Ardea purpurea
Uncommon Passage Migrant
1838 |
Romney Marsh, immature, obtained, September. |
1847 |
Lydd, 29th March. |
1862 |
Romney Marsh, 1st May. |
1876 |
Romney Marsh, 1st May. |
1894 |
Kemsley, 1st May. |
1925 |
Romney Marsh, two birds, 6th April. |
1936 |
Stour Valley/Sandwich, 17th and 18th May. |
1941 |
Deal, 2nd May. |
Romney Marsh, male, obtained, 12th May, now at Maidstone Museum. |
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1948 |
Gravesend, 27th March. |
1958 |
Stoke, 2nd-10th August. |
1961 |
Sandwich Bay, 7th July. |
Snargate, Romney Marsh, 9th August. |
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1963 |
Dungeness area, 5th May. |
Egypt Bay, 9th May. |
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Tenterden, 19th July. |
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1964 |
Sandwich Bay, 8th April. |
Dungeness area, 20th May. |
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1966 |
Chetney, 3rd-4th August. |
1967 |
Capel Fleet, Sheppey, 12th-25th June. |
Stodmarsh, 24th to 31st July. |
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1968 |
Stodmarsh, 27th April. |
Reculver, 11th August. |
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1969 |
Grove Ferry, 4th May. |
Sandwich Bay, 31st August to 30th September. |
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1970 |
Stodmarsh, adult, 24th-31st May. |
Stodmarsh, 24th July to 13th August. |
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1971 |
Chetney, 31st March. |
Kennington, Ashford, 23rd-24th April, with possibly same bird Stodmarsh, Apr 25th-May 19th. |
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Sandwich Bay, 7th May. |
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Sandwich Bay, 15th-16th May. |
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Medway Estuary, 6th August. |
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1972 |
Stodmarsh, 1st June. |
Sandwich Bay, 21st-22nd June. |
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Sevenoaks, 17th August. |
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Marden, 9th-19th September. |
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1973 |
Stodmarsh, 29th April. |
Murston Pits, 20th May. |
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Dungeness area, 29th July. |
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1974 |
Dungeness area, 21st April. |
Stodmarsh, two birds, 19th May. |
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Sandwich Bay, 10th September. |
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1975 |
Dungeness area, 19th April. |
1976 |
Sevenoaks, 2nd May. |
Stodmarsh, 30th May. |
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Stodmarsh, 6th June. |
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Sandwich Bay, 19th-22nd June. |
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1977 |
Sandwich Bay, 20th May. |
Fordwich, 1st June. |
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1978 |
Sandwich Bay, 20th April, with probably same bird on 29th April. |
Fordwich, 25th May. |
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Stodmarsh, 29th-30th June. |
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Dungeness area, 8th August |
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St. Margaret's, 17th October. |
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Elmley Reserve, 13th November. |
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1979 |
Westbere, 19th-22nd May. |
Stodmarsh, 17th June. |
|
1980 |
Stodmarsh, 18th May. |
Stodmarsh, 25th June. |
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Stodmarsh, 10th July. |
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1981 |
Fordwich, 18th-28th April. |
Reculver, 24th May. |
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Yantlet Creek, 11th July. |
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1982 |
Dungeness RSPB, 27th May. |
Stodmarsh, 30th October. |
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1983 |
Stour Valley, 22nd-26th April. |
Foreness, flying east, 8th May. |
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Sandwich Bay, flying west, 14th May. |
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1984 |
Minnis Bay, 22nd August to 6th October. |
1985 |
Capel Fleet, Sheppey, 27th April, and again 4th May. |
Hayesden, 25th July to 5th September. |
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Dartford Marshes, 13th-14th September. |
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1986 |
Sandwich Bay, 1st May. |
Westbere/Stodmarsh, 31st May to 1st June. |
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1987 |
Dungeness area, 20th-21st April. |
Sandwich Bay, 20th April. |
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Stodmarsh, 20th April. |
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Folkestone, 28th July. |
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Dungeness, flying south-west, 6th August. |
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Worth Marshes, 20th-21st August. |
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Minnis Bay, 19th-22nd October. |
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1988 |
Dungeness area, 20th May. |
Dungeness area, 12th September. |
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1989 |
Dungeness RSPB, 1st April. |
Dungeness RSPB, 20th May. |
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1990 |
Reculver, 6th May. |
Westbere, 7th-12th May. |
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Grove Ferry, 21st July. |
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Reculver, one east, 24th October. |
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1991 |
Dungeness RSPB, 31st May. |
Stodmarsh, 4th June, possibly same bird as Dungeness. |
|
1992 |
Copt Point, Folkestone, sub-adult, in off sea, 15th May. |
ARC pits, Dungeness, 23rd May. |
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Oare Marshes, 1st August. |
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1994 |
Foreness, one south-west, 18th August. |
Sandwich Bay, juvenile, 14th September. |
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1996 |
Stodmarsh, one south, 22nd April. |
Binney Farm/Reservoir, Allhallows, first summer, 6th May. |
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Dungeness RSPB, 12th May. Also seen at Lydd and Lade, same date. |
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1997 |
Brooksend, Minnis Bay, adult, 27th-29th April. |
Pegwell Bay, adult, 1st-4th May. Considered to be same bird as Brooksend. |
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Denge Marsh, juvenile, 6th September. |
