselves about in the water using their muscular foot, but once dredged onto the banks are doomed to death by desiccation or to be smashed by Grey Herons which always shadow the diggers.
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