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.

1948

Gravesend, 27th March.

1958

Stoke, 2nd-10th August.

1961

Sandwich Bay, 7th July.

 

Snargate, Romney Marsh, 9th August.

1963

Dungeness area, 5th May.

 

Egypt Bay, 9th May.

 

Tenterden, 19th July.

1964

Sandwich Bay, 8th April.

 

Dungeness area, 20th May.

1966

Chetney, 3rd-4th August.

1967

Capel Fleet, Sheppey, 12th-25th June.

 

Stodmarsh, 24th to 31st July.

1968

Stodmarsh, 27th April.

 

Reculver, 11th August.

1969

Grove Ferry, 4th May.

 

Sandwich Bay, 31st August to 30th September.

1970

Stodmarsh, adult, 24th-31st May.

 

Stodmarsh, 24th July to 13th August.

1971

Chetney, 31st March.

 

Kennington, Ashford, 23rd-24th April, with possibly same bird Stodmarsh, Apr 25th-May 19th.

 

Sandwich Bay, 7th May.

 

Sandwich Bay, 15th-16th May.

 

Medway Estuary, 6th August.

1972

Stodmarsh, 1st June.

 

Sandwich Bay, 21st-22nd June.

 

Sevenoaks, 17th August.

 

Marden, 9th-19th September.

1973

Stodmarsh, 29th April.

 

Murston Pits, 20th May.

 

Dungeness area, 29th July.

1974

Dungeness area, 21st April.

 

Stodmarsh, two birds, 19th May.

 

Sandwich Bay, 10th September.

1975

Dungeness area, 19th April.

1976

Sevenoaks, 2nd May.

 

Stodmarsh, 30th May.

 

Stodmarsh, 6th June.

 

Sandwich Bay, 19th-22nd June.

1977

Sandwich Bay, 20th May.

 

Fordwich, 1st June.

1978

Sandwich Bay, 20th April, with probably same bird on 29th April.

 

Fordwich, 25th May.

 

Stodmarsh, 29th-30th June.

 

Dungeness area, 8th August

 

St. Margaret's, 17th October.

 

Elmley Reserve, 13th November.

1979

Westbere, 19th-22nd May.

 

Stodmarsh, 17th June.

1980

Stodmarsh, 18th May.

 

Stodmarsh, 25th June.

 

Stodmarsh, 10th July.

1981

Fordwich, 18th-28th April.

 

Reculver, 24th May.

 

Yantlet Creek, 11th July.

1982

Dungeness RSPB, 27th May.

 

Stodmarsh, 30th October.

1983

Stour Valley, 22nd-26th April.

 

Foreness, flying east, 8th May.

 

Sandwich Bay, flying west, 14th May.

1984

Minnis Bay, 22nd August to 6th October.

1985

Capel Fleet, Sheppey, 27th April, and again 4th May.

 

Hayesden, 25th July to 5th September.

 

Dartford Marshes, 13th-14th September.

1986

Sandwich Bay, 1st May.

 

Westbere/Stodmarsh, 31st May to 1st June.

1987

Dungeness area, 20th-21st April.

 

Sandwich Bay, 20th April.

 

Stodmarsh, 20th April.

 

Folkestone, 28th July.

 

Dungeness, flying south-west, 6th August.

 

Worth Marshes, 20th-21st August.

 

Minnis Bay, 19th-22nd October.

1988

Dungeness area, 20th May.

 

Dungeness area, 12th September.

1989

Dungeness RSPB, 1st April.

 

Dungeness RSPB, 20th May.

1990

Reculver, 6th May.

 

Westbere, 7th-12th May.

 

Grove Ferry, 21st July.

 

Reculver, one east, 24th October.

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.

 

Oare Marshes, 1st August.

1994

Foreness, one south-west, 18th August.

 

Sandwich Bay, juvenile, 14th September.

1996

Stodmarsh, one south, 22nd April.

 

Binney Farm/Reservoir, Allhallows, first summer, 6th May.

 

Dungeness RSPB, 12th May. Also seen at Lydd and Lade, same date.

1997

Brooksend, Minnis Bay, adult, 27th-29th April.

 

Pegwell Bay, adult, 1st-4th May. Considered to be same bird as Brooksend.

 

Denge Marsh, juvenile, 6th September.

1998

Walland Marsh, adult, 28th May to 21st June.

1999

Sandwich Bay, 29th March.

 

Sandwich Bay, 8th-9th May.

 

Stodmarsh, immature, 15th May.

 

Dungeness, one north, 21st-22nd May.

 

Grove Ferry, juvenile, 30th July to 11th August.

 

Minnis Bay/Reculver, juvenile, 26th July-3rd October. Seen widely around Chambers Wall/Wantsum area.

 

Stoke Fleet, immature, 29th August to 3rd October.

 

Grove Ferry, juvenile, 1st September.

2000

Bough Beech, 6th April.

 

Swale NNR, adult, 1st May.

 

Dungeness, two adults, in off sea, 6th May.

 

Lydd Golf Course, adult flying east, 7th May.

 

Reculver, 13th August.

 

Minnis Bay/Reculver, juvenile, 13th August to 10th September. Seen around Chambers Wall, Reculver and Marshside.

2001 Dungeness, one in off sea, 13th April.

 

Dungeness RSPB, 20th May.

 

Long Pits, Dungeness, first summer, 20th June.

2003

Capel-le-Ferne, one flew East, 13th April.

2004

Pegwell Bay, adult flew north, 22nd April.

 

Elmley, sub-adult, 14th-15th May.

 

North Foreland, immature flew west, 15th May.

 

Brooksend, Minnis Bay, 4th June.

 

Dungeness RSPB, 30th September.

2005 Manston, immature flew SE, 19th April.

2006

Bough Beech, single bird flew north, 21st April.

 

Dungeness, immature flew out to sea, 30th August.

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.

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.

 

Stodmarsh, single bird, possibly that from Sandwich, 23rd May.

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.

 

Oare Marshes, juvenile, 29th-30th July.

2013

Pegwell Bay, single bird, 22nd April.

 

Dengemarsh Gully, Dungeness, single bird flushed, 6th May.

2014

Dungeness RSPB, single bird, 22nd April until 2nd May.

 

Nicholl’s Quarry, Palmarsh, single bird, 16th May.

2015

Pegwell Bay, single bird, 15th April.

 

Dungeness RSPB, single bird, 13th May.

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.

 

Grove Ferry, single bird, 15th-25th May.

 

Pegwell Bay, single bird, 20th May, may have been the same as at Grove Ferry.

 

Reculver, juvenile, 15th August.

 

Elmley, juvenile, 28th August until 29th September.

 

Allhallows, freshly dead young bird, 24th September.

2018

Sevenoaks WR, juvenile, 20th July.

 

Cliffe Pools, juvenile, 11th August until 1st September.

 

Swalecliffe, juvenile, 31st August.

2019

Stodmarsh, adult, 22nd-30th June.

 

Chambers Wall, Reculver, single bird, 19th September.

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.

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