Sunday 21st March

Down to New Hythe GPs again, this time with the kids.  Sand Martins were vagain my target after being informed by Eddie Denson that 8+ had been at Alders first thing.  With the kids in tow, I did the Brookland, Streamside, Tesco, Alders Lake circuit.  I was suprised to see the Whooper Swan on Steamside - the kids threw it some bread and it immediately made came towards us and out of the water to eat out the kids' hands!  Wild bird...mmmm.  A Mute Swan hassled it, and eventually it moved on.  I only had my mobile phone camera and thought I 'd got some shots of it out the water, but didn't, only the one above came out.

It developed into a lovely, sunny afternoon - warm and with lots of flies around to attract those migrants out.  Unfortunately I didn't manage to pick up a Sand Martin.   I somehow managed to pick out Terry Laws amongst the thronging crowd - he'd had a Sand Martin and 'Egret' and suggested I speak to Mr Bill Pattern at WWT about whether the Whooper was the one we had last year - that one went right over my head! 

Red-legged Patridge, Allington (courtesy of Richard Walker)

Back in Barming I received an email from Dave Walker to inform me the Harris Hawks that had been frequenting his road had disappeared on Wednesday, and another from his son, Richard, with some nice pics of a Red-legged Partridge that's frequenting a residential area in Allington!

Friday 26th February

A windy but sunny day - a couple of good sightings (for me) on the way into work - five Lesser Black-backed Gull on the field in the field at the back of Kiln Barn Farm, Ditton, an uncommon visitor on the deck on my patch.  Better still - 43 (forty-three) Stock Doves, I've struggled to get double figures so this was species, so this was a real result.  Viewing them en masse I was struck by how glaucous they're plummage looked.

 Down to Bradbourne, East Malling (private site) at lunchtime.  The wind was rippling the leaf-strewn surface of the lake, and I was was rewarded with yet another duck tick - a pair of Gadwall - not a new one for site but my first for this year and only my second for site.  A couple of Mute Swans which had been noticeable by their abscence had returned.  Even better was to come as I struggled against the wind at the end of my lunch break, I stopped off at one of the plots and flushed eighteen (yes, one eight - 18) Skylarks, out of a Miscanthus test plot.  They took flight in 3 groups, all flappy, nice white sides to tail feather and a few bits of subsong as they lifted, circled and then dropped down in the adjacent wheat stubble.  Five Yellowhammers, inc 2 males, were also present as well seven hen Pheasants.  I've often had a small group of five Skylarks near my strawberry plots this winter, but 18 is a new record for me.

Monday 1st February

Frosty and Icy start and down to the river at day break to see if I couldn't relocate the Common Sandpiper I had yesterday (or a Jack Snipe!). I flushed a couple of Snipe, they didn't 'squelch' like normal, but flew high and I get them in the bins for a couple of minutes...I think they made it to Teston but just wouldn't come back down! A couple of Cormarants flew onto the river, joining a Mute Swan, Coot, 2x Canada Geese and a pair of Little Grebes which were skirting around the river edge just west of Barming Bridge. Little Grebes area real scarcity on this part of the river, only my 2nd record.

Back up the hill and on to work, with 12x Lesser Redpoll in the Silver Birch at the top of South Street, joined by a Greenfich and a volery of Long-tailed Tits. House Sparrows everywhere, doing what House Sparrows do. A Sparrowhawk drifted over Gallagher's Quarry, and at Kiln Barn Farm the Little Owl was seen again. As I passed under the railway bridge 2x Foxes trotted past! At lunchtime I paid a long overdue visit to Ditton Quarry, not much out of the ordinary, except a large gallup of Redpolls, 17 in total (I thoght there were only 10, but when they took flight another 7 appeared from somewhere!).

Best sighting of the day though goes to Karen, the receptionist at the Research, spotted taking some lunch home for her pet panda!

Tuesday 8th December

A Mute Swan flying above the River Medway valley was the first of 27 species I clocked up on my walk into work this morning. Other 'extras' included a flyover Cormorant and both Herring and Common Gull amongst the Black-headed Gulls by Gallagher's Gallop. A couple of large flocks of Fieldfares were seen with a flock of c80 near Kiln Barn Farm and another flock of c120 on approach to the research station. Redwings were seen in small groups all along the route.

Over the Quarry at lunchtime and a couple of mega species for the quarry in the form a Yellowhammer and Skylark, both very difficult species to pick up here despite being relatively common on the adjacent research station. Only 3 Lesser Redpolls today, how the flock has reduced over the last week.