Choppy Seas

It was interesting to hear that both Sooty and Manx Shearwaters had been seen at Dungeness today.

The very windy and choppy conditions in the bay made sea watching difficult and in the few minutes that I peered down my telescope, trying to keep out of the spray, I only managed a few Fulmars out at sea. The forecast for tomorrow is awful, but it may be worth having a try if a sheltered spot can be found.

Yesterday, I had a brief but interesting look at Pegwell Bay, unfortunately it was well after high tide but there was a lot of action. At times the flock of Golden Plovers was roosting not too far away, but it was being disturbed by a couple of raptors.

This Marsh Harrier came through, just as I got out of the car, disturbing all the waders in the bay, and shortly after a Peregrine was directly in front of me, swooping down and terrorising the plovers. I didn't see it catch anything, but I had the feeling that it was up to mischief and having fun anyway. By the hide I had a chat to Phil Milton, and we watched a group of four Twite flying over the marsh, but I had missed a Caspian Gull that Phil had seen earlier.