Kent Ornithological Society

Details: Martin Collins; All News; 01 January 2026

A KOS Talk by Emmanuel Ncube - White Tailed Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) on the Isle of Wight, UK: intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of return behaviour

In this talk, Emmanuel Ncube will discuss post-release movement behaviour in juvenile White-tailed Eagles reintroduced on the Isle of Wight between 2019 and 2024, using GPS tracking data. He examines how often eagles revisit key sites, how long they remain there, and how these behaviours respond to environmental conditions. The results highlight strong individual and sex-specific differences in movement and site use, with implications for monitoring strategies, reintroduction planning, and long-term population establishment.

Emmanuel Ncube, who is a research student at the University of Kent, will talk about his research into the Isle of Wight introduction programme of White Tailed Eagles.

To join this online talk simply click the link below:-

Time: Wednesday January 14^th 2026 at 7.30pm click the Zoom link below from 7.15pm onwards

Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/92755929621?pwd=NXHy82HvG58CCbiszPosPWWowJioCk.1

The talk and discussion is open to all and will last for approximately 1 hour.

Details: Peter Eerdmans; Weekly highlights; 01 January 2026

Ross_Gull_-_Geoffrey_Burton Ross’s Gull- Geoffrey Burton

What a start to the new year! An adult Ross's Gull was seen and photographed well on the beach at Swalecliffe on the 1st. It was only around briefly unfortunately before flying off over the water treatment works. It was seen well by three observers, rewarded for their diligent patch watching on New Year's Day. This is only the second record for Kent, with the first a fly-by at Dungeness in 2014, also in January. Hopefully it can be refound in coming days.

There were plenty of other good sightings this week. A possible Siberian Lesser Whitethroat in a birder's garden at Lydd was intriguing. A Common Crane drifting over Dengemarsh on the 30th was another highlight, while a Dotterel among thousands of Golden Plover at Scotney GPs on the 30th was a good find. The Dusky Warbler at Minster was seen again on the 31st, while elusive it seems to give any year listers a good opportunity in coming days. Two Shore Larks remained on the beach at Conyer, while the Glossy Ibis remained at Worth. The Greater Scaup remained at New Hythe, while another returned(?) to Collard's Lake.

Details: Peter Eerdmans; All News; 01 January 2026

Happy New Year – let’s hope 2026 has better news for birds, wildlife and the natural environment. KOS can make a difference because we are at the heart of monitoring and reporting on the status of the birds of Kent

2026 promises to be an important year for the KOS – we will see the online publication of the Birds of Kent we will be continuing our KOS days at Dungeness (15 February, 17 May, 16 August) giving our members a chance to meet and enjoy some quality birding. We plan to expand the Big Kent Bird Migration Day (27 September) making it a truly Kent-wide event.

We are blessed with a great team of volunteers on our various committees – but to grow we need more active volunteers.

Could that be you?

Details: Peter Eerdmans; Weekly highlights; 25 December 2025

Great_Northern_Diver_-_Martin_Casemore Great Northern Diver - Martin Casemore
There was a marked increase in winter geese this week. Taiga Bean Geese were reported from Conningbrook, Northward Hill, Reculver and Worth, with the largest group being 6 birds The number of White-fronted Geese also improved with 210 counted on Sheppey, where there were also upto 6 Pink-footed Geese. Two Shore Lark were seen on the seawall at Conyer on the 19th, while the Glossy Ibis remained at Worth.

The Scaup remained at New Hythe with a new one (a female) discovered at Cliffe Pools. A Little Auk was seen past Foreness on the 23rd with another past North Foreland the next day, where also around 5 Great Skua flew past during the week. Once again a few Velvet Scoter and Black-throated Diver flew past several sea-watching spots, while a juvenile Great Northern Diver took residence at Dungeness RSPB.

Good numbers of Caspian Gulls continued to be seen, with upto 17 at Dungeness, five Hen Harriers (of which three males) continued to come into roost at Grove Ferry, while four Snow Buntings were seen at Reculver this week. A Black-necked Grebe was at the ARC pit at Dungeness. The 10 Bewick's and two Whooper Swans remained at Walland Marsh.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

Peter Eerdmans

(Thanks to all the observers who posted their records on the KOS Sightings website, BirdGuides, eBird and/or the main Kent Birding WhatsApp groups, Thursday-to-Thursday. Apologies for any omissions. If anyone has any photos they think may be useful for the weekly, please send to me by Wednesday. All records of rarities are still subject to official confirmation by the relevant rarities committees)

Details: Peter Eerdmans; All News; 24 December 2025

Raddes Warbler Radde's Warbler - Jonathan Todd

I spent too much time at the beginning of the year standing on a cold cricket pitch in Broadstairs waiting unsuccessfully for the Scops Owl to appear. Win some lose some! I hope 2025 has provided you with plenty of birding highlights – for me, filling some gaps in my Kent list with Dotterel, Red-breasted Flycatcher and Radde’s Warbler were special moments. I always enjoy meeting familiar faces when gathering in some odd corner of Kent.

