The past few days have been wild and windy here at Dungeness, very different from last weeks weather! However it looks like the wind is helping migrants on their journey here with swallows, house martins and sand martins all seen over Burrowes Pit yesterday.
The ring-necked duck might be here to stay as he has developed a fondness for a female tufted duck on Cooks pool, so we shall see what the future brings for this slightly odd couple!
One of our volunteers, Andrew Norman, wrote a piece from his visit this week:
The weather seems to have transformed compared to last week, so photos were few and far between! But that’s not to say that there aren’t things to talk about. The Easter holidays are coming up fast, so preparations are taking place in the visitor centre.
A black-necked grebe was visible from Dennis’ hide, but it was too busy with its diving for a good, detailed look. An as-yet unidentified, somewhat large bird of prey was seen along the entrance track, being buffeted by the ferocious winds – poor chap!
Also in the area were a few oystercatchers, seen near the ARC viewing screen; they were very flighty and vocal, so it could well be that romance is in the air for these little characters. Fingers crossed!
Image: Oystercatcher - Andrew Norman
Other happenings on the reserve:
Other wildlife sightings this week include a couple of large toads ambling across the entrance track - this is a fairly unusual sight for us as we more likely see our resident marsh frogs (who don't appear to have woken up yet!)
The long-eared owls have been seen on odd occasions this week, but sightings are fairly temperamental. They are probably due to leave us any time soon, we've been so privileged to have them stick around for the winter again this year.
There have been sightings of a ring ouzel, firecrests, wheatears and a redstart on the reserve this week, so migration is now in full swing!
The hooded merganser has also been seen occasionally around the Hookers pit area. Male and female smew, goldeneye and pintails have all been seen around the reserve.
Image: Pintail pair - Ben Hall (rspb-images.com)
Upcoming events:
Male bitterns have been heard already practicing their booms on the reserve ready to start impressing the females, so it must only mean one thing - it's time for breakfast!
Join us on an early morning walk on Saturday 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd of April to try to see and hear bitterns at the best time of the day. The walk will be rounded off with a tasty breakfast - don't worry, we're not cooking the bitterns!
Furthermore, the Easter holidays will be upon us next week and we will be starting our Easter egg hunts around the reserve again. Pop in any time to give it a go! If you need something a bit extra to keep the kids busy this Easter, then book onto one of our Wild Families events. We will be doing all sorts of fun things such as pond dipping, den building and bug hunting!
Please visit our events page for more information and give the reserve a call on 01797 320588 to book your place.