Kent Ornithological Society 
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- Peter Eerdmans
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Pied Wheatear - Mark Chidwick
Northerly and easterly winds early in the week with a turn to more rain from the southwest made for a very busy week in Kent birding! Bird of the week was a first winter Pied Wheatear at Seasalter on the 18th. Unfortunately it was only seen by the local finder as it was flushed by dog walkers after showing well around the seawall for 20 minutes. This is the fifth record for Kent, the previous being a one day bird at Reculver in 2021. A ring-tail Pallid Harrier was seen passing through at South Foreland on the 22nd. Only just over a dozen have been seen in the county, but we are certainly seeing a pick-up in records in recent years. A Hume's Warbler was also discovered at South Foreland on the 22nd, making for an excellent day there. This is approximately the 25th record in Kent, with this species also becoming more regular in recent years, typically showing up in late autumn or early winter.
Sea-watching featured again prominently, with the north coast more involved this week. The highlight was a Cory's Shearwater on the 16th past Reculver, already the third for Kent this year. On the 18th, there where were 9 reports of Leach's Petrel and 4 of Sabine's Gull between Shellness and North Foreland, although several records will undoubtedly involve the same individual birds. Furthermore four Long-tailed Skuas, a Long-tailed Duck, a couple more Sabine's Gull, a few Pomarine Skuas, Black-throated Divers and a Sooty Shearwater were seen on other days along the north coast. There were good numbers of Little Gull on the move this week, with 304 past Dungeness in 1.5 hours on the 20th.
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Pale-bellied Brent - Mark Chidwick
A Shore Lark was at Bockhill on the morning of the 14th, a scarce bird in Kent these days. A Glossy Ibis was seen at South Swale on the mud before flying towards Graveney on the 15th. Further highlights came mostly from sea-watching spots. The 12th was the best day. At Dungeness a Leach's Petrel, Sabine's gull, a Puffin, two Long-tailed Skua, a Great Skua, a Great Northern Diver and five Sooty Shearwater were seen that day. Given the more southernly winds, other spots had to do with less, but two Long-tailed Skuas (past Grain and Seasalter), a Black-throated Diver (past North Foreland), Pomarine Skuas (four past Minnis Bay and one past Sandwich Bay) and a Sabine's Gull (past St Margaret's at Cliffe) were also recorded during the week. Thousands of Brent Geese were seen passing as well as entering the Swale, among them a Pale-belled Brent and a Black Brant on the 13th at Seasalter.
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Black Kite - Graham Parry
A Black Kite flew over a birder's garden near Dungeness on the 5th. Based on some plumage characteristics it could be an eastern integrate of the two subspecies, Black Kite and Black-eared Kite. A Hoopoe with two colour-rings was videoed on a driveway in Marshside on the 6th. Interestingly, the rings seem to be indicative of a ringing scheme from Hungary. A Glossy Ibis flew south over Oare Marsh on the 8th.
Song-bird migration was relatively modest, although over 5000 Chaffinches flying in off the sea at Dungeness on the 7th was a good number. A few Brambling were seen across the county, while there were a handful Yellow-browed Warblers recorded throughout the week (e.g. at Reculver, North Foreland, Margate, Dungeness, Sandwich). A Ring Ouzel was still at Langdon Hole on the 4th, while a Pied Flycatcher was on Sheppey on the 5th and the number of Dartford Warblers in the county increased.
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Pallid Harrier - Nathan Hammonds
The Big Kent Bird Migration Day on the 27th offered informative walks, talks and interesting ringing demonstrations to its participants, but the number of scarce birds found was less than hoped. Decent amounts of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps migrated through the participating sites, with a quite elusive Yellow-browed Warbler in the Lighthouse garden and Dungeness the only real sighting of note (there were a dozen further 'Yellow-broweds' during the week with one found roosting at night during a moth survey at Swalecliffe). The best bird of the week was actually belated news from the previous week, on the 24th a harrier was photographed at Stodmarsh by several observers independently. It took some back and forth, but the next day it was identified from the photos as an immature female Pallid Harrier. Unfortunately it could not be found again. A male Red-footed Falcon that briefly landed with prey at Bough Beech on the 26th was another good record. Two Lapland Bunting flew west at Reculver on the 30th, while the first Ring Ouzel of the season was at Dungeness on the 30th, with further records at Bockhill, Abbott's Cliff and Margate the next day.
