Wrong notebook
My late-May Dungeness break really took off on the birding front yesterday. Shortly after dawn a singing Icterine Warbler was located, and nearby up to seven Marsh Warblers competed for attention. The Serin that flew over calling barely got a look. A small area of reed/scrub was then checked, where three superb Bluethroats entertained us for half an hour, one of which stayed in view, singing away, for at least 10 minutes. After finding a small flock of Hawfinches, an area of wetland was scoped, yielding a Garganey, Ruff, a pair of Black-necked Grebes and 14 loafing Spoonbill, whilst the nearby beach, apart from breeding Little Terns, hosted up to 10 Kentish Plovers, including three chicks. And there were plenty of Turtle Doves on show. It is rare indeed to have had such a fine day at Dungeness...
...oh, hold on... wrong notebook. All the above was in Northern France, all within a 20 minute drive of Calais. The French birder is spoilt for choice as our day trip yesterday showed. With a bit more luck we could easily have added Honey-buzzard, Crested Tit and Golden Oriole. Only a brief drive down the coast would have added Savi's Warbler, Night Heron, Melodious Warbler, and all the species mentioned are not on passage, they are breeding! Want to know where all our birds have gone? They're in France!
...oh, hold on... wrong notebook. All the above was in Northern France, all within a 20 minute drive of Calais. The French birder is spoilt for choice as our day trip yesterday showed. With a bit more luck we could easily have added Honey-buzzard, Crested Tit and Golden Oriole. Only a brief drive down the coast would have added Savi's Warbler, Night Heron, Melodious Warbler, and all the species mentioned are not on passage, they are breeding! Want to know where all our birds have gone? They're in France!
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