New site tick at Dungeness....White Winged Black Tern

One of two White Winged Black Terns.

Yesterday 15th May i went down to Dungeness in the hope of seeing the two White Winged Black Terns which first turned up on the Thursday and were present all day , however due to other things and the weather being awful i decided to leave it until yesterday before i went for them.

White Winged Black Tern.

Thankfully news came out early that they were still present and viewed from the Dennis hide overlooking Burrows Pit , so of i set making slow progress through Ashford and almost all the way to Dungeness , i arrived approx 9am and they were still here thankfully , mostly distant but their striking plumage was really great to see.

Really small compared to the Black Headed Gulls.

One of the WWBT'S kept trying to settle on the posts but as soon as it landed the much bigger Black Headed Gulls would chase it off , the second WWBT however gave up on doing this and decided to rest up on one of the small islands which made much more sense to me .

Dainty looking WWB Tern.

Really pleased to see these cracking birds and they were a new site tick for me , there were lots of Common Swifts and Hirundines everywhere , plus a small selection of waders notably Knot and Little Ringed Plover which was a welcome year tick.

Two Swallows.

I called over to the Arc pits and viewed from the viewing screen but didn't really add anything out of the ordinary , on my way back to the car i saw loads of Swallows landing on the overhead wires plus Common Swifts " screaming " all around me , fantastic sound and experience , then i caught sight of a Hobby then a 2nd & 3rd bird , cracking views through the scope of these awesome Falcon's .

Back at the car just putting my scope away i hear and then see a very close Common Whitethroat which posed for a photo or two.

Common Whitethroat.

Lot's of bird calls heard including Lesser Whitethroat , Chiffchaff & Cetti's Warbler , a really enjoyable birding session in what is fast becoming my best Spring birding ever.