Wednesday 15th. January 2014

With the hope of a sunny , rain free day yesterday , I was undecided between Dungeness and Rye Harbour as to being my destination , so en route a split decision was made , the morning at Dungeness and the afternoon at Rye Harbour . The sun was still half hidden by cloud and mist still hugged the ground as I made my first stop , hoping to see the Berwick Swan flock in a field just

outside Lydd . Well , I did see the 40+ flock , but they were way in the distance , white shapes in the early morning murk . Pushing on , I arrived at ARC car park with just one other car already there and headed for the hide , seeing at least two Great White Egrets and 2/3 Little Egret over towards the viewing screen on my way . Two birders were already enthroned in 'Ken's seat' , so after a quick look down the pit to the right , settled to their left , looking across to the screen area . Lots of Coots immediately in front of the hide , entertaining the three of us as they leapt out of the water to grab the seed heads from the Bullrushes , made easier for them by the high water level in the pit . When one bird was successful in grabbing a head , it then had the problem of keeping it from the rest . The

entertainment was interrupted by a Bittern that flew over the hide from behind , and headed for the reedbed in front of the screen on the far bank , and disappearing into it . Duck numbers weren't high ,

but along with the usual Mallards , Tufted and a few Gadwall , Wigeon were the most dominant species . At distance , both male and female Goldeneye were seen briefly , in between their constant

dives , but eventually they came a bit closer , enabling a few shots . Three redhead Smew were also

seen , but unfortunately no sign of a male . The duck spotting came to a sudden halt when the Bittern

appeared again from the reedbed , heading straight towards the hide . Just before the hide , it veered to the left and landed in the back if the small reedbed to the left of the hide , almost disappearing

from view almost immediately , but before doing so , taking up it's classic 'bill to the sky' pose for just a few seconds . I waited hoping that it would work it's way to the front of the reedbed where a Grey Heron was fishing , but unfortunately it didn't and wasn't seen again . Shortly afterwards ,

everything went up from the surface as a female and juvenile Marsh Harrier arrived looking for breakfast . After they moved on , it was difficult to relocate the rarer ducks , but after a while I found two of the Goldeneye , a male and female , and the MH's appearance didn't seem to have worried the

male , as every time she surfaced , he started displaying to her . The other two birders had moved on some time earlier and things were quietening down , so I headed back to the car and across the road to the RSPB Reserve . The feeders at Boulderwood Farm were busy , even though a new post and rail

fence was being erected close by , and the Tree Sparrow colony were tucking in , along with a few Reed Buntings . Along the track several birders were scanning the distant geese hoping to see the Bean or White-fronted that have been recorded recently . I stopped for a while , but only saw Greylags and Canadas . Arriving at the car park , I had a look in Denis's Hide , to find it full to overflowing with a group . They were talking about seeing a Goosander , but it was over on the new diggings , a long way away , also the favoured area for the Black-throated
Diver recently . To get closer it would be necessary to view from the main road , meaning looking straight into the low Winter sun , apart from taking your life in your hands to do so . A look from the

picnic area found a Great White Egret lapping up the sunshine whilst preening . With not much else reported on the Reserve , it was time to move on to Rye Harbour , but not before running in to Phil / Sharp by Nature , who , like myself , had contracted 'cabin fever' over the last couple of weeks . After a catch up we parted company and I headed towards Scotney Pits , hoping that the Barnacle Goose flock , with the Emperor Geese that Ken / Focusing on Wildlife , found with them on his visit , were still around , but sadly there was no sign . The fact that the local farmer/shepherd and his dog were rounding up his sheep on a quadbike , that was the farmer not the dog Warren , meant the grass banks by the road were almost devoid of any birds , but there was a flock of 75/100 Coot feeding down by

the water at one point . A picture for those excited by the species . Also found on the way , a small flock of wary Rooks , especially if anything was pointed at them like a camera . Managed to get this

shot just as they spotted the lens , but before they flew off . The car park at Rye Harbour was incredibly busy with walkers and dog walkers making the most of the sunny weather , although the wind had a chill . As the majority were heading up the road towards Lime Kiln Cottage and the river mouth , I cut through the caravan park and entered the Reserve over the small bridge . Almost immediately something put up every roosting bird and the sky was full of black dots , this being just

one part of the picture , but no reason could be found . It took many minutes before things got back to normal . Little was seen from the two hides out in the middle apart from a very confiding Little Grebe

that carried on diving and feeding within metres from the front of one hide . The hide along the beach road near the old lifeboat station held the most birds , with a large Oystercatcher roost to the right  and space on what was left of the small islands was at a premium , this one occupied mainly by Knot

with a sprinkling of Dunlin . Other waders seen on other islands included Common Snipe , Ruff and the usual hoards of Lapwing , commuting between the edges of the islands to bathe and the shingle

banks to preen and dry . Returning down the road alongside the river , although the sun was still out , clouds were building on the horizon , but the local Rabbit population were still out feeding and

chasing about between burrows , and amongst them , moving and feeding very quietly , was this

Stock Dove . Very little was close in to the last hide , but further out Avocet , Shellduck , Godwit , Ring Plover , Little Egret , several Gull species and a very large roost of Curlew could be seen , the latter starting to return to feed on the mud on the receding tide . As I left the car park , a spur of the moment decision to stop at the footpath between the industrial units and walk out to Castle Water . I was only 200 metres along the very muddy track when I met two birders returning from the same trek . I asked if they had been successful , but they said that it had been very disappointing , and very wet and muddy underfoot . My boots were already caked in mud , so decided on just a look around a large reedbed before heading off home . Whilst doing so , I had a very quick glimpse of a small Grebe that immediately dived into the reedbed , not to be seen again . To my mind it was a possible Slavonian , but didn't see it for long enough to be sure .