BRASS MONKEYS

28 November 2021 Not the day to take your pet brass monkeys out on a walk with you. It was one degree when we ( AP, JT, and I ) started out towards Castle Water in the RHNR and two degrees when we finished, all accompanied by a biting northerly wind which had hardly dropped from yesterdays gale. Not surprisingly most birds were keeping their heads down. A gliding Sparrowhawk was the first bird seen and nearby 60 Gadwall took to the air. When the early sun did break through a male Marsh Harrier struggled past into the wind and showed a colourful under wing highlighted by the sun. Good to see a few Common Gulls back quartering the fields. We were glad to get to the Castle Water Hide, after seeing a few Redwings on the way, where the first birds seen on the island were a striking pair of Barry’s Egyptian Geese along with some Shovelers. About eight Pintail drifted over and two males started preening on the island. The resident BnGrebe was active out in the middle in the company of Coots and Shelduck. We scanned the edge of the recently cut down reed bed in front of the hide and located four well camouflaged Snipe, nice to see them so close. JT was convinced that the only gull present, a GBbGull had red eyes but my photo could not pick it out though they do have a red orbital ring when in full breeding plumage, too early for that.

Leaving the hide we headed over to the north end of Castle Water and found presumably a female Peregrine sitting out on the ground not far from a pile of Wood Pigeon feathers. About a hundred Lapwings plus fifteen Golden Plover were in the fields but no sign of any Ruff as yet this winter in this one of their regular haunts. Two Chiffchaffs and two Stonechats along with a Kestrel were seen on the return leg. We finally had a look at the excavation site just off the main road near the entrance to the Viewpoint where an old industrial unit has been demolished. Last Thursday Alan Martin found a pair of Black Redstarts there and we soon located them behind a substantial metal fence. I only managed a few record photos before the thought of a hot drink ended my day. JT on the other hand came back a little later and took some excellent photos, they are the last three shown here and they are as they say cracking birds and the adult male in particular was very confiding.

FFS

21 November 2021 FFS actually stands for Fantastic Flocks at Scotney. Our regular JT, AP and myself circular started early with a near full moon very visible. The New Diggings Buzzard was perched on something rusty waiting for the sun to come up. It was definitely a game of two halves today influenced by a biting north easterly stiff breeze. On the Main Pit ducks and geese wisely hugged the western bank away from the wind but still in the sun. A few of the Geese were of sterner stuff and were on the eastern bank, Barnacles now reaching 33, a flock size about right for this time of the year. So the trek up the eastern bank was disappointing though a 1st winter Peregrine was enjoying keeping multiple flocks of an estimated 1300+ Lapwings and 800+ Golden Plover on their toes and up in the air.

Finally as we passed Scotney Court Farm on the return leg, things looked up. We missed a BnGrebe by a couple of minutes that two other birders had seen but which had drifted out of site into a bay on the Main Pit. A Green Sandpiper then flew over followed by a flock of 8 Cattle Egrets. They circled around but seeing no cattle headed back off east, probably some of the same birds that have been at the RSPB Dungeness Reserve for a few weeks. Our first Corn Bunting of the winter popped up on a post and towards the Wind Turbines more flocks of Lapwings and Golden Plover were murmurating . Approaching Red House, no Tree Sparrows today but a lone Redwing was seen, a huge flock of Stock Doves took off until finally settling down again nearby. Estimated at 1350 birds this will be a record for Sussex as a feeding flock. Five Brent Geese were grazing nearby. A Merlin and several Marsh Harriers were also seen, and a Great Egret was about.

Further on back towards the Pits we came across another large mixed flock of Lapwings and grazing Wigeon and finally found the missing Egyptian Geese flock, out by the Wind Turbines, 118 according to JT‘s count, another Sussex record. It was certainly a day for flocks, all in all very impressive due to the sheer numbers of birds.

OLD FRIENDS AT PETT LEVEL

19 November 2021 Nice bright sunshine for a change so yesterday I walked down to the Pools. At Pett Level itself PR reported the return of the Fulmars last Monday and a couple were indeed gliding along the cliffs past the rock falls. An adult female Peregrine also circled along the cliff line, my first there for ages. Out at sea were the usual Divers and Grebes along with a few Kittiwakes and Guillemots. A tight flock of 60 apparently first winter and female Common Scoters were diving in unison, the first good size flock this winter. Down at the Pools there were about four Ruffs with the Curlews and Lapwings out on the pastures. One looks very similar to an over wintering bird that I photographed ( the last of the Ruff photos here ) on the 22nd Dec 2020, being the white-headed bird, probably the same one as last year. The Polish Swan was also visible behind the pools with its sibling, nice to see it has survived. Otherwise the usual birds were around the Pools and the local Coots are practising flutter walking up the near vertical far bank of the Roadside Pool. The Environment Agency are clearing the weed out of the RMC and the Shingle Shifters are back in action and had disturbed a single Snow Bunting as they passed according to a local dog walker.

