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Hobby - Terry Laws

As the weather warmed up, the birding got expectedly a bit quieter. An immature Golden Oriole was seen and heard at Reculver on the 17th.  As so often with this attractive species it only stayed around briefly. It has been a good spring for Black Kites, with another flying into the county at Dover on the 17th, while about the 10th Bee-eater of the Spring flew over Kingsdown on the 19th. 

Intriguingly, two Cranes were seen again, this time circling over Haysden CP on the 14th

Rose colStarling
Rose-coloured Starling – Martin Casemore

Another week and another very rare bird in Kent. A Western Orphean Warbler was found on the 11th near Cliffe singing and showing well. It was found during a survey on private land and access for more birders was unfortunately not granted. If accepted this would be the first record for Kent! Another good record was a beautiful adult Rose-coloured Starling that performed well at Dungeness near the Observatory also on the 11th. 

The south-westerly winds provided some sea-watching opportunities, with two Balearic Shearwaters past Dungeness the best of the bunch. This however wasn’t a new bird for the Kent year list as we had a very unseasonal sighting in January already. Good numbers of Manx Shearwater (with 27 past Dungeness on the 7th) and Arctic Skua were also seen.

WT EagleWhite-tailed Eagle – Terry Laws

An Icterine Warbler found singing at North Foreland on the morning of the 30th was the best bird of the week. Unfortunately only a portion of the local birders connected with the bird as it could not be refound later in the morning.

Further highlights included more of the species we have been enjoying over the past few weeks with a Black Kite flying over Seasalter and later Elmley on the 1st, a pair of Red-footed Falcons at Stodmarsh on the 30th and a Bee-eater over Thanet on the 1st. A White-tailed Eagle from the Isle of Wight reintroduction program was at Elmley on the 3rd and 4th.  Continuing with the raptor theme, several Honey Buzzards entered the county, mostly over Dover, but singles were also seen at Hope Point and Seasalter. At Oare there were four Curlew Sandpipers on the morning of the 3rd. A Quail, the first recorded for the year, was flushed from a garden near Sandwich Bay on the 31st, while a Ruddy Shelduck was seen at Cliffe on the 4th.

Eastern bonellis

Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler – James Dee

Last week’s mega was topped by another this week, an Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler was found in the trapping area near the Dungeness Bird Observatory! The first confirmed record for Kent no less, and only the 9th for the whole of the UK. Many birders descended on the area during its one day stay. While it had shown well to the initial finder, as the winds picked up, it became increasingly hard to see during the day, with many of those present struggling to get ‘tick-able views’. It did sing almost constantly though and also called its diagnostic ‘chip’ on occasion.

The Dungeness area also enjoyed a Bee-eater which finally showed well on the morning of the 23rd. As the female Red-footed falcon disappeared from Stodmarsh, one turned up at Dungeness and was seen hawking with the local Hobbies for most of the week. Stodmarsh didn’t have to do without one long, as a second calendar year male Red-footed Falcon showed up on the 26th.

black headed bunting

Black-headed Bunting - Kenton Evans

The rarest bird of the Spring, so far, was found in the early morning of the 18th at Foreness, a stunning male Black-Headed Bunting. This is only the 7th record for Kent and the first since 1997! Unfortunately, it was only present briefly before it flew of in an easterly direction. It seemed to land but could not be refound by the (few) birders that tried during the rest of the day.

Langdon Cliff had a purple-patch day on the 16th when a beautiful male Red-backed Shrike was discovered at Fox Hill Down. It could be elusive but showed on and off very well throughout the day. Some birders looking for it were rewarded with a fly-over female Red-footed Falcon, while later in the day a Black Kite flew in off the sea.

Red backed shrike

Red-backed Shrike – Jamie Partridge

Further highlights include a Montague’s Harrier (ringtail) that was seen at Dungeness in the morning of the 19th and two Common Cranes that crossed the county on the 20th (seen at Hamstreet and Littlestone). A Black-crowned Night-heron was heard and confirmed by a sound-recording at Dungeness around 10pm on the 20th.

