Ray O’Reilly - KOS Outdoor meetings organiser- writes:
On 22 July 2026, I led our monthly Kent Ornithological Society field outing. Weather wise, we have rarely had a better day, which was warm with little wind and it only became hotter towards late afternoon.
We recorded 79 species of birds that included a pair Turtle Doves at Oare Marshes, 6 Cattle Egrets, 6 Little Ringed Plover, several Bearded Tits, 2 Green Sandpipers, a handful of Whimbrel, Greenshank, Peregrine and great views of the adult Bonaparte's Gull still in breeding plumage. During the day several Clouded Yellow butterflies, a Hummingbird Hawk Moth, Garden and Red-tailed Bumblebees and an Emperor Dragonfly added to our enjoyment.
With the tide dropping at Oare, we decided to go to Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory and have lunch in their lovely garden.
Following lunch we went to the New Downs area and met Keith Privett before seeing our second American species of the day, a fine adult Pectoral Sandpiper which had befriended a Common Snipe. Up to 4 Water Rails, adults and juveniles were feeding in the open and another bunch of Bearded Tits were feeding at the base of the reeds on the mud. We finished our day at the Restharrow Scrape, adding duck such as Eurasian Teal, Northern Shoveler and Gadwall to our day list and enjoying all the birds there that had young.
Pectoral Sandpiper - Bruce Rolls
It was the stripy-headed Little Grebes and the cute Tufted ducklings that won the most praise.
House Martins and Barn Swallows were hawking over the pool.
All in all it was a very enjoyable day.
Members note: I still have space on the Wednesday August 5th outing. So message me please on 07831-362502 if you would like to join us.
Thanks to Lyn Griffiths for her usual assistance and being in charge of the day list (and what goes on it) and to Yuti Chernajovsky and Bruce Rolls (shown image) for their photography.
Kent Birding – Highlights of the Week – 23 July 2026
A very interesting week in Kent birding. Bird of the week was an adult Gull-billed Tern discovered at the ARC, Dungeness, around midday on the 17th. Unfortunately it was only present for a few minutes before flying off to the south-east corner of the ARC, where it could not be refound. The bird was wearing a white colour ring, which indicates it comes from a German ringing scheme. While still a BBRC-submission species, it is getting more regular in recent years, with this being the second for Kent this year. The Gull-billed Tern could have easily been eclipsed by a much rarer bird this week, but a possible Long-legged Buzzard seen for 5 minutes over Worth Marshes on the 19th could not be confirmed. Long wings and shape alerted the observer, but unfortunately no photos were obtained. This would be a new bird for Kent. The Bonaparte's Gull remained at Oare, where a Long-tailed Skua fly over was a nice surprise on the 17th.
American Golden Plover (with Bonaparte's Gull) - Nigel Jarman
As hoped, a rare wader turned up this week. A beautiful summer-plumaged American Golden Plover was discovered at Oare Marshes in the morning of the 14th. It stayed for a few hours, and, remarkably, could be seen together with the other North American vagrant at Oare, the Bonaparte's Gull. There have been less than a dozen records of American Golden Plover in Kent, although it has become more regular in recent years. Another good bird this week was a Caspian Tern at Stodmarsh, also on the 14th. It stayed only briefly.
Main news over the week was the return of the Bonaparte's Gull at Oare on the 4th. Returning for its fifteenth summer, it surely will trigger the now annual pilgrimage by many birders to its favourite mudflat just north of the causeway. Caspian Tern is seen annually in Kent but in recent years has often been difficult to connect with. It was therefore a welcome change as last week's bird at Dungeness extended its stay into this week, having been seen last on the 5th.
Bird of the week was a beautiful Caspian Tern that was discovered at Dungeness RSPB on the 1st and was still there on the 2nd. On the 1st there was also a group of seven Bee-eaters that flew over Dungeness with three seen flying over Ashford later. Another excellent bird, again in the Dungeness area, was a Kentish Plover on the 30th at Lade beach.
