Homeward bound

Last weekend was mostly about seeing birds that were on route back to breeding grounds - whether breeding grounds in the UK or other countries.

At Dungeness on Saturday there were still several Smew viewable from the Hanson ARC hide, but it was surely one of the last opportunities I’ll have of seeing a redhead female Smew... 

or a ‘white nun’ male…

… before they head off to northern European forests for the summer.

The plan for Saturday had originally been Elmley Marshes and Rainham, but Malcolm made a last minute decision [we’re talking half an hour before we left!] to switch to Dungeness, thinking that it would give us a chance of seeing some early arriving spring migrants, and possibly the Penduline Tits reported there earlier in the week. As it turned out, the Pendulines didn’t show, but that aside - good choice Malcolm!

Our first ‘incomer’ was a Firecrest in scrub near the Christmas Dell hide. We had the most incredible views of this normally skulking tiny bird because its behaviour was more like that of a flycatcher – repeatedly launching itself into the air to take an insect and then landing on a branch or bush for a few seconds (which, luckily, were still leafless) before flitting into lower vegetation, obviously to ready itself for its next appearance.

And later in the afternoon, while on the beach near the power station for some sea watching we learned that two more early migrants were in the vicinity. It took us a while to find them but we eventually did, and what a welcome sight it was to see the first Wheatear of the year, and a Black Redstart bobbing up and down in the garden of the house next door to the lighthouse …

The next day, a morning walk around RSPB the Lodge, Sandy [with Beds Birders], and particularly time spent in the hide, gave close up views of Siskins…

and Lesser Redpolls...

… and best of all, a couple of Mealy Redpolls (unfortunately, didn’t get any photos of those). I hadn’t seen this larger, northern species of Redpoll before, or at least not such that I could be certain of the identification, but when you have the Beds bird recorder pointing them out - that’s a tick.

On the way back from Sandy we finished our birding weekend with some birds undoubtedly leaving Britain soon for their Scandinavian home lands - 100+ Waxwings at G&M Growers in Upper Caldecotte. The sound of their trilling calls filled the air and several times large groups flew over our heads to berry-laden bushes of the other side of the car park – where they ravenously gobbled down as many berries as they could before flying back to taller trees. Stocking up for the journey ahead I guess.