WhiskeredWhiskered Tern – Martin Casemore

The dry, sunny weather with easterly winds persisted. It seems to result in fewer commoner migrants stopping over in Kent (e.g. we have had very few flycatchers or Whinchats this spring), but the good run of rare birds continued. Two species that require a BBRC description for formal adoption were discovered: on the 11th a male Kentish Plover spent the morning at Pegwell Bay (a report on the 13th is thought to be erroneous), while on the 13th a mobile Whiskered Tern visited pretty much every lake and gravel pit around Dungeness RSPB, giving the locals a run-around. It was seen till about 19.30 in the evening. A nice summer-plumaged adult, this was the 19th record for Kent. The same, or a second bird, was seen the next day at Worth for a few minutes.

There were plenty of other good birds around. The first ‘KOS day at Dunge’ on the 10th coincided with four skua species being recorded past the sea-watching hide. Particularly a Spring record of Long-tailed Skua is very good. A Bee-eater and White Stork were also seen flying over in the area that day.

Western bonelli

Western Bonelli’s Warbler – Neil Davis

A Western Bonelli’s Warbler cemented an excellent week in the Sandwich/Worth area. Only the 12th for Kent, the Western Bonelli’s Warbler was singing actively near the Observatory on the 8th, spending most time in the so-called Oasis. It also called occasionally which clinched the ID. It followed several good sightings in the area during the week. A mini-influx of Red-footed Falcons was very exciting as well with at least three seen in the area, with a male and a female spending the day around Great Wood, Worth on the 5th. The second Temminck’s Stint of the Spring was at Minnis flood, Worth on the 7th, a Golden Oriole sang briefly at Great Wood, a Hoopoe flew past as did an Osprey earlier in the week. And finally, a Hooded Crow spent an afternoon around the Aspargus fields at Sandwich. Following some good birds in recent weeks at Dungeness and North Foreland, it was clearly Sandwich Bay’s turn this week!

But there were good birds elsewhere. The best of which was 2nd year male Montague’s Harrier that lingered briefly at Reculver on the 2nd.

Whinchat

Whinchat – Andy Taylor

The warm weather and easterly winds brought a few more scarcities to the county, although ‘Pom season’ at Dungeness probably just took the limelight. No fewer than 64 Pomarine Skuas flew past during the week, with a group of 26 on the 30th. The many hours of sea-watching at Dungeness also delivered some further highlights. Puffin and Roseate Tern were notable, both being additions to the Kent year list.

If you are enjoying the Weekly Highlights, why not join the KOS AGM on Wednesday 30 April at 7.30pm, after which I will present the Kent birding highlights of 2024. From interesting breeding records, great sea-watching days to Fan-tailed Warbler, Scops Owl and Yellow Warbler, there is a lot to reflect on. See kentos.org.uk for Zoom-link and AGM agenda.

Red rumped Swallow 3

Red-rumped Swallow – John Carnell

The best bird of the week was a Caspian Tern that circled over Swalecliffe on the 21st . This was only the 9th record since the 1980’s although it has become more regular in recent years.  North Foreland had an excellent run of scare birds on the 22nd, with a Red-rumped Swallow, Hooded Crow and White Stork seen on that day. Earlier in the week a Hoopoe had also flown past the regular observers there.

‘Pom season’ at Dungeness started early this year, with the first two Pomarine Skuas past on the 18th, with another seven in subsequent days.

BW Stilt

Black-winged Stilt – Martin Casemore

The excellent run of rare and scarce birds showing up in Kent continues. Last week’s Booted Eagle lingered, as hoped, long enough for those assembled at a high vantage point near Cliffsend on Friday morning. It showed twice, before disappearing North around 10.30 am. It was seen later in the week in Norfolk.

A drake Surf Scoter past Dungeness on the 12th was another great sighting, being only the 11th record for Kent. It was first spotted past Beachy Head at 6.51am, which allowed those birding locally at Dungeness to rush over to the coast in time. Right on cue, it was picked out in a group of some 15 Common Scoter an hour later. This was the start of an impressive couple of days for the Dungeness area. A Black-winged Stilt was discovered also on the 12th on Hayfield 1 and lingered for a couple of days. That same day a Goshawk flew over and a Serin was seen twice in the area. A day later, on the 13th, Dungeness joined in on the Hoopoe influx, while a Red-rumped Swallow was discovered at the ARC and spent the remainder of the afternoon at Dengemarsh.

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