Monday 20 June 2016

Balearic Shearwater

Lade - The past few days have been pretty much the same with plenty of Swifts over the lake on Saturday and today, in the murk and rain, while the sunshine of yesterday brought forth a number of grassland butterflies. Several Cuckoos continue to be active around the site, but I guess it wont be too long now until the adults depart south.
Dungeness - 0900-1030hrs - Heavy rain, low cloud, sw 4 - A grim morning was brightened considerably by a tidy seawatch from the fishing boats with the highlight being our first Balearic Shearwater of the summer heading down-Channel at 0930hrs. Common Terns were in the ascendancy with at least 250 passing west during the watch, plus 80 Gannets, 20 Sandwich Terns, 14 Little Terns, one Arctic Tern, 5 Kittiwakes, 2 Fulmars and 20 coasting Swifts. Some of the terns, including a Little, paused to feed en-route.
  Despite the atrocious weather conditions both Skylark and Mipit were in song on the foreshore and a Wheatear flew along the concrete road as we walked down to the boats.
RSPB - A few Swifts over Burrowes and the usual wildfowl was about it here, where the water level has risen again following the recent rains.
  News from yesterday afternoon concerned a Cattle Egret found by Ken Churcher on Hayfield 3, which may still be on site somewhere and waiting to be relocated, when the rain stops...

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