Saturday 16th June 2013 - Sheppey

 A rare day out, necessitated by needing to take my eldest lad to a Scouts afternoon on the Isle of Sheppey.  6+ Med Gulls loafed with 15 or so Black-headed Gulls opposite the burger van on Marine Drive between Minster and Bartons Point, Sheerness.

A drive along the entrance track turned up Lapwings and Redshanks with young, loads of Little Egret, Skylark, Swifts, House Martins and a Yellow Wagtail, the latter well camouflaged against a back drop of buttercups! 

Tuesday 7th May 2013

 A sortie of Oaken Woods this morning turned up a couple of Buzzards and a Turtle Dove.  Willow Warblers, Chiffchaff, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat and Bullfinch were all seen or heard.

Yellowhammers seem to be just about everywhere on patch at the moment, cracking birds, especially when the sun catches their glowing heads.  I think they're superbly marked, especially when seen close-up.  Just can't get enough of them at the moment.

One bird I'm missing this year is Cuckoo.  The Barming bird has failed to return this year .  They're everywhere else: Wateringbury, West Malling, East and West Farleigh, but not Barming and it's the talk of South Street, "You heard the Cuckoo this year?" I keep getting asked.  Its obviously being missed by both birders and non-birders alike.

Monday 29th April 2013

3x Wheatear (2m, 1f) ...

...and 1x Bald Birder on the Research Station, East Malling today.

Friday 26th April 2013

Some highlights from the East Malling section of the patch this week:

Not one, but two Whinchats on site on 26th April, only the second record for the patch and first on research station land both for me and the Bald Birder (whose been watching a long, long time).....

....here he celebrates in his finest office attire.

Nearby up to 4x Yellowhammers showed well, as did a couple of Whitethroats and 3x Skylark and 2x Wheatear on 25th April, and 3x on 26th.

Swallows have also been in evidence around the area, including this showy individual on the wires in Sweets Lane.  Willow Warblers and Blackcaps were also in full song in Ditton Court Quarry.

Wednesday 17th April 2013

A few interesting things have dropped in on patch in the last couple of days:

A blurred White Wagtail on one of the East Malling paddocks

Meadow Pipit; one of three birds seen today

Princess Anne......

....who kindly planted a 'Waxwing' tree right opposite my office window, which was nice.

Even the Bald Birder joined the 'twitch', the 2nd record for him on patch (1st record for East Malling was in 1988), although something in the distant windbreak seemed to distract him!

Also first House Martins of the year over the research station today.

Monday 15th April 2013

Just back from two weeks in Cornwall/Devon which didn't yield many of the summer migrants I have come to expect when visiting in April in previous years.  Some excellent birds were still to be found, but more of that in another post.

I had the first Swallow of the year on patch this afternoon, looping over the research station.  Comma butterflies and Beeflies also in evidence so things must be warming up.

Saturday 30th March 2013

The cold spell continues, but in this morning's snow showers I was pleased to find the first Wheatear of the year on the Barming part of my patch, a cracking male, albeit distantly!

Yesterday also saw a single Hawfinch, and a couple of Buzzards soaring in the afternoon sun.