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Please join in during the Big Kent Bird Migration Day this Sunday, 27 September
See below for details
Grey Phalarope - Terry Laws
The first Yellow-browed Warblers of the autumn arrived on the 21st, always a lovely milestone. One was at Dungeness, one at Bockhill and one in King George IV Park. A Glossy Ibis, a scarce bird so far this year in Kent, was at Dengemarsh on the 23rd and 24th. A possible Western Bonnelli's Warbler was reported from Seasalter on the 23rd, but unfortunately was quite elusive. A 1st-winter Grey Phalarope at Snodland was a lot more cooperative showing well on the 19th and 20th. A Red-necked Phalarope, probably a different bird than earlier in the autumn, made a one day appearance on the south side of the ARC, Dungeness on the 20th, while the White-winged Tern was still seen at Dungeness on the 19th. A juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper found on the 18th at Bough Beech was a good inland record. It stayed for three days, with another at Dungeness from the 20th. A Red-backed Shrike was at Lydd army camp on the 22nd.
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Brown Booby - Martin Casemore
Another (or possibly the same) Brown Booby was seen. This time an adult lingered for 30 minutes on the 12th off the fishing boats at Dungeness, feeding with Gannets, allowing for some of the locals to twitch it. There seems to be a mini-influx in the North Sea/Channel area. Dungeness was in any case the place to be this week. On the 14th a Western Bonelli's Warbler was found in the trapping area. It showed well on occasion and could be identified by its call. On the 15th it was caught and ringed soon after which it seems to have moved on. This is the 13th record for the county and the third in as many years. What looked like different juvenile White-winged Tern was discovered on the 14th, frequenting both ARC and Burrowes, with the previous one not seen for a few days. The Red-necked Phalarope stayed till the 15th at Burrowes, while the Wryneck was seen occasionally still at the start of the week. Furthermore, three Long-tailed Skuas (one on the 12th and two together on the 13th) and an adult Sabine's Gull (on the 11th) flew past during the week.
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Brown Booby - John Carnell
Bird of the week was an adult Brown Booby that flew past North Foreland on the 6th, seen and phographed by one of the dedicated locals. If accepted, this will be the fourth record of this species in Kent. It was a busy week in terms of scarcities. A Red-necked Phalarope was discovered on Burrowes at Dungeness on the 9th, while a group of seven Glossy Ibis flew over Stodmarsh on the 4th. Will we see a similar influx of this species as we did last year in September? A Golden Oriole is never easy to see in Kent, so a relatively showy female at Dungeness on the 6th was a nice suprise. Further highlights included a Black-crowned Nigh-heron that was seen flying along the river Darent near Shoreman the evening of the 5th, a juvenile Red-backed Shrike at Worth on the 7th, a Wryneck on the 5th and 10th at Dungeness and another flyover Dotterel, also at Dungeness on the 5th.
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Storm-petrel - Martin Casemore
Best bird of the week was a Corncrake that was flushed twice at Abbot's Cliff on the 28th. While it is a former breeder in the county, it is a rare bird in Kent these days, with typically only one (brief) sighting every few years. Sea-watching became more prominent. Top bird was a Storm-petrel past Dungeness on the 30th. There were decent numbers of Balearic Shearwaters seen, particularly past Dungeness where 49 were counted on the 30th and 30 on the 29th. Other reports included a Sabine's Gull past Dungeness on the 31st, Long-tailed Skuas past North Foreland and Walmer and a few Pomarine and Great Skuas at the usual watch points.
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Hoopoe - Russ Blackman
There were again plenty of migrants around in Kent this week, with a Hoopoe at Abbott's Cliffe on the 26th the highlight. There were two Wrynecks, one at Dungeness on the 22nd and one at North Foreland on the 26th. A couple of Bee-eaters were seen flying over on the 21st near Dover and the 22nd at Walmer. Again several Pied Flycatchers, Redstarts, Spotted Flycatchers and Tree pipits were seen, while there was a significant fall of Whinchats, with 25+ at Sandwich on the 27th. A lovely Wood Warbler was at Dungeness on the 22nd.
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White-winged Tern - Barry Wright
There were plenty of scarce birds to enjoy this week in Kent. A moulting adult White-winged Tern was found on the 15th at Stodmarsh and stayed in the area all week, at times showing really well. Then the next day another White-winged Tern was discovered, this time a juvenile at Dungeness, coinciding with the KOS Family Bird Day there. It too stayed for multiple days and could be viewed from the Firth viewpoint. Other scarce birds were a Stone-curlew seen only briefly at Pegwell Bay on the 15th, an at time elusive juvenile Purple Heron at Stodmarsh also from the 15th and a juvenile Red-backed Shrike at Worth from the 17th.