November 14th 2020 : Hythe in Kent
Love the Purple colour on the feathers.
Purple Sandpiper.
With Covid-19 lockdown in force i was abit confused on how far you could travel so early in the month on the 14th i headed to Hythe to try and see the Glaucous Gull.
Whilst looking for the Glaucous Gull i also enjoyed fantastic views of 2 Purple Sandpipers on the rocks, in the above photo of the bird sleeping it's worth enlarging the photo to see the purple colouration on the feathers.
I had no luck with the Glaucous Gull so headed to Dungeness for a 'Seawatch' ,
Dungeness ' Seawatch'
Great Skua .
An hour & a half sea watch from the fishing boats was very productive , 4 Great Skuas , 1000+ Gannets, 250+ Kittiwakes , a ♂ Merlin in off were all great to see but the highlight was a superb Sooty Shearwater .
Sooty Shearwater.
Plenty of Razorbills & Guillemots were seen as was 1♂ 3♀ Common Scoter.
Common Scoter.
I headed back to Hythe and this time i got very brief views of the Glaucous Gull in fading light.
Record shot of Glaucous Gull.
November 21st , 23rd & 25th : Kingsdown
FIRST RECORD FOR KENT : CRAG MARTIN
Needless to say i really enjoyed this bird , i have been lucky enough to have seen Crag Martin in the UK before however to see one in Kent is absolutely fantastic.
Here are a selection of photos from all 3 visits :
1st winter Crag Martin
November 28th : Swalecliffe
2 Slavonian Grebes.
Really pleased to catch up with the 2 Slavonian Grebes at Swalecliffe , i also saw several Red Throated Divers & ♂ & ♀ Red Breasted Merganser.
From here i popped around to Hampton Pier and saw a roosting Purple Sandpiper & another Red throated Diver on the sea.
Roosting Purple Sandpiper.
News of the Crag Martin still being present but now relocated to Samphire Hoe was tempting me all day so i finally gave into temptation and went for yet another look at this superb bird.
Crag Martin.
Well that concludes my November Kent birding highlights fingers crossed December has one or two surprises in store to.
I would just like to say although i have done several trips through the lockdown period and i have only ventured approx 30 mins from home (not including Dungeness which in hindsight was probably to far to go) and i have maintained social distancing on every trip (although that proved challenging at times), hope everyone stays safe .
