A seawatch during the morning produced very little of note apart from six Brent Geese, 11 Common Scoters, three Lapwings (rare for us), five Red-throated Divers, nine Auk sp, one Arctic Skua and, coming in off the sea, 1155 Starlings.
Simon, Jack.
Later Nigel had a Dartford Warbler on the cliff-top.
Another day with a few birds moving overhead most notable being 46 Stock Doves and 12 Bramblings.
Around the area was a nice male Ring Ouzel, a Woodlark and a Crimson Speckled on the cliff-top.
Brendan. Nigel, Paul Holt, Jack.
Variable Southerly wind with occasional showers early morning. There was a light overhead passage of finches in a variable southerly wind with occasional showers. Highlight was 228 Swallows in small groups up until mid morning along with seven House Martins. Sadly nothing more exciting could be found with them. A brief walk around Freedown, Farm Wood and Paddock produced four Chiffchaffs, three Goldcrests and a single Firecrest.
Two large flocks of Starlings came in-off totalling 450. A Ring Ouzel was heard by the Monument
Jack and Brendan
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| Chiffchaff |
Starting at 07:30 we had two hours 'vis mig' at the cliff-top. Birds were moving in a SW direction and we recorded 12 Stock Doves, three Collared Doves, 216 Swallows, 16 House Martins, 46 Skylarks, 21 Alba Wagtails, 31 Meadow Pipits, 10 Redpoll, 53 Goldfinches, 26 Chaffinches, eight Bramblings, 32 Linnets, 3 Siskins, 21 Reed Buntings and two Tree Sparrows.
Elsewhere around the area were 60 Jackdaws, 92 Starlings. two Redwings, five Chiffchaffs and two Goldcrests. On the cliff-top there was a constant scrap between the Peregrines and the Ravens.
Brendan, Phil, Jack.
After overnight rain expectations were high but unfortunately there were only a few grounded birds. A walk around the Paddock and Farm produced five alba Wagtails, 17 Robins, eight Long-tailed Tits and singles of Brambling and Chiffchaff.
A very disappointing seawatch from 07:15 to 09:15, with most birds moving upchannel, produced two Brent Geese, three Common Scoter, three Mediterranean Gulls, six Guillemots, two Red-throated Divers, one Black-throated Diver and 192 Gannets.
A good turn out from the team produced a better morning with a Woodlark flying south of the Freedown/Big Field, a late Tree Pipit, several Swallows and House Martins, two Firecrests, 13 Chiffchaffs, three Blackcaps and two Short-eared Owls flushed from the cliff top. The highlight was a fine Long-tailed Blue spotted by Nigel as we walked up from Hope Point.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S121085943
https://ebird.org/checklist/S121084992
Brendan, Gerald, Nigel, Jack & Simon
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| Long-tailed Blue |
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| Short-eared Owl |
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| Short-eared Owl |
The first hour of the day was very birdie with lots of thrushes moving in including 60 plus Redwings, 10 Song Thrushes, a Ring Ouzel, a Fieldfare and six Mistle Thrushes. Rain set in after a couple of hours we went to the bay where 4 Little Gulls were the highlight. The rest of the morning was spent in the South Foreland Valley (which doesn't count!)
https://ebird.org/checklist/S121029333
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| Dunnock |
Highlight was the first Short-eared Owl of the autumn, flushed from the Freedown. Only three Chiffchaffs were seen.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S120993992
National Radde's Day ( As per DIM Wallace). Sadly no Radde's Warblers
Highlights included a Woodlark which flew north mid morning and a Dartford Warbler on the cliff top, inevitably in the company of Stonechats.
Details on eBird https://ebird.org/checklist/S120634567
Brendan, Nigel, Tony Swandale, Russ Blackman
An uneventful day with another late Lesser Whitethroat being the only bird of note
https://ebird.org/checklist/S120288704
A fairly uneventful day. A Black-throated Diver was photographed flying down channel. Five Firecrests were recorded in the area. Full details on eBird. Click here to view
A Yellow-browed Warbler was seen in the Farm Wood late morning. This was presumably the bird forest seen on Saturday. Other birds on note included 14 Stonechats. Full details on eBird click here to view
Another late Lesser Whitethroat today this time in the Freedown. Sadly again showing no signs of belonging to one of the eastern races.
Full sightings on eBird Click here
During the heyday of Bockhill back in the 1990s, it was not unusual to find up to 20 birders present at a weekend in October. Today just three of the old guard, plus one dog slogged round the area in less than helpful conditions. It was looking like the absentees had made the right call until we entered the Farm Wood late morning and found the first Yellow-browed Warbler of the autumn, in a group of at least 20 Chiffchaffs. Although the Yellow-browed gave good views, it was hyper active and was impossible to photograph. Total Chiffchaffs exceeded 40 along with at least 20 Blackcaps. The only other warbler seen was a late Lesser Whitethroat at the Gun Emplacement.
There was a pulse of hirundines in the first hour after dawn with at least 4,300 House Martins and 450 Swallows. Other highlights included a Ring Ouzel on the undercliff and 12 Stonechats
Brendan, Nigel and Richard
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| Lesser Whitethroat- Gun Emplacement |
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| Stonechat- Hope Point |
