Over the last few weeks we have been seeing a great number of wading birds and beat a record for number of redshank counted at once. We had 328 redshank last week which beat the previous record of 151 in 1977. 60 greenshank were seen and approximately 30 spotted redshank were recorded over the reserve too. About 10 or so wood sandpiper are currently on the reserve as well as little ringed plover, black- and bar-tailed godwits and a large number of golden plover too. Amongst the flurry of waders on that rainy day we also had two temminck's stints pop in.
Redshank - Graham Parry
Greenshank - Dave Clarke
Wet and miserable weather is sometimes very good for bird watching. Birds which are on migration will be put off flying in strong winds and rain and will land in a safe place to rest and feed for a while, before continuing their journey. Dungeness is an excellent place for this to happen so even when the day is grey and dull, it is sometimes still worth a visit to a nature reserve!
On the drier and calmer days, however, you are more likely to see our resident, smaller birds such as the bearded tit. These birds, although active during soggier weather, are less likely to be seen. They are so well camouflaged within the reedbed, that a bit of wind rustling the reeds will help disguise them even more! This beautiful photograph was captured by regular visitor, Graham Parry. He describes this moment so perfectly, enjoying watching the behaviour of this young bird and just shows how special our relationship is with wildlife!
"This youngster was standing on a bullrush head at Dungeness RSPB when he noticed a mating pair of Red Cardinal beetles on a reed in front of him he watched them for a while and then with no subtlety at all he ate them."