Fallen chalk and fallen wood

I told them...... I said it was more dangerous to fence off the rifle range so that the path was forced along the foot of the cliffs. And look what happened:
The MoD risk assessment obviously got it wrong, and there could be birders or dogwalkers under there.
Or indeed James Bond and his girl Holly Goodhead, who in Moonraker are sunbathing at the foot of Kingsdown cliffs (no, honestly!) but the evil Dr Drax sets off a cliff fall from which 007 emerges miraculously unscathed.
A likely consequence of this fall could be the total closure of the area which would be good for wildlife but a shame for me. At the moment the path is taped off, a precaution which seems to be being universally ignored.

In other news:
A young female stonechat was seen on the range.
The highlight of a trip to Oare was the huge flock of Brent geese (estimated at 1300 birds):

On the botanical front, butcher's broom is blooming....
...... sweet violets are perfuming!....
..... and this stork's-bill could be sticky or sea - any experts out there?
Getting down to ground level, a pleasant stroll around Park Wood failed to find lesser peckers, but while idly picking off bark from fallen branches a whole new ecosytem was uncovered.....

millipedes

centipedes

pillipedes

round-mouthed snails Pomatia elegans

...and a glow-worm larva, the first record of the species in this wood, apparently.

They're all lovely in their own little way.

I declare the Botany Season open!

The sight of the first coltsfoot flowers of the year is always heartening, especially as this year it came after a week's covering of snow. Mind you, it was darned cold looking for them so that's a reminder that there's plenty of winter left yet.
Looking back at my records, the first blooms in earlier years were found on 24 Feb 2011, 27 Feb 2010 and 17 Jan(!) 2009.

I wondered what hardy insect would be out and about, pollenating these early flowers, but when the photos were enlarged a fly could be seen doing just that, at 2 degrees with a cold north wind.
Other flowers have been open for a while, including gorse of course, awaiting warmer days when bugs and bees emerge from their crevices like groundhogs, blinking in the short-day light.

The blooms of common gorse are in full swing, but while lurking around the industrial areas of Dover's Western docks (OK I was lost) a surprise was found....... dwarf gorse - cool.

So far as I know this is botanically unrecorded in east kent, and it's only known in a handful of places in west Kent, so I were a bit chuffed.

Local birders will know why I was at the Western Docks....... there's a gull there.

I hadn't previously seen an Iceland Gull, let alone a Kumlien's variety, so I guess that's two lifers in one bird. Fortunately a bucketload of scraps was provided to bring it and the other gulls in, and good views were had as it floated on the stiff westerly breeze.

The breeze stiffened firther on Sunday, this time into the cold northerly quarter, so why I decided to visit Foreness I can't imagine. A stupid decision, especially as there were precious few birds to be seen. "Nobody here but us curlews" as they might say.

A little egret was in a warmer place, the River Dour by Morrisons, attracting admiring glances from passing shoppers.

Bossenden Wood

Bossenden Wood is at the western end of the Canterbury circle woods known as the Blean. In May 1835 a series of events culminated in the Battle of Bossenden Wood when an insurrection against the Poor Law ended with eight dead, and subsequent concern about the use of the army in civil matters led to the formation of a police force.
This weekend the Wood was peaceful, under a blue sky with no wind, and cold covering of snow - perfect conditions to watch the birdlife of a British wood in winter.
The number of 'pecker holes showed how rich the wood is in birds, and the almost constant flitting and calling around us confirmed that there is a greater density of birds here than in most woods. It's a thickly wooded place with little evidence of active management but the place is alive.
An hour's walk gave good views of almost all the birds expected in a wood - the usual tits, treecreepers, nuthatches,
plenty of goldcrests and a firecrest, song thrushes, blackbirds and a redwing, green and great 'peckers and - yes - at least one lesser spotted woodpecker, which kindly stopped its relentless search for food to have a rest and a preen in the treetops.
"Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is one of the most strongly declining bird species in Europe, having decreased at an annual rate of 7% during 1980–2005" (PECBMS 2007, 2009) and the rate of decline has been positively correlated with the incidence of grey squirrel dreys, although the direct cause and effect has yet to be established.
The healthy bird population in this wood has not gone unnoticed by the local photographers, who have baited a convenient log with nuts, and I have to admit to borrowing it for my own purpose, adding a stash of my own and then waiting with frozen feet until something showed up.
First up was a male chaffinch, unimpressed with the unsuitable fare on offer. A blue tit and great tit pairing visited frequently (why are they together?) while a more conventional pair of blue tits gambolled around nearby.
The main target, however, was nuthatch, one of which appeared on a 15-minute circuit, dashing onto the log and then dashing off again, leaving photographic confusion in its wake. Eventually though, it lived up to its name (an old word meaning pecker-of nuts-from-a-crevice-in-a-piece-of-wood - "nuthacker") and stayed around long enough for some portraits.
Other fascinating facts about nuthtches can be found here.

