Of Birds & Cake the Blog of Paul: November 2022

After the Blue theme at Pulborough, today felt very Grey, the weather and the birds! but in a good way! After much humming and ahhing during my days off during the week, the continuing presence of the Sabine's Gull in a field in Kent got too much and I decided to go!! Successfully getting up at 5.45am I left at 6, unaccompanied as all the others as for some strange reason they aren't excited by an early morning 80 mile drive to see a Gull😱😲 I know crazy right!! By 7.30 am I was in the carpark of Port Lympne Safari Park, having somehow been sent down the exit by the sat-nav, luckily not many people about. There were a few Black-headed Gulls and a couple of Herring Gulls in the field, but a quick scan failed to find the target, then the other birder present found it in a puddle 10ft over a fence.!!! Phew!! But what a bird!!!

Sabine's Gull

Ridiculously showy! So with the target bird in the bag, I decided to head of Dungeness, been some good seabirds, Skuas, Shearwaters, Phalaropes etc had been reported the last few days, so even scope-less I felt I could do with some of that action!

It took me about 40 minutes to arrive and walk to the fishing boats, I say walk, slog through the shingle destroying my knees, hips and pretty much the rest of my body!! On arrival a couple of birders disillusioned me fairly sharpish, no Phalarope and not much else except Cormorants and the odd Great Crested Grebe, however I stuck at it, a few Gannets went through, some Brent Geese, a couple of drake Eiders, another couple of Ducks flew in which turned out to be a Velvet Scoters and a Diver flew by distantly, at the time I couldn't decide between Black-throated and Great Northern, the pics confirmed GND also confirmed by my more knowledgeable Facebook Friends!

Velvet Scoter

Turnstone, small group on the beach

Brent Geese

Herring Gull

Eider

Great Northern Diver

Gannets

I gave up after a short while and headed to the point, hopeful of some more Seabirds or Black Redstarts on the power station.

Not much on the walk back although a nice Pied Wagtail showed well, several groups of Gulls were scanned thoroughly but couldn't find anything that I could string into Caspian or Yellow-legged!!

Gulls

Pied Wagtail

Arrived at the point, gave it a good scan, several Gannets going through, some Med Gulls, loads of Gulls on "the Patch" and more Cormorants. Couple of Terns, one Sandwich and one smaller and darker which may have been an Arctic though both were distant so difficult to be sure.

Gannets

Great Black-backed Gull

Med Gull

Was about to leave when scanning the shoreline picked up a small bird in the surf, a another birder doing a litter pic, called out that's the Phalarope!! And it was!! I had a fun 20 minutes following it East along the surf-line, bouncing about, spinning around on a sixpence!

Grey Phalarope

Great Crested Grebe, this was in the Surf as well!

I had a walk from the point to the Obs, didn't see anything!!! Well a couple of Robins and some Sparrows! Also saw a Marsh Harrier and a Sparrowhawk, which were

House Sparrow

I decided to stop at Boulderwell Farm on the way home, found the reported Glossy Ibis and Cattle Egrets and another Kingfisher, although it didn't show as well as the Pulborough one! Also saw a Marsh Harrier and a Sparrowhawk, which were too distant and too quick for pics, respectively!