This week we have seen bird and visitor numbers soar here at Dungeness! It all kicked off on Sunday where a Kentish plover was spotted first thing outside Dennis' hide and the visitor centre. Suddenly, a handful of cars in the car park at 9am turned into over 50 cars within an hour. News definitely travels fast! The Kentish plover is a rarity now in the UK as it no longer breeds here. It's last breeding stronghold was at Dungeness and on the Romney Marsh. The 'Watchers' (historic wardens) Jack Tart and Fred Austin, monitored Kentish plover nests as well as stone-curlew and Arctic terns in the early 1900's, boosting the birds numbers and helping them recover from the pressures of egg collectors at the time. However, due to man-made activity and the soar of housing development on the marsh in the 1950's and 60's, the Kentish plover's breeding ground was destroyed completely.
Kentish Plover on Burrowes - Martin Casemore
As well as this we also had a hoopoe over the far side of the reserve by Denge Gully and Springfield Bridge. An exotic looking bird, hoopoes do not breed in the UK, but as many as 100 birds can turn up in spring (mostly seen as single birds) as birds migrating north to Europe from Africa overshoot and land on the south coast of England. A bee-eater was also seen hanging around over at the ARC. Over two hundred lucky visitors managed to see these birds on the day, many local but many travelling from outside of Kent to visit. By Monday morning all three birds had left us.
Hoopoe - Martin Casemore
Other fabulous birds that have visited our reserve this week include three common scoter. These may not seem like such an exciting sighting but they rarely appear on our pits at Dungeness being sea ducks and these birds are now red listed as oil spills at sea are causing severe declines in UK breeding numbers.
Common scoters - Graham Parry
Seven gorgeous black terns also made an appearance on our new Burrowes Pit islands this week too. Ocassionally these birds breed in the UK but mostly turn up on passage. Our regular volunteer in the visitor centre, Dave, took a photograph of all 7 of them flying along with some common terns. Can you spot the other birds hiding in the photo too?
Black terns - Dave Clarke
Other birds of note this week also include three red kites flying over, a honey buzzard, a spotted redshank, a nightingale, a pair of bitterns, curlew sandpiper, little stint, grasshopper warbler and turtle dove! Lets hope these amazing sightings keep coming for a good birdwatching bank holiday weekend!