23rd June

Yet more blank news for the blog, unable to get out again. Been stuck inside 'enjoying' the hospitality of Will Harv Hospital yet again since Weds. I thought i had got past most of this last year but apparently not! I'm not even by the window, so nothing to see from here......hold on a minute.....I see a bird!.....it's a wood pigeon! Woohoo!!! Hint of sarcasm there i believe! Oh well.....i won't be posting anything much for a little, unless i get a good garden view when i finally get home.

14th June

Having been stuck at home the last 2 days it was nice to be able to get out for a while. I decided to try my luck at Stodmarsh...you never know the osprey might still be there......yeah righto! No such luck. I did manage to see a garden warbler in the car park, lots of cettis calling loudly but no osprey. I surprised myself by managing to walk as far as the tower hide (although it did take me about 30 mins to do it - 45mins to return). Plenty of marsh harrier activity with a total of 5 food passes witnessed shared between 2 females. No hobbys around to start with, but then around 1 oclock when the wind died down a bit, at least 8 appeared over the far side of the lake. 2 buzzards passed in the distance harried by corvids and 1 little egret seen. I was watching a male blackcap feverishly collecting food and taking it to the nest for about 1 hour until the female came out of the nest area and then 3 fledglings followed and disappeared. I managed a few shots of the male but he was very active and was never still for very long.

10th and 11th June

Monday and Tuesday afternoon spent at Dungeness, both days very quiet with only 1 hobby seen on each day, 3 cuckoos on mon, 2 on tues. Marsh Harriers more active on Tuesday seeing 2 food passes, in all Hookers showing 3 female marsh and 1 male on mon, with an additional non breeding young male on tues. The 3 females are distinguishable with 1 having a much more golden colour to her cap than a more silvery one and of course the obvious 'white' female as seen in photos below of a food pass. Sedge and reed warblers very active at Hookers also. Tuesday I continued to hear the bittern booming although not as often as per the last 2 weeks, one female was seen 3 times in the morning on food runs and I managed to see her once at 1pm leave the nest area and fly right across in front of me to feed at denge. A few blue butterflies around on mon as seen below.
Monday evening I went on a mission to locate nightjars at Hemsted Forest. 2 birds heard and good views of one so very successful, thanks Pete. Too dark for pictures, just one silouhette shot which could be anything, so I'm not even going to post it!



Sedge Warbler

Chaffinch

Common Blue - Female



Common Blue

Holly Blue

Food Pass stage 1

Food Pass stage 2

8th June

A quick trip to Oare Marshes today, but got no further than the East Flood. Birds of note were 6 little egrets, 1 hobby, usual mix of ducks inc mallard, shoveller, shelduck, tufted, plus coot, moorhen etc. Also blackwits, redshank and avocets. Youngsters inc swan, coot and greylag geese. High tide roosting among the black headed gulls was the Bonapartes gull too far for a decent photo but managed a rough record shot.

Very distant Bonapartes Gull
 

1st June

A brief visit to Dungy today. After a quick visit in the centre, went up to viewing ramp as usual and on the way saw a cuckoo on the entrance track. Plenty of swifts around today, 4 hobbys hunting successfully right in front, 2 male and 2 female marsh harriers and a pair of buzzards showed. A quick glimpse of a bittern to my right was only my second this year.
Sorry Wendy as soon as you got in your car 3 bearded tits showed quite well!
The most surprising sight was a guy walking through an area obviously not an open track, right through where the harriers are nesting, he must have got within 10 feet of the nest, while the female circled overhead obviously agitated (the 'white' female) which then did come back to the nest after the guy continued on past. Apparently he is known on the reserve so is not naïve to the accessible areas, but why go through there anyway?


Hunting Hobby

??????

The 'White' female Marsh Harrier