Kent Highlights for September 2026

                                                        10th 

                                            DUNGENESS  RSPB

                              

Red necked Phalarope

An afternoon visit to Dungeness Rspb on the 10th was rewarded with good but distant scope views of the Red necked Phalarope from the  Dennis Hide.

There wasn't much else to be seen as there was essential work being carried out on the islands, i did hear a Whimbrel and i saw 2 Clouded Yellows.

12th

SWALECLIFFE

Wryneck.

A very enjoyable local twitch to Swalecliffe on the 12th for the recently found Wryneck was very successful with great views obtained.

Great to bump into the Swalecliffe regulars and would just like to wish Andy .T. every success in his adventures in pastures new.

Wryneck.

14th

DUNGENESS NNR

Western Bonelli's Warbler

Having started the morning at Oare Marshes which was very quiet other then a small movement of Meadow Pipits (21) & Swallows (15) we decided to check out the West Flood when news came out of a Bonelli's Warbler sp in the trapping area at Dungeness, our minds were quickly made up and we were soon heading there.

By the time we got down there the Bonelli's had been confirmed as a Western by call !!

Great this would be a very welcome Dungeness site tick for me & a lifer for AE, plus more importantly they are great looking birds.

Unfortunately by the time we got there it had been lost to view but almost certainly still present , we started our search at it's last known location , there was a small mixed flock of Tits & Chiffs but alas no sign of the WBW with them, other birders started to appear so we split up, AE went one way & i went the other leaving the small group checking out the aera we had just left.

I managed to locate a few Chiffs & Willows including some very bright birds, then after about 20 mins i got a phone call from AE informing me he had relocated the WBW on call, i headed of past the other birders informing them AE had refound it, they joined me and eventually thanks to AE great hearing (& knowledge) we all connected with this superb Western Bonelli's Warbler .

Western Bonelli's Warbler.

We also saw a Merlin & Spotted Flycatcher in the trapping area with a constant movement of Swallows overhead.

Happy with our views of the WBW (special thanks to original finder Tom.R.) we headed off to the Rspb reserve.

Spotted Flycatcher.

RSPB

Red necked Phalarope.

The Red necked Phalarope was still present and still patrolling the same area at the back of Burrowes viewing from Dennis Hide.

There also a White-winged Black Tern (found earlier originally on Arc by MC) in front of the Dennis hide.

Presumably a different bird to the one in August ??

White-winged Black Tern.

19th

OARE  MARSHES

House Martin

Heading to Oare marshes on the 19th and along the approach road just past the Church we noticed a huge movement of House Martins.

The sky was full of them , they were also hawking low over the fields giving fantastic views , a very conservative estimate of 4000+ birds.

There was also lesser numbers of Swallows (500+) and we saw only a handful of Sand Martins later in the morning near the sea wall.

Sky full of  House Martins.

Eventually we dragged ourselves away and once on the reserve we had distant views of an Osprey on a post on the Sheppey side of the Swale, we also saw it flying over Horse sands later in the morning.

Digi-scoped Osprey.

Other highlights were 15 Cattle Egrets on the still very barren dry East Flood plus a single Wheatear also on the East flood, such a shame the way the East flood is seemingly being left to dry up and become over grown with vegetation, this used to be such a wader magnet in the autumn and a very important stop off point for them, a great habitat lost, real shame . 

HOLBOROUGH MARSH

1st winter Grey Phalarope.

 After a morning visit to Oare Marshes we were undecided what to do then news broke that a  1st winter Grey Phalarope  had been discovered on a very small pool at Holborough Marshes near Snodland.

So after a quick dash up the M2 we were soon enjoying this magical little wader.

Digi-scoped

Having a walk around.

Grey Phalarope.

We decided to have a walk around the site and saw a Red Kite , Common Sandpiper and a Kingfisher  by the river.

Kingfisher.

25th

OARE  MARSHES

Bearded Tit

A walk to Uplees on the lookout for migrants was mostly disappointing as there were very few bird's around, we did see a flock of 20+ Bearded Tits in the reedbed on the way back though which are always great to see.