Early signs of spring have mostly been snuffed out by the snow, but hazel catkins remain
with a few female flowers showing crimson in the black and white world.


A dusk walk around Stodmarsh was planned to see mumurations of starlings - one single solitary one was seen (not murmering at all) but plenty of chacka-ing fieldfares flew in from nearby orchards, an obligatory woodcock was flushed and flew around us in a circle, while half a dozen marsh harriers circled over their chosen roost in the reeds, sometimes landing in the small trees.
The sound of footprints in the reeds indicated an unseen heron or maybe bittern, waking a group of bearded tits that pinged in irritation. Squeals of water rails showed they were around, and one scurried along the path like Secret Squirrel, keeping its head down and it won't be seen.
The sun set over the frozen lake, marked with fox-prints showing the constant threat to ducks whose safety is compromised in such conditions. Jupiter shone and Mars glowed, at the end of a perfect day.
And just to finish it...... a gig with Fairport Convention in the good company of friends - lovely.

Displacement activity

The snow dumped on us last night, and this corner seemed to get as much as anywhere for a change. Powdery snow drifted around leaving some places almost bare while others (including the roads) were deep. The patterns picked out the contours of the beach well as the wind whipped across it in the morning.
Buzzards and ravens have been seen regularly from the A2 around Lydden, and this week there's been an influx of more birds into Kent, with vast flocks of wood pigeons and smaller numbers of redwings and blackbirds, displaced by the cold weather on the continent - unfortunately it has caught up with them here now.

In Walmer Castle paddock a snipe was probing through the snow in a thinly covered area, seeking food.
The countryside has taken on its customary soft look in the snow, with flakes settling on every surface.
And on the promenade the photographers preyed on the photogenic phishing boats - Julie's my favourite, especially as she shelters me from the wind when seawatching.
In such cold times, there's nothing better than a warm pub to displace yourself to, and I can recommend the Just Reproach, the new micropub in Deal which brings a jovial conviviality and good beer to the town, which is already blessed with gems like The Ship and The Berry, where an impressive selection of ales can be found (as well as a group of birders, but don't let that put you off).

A link from the RSPB's Facebook page:
a Bulgarian birding site shows photos of a displaced bittern on a window ledge - that would have been a good Gardenwatch record.

Sprattus sprattus sprattus

A little Birder told me that "the sea is alive with auks!" on Saturday, but as luck would have it I was on the train to London - ain't that always the way!
By Sunday, however, the sea was still alive with auks, and they formed a line of black and white about 400 yards offshore from Kingsdown along the cliffs towards St Margarets, although strangely none were to be seen from Deal pier.
About three quarters of the auks appeared to be Razorbills, constantly on the move to take advantage of the food on offer, while Red-throated Divers joined in the fun and about 170 Gannets exhibited their own specialised way of fishing.It seems that the winter sprat-shoals have arrived in force from their spawning-grounds and have attracted the various predators, including local fishermen who anchored in the middle of the rafts of auks - sprats are now on sale on the beach at £1 a bag, and very tasty too.

The mussel trawlers have departed having done their damage to the seabed, and it remains to be seen how their activities will affect local fish-stocks and catches. The local press has dubbed this "Mussel Wars" which is going over the top a bit, but the livelihood of the last remaining commercial fisherman in Deal is at stake.

