2nd August

Fairly quiet day with just 25 Whitethroats, one Blackcap, six Lesser Whitethroats, eight Willow Warblers, one Sedge Warbler, one Yellow Wagtail and at least 50 Swifts moving NE mid-morning. A good selection of butterflies including at least 15 Painted Ladies.
(Jack, Phil, Brendan and Julian Russell)

1st August 2019

Still many Swifts feeding in the area, c.1900. Other notable birds included a Grasshopper Warbler, 32 Whitethroats, 10 Lesser Whitethroats,  5 Chiffchaffs and 12 Willow Warblers. Also of note has been the increase of House Sparrows at Hope Point and the Paddock, there are now at least 50 birds where there have been no more than 10 over the last five years.
In the evening a sea watch at Kingsdown Cliffs produced very little apart from a few Mediterranean Gulls, Sandwich and Common Terns and two Harbour Porpoises.
PJC.JRC.

30th June - 31st July

On June 30th Phil and Richard saw a first summer female Red-footed Falcon fly north over Hope Point. From then on very little was noted apart from waders (Whimbrel, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Greenshank) that were recorded overnight by Gerald from July 15th at Walmer. On the 20th a seawatch produced more waders including Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwits and also a rarity for us, a Garganey. On the 24th Nigel had 16 Common Sandpipers on the undercliff and the next day Phil flushed an adult female Honey Buzzard from the Monument bushes. There was also another wader, a Ringed Plover,  on the rocks. On the 26th there was another Honey Buzzard W as well as 2 Marsh Harriers and a Red Kite. Also another Whimbrel and Green Sandpiper. On the 27th, after overnight storms, enormous numbers of Swifts were feeding, mainly on the clifftop, between Kingsdown and the South Forland Valley. These were very difficult to count but we thought there were at least 15000. More waders were moving and we had 2's-3's of Whimbrel, Curlew, Ruff, Common Sandpiper, Greenshank, Knot, Grey Plover and Lapwing. Also a butterfly transect, that Jay and I walked, produced 19 species which included a Dark Green Frittillary. Another species, a White-letter Hairstreak was also seen by the wood. The next day there were fewer Swifts but still between 4000-6000 fed over the cliffs. Also 19 Whimbrel and a Redshank moved W and our first Reed Warbler and 2 Grasshopper Warblers were at Hope Point. In the area on the 29th we had  3 Grasshopper Warblers, 2 Blackcaps, 26 Whitethroats, 7 Lesser Whitethroats, 2 Chiffchaffs, 26 Willow Warblers, 3 Yellow Wagtails and a Hobby. On the 31st Brendan had 977 Swifts move SW and in the area was a Hobby, Yellow Wagtail, Sedge Warbler and 2 Willow Warblers.      

28th May 2019

Four Manx Shearwaters today with three moving SW and one sitting offshore.

27th May 2019

More vis.mig produced a Serin W at 08:45, a Honey Buzzard N at 10:40, 2 Hobbys and 30 Swifts.

26th May 2019

Another 6 Red Kites N, a Dotterel W at 09:16 and a Bee-Eater put on a good show for a few minutes around 11:00

25th May 2019

More Red Kites moving, at least 19 N and a Marsh Harrier.

22nd May 2019

A few hours of visible migration produced 30-40 Chaffinches, a Marsh Harrier and at least 21 Red Kites moving North.

21st May 2019

The weather forecast for today, light NW winds and clear skies suggested that it might be good for raptors and so it proved. Within 10 minutes of arriving the local Herring Gulls alerted me to an Osprey making its way along the clifftop. The bird had earlier been seen at Seabrooke and later passed Sandwich. After walking around the area I took up my position on the clifftop and up until 11.45 recorded single Marsh Harrier (female) and Hobby and 10 Red Kites plus plenty of Buzzards (presumed local). Yesterday there was a Firecrest in the Farm Wood but little else of note other than a steady trickle of Swallows heading north
(Brendan)

8th May 2019

Nigel took one for the team and in very cold drizzly conditions, but importantly with a SE wind, he braved the Bay for three and a half hours this morning from 06.00.

The highlights were two Pomarine Skuas, a Manx Shearwater and a large bat sp.! In addition he also recorded a Mediterranean Gull, 144 Gannets, an Arctic Skua, nine Sandwich Terns, nine Kittiwakes, two Cormorants, nine Common Scoters, two Common Gulls, four Great Skuas, two Whimbrels, a Guillemot, eight Black-headed Gulls, two Shelducks, 20 ‘commic’ Terns and five Bar-tailed Godwits.

6th May 2019

In a light WNW the cliff top was the place to be and vis mig was the order of the day. Nigel and I picked up a Great Egret out to sea which slowly drifted in and headed off NW. Nigel had a Black Redstart in off the sea, land on the Block House and quickly move off. A Serin went N shortly after, presumably yesterday’s bird and the same one we have had for a couple of weeks. Finally a Cuckoo flew into the bushes at The Monument and again quickly moved on. In addition there were three ’flava’ Wagtails, a White Wagtail, a Grey Wagtail, a Sand Martin and a House Martin over.

Nigel, Richard, Jack, Simon and Tony

Great Egret (Nigel Jarman)

5th May 2019

Jack and Phil found a Serin on the corner of Hotel and Granville Road mid-morning. It stuck around singing and allowing us all to get a view, sometimes briefly. There is every chance this is the same bird we have had over the cliff top for a couple of weeks now.

Serin with Goldfinch (Gerald Segelbacher)

2nd May 2019

The dog and I took a walk up to The Monument from Kingsdown in a light NW veering to a N mid morning. A Swift powered through Kingsdown early on and with the usual Sylvia Warbler soundtrack 25 Swallows went through NW. I picked up two Red Kites over the Golf Course as I was heading back to Kingsdown, whilst watching those, three more came in to view from the coast and with them was a Black Kite. They were not in view for very long with the Black Kite making its way north, the Red Kites seemingly going west. Later the group were reunited over Sandwich.

Brendan did an hour of vis mig from The Monument between 11 and 12. He had two Red Kites, nine Buzzards, 45 Swallows, eight House Martins, two Sand Martins and a Yellow Wagtail.

Black Kite (left hand bird) and Red Kite, Kingsdown (Richard Heading)

Black Kite, Kingsdown (Richard Heading)