I get a lot of satisfaction doing survey work – it adds discipline to my birding and ensures I get to places away from the usual hotspots. The Breeding Bird Survey and the Wetland Bird Survey always provide interest and, of course, adds to the sum of knowledge on which so much conservation action depends. I was a ‘zero hero’ when in came to the Kent-wide Lesser Spotted Woodpecker but knowing where the gaps are is important too! Do read Heather Mathieson’s write up of the survey (see Kent_Lesser_Spotted_Woodpecker_Survey_-_2025_FINAL.pdf) which included use of passive acoustic monitors which KOS acquired thanks to the support of you, our members.

We organised a series of KOS at Dungeness days throughout the year – these proved popular and it was a great way of meeting KOS members (and recruiting new ones) – we have dates planned for 2026. Our second Big Kent Bird Migration Day took place in September and is developing well based at Sandwich Bay, Samphire Hoe and Dungeness; we’re looking to expand in 2026.

I’m particularly proud of our input the Kent Local Nature Recovery Strategy – led by Murray Orchard. At a time when the natural environment is under such pressure this is a positive initiative that could make a difference.

Keith Privett and the team delivered another excellent Kent Bird Report – thanks to all the writers for their contribution.

Behind the scenes work continues to update our online presence and database and to take forward the online Birds of Kent which will appear in 2026 and become an important project for KOS as we develop plans to update it regularly.

The KOS depends on the active involvement of many people sitting on ur committees – to you all my thanks for another successful year.

Whether you’ve been ringing, surveying, bird-finding, enjoying your birding and supporting your KOS– can I offer you my thanks and wish you all a happy and peaceful Christmas.

Andre Farrar - Chair KOS

Details: Chris Roome; Outdoor Meeting Reports; 21 December 2025

Ray O’ Reilly, KOS Field Trip organiser writes:-

Wednesday 17th December was our final KOS Field Trip of the year. We all arrived in the early morning on a bright sunny windless Dungeness beach.

Patches of golden sunlight decorated the sea as we watched a few seabirds drifting up and down the Channel. Always fascinating, we spotted Gannets, Guillemots, Red-throated Divers and some distant Common Scoter. Then ‘Hawkeye’ Lys Muirhead spotted a Peregrine on top of a nearby pylon that flew off towards us. From here we went to Cockles Bridge where we had wonderful views of a flock of sixteen Cattle Egrets.

Our next port of call was Walland Marsh where we were using telescopes to view two Whooper and ten Bewick's Swans - regular winter visitors to Romney Marshes, but dwindling in numbers. A singing Corn Bunting sounding like jangling keys was photographed and then - the serendipity that makes birding so fascinating happened again - we found a male Merlin.

merlin Merlin by Yuti Chernojovsky.

Details: Peter Eerdmans; Weekly highlights; 18 December 2025

Swift sp - John Carnell

The Dusky Wabler at Minster Pumping station was confirmed this week and although it remained elusive, it showed well on a couple of occasions. The seventh of the year no less, it was accompanied by a Siberian Chiffchaff. A Swift sp over North Foreland on the 17th was intriguing, from pictures it looked like a possible Pallid Swift, yet another one in this area of Kent. After a couple of weeks of absence, two Shore Lark were seen again at Elmley on the 13th. The number of winter swan on Walland Marsh increased to 10 Bewick's Swans and two Whooper Swans.

Other than that there was little change this week. the Glossy Ibis remained at Worth, good numbers of Caspian Gulls continued to be seen, with upto 19 at Dungeness, five Hen Harriers (of which two males) continued to come into roost at Grove Ferry, the Snow buntings remained at Minnis Bay and Sandwich Bay, while the Greater Scaup remained at New Hythe GPs. Five Pink-footed Geese were at Elmley, while six White-fronted Geese were at Scotney, where the Black-necked Grebes also at times popped into the Kent side of the pits. The Starling murmeration at ARC continued to be on show with at times upto 15 Cattle Egret coming to roost, athough a count of 60 Cattle Egret at Staple was even more impressive and quite possibly the biggest group ever in the county.