Bearded Tits.

A Grey Wagtail & Water Rail at Dans Dock was good to see, we also saw a large flock of 24 Grey Heron's fly high over the West Flood.

24 Grey Herons

Grey Herons

There was also 3 Clouded Yellows & 2 Wall Browns along the sea wall.

Wall Brown.

30th

OARE   MARSHES

Water Rail

Another windy visit to Oare Marshes today didn't produce the hoped for Nutcracker or even a Yellow-browed Warbler (it's the hope that kills you).

However we did get superb views yet again of the Water Rail at Dan's Dock.

Water Rail

There was also 2 Raven's honking overhead as they flew through the reserve.

1 of 2 Raven's

News of a Yellow-browed Warbler near the car park at Reculver made up our minds for what to do for the rest of the day.

We were soon on the road and parking up on site. After about 5 mins the Yellow-browed Warbler started to call !!

With some patience  the Yellow-browed Warbler showed well, quite a bright bird with bold supercilium & wings bars easily seen.

Really like these small leaf warblers , frequently calling and giving tantalising brief  views most of the time but on the odd occasion it did show well.

Yellow-browed Warbler. Photo from Shetland in 2023.

I never managed a photo but the above photo is the closet match i could find of the sort of views we were getting.

A short sea watch from the Towers produced 10+ Gannets & 2 Common Scoters plus 3 Red Throated Divers on the sea (1 in summer plumage), there was also 2 Stonechats, Robin & a Rock Pipit on the rocks below.

 

 

Dungeness Seawatch & RSPB

                                                 DUNGENESS  SEAWATCH

                                           30th August 2026

                                      From hide : 06.45 - 08.45

                                        Wind : W  /  WSW

EUROPEAN STORM PETREL  1  WEST

(Dungeness tick)

BALEARIC SHEARWATER   9 West

FULMAR   2 west

ARCTIC SKUA  4 DP & 3 LP

GANNET  200+  west & east

KITTIWAKE  10

MED GULL  2 west

BLACK TERN  4  west

SANDWICH TERN  200+  west & east

ARCTIC TERN  1 west

COMMON TERN  200+

COMMON SCOTER  1 west

DUNLIN  1 west

SWALLOW  100+  out to sea

SAND MARTIN  50+  out to sea

 

European Storm Petrel  photo taken from Deal Pier in 2017.

                                          FISHING  BOATS

                                             13.30 - 16.00

BALEARIC SHEARWATER  7 west

ARCTIC SKUA  5 DP & 3 LP  west & east

BLACK TERN  3  west

LITTLE TERN  6  west

SANDWICH TERN  1000+  mainly west

COMMON TERN  200+ mainly west

KITTIWAKE  5Ad & 1 Juv  west

GANNET  200+  west & east

RAZORBILL  2  west

SAND MARTIN  200+ out to sea

SWALLOW  200+  out to sea

                                                                 RSPB

White-winged Black Tern

A visit to the Rspb reserve was a good decision with good views of the long staying juvenile  White-winged Black Tern in front of the Firth lookout.

There was also 4 Black Terns present giving a nice comparison.

Black Tern

There was a good selection of waders including a really smart Little Stint.

Little Stint

Looking from the picnic tables near the Dennis hide i could see a distant Spotted Redshank alongside a Great white Egret.

Great white Egret & Spotted Redshank

White-winged Black Tern.......At Stodmarsh

                                      COLLARDS  LAKE

                                           &

                                 STODMARSH

                    15th , 16th & 17th  August  2026

                                             

White-winged Black Tern

I first saw this superb bird on late Saturday (15th) afternoon on Collards Lake , relocated by MW, many thanks Martyn .W. for info much appreciated.

It was very distant but through the scope the views were good, we also saw a juv Cuckoo & 4 Great white Egrets there.

Much closer.

The White-winged Black Tern has been seen on Collards Lake & the main lake at Stodmarsh and on Sunday (16th) morning it was showing very well at Stodmarsh.

