Kent Birding Highlights for May 2025

                                                 DUNGENESS  SEAWATCH

                                              3rd May 2025

                                                    

Arctic Skua Dark Phase.

A 4 hour seawatch on the 3rd May at Dungeness was rewarded with

 2 Black-throated Divers, 2 Arctic Skuas (1DP & 1LP), 18 Common Scoters, 6 Bar-tailed Godwits & 50+ Whimbrel as the main highlights.

Common Scoter.

Whimbrel.

NEW HYTHE LAKES

8th May 2025

A walk around New Hythe lakes was very pleasant with plenty of  song birds in full voice, no less then 6 Nightingales were heard & seen plus there was plenty of various Warblers including 2 Garden Warblers which were new for the year.

Nightingale in full voice.

Whilst on my walk round the Lakes news came out of a Bonelli's Warbler sp. at Sandwich Bay, first heard & seen at the Oasis then later in the gardens near the Elms, by the time i got back to my car it had been confirmed as a 

Western Bonelli's Warbler !!!!

SANDWICH  BAY

OASIS

On leaving New Hythe i was in a bit of turmoil of what to do, i have seen WBW very well in the UK before but never in Kent, i was a bit concerned it might be caught, ringed & released before i got there & the chances are it would probably go to ground and unlikely to be seen again.

Thankfully by the time i got there it was still singing in the Oasis but being elusive, i teamed up with Martyn Wilson & Raf and eventually we managed some good views of the Western Bonelli's Warbler .

We heard it Call a couple of times and was constantly singing, i did manage a couple of photos but as ever i was more content watching it when it did appear.

Western Bonelli's Warbler.

Very pleased i made the decision to go for this superb bird and was happy to add it to my Kent & Sandwich Bay bird lists.

OARE MARSHES

12th May 2025

2 Cattle Egrets.

A superb visit to Oare Marshes on the 12th was rewarded with some superb views of  8 Cattle Egrets, 5 near the East flood hide and 3 on the West flood.

There was a good variety of waders on the East flood including a superb spring Temminck's Stint which was found the day before by AF.

Temminck's Stint.

Unfortunately my digi-scope pics don't do this cracking little wader justice, it remained in the middle of the East flood most of the time.

There were 300+ Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Ruff  & 10 Redshanks on the EF plus a single Whimbrel, 35+ Grey Plover & 10 Curlew on the tide line.

We were also treated to a superb Little ringed Plover on the EF later on in the morning.

Adult Little Ringed Plover.

Reed & Sedge Warblers were very vocal and we saw  3 Cuckoo's playing chase over the EF, there was a distant Turtle Dove on the weather vane plus a Nightingale was heard.

Turtle Dove  (Photo taken in 2024)

DUNGENESS  SEAWATCH

17th May 2025

Another failed attempt for Pom Skuas on a seawatch today at Dungeness, but if you don't try you will never see them, it was a quiet morning which was  livened up when 5 Arctic Terns flew past close in, we also saw 4 Manx Shearwaters at middle distance and a very close in Male Eider.

Other birds of note were 50+ Whimbrel, 1 Fulmar, 1 Guillemot, 10+ Razorbills, 5 Common Scoter, 10+ Kittiwakes & 8 Brent Geese.

A stunning male Black Redstart showed on & off along the Power station wall.

Male Black Redstart

DUNGENESS NNR

25th May 2025

Exciting news came out of Dungeness Sunday morning on the 25th May , another Bonelli's Warbler species was found and it was soon confirmed as an

 

EASTERN BONELLI'S WARBLER !!! 

This would be a new bird for me and a first record for Kent (only 10 confirmed records in the UK).

MW picked me up from home and we joined the already assembled birders at Dungeness at approx 12pm, we could hear the EBW singing straight away, we were told it's not been seen since it was more or less first found.

On the positive side it was still present and surely with some patience we will eventually see it......Won't we ????

More and more birders arrived, the who's who of the Kent birding scene was present, it felt strange seeing birding crews from various Kent patches all ascending here, just proved to me the magnitude & enormity of this very rare bird.

The EBW had moved to a different clump of bushes , seen briefly by some as it flew across the path (not by me though).

It remained unseen singing it's heart out for maybe over an hour in these bushes, people tried various different angles & view points to no avail.

Then the EBW moved again, unseen this time, we all got a bit separated, i saw 2 birders cut through the bushes and the EBW flew out over the top of the bushes and vanished again.

I had seen it, apart from a very white belly i didn't see any distinguishing features, frustrating to say the least.

The dance continued with this bird, more & more birders turned up from  further afield, Norfolk & Somerset plus maybe even further, sure i recognised a birder from Durham ?

As the day turned to early evening the EBW became more vocal, MW, SC,  & myself could hear it very close in a little sun trap area, it was just hidden out of view, literally a couple of leaves separated it from us.

Then we were joined by lot's more birders and the EBW flew again, this time i saw a bit more detail.

Near the end of our stay we had one last flight view as the EBW flew across the path in front of us and as it alighted out of view it gave it's very distinctive & diagnostic 

 call.