Details: Peter Eerdmans; Weekly highlights; 14 December 2025

gulls Yellow-legged Gull (1w, top left) and Caspian Gull (1w, centre & adult right hand side) - Martin Casemore

Despite occasional wet conditions, it was a week of nice winter birding. Best bird of the week was a Black Guillemot that was on the sea briefly at North Foreland on the 7th. A possible Dusky Warbler at Minster could not be confirmed unfortunately. The Hume's Warbler was still at Sandwich, but was only reported on the 11th.

There was a small uptick in winter visitors. Seven White-fronted Geese were seen at Dungeness, while four Bewick's Swans and a Whooper Swan were at Walland Marsh. The number of Caspian Gulls around the county continues to increase as well, with 18 seen together at Dungeness on the 11th, while there were also 5 Yellow-legged Gulls present. Four Snow Buntings were seen again at Sandwich, while three frequented the shingles at Minnis Bay. A Lapland Bunting flew over at Sandwich. The Greater Scaup remained at New Hythe, while a Long-tailed Duck was again seen on the north coast, this time at Cliftonville. There were upto five Hen Harriers at the roost at Grove Ferry, with smaller numbers elsewhere. The Glossy Ibis remained at Worth, while two were seen at Stoke Marshes on the 5th. Eight Spoonbill were on the saltings on Isle of Sheppey. A very unseasonal House Martin was reported from Woodchurch.

Details: Peter Eerdmans; Weekly highlights; 04 December 2025

Dusky Warbler2 Dusky Warbler - Andrew Lypczynski

The fifth Dusky Warbler of the autumn was found, this one was at the 'Little Gully' at Sandwich Bay from the 28th till the 30th. A sixth, even, was reported nearby at Seaton GPs on the 30th. There has been only one year with more records, in 2020 there were no less than 10 records accepted, although two of those were not found till mid December, so there is still time. The Hume's Warbler remained at Sandwich this week and was accompanied by a Siberian Chiffchaff. Nearby three Snow Buntings were still on show on Prince's Beach, although the Shore Lark could not be found this week.

Details: Peter Eerdmans; Survey news; 03 December 2025

By Heather Mathieson

LSW survey Male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in the Blean Complex, Kent 2025 (credit Heather Mathieson).

Abstract

In 2025, the Kent Ornithological Society (KOS) conducted the first county-wide survey of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers (LSW) Dryobates minor to better understand the distribution and status of the species in Kent. Building on methods used in the 2022 Hampshire Ornithological Society (HOS) survey, this pilot survey identified 94 potential sites using ten years of historical sightings data (2013-2022). In total 41 sites were surveyed through the breeding season, 36 by experienced volunteers and five sites using passive acoustic monitors. These devices were found to be extremely effective at detecting LSW in low probability areas.

Overall results show a scattered distribution of LSW across the county, predominantly in areas of ancient woodland with a high density of LSW in the Blean complex – a recognised hotspot for LSW – and surrounding woodlands. As core survey sites were based on areas with historical records of LSW rather than all suitable habitat, results do not show a complete picture of LSW distribution in Kent. The detection of LSW at six new sites during the survey period emphasises that this species is likely to be more widespread than currently realised and under recorded in Kent.

As this pilot survey is the first coordinated LSW study in Kent, these results provide important baseline data that could assist future survey efforts in the county. Repeat surveys at the same sites could help monitor population trends and help inform targeted conservation management of Kent woodlands.

See the full report under the following link: Kent_Lesser_Spotted_Woodpecker_Survey_-_2025_FINAL.pdf

Kent Ornithological Society The county’s bird club: Recording, reporting, and educating to protect Kent’s birdlife (Registered charity 21489)

Winter Online Talk 14/1/2026 - Emmanuel Ncube - White Tailed Eagles on the Isle of Wight, UK: intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of return behaviour

Kent Birding – Highlights of the Week – 1 January 2026

A year of stepping up for your KOS - by Andre Farrar

Kent Birding – Highlights of the Week – 25 December 2025

That Was the Year That Was - by Andre Farrar

Wednesday 17th December KOS - Field Trip to Romney Marsh and Dungeness

Kent Birding – Highlights of the Week – 18 December 2025

Kent Birding – Highlights of the Week – 11 December 2025

Kent Birding – Highlights of the Week – 4 December 2025

Survey of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers (Dryobates minor) in Kent 2025

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