Here are a selection of photos i took :

Nice view of the under-wing

Hovering

Calling but unheard by me

Chasing insects

White-winged Black Tern.

I had another look on Monday (17th) and this time the WWBT was once again on Collards Lake , i also saw the Cuckoo again !!!

Kent Birding Highlights for July 2026

                                             6th

                                                  OARE  MARSHES

                                                                         

Bonaparte's Gull.

News that the Bonaparte's Gull had returned to Oare marshes on the 3rd July (Found by Martyn Wilson this year, well done Martyn) and remarkably has now returned for it's 14th year in a row.

I headed over there on the 6th July with AE and had superb views of this stunning bird, it was in full summer attire and looked in great condition.

There was a report of 2 Grasshopper Warblers on the reserve which would be a welcome year tick, however on listening to one of the birds near the seawatch hide AE who has a remarkable ability on bird songs & calls said in his opinion that was a Savi's Warbler !!!

Unfortunately for me i have developed tinnitus which effects my hearing which in windy conditions makes it even harder to distinguish certain songs & calls (that's my excuse anyway...), however i trust AE knowledge on these matters 100%.

I contacted Murray.W. and he said he would check it out in the morning and he messaged me to say , ' Yep that's a Savi's ' , well done Andrew .

We also had some great views of Turtle Dove & Bearded Tits.

Bearded Tit

Turtle Dove.  Photo from 2024

11th

OARE  MARSHES

Bonaparte's Gull

Another visit to Oare Marshes on the 11th produced more great views of the Bonaparte's Gull & the Savi's Warbler was still 'Reeling away', i could hear it better this time thankfully.

GODMERSHAM

It was fairly quiet at Oare Marshes so we decided to check out Godmersham, a walk up & down the road didn't produce the hoped for Spotted Flycatcher and a look over the river , which was quite low not surprisingly didn't produce any Banded Demoiselle.

So we headed to the cemetery and heard a Firecrest which showed briefly, then AE picked out 2 Spotted Flycatchers !!

Spotted Flycatcher

13th

STODMARSH

Garganey ♀ 

A brief visit to Stodmarsh and the Reedbed hide in particular was rewarded with a reasonable view of the ♀ Garganey that had been lingering in the area for sometime.
  

14th

OARE MARSHES

American Golden Plover

MW messaged me to say Geoff.B. has just found a full summer plumaged 

American Golden Plover on the East Flood.

Quick arrangments were made and i picked up MW and headed straight there, there was already a small group of birders on site on our arrival, we didn't waste time and soon had this superb wader in our scopes.

Great find GB, i believe this is only the 3rd record for the site ??!!

Here are some photos i took :

American Golden Plover & Bonaparte's Gull

Bold markings

American Golden Plover.

29th  &  30th

OARE  MARSHES

Our third American visitor of the year was this time found by Murray .W.  on the 29th July.

MW had  a tantalising view of a small wader on the 28th which he only saw briefly and couldn't quite confirm his thoughts on what it could be, however on the morning of the 29th said wader had reappeared giving MW much better , longer views and he could confirm that indeed he had found Oare Marshes 7th ever record of a 

White Rumped Sandpiper !!!

I grabbed all my birding gear and headed straight over there, unfortunately by the time i reached MW the WRS had frustratingly walked out of sight, after a tense 15 minutes or so the WRS walked back into view.

Great find Murray and thanks for the heads up !!!

The White rumped Sandpiper stayed loyal to the reedy area in the middle of the flood and was very tricky to see most of the time, however on the 30th it showed much better out in the open most of the time but still remained distant.

Here are a small selection of photos ;

White Rumped Sandpiper.

The Bonaparte's Gull is beginning to moult around the base of it's bill plus there were 16 Cattle Egret's including plenty of young birds.

Good numbers of Butterflies were around including both  Clouded Yellow &  Painted Lady.

Moulting Bonaparte's Gull

Adult Cattle Egret

Juv Cattle Egret

Clouded Yellow

Painted Lady