The last photo is of the same Common Scoter flock now today off Cliff End in cloudy dull conditions, when one dives they all do.

BACK IN THE RHNR

14 November 2021 Again an early start for myself, AP and JT but again dull and cloudy, very annoying. Flatbeach only held about 50 Golden Plovers but a party of twelve Pintail were newly arrived. A LBbGull was with a small group of GBbGulls and the usual Redshank and Dunlin were present. Over at Ternery Pool before a deluge that soaked us to the skin, a GBbGull which is always hanging out with the Cormorants got its unjust rewards and stole a Flatfish off one of the Cormorants. It was however having difficulty swallowing the fish whole. A couple of Egyptian Geese dropped in. By the time the rain had stopped we had reached the Salt Pool passing by an impressive 21 Little Egrets viewed sheltering on Narrow Pit viewed through the willow branches. The Sheep nearby also huddled together for the same reason. Miraculously the sun then appeared but a Marsh Harrier followed by a Sparrow Hawk put up most of the birds over the Salt Pool. When they settled again there was a Grey Plover and a number of Dunlin and Golden Plovers and all of a sudden colour reappeared in the photos. The Salt Marsh Spoonbill was flushed by dog walkers who came out with the sun and it went into sulky sleepy mode on one leg. Later in the afternoon JT had three Whooper Swans fly past, rare birds here, and 750+ Golden Plover finally dropped in after feeding out on the Romney Marshes. At home a leucistic Blackbird was feeding on berries close to the house, showing an interesting head pattern and a slightly twisted bill.

RnGREBE AT THE POOLS

09November 2021 Since last Sunday there has been a Red-necked Grebe on the Roadside Pool at Pett Pools so I thought I should at least get a photo or two. The RnGrebe is the rarest of the wintering grebes in Sussex, especially so in East Sussex. Unfortunately just as I arrived a heavy drizzle weather front skirted the Channel from the west and along the coast to give appalling lighting conditions for record shots. However the Grebe was very active though distant and feeding well. It did however make quite a meal of trying to swallow small fish – excuse the pun.

SCOTNEY AGAIN

07 November 2021 JT was doing the WEBS count at the RHNR this morning so it was left for AP and myself to do the Scotney circular. Most of the usual suspects were present but the sheer number of birds on the Pits and out on the pastures was impressive with lots of overhead movement back and forth. Lapwings and Golden Plover were over a thousand each and Greylag Geese 500+ and just to please Barry Yates we had our highest ever count yet of 99 Egyptian Geese. There were about eleven Tree Sparrows out in the usual place and next to the main road two Bramblings dropped into the trees on the Kent Sussex border. A feeding flock of 155 Stock Doves was exceptional and when they took off a Dunlin joined them. A Great Egret was just north of the main Pit and waders around included Redshank, six Dunlin, two Curlew, and two Green Sandpipers. Birds of prey included Kestrel, Buzzard, Sparrow Hawks, Merlin, and Marsh Harriers. Two Ravens and a few Stonechats completed the expected list. About ten Brent Geese were also out feeding with other Geese out on the pastures along with the feral Barnacles which explained why there was just a single Barnacle next to the Main Pit when we passed by.

PETT POOLS GOOSANDER

05 November 2021 For various reasons such as the weather and work being done on our house I have not been out for a while. However, today was fine and nearly windless so I headed down to Pett Pools at high tide. In the company of Peter Mathews and Sarah from Bexhill we exchanged notes and scanned the sea and the Pools. The Main Pool was occupied mostly by Greylag Geese with some Canadas dropping in. Two adult Mute Swans were there and a juv. joined them later having flown around the marshes including over the sea. The Polish Swan was not seen but maybe out there somewhere. No sign of any ducks waiting to be fed at the poolside gate, very odd, but I did see the Aylesbury pair on the Roadside Pool. The sea contained the expected GcGrebes, RtDivers, and Common Scoters with a few Turnstone on the tide line and a fly past Gannet. Redshank were roosting on the far bank of the Roadside Pool but no Ruff were seen today. Encouraging was the presence of three Brent Geese, two adults and a juv. on the Main Pool. Later we saw a further flock of 20 or so Brents out on the pastures along with 150+ Curlews. Herons were visible in the distance waiting for a ditch to be dug out. Tame roadside birds included a BhGull, Little Egret, and an iridescent Rook. The Cormorant roost with accompanying Wigeon was well attended. I was just about to leave when a last scan of the Main Pool showed a Goosander over near the far bank. It annoyingly spent most of the next half hour preening but I obtained enough record shots to confirm the id. It is probably still in eclipse and is likely the bird first seen by Pete Rouse on the 22nd of October at the Pools. Just before we found it, a group of seven calling Bearded Tits erupted out of the reeds, then headed out in the direction of Rye until lost against the blue sky.