NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

It was an absolute delight to bump into this juvenile/first-winter Red-backed Shrike at the northern end of Littlestone Golf Course yesterday afternoon. It was showy and confiding, taking little notice as the local birders gathered to enjoy the spectacle. Cars brushed past the bird's roadside bush without bothering it, and some birders were able to turn up, momentarily stop the car, wind down the window and to watch the bird just feet away. It was feeding well, and, at the end of the afternoon once having regurgitated a pellet, was observed to roost deep inside its favourite bush. Still present this morning. A full account of my week's stay at Dungeness will appear later.

It's not too late to see the Littlestone Green Sand Catchflies! They are a devil to photograph, being small and no higher than the blades of grass that grow among them. I resorted to my ancient DSLR with macro lens to get something passable. Not for me the mucking around with f-stops and exposure times - just focus on one plant and claim that those that are out-of-focus around it makes the shot 'arty'. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

It has always been an ambition of mine to have my own coastal garden, not just for the birding but also for the running of a moth trap. It just so happens that I find myself staying at a friends house in Littlestone, Kent, for maybe three weeks - and the MV has made the trip with me! Luckily, the full-time garden back in Surrey has proved its worth moth-wise, so this will be no ‘chalk and cheese’ comparison. What a coastal location brings, especially on the south coast, is an increase in the chance of trapping scarce migrants. The weather isn’t conducive to migration at the moment, but things look promising at the end of the week. Highlights so far? Light Feathered Rustic, Cream-spot Tiger, Tawny Shears, Sharp-angled Peacock and Ethmia bipunctella are all species that I don’t (or rarely) encounter back home, plus Dark Spectacle, Least Black Arches, Chocolate-tip, Currant Pug and three hawk-moths - Eyed (above), Poplar and Small Elephant.

I must admit to having a soft spot for plants that are garden escapes. They could be self-seeders that have jumped over a garden wall, have had their long-dormant seed awoken by disturbance or maybe have been transported to their new home in dumped soil. How this magnificent blousy iris found its way onto the sandy ground alongside Littlestone Golf Course is anyone’s guess, but it is a truly show-stopping sight. It is one of the Bearded Irises (thanks Gill) but as to which cultivar/variety it is has yet to be established.

The Greens at Littlestone is an area of municipally-managed sandy grassland, loved by joggers, dog-walkers and botanists alike. Close by the multi-coloured pastel shaded beach huts is a small bank which, despite the heavy foot-fall, is home to thousands of Sand Catchfly plants. At least 2-3,000 are in flower at the moment, with many more in bud. It really is some show. Better images to follow.

Arrived at Dungeness at a leisurely 09.40hrs to be told that the Whiskered Tern had done a runner (or should that be flier?) Luckily I was in laissez-faire mode. The male Serin that had taken up a territory in nearby Littlestone was far more obliging, although it took quite a while to perform well, singing from a secluded perch in a large cypress? tree. Our small gathering of birders attracted friendly attention from the locals, several of whom went home with decent enough views with which to regale to the family. By late afternoon I had settled into the Meehan Road Bird Observatory, invitation only and accredited to the Bird Observatories Council because of its fine collection of single malt whiskies. I have the moth trap set up and the sky is being scanned with Mediterranean Gull the best so far. What with a gang of Red Kites floating around Kent and both Black Kite and Bee-eater not a million miles away, the sky is worth keeping an eye on.

With a nagging, cool northerly wind the birding was never going to creep above mundane, and it didn't. The beauty of Dungeness is that if the birds are a no-show then you can fall back on plants and insects - we chose the former. The sand dunes of Littlestone beckoned, with public land on the seaward side of the golf course chosen to explore. This area is well known botanically, and we were delighted to find a good number of notable species. The main target was Clustered Clover, a plant that I have failed to find here a number of times. Despite clear directions, and knowing that we were in the right place, it took an hour's searching before we had to admit defeat. Our sixty minutes of crawling around on all fours had paid off however, as some of the other clovers present were not so difficult, with Burrowing, Knotted, Birdsfoot, Rough, and Haresfoot also being recorded. There was masses of Bird's-foot (not the clover), Annual Knawel and plenty of Smooth Cat's-ear to f...

After an evening of football, Neil Young, beer, music, olives, garlic, chilli and pasta (thanks Mark!) this morning needed to be on the tranquil side. A botanical foray was called for and I was joined by Nick and Russell Gardner on a whistle-stop tour of the floral wonders of the peninsula. The observatory area yielded plenty of Yellow Vetch, Subterranean Clover and Nottingham Catchfly, whilst further out on the shingle there was plenty of Bur Chervil and Small-flowered Buttercup. A small amount of Sea Pea was in flower close to the new lighthouse. Littlestone was checked for several specialities, although it is stil early for some of them, hence only a few leaves of Sea Holly and no Sea Rocket (although we shunned the best area for this as it was knee-deep in grockles on the beach). Best of all was a fine show of at least 300 plants of Sand Catchfly (above), the raking of the site to encourage seed germination by Owen and his team paying dividends. Hare's-tail Grass wa...