Among the dull common Rock Pipits on the rifle range appeared a rarer bird - a Meadow Pipit, the first to be seen this year as they seem very scarce.
Some of the sprats were cut up and used to feed the Turnstones, of which there were 13 in total, including a variety of mangled legs. Greenie has called them "Sea Pigeons" which is apt, but they remind me more of starlings in the way they scuttle around and fly.
There seem to be plenty of Common Buzzards around, including a dark one that stands sentinel between the Lydden turnings beside the A2. A much lighter one was seen just to the west of there, looking very debonair.

Son of Stumpy

Still the sun shines on our mild winter..... it's a pleasure to be out. The promenade of Walmer and Deal is now my chosen habitat with the gulls, pigeons and turnstones which live on the beach and the pier each winter.
Turnstones breed in the high arctic, of course, and migrate as far south as South Africa - but many seem to winter successfully on our coasts so you wonder why some travel on all that extra way.
The use of geolocators has shown that turnstones that migrate down the Pacific coast fly even farther.... one was recorded travelling from Siberia to Australia for 27,000 km (it went the pretty way) and from Australia to Taiwan non-stop for 7,600km.

One of the turnstones on Deal pier has a damaged foot, but no! it's not the famous Stumpy, who had a damaged right foot. This one has a bad leftie, so has been dubbed Son of Stumpy.
I've got nothing against his right leg, but unfortunately, nor has he.

It seems that having a damaged foot is an occupational hazard for turnstones, as many such-afflicted birds are seen around the coast. This is not such a problem for those scavenging on rocks and sand, as the species use their beaks to forage here. On shingle, however, they seem to use their feet to move the stones in the search for bugs and detritus, and this is not easy if you have only one. Consequently, birds in this habitat make the most of nearby food sources - namely food dropped on the pier.

In Whitstable, the turnstones are tame enough to beg for scraps around the tables of the harbour restaurant - have they no shame?

Last week a fleet of trawlers from Kings Lynn circled offshore, scraping the seabed for small mussels which are then shipped to Spain to be grown on. The local fishermen here are not pleased that our patch is being damaged by these incomers.

On a walk around the block at Kingsdown, taking in the wood, the cliffs and the golf course, few birds were seen, the only ones of note being a few skylarks singing invisibly high. No Corn Buntings, Yellowhammers or Meadow Pipits at all.

The much-discussed unseasonal flowering has subsided with the colder weather, but a swathe of Fumitory brightened up the day.

New Year Trundle

The traditional New Year trundle around the south of Kent was blessed by fine sunny weather, and is fully reported by Steve, the Greater Kent Birder, here. The other member of the party, Pete, is twice Steve's size so will henceforth be known as the Greatest Kent Birder. This accolade is a blatant attempt at flattery so I can use some of his photos.

The day started well with the friendly neighbourhood Great Northern Diver in Dover Harbour, accompanied by plenty of Guillimots and Razorbills, and the strange sight of Gannets fishing within the harbour walls, and often flying close overhead.

The recent winds had presumably blown the birds from the North Sea and down the coast, and they were sheltering in the safe haven.

Down to Dungeness via Walland Marsh (Bewicks Swans, Tree Sparrows), and a scan across the sea showed large numbers of sea birds were sheltering here too, in the lee of the point. Closest to the shore were Great Crested Grebes, then a little further out large numbers of Guilliauks with a few Red-Throated Divers fishing among them, then 60-70 Gannets diving on shoals - it could have been the Farne Islands.Birds everywhere on the water; no new day-ticks but we enjoyed the sight as long as the cold kept out. The next tick was a Caspian Gull......
.... then the the RSPB centre to watch Tree Sparrows on the feeders.

Adding Great White Egret, Bittern (yay) and a distant Long-Tailed Duck at the ARC pit, we moved on to Pett where there was little to excite but Brents and White-fronts.

As the sun sank in the west, it was time to watch raptors coming in to roost at The Woolpack -up to eight Marsh Harriers at a time circled in the fading light, with a total of at least 20 birds, but disappointingly no Hen Harriers. A Peregrine and an alleged Merlin flew through, though.

A good days birding with fine company and memorable sightings.

Back home........

The first addition to my non-avian pan-list for the year was a house-tick of this critter, which seems to be a False Black Widow Steatoda nobilis which has brought its family to live by the back door, and lurks there at night.

So the New Year starts.... borrowed camera, broken bins, sunny weather followed by gales and torrential rain......

But life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

Let it be a Happy New Year, whatever it brings.