Given the time of year and the hot weather, birding always was going to be tougher. A few scarce birds remained or resurfaced. The Red-footed Falcon was once again seen at Worth Marshes on the 22nd and 25th. It seems to have been in the area for weeks now, but is seen only very occasionally. There is a similar pattern for the female Serin at North Foreland which was reported again this week, but only on the 20th. Further highlights were a Ruddy Shelduck at Motley Hill on the 23rd, two Spotted Redshank at Otter Creek and a Honey Buzzard over Walmer. This week three Quails were heard at Bockhill, two near Canterbury and one flushed at North Foreland.
The June Medway Gull and Tern survey was encouraging recording 40 Sandwich Terns, 20 Little Terns and 420 Meditarannean Gulls in active colonies. Still below the numbers from a few years ago, but much better than last year.
An excellent week with several good records. Bird of the week was a lovely first summer Squacco Heron at Dungeness on the 16th. It was flushed from Long Pits early morning, where it was refound midday before it relocated to ARC where it showed well for the rest of the day. This is the 11th record for Kent (the majority having been at Dungeness, with the previous record in 2017). There were further good birds seen. Another Zitting Cisticola (or perhaps it was the bird from last week relocating north?) was seen and heard early morning at Foreness on the 12th, in the exact same spot as last year's bird. Unfortunately it moved on quickly. Another good record was a distant Cory's Shearwater past North Foreland on the 12th. It was identified based on jizz and flight pattern. If accepted, it will be the 9th record this century for this species. A Black-crowned Night-heron was seen at Westbere Marshes in the evening of the 13th, it was seen in the half-dark and heard calling before flying off towards Collard's Lake.
Ray O’Reilly - KOS Outdoor meetings organiser- writes:-
‘On Wednesday June 10th,a Kent Ornithological Society field outing took place at Dungeness.
We began with a sea watch on the beach, although the sea was fairly quiet. However, the group did view two Gannets, two Mediterranean Gulls and five Common Terns.
Looking backwards at the land from the sea watching location, the redundant nuclear power station site yielded a singing Black Redstart and a smart Peregrine Falcon.
We then headed to a nearby gravel pit, where we watched a pair of Little Ringed Plovers with chicks - a wonderful sighting. They were close to a pair of Common Ringed Plovers,which gave us a perfect opportunity to compare both species - always a birders’ challenge. Young birds proved to be a feature of the visit, includingMute Swan Cygnets, and a variety of Goslings and Ducklings. A few waders/shorebirds were also present,including an unseasonal flock of 25 Eurasian Curlew.
Our next stop was at the ARC Pit, opposite the RSPB Reserve main entrance, where we visited the hide and walked the Willow Trail watching Eurasian Hobbys hunting dragonflies.There were up to six bird seen as well as three Western Marsh Harriers. In addition,we also recorded Four-spotted Chaser, Emperor, Common Darter, Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies on the Odonata front.
The area just inside the entrance to the RSPB Reserve called Cook's Pool has had a lot of work carried out there with a scrape and predator fence included, and was our next stop.Here we saw six Western Cattle Egrets in full breeding plumage complete with plumes, buffy-crests and crimson-bills.
The wind picked up throughout the day and around ahundred plus Common Swifts, Western House and Sand Martins with a few Barn Swallows were hawking insects low over the pools
Lunch was taken in the RSPB visitors’ centre where we watched a lengthy rain shower of biblical proportions! Our wet, blustery afternoon produced several smart Common Gulls in breeding dress, Pied Avocets, a stripey-headed juvenile Little Grebe and two Bearded Tits.
Our next outing is on Wednesday July 22nd 2026. Any members wishing to attend please message me on 07831-362502’
The Kent Ornithological Society was founded in 1952
Our aims are to record and monitor the county’s bird life providing both an accurate historical record of Kent’s birds but equally importantly providing data that can be used to help protect valuable habitats from development and other threats.
In doing this, we seek increase knowledge and understanding of birds and their habitats in the county and encourage and support people seeking to take up birdwatching as a hobby.
Membership of the society is open to all and costs £15 a year. Members receive a free copy of the annual Kent Bird Report and regular electronic newsletters. See details
The Society runs regular online talks and an outdoor programme of field meetings. They are opportunities for both beginners and experienced birdwatchers to meet others in the county and to develop their knowledge and skills.
We are a charity regulated by the Charity Commission registered as charity number 212489.
Kent Ornithological Society 
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