Kent Ornithological Society Providing information about birds and birdwatching in Kent (Registered charity 21489)

Black-headed Bunting - Kenton Evans

The rarest bird of the Spring, so far, was found in the early morning of the 18^th at Foreness, a stunning male Black-Headed Bunting. This is only the 7^th 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 16^th 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 – Jamie Partridge

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

Another Black Kite was seen at Stodmarsh on the 20^th while another female Red-footed Falcon was hawking for insects with the large number of Hobbies over Stodmarsh from the 17^th till at least the 20^th, following which a female was discovered at Dungeness on the 22^nd. Bee-eaters flew over Dungeness, Sandwich Bay and Sholden, while Golden Orioles were heard, but as usual only for a short period in the early morning, at South Foreland and Nethergong. A Purple Heron dropped into a small reedbed at Long Pits, Dungeness, on the evening of the 16^th.

Wader passage continues to be quite good. Again a few Temminck’s Stints were seen (at Dungeness, Worth and Stodmarsh), four Curlew Sandpipers were at Pegwell Bay with one at Stodmarsh, while up to four Little Stints at Dungeness were new for the Kent year list.

Black Kite – Shane Vale

The last of the to-be-expected Summer migrants, the Nightjar, was recorded on the 19^th followed by a confiding day-time individual at North Foreland on the 20^th. Given the lack of common migrants during this Spring (due to the weather presumably), five Spotted Flycatchers in the Dungeness area on the 18^th is worth mentioning.

Winds are finally moving away from the NE direction, this could make for some exiting birding. It might pay off to keep an eye on the skies as the pale-phase Booted Eagle seems to be moving south and getting closer to Kent again. Good luck.

Peter Eerdmans

European Nightjar – John Carnell

(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)