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Spotted crake
Spotted Crake - Nigel Jarman

Bird of the week was a very showy Spotted Crake at New Downs South Pool near Sandwich. It was discovered in the evening of the 29th and was nearly in constant view the remainder of the week as it was feeding on the mud, offering stunning views of what is often a difficult species to connect with. A Glossy Ibis, a surprisingly scarce bird in Kent this year, flew over Bough Beech on the 4th. The three Dotterels continued to perform in the subble fields near St Margeret's at Cliffe. At times they could be difficult to find, but often enough they showed beautifully. The Stone-curlew at Cliffe also remained all week, although this one stayed more distantly at the far end of Flamingo Pool.

 Dotterel

Eurasian Dotterel - Nigel Jarman

The rarest bird of the week was an adult male Sardinian Warbler, which was seen on the 25th on Graveney Marshes. Unfortunately it only showed relatively briefly to a single observer in the early morning. It was seen eating berries in a bush and then flew off strongly towards the West. It could not be refound. If accepted it will only be the 8th record of this species in Kent. The Zitting Cisticola at Galloways moved on and wasn't seen this week. Birders looking for it on the 22nd were rewarded though with a Dotterel which was seen and heard calling as it flew overhead. This was the first for this year in Kent, but was followed quickly with a second over Weddington the next day, and then an adult and two juveniles in a field near St Margarets at Cliffe on the 28th. As hoped, the Stone Curlew remained at Cliffe, but was only seen on the afternoon of the 22nd and 28th. 

Zitting Cisticola 3

Zitting Cisticola - Barry Wright

An excellent week of birding in Kent, with one mega and lots of scarcities. The KOS Day at Dungeness on the 17th attracted a good number of birders to the area, one of which found a Zitting Cisticola at Galloways! With one earlier in the year at Foreness and an obliging male in Suffolk in recent weeks, one might get a bit complacent, but this is only the 7th for Kent and the 12th for the UK. The Galloways bird was singing on and off for the remainder of the week. A juvenile White-winged Tern showing well on the lake at Leeds Castle the afternoon of the 18th was another good bird (with further sightings of what looked like a different bird, but did confusingly look like a Black Tern in the area, at Oare on the 19th and 20th). Another good find was a pale Icterine Warbler in the Moat at Dungeness also on the 18th in the afternoon.

IMG 5596 

White Stork - Mark Chidwick

There was plenty of good early autumn migration in the past week. A very impressive find was a fly-over Greater Short-toed Lark over Foundation Farm near Marden on the 11th. It was heard and seen for about 15 seconds, at an inland location no-less. This is only the 12th record for Kent of the species and the first since 2011. Hopefully the wait for a twitcheable bird won't be another 14 years. Another good migrant was a Wryneck at Walmer Beach on the 13th. There were plenty of other migrant song birds around with decent numbers of Willow Warblers, Tree Pipits, Grasshopper Warblers, Redstarts, Pied Flycatchers and Whinchats.

Large shearwater
Large shearwater sp - Martin Casemore

Sea-watching improved, but not all sightings could be confirmed. Most excitingly a large shearwater was seen past Dungeness on the 2nd. Despite being photographed, it was too far to identify to species level. A Gull-billed Tern was reported past Graveney Marshes  on the 3rd, while the regulars at North Foreland saw a distant adult Long-tailed Skua fly by on the 4th. Also past North Foreland a Sooty Shearwater on the 5th. Further sea-watch highlights included a Black-throated Diver past Deal and 17 Black Tern past Oare. 

Last week's Pectoral Sandpiper remained all week at Dungeness, but the White-rumped Sandpiper at Oare was only seen till the 1st.

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White-rumpled Sandpiper - Frank Cackett


Waders took the headlines in an excellent week of Summer birding in Kent. An adult White-rumped Sandpiper was discovered at Oare Marshes on the 28th and stayed for the remainder of the week. There have been close to 40 records of this species in Kent, but could it be the same individual that was at Dungeness last year? Another American wader did show up at Dungeness from the 29th, a Pectoral Sandpiper was in the SE corner of the ARC.

Another good bird was the Black-crowned Night-heron that was on show from Hooker's ramp at  Dungeness RSPB the afternoon and evening of the 25th. Unfortunately it did not stick around. 

Wood sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper - Peter Eerdmans

The number of returning waders picked up this week. Three Little Stints were at Oare as well as Shellness early in the week, while singles were seen at Pegwell and at Dungeness later. Up to 7 Curlew Sandpipers were seen at Oare while one was at Cliffe,There were plenty of Wood Sandpipers around as well as a few Spotted Redshank. 

Sea-watching also was a bit better this week with Pomarine Skua past Herne Bay and Foreness/North Foreland on the 19th, while a couple of Balearic Shearwaters flew past Dungeness.

Yellow legged Gull

Yellow-legged Gull – Martin Casemore

The most noteworthy sighting of the week was a very unseasonal Jack Snipe seen at Worth Marsh on the 12th. There are very few July records of this species in Kent, less than a handful. Difficult to judge if it never left this Spring or is a failed breeder that decided to return early.

The Bonaparte’s Gull remained at Oare Marshes, where there also was a Spoonbill later in the week. It is still quiet in terms of returning waders, with just a few Spotted Redshanks and Wood Sandpipers recorded in Kent this week.

Caspian Tern2

Caspian Tern – Martin Casemore

One of the regular North Foreland watchers kept the incredible year so far for that broader area going with an adult Laughing Gull flying past on the 6th. If accepted, it will only be the 10th for Kent and the first since the 2016 Dungeness bird. Unfortunately, it was not seen by anyone else. The other rare gull in Kent (the Bonaparte’s) was more cooperative and was on show at Oare throughout the week.

The fourth Caspian Tern of the year (although likely involving the same individual on at least some occasions) was found on the evening of the 4th roosting on the beach of Greatstone-on-Sea.

Zitting Cisticola2

Zitting Cisticola – Peter Eerdmans

Another mega was recorded in Kent this week!! A Zitting Cisticola was found at Foreness Point on the evening of the 2nd, only meters away from where the Black-headed Bunting was seen earlier in the Spring. It was mobile, but sang and showed regularly, including in display flight. It was seen until 21.10 and fortunately it was still there for the early risers the next morning as it continued to perform from 5am in the suitable habitat of scrubs and grass. However, at 6.10am it flew high inland. This is only the 6th record for Kent with less than 10 seen in the UK.

Other exciting news over the week was the return of the Bonaparte’s Gull at Oare Marshes on the 2nd for its 13th consecutive Summer!

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