If you are enjoying the Weekly Highlights, why not join the KOS AGM on Wednesday 29 April at 7.30pm, after which I will present the Kent birding highlights of 2025. I will give an update on the scarcer breeding birds, give a comparison of two sea-watching hotspots, and of course cover all the rare and scarce birds, such as Booted Eagle, two Bonelli's Warblers and Zitting Cisticola. See below for Zoom-link and AGM agenda.

Wood Warbler - James Dee

The 18th offered great conditions for a 'fall' of migrant song birds. Most coastal areas enjoyed good numbers of Willow Warblers, Blackcaps and Greater and Lesser Whitethroats, but Dungeness stood out with 110 Willow Warblers counted, two Common Redstarts, a Pied Flycatcher and, the stand-out bird, a Wood Warbler which could be seen and heard singing for most of the day around the Long Pits. A second Wood Warbler was singing in Denge Wood on the 23rd. With only two reports last year, this is not an easy bird to connect with in Kent. Another surprise followed the next day at Dungeness when a Yellow-browed Warbler was sound-recorded on the 19th, a rare bird in Spring in Kent.

A video of a Black Stork flying over a birder's garden in Badlesmere on the 22nd surfaced on Facebook; a very good record as this is not an annual bird in Kent and there has never been one this early in the year. Another first for the year was a Purple Heron at Stodmarsh on the evening of the 20th.

Yellow-browed Warbler - James Dee

The Common Crane remained at Seasalter, while several White Stork were seen including three coming in off the sea at Dover on the 18th. A White-tailed Eagle toured the county on the 18th (see map below) but managed to avoid most areas with good concentrations of birders, so was only picked up on Sheppey and Oare Marshes. For an inland site, Bough Beech did well this week with two Black-necked Grebes, two Merganser and an Osprey over. Further highlights around the county included a few Ring Ouzel, with one at Uplees Copse for few days (this has become an annual event at this location), Black Kites reported over New Romney and East Packham and a couple of Osprey.

Osprey - Peter Eerdmans

The northerly winds made for a relatively quiet start to the week in terms of sea-watching, but things picked up as the winds moved more easterly. A handful of Pomarine Skuas and a couple of Black-throated Diver flew past Dungeness this week with over 300 Whimbrel counted as well (on the 23rd). A summer-plumaged Red-necked Grebe was offshore at Foreness and a Great Northern Diver flew past North Foreland.

Red-necked Grebe - Kenton Evans

In terms of Summer migrants, in addition to the Wood Warbler, six Black Terns were seen at Stodmarsh on the 23rd. We can look out for Turtle Dove, Whinchat and perhaps Spotted Flycatcher in the coming week. Enjoy.

Peter Eerdmans

White-tailed Eagle flight path

(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)