I think we were all a bit shocked by the cold wet weather and freezing wind which has hit us here at Dungeness this week. However, much needed rainfall has helped raise the water levels of the pits and also wet up our fields a bit too.
Bewick's swans have arrived at Dungeness; a small group of 5 birds have been seen almost daily on the reserve. Bewick's swans spend their summers in Russia, they are the smallest swans to migrate to Europe during Autumn. They have adapted their winter diet to feed on the spoils of our harvests here so you will likely see them in agricultural fields eating root crops, cereals and grasses as well as on open water. Bewick's swans can live for up to 30 years and they mate for life. Their cygnets stay with them over their first winter so the parents can help direct them along their migration passage to Europe. More than half of adult Bewick's swans return to the same site each winter, so it is likely the swans we are seeing have returned to Dungeness year on year.
Bewick's swans at ARC - Graham Parry
We also had a brief visit from some Whooper swans earlier on in the week. It was a nasty day so they settled on ARC pits for the day, but must have flown off elsewhere because they haven't been seen since Tuesday. Egyptian goose numbers have been slowly building on Dungeness peninsular and we had 15 counted at Denge Marsh recently. Native to Africa, south of the Sahara, these birds were introduced to the UK through ornamental collections. Having escaped into the wild, they are now successfully breeding in a feral state and the UK currently has about 1,000 breeding pairs. We've also had visits from Brent geese, a fairly scarce visitor to the reserve but often seen around Britains coastline in the winter. They spend the winter feeding on eelgrass in estuaries and on crops in adjoining fields.
Egyptian geese - Dave Clarke
Pintail, wigeon and teal numbers have slowly been increasing on the reserve although we are still nowhere near our maximum count. We are finding that we see less and less wintering ducks here on the reserve, as due to warmer weather on the continent, they don't need to migrate down so far.
Pintail pair - Ben Hall
Yellow-legged and Caspian gulls are another highlight for this week. Seen frequently on Burrowes Pit, these birds have provided visitors something different to look for amongst the mass of black-backed, common and herring gulls that take up residence on our islands.