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1998 |
Walland Marsh, adult, 28th May to 21st June. |
1999 |
Sandwich Bay, 29th March. |
Sandwich Bay, 8th-9th May. |
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Stodmarsh, immature, 15th May. |
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Dungeness, one north, 21st-22nd May. |
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Grove Ferry, juvenile, 30th July to 11th August. |
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Minnis Bay/Reculver, juvenile, 26th July-3rd October. Seen widely around Chambers Wall/Wantsum area. |
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Stoke Fleet, immature, 29th August to 3rd October. |
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Grove Ferry, juvenile, 1st September. |
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2000 |
Bough Beech, 6th April. |
Swale NNR, adult, 1st May. |
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Dungeness, two adults, in off sea, 6th May. |
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Lydd Golf Course, adult flying east, 7th May. |
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Reculver, 13th August. |
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Minnis Bay/Reculver, juvenile, 13th August to 10th September. Seen around Chambers Wall, Reculver and Marshside. |
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2001 | Dungeness, one in off sea, 13th April. |
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Dungeness RSPB, 20th May. |
Long Pits, Dungeness, first summer, 20th June. |
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2003 |
Capel-le-Ferne, one flew East, 13th April. |
2004 |
Pegwell Bay, adult flew north, 22nd April. |
Elmley, sub-adult, 14th-15th May. |
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North Foreland, immature flew west, 15th May. |
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Brooksend, Minnis Bay, 4th June. |
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Dungeness RSPB, 30th September. |
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2005 | Manston, immature flew SE, 19th April. |
2006 |
Bough Beech, single bird flew north, 21st April. |
Dungeness, immature flew out to sea, 30th August. |
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2007 |
St. Nicholas-at-Wade, single bird few in to land, 10th June. |
2008 |
Sandwich Bay BO, adult first seen on beach and later near observatory, 20th April. |
Dungeness RSPB, adult, 6th May. |
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2009 |
Reculver, single bird, arrived from south, 23rd May. |
2010 |
Dungeness RSPB, single bird, 27th-28th April, with second bird joining it on 29th-30th April. These birds were soon seen carrying nesting material, and quickly became Britain's first successful breeding pair, fledging two young. The first bird to fledge did so on 3rd August, and the second on 6th or 7th. The last sighting of any bird was the adult female on 30th August. |
Sandwich Bay BO, single bird, 20th May. |
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Stodmarsh, single bird, possibly that from Sandwich, 23rd May. |
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2011 |
Dungeness RSPB, adult bird, 29th April until 6th May. |
Dungeness RSPB, immature bird joined the adult, 4th-5th May. | |
Sandwich Bay, single bird, 1st May. | |
Pegwell Bay, single bird, 10th May. | |
Elmley NNR, single bird, intermittently form 6th-18th August. | |
Dungeness RSPB, single bird, 16th August. | |
Dungeness RSPB, juvenile bird, 2nd November. | |
2012 | Dungeness RSPB, single bird, 5th-13th June. |
Stodmarsh/Grove Ferry, juvenile, 29th June-1st July, again 25th July to 3rd August, and finally 19th-27th August. |
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Oare Marshes, juvenile, 29th-30th July. |
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2013 |
Pegwell Bay, single bird, 22nd April. |
Dengemarsh Gully, Dungeness, single bird flushed, 6th May. |
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2014 |
Dungeness RSPB, single bird, 22nd April until 2nd May. |
Nicholl’s Quarry, Palmarsh, single bird, 16th May. |
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2015 |
Pegwell Bay, single bird, 15th April. |
Dungeness RSPB, single bird, 13th May. |
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2016 |
Reculver, single bird, 11th-12th April, and subsequently seen at Stodmarsh on the 13th, and at Sandwich on 14th. |
Dungeness, single bird, 28th April. |
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Grove Ferry, single bird, 15th-25th May. |
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Pegwell Bay, single bird, 20th May, may have been the same as at Grove Ferry. |
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Reculver, juvenile, 15th August. |
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Elmley, juvenile, 28th August until 29th September. |
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Allhallows, freshly dead young bird, 24th September. |
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2018 |
Sevenoaks WR, juvenile, 20th July. |
Cliffe Pools, juvenile, 11th August until 1st September. |
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Swalecliffe, juvenile, 31st August. |
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2019 |
Stodmarsh, adult, 22nd-30th June. |
Chambers Wall, Reculver, single bird, 19th September. |
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2020 | Dungeness RSPB, first-summer bird, 7th-13th May. |
Worth Marshes, first-summer bird, 1st June. | |
Swale NNR, juvenile bird, 22nd-26th August. | |
2021 | Westbere, single bird, 21st-30th April. |
Ham Fen, single bird, 8th May. | |
Dungeness Long Pits, single bird, 12th May. | |
Stodmarsh NNR/Grove Ferry, single bird, 20th and 31st May. | |
Seasalter, single bird, 6th June. | |
Conningbrook CP, juvenile bird, 22nd August. | |
2022 | Stodmarsh NNR, adult bird, from 18th April until 7th May. |
Dungeness RSPB, adult bird, 15th-25th May. | |
Stodmarsh NNR, juvenile bird, from 23rd July until 4th September. Joined by second juvenile from 27th July. | |
Seasalter, juvenile bird, present from 27th August until 2nd November. | |
2023 | Elmley, adult, 10th-13th May. |
Stodmarsh NNR/Grove Ferry, single bird, 15th-20th May. | |
Dungeness RSPB, single bird, 18th-20th May. | |
Ham Fen, juvenile, 21st September. | |
2024 | Dungeness, two adults, 13th March until 9th April. |
Minster Marshes, single bird, 30th April. | |
Sandwich Bay/Worth Marshes, single bird, 2nd-26th May. | |
Stodmarsh, three birds, two adults and one immature, 8th May until 30th June. |