Thousands or more

Although I'm not rich and although I'm not poor
I'm as happy as those that's got thousands or more,
Thousands or more, thousands or more, thousands or more,
I'm as happy as those that's got thousands or more.

A real rush job down to Dungeness between the school runs....so this didn't really allow much time anywhere.....obviously a return visit will be required at some point....

I decided to go the reserve first for the Long Eared Owls roosting....as soon as I turned in to the drive a car parked on the right alerted me to looking for the Ring Necked Duck....which immediately presented itself right at the edge of the water amongst a flock of Coot....another birder there said he had had to wait for quite some time as it worked its way from the other end of the water where a large number of Wigeon were.....

At that moment a number of Lapwings went up and a bird of prey landed a little way off...a Peregrine...nice...

At the visitor centre it was revealed that the owls hadn't been seen for a few days and the only other things of note were on either the pit in front of the centre or viewable from the road....so....no point going in really....

Was just about to leave when a white duck flew from the back of the pit....I managed to get views of it between hillocks of screening...

male Smew

...this was definitely one of the hoped for birds and with few being reported there was no guarantee....

I tried for a Slavonian Grebe on New Diggings along the causeway but failed....

I decided to make a brief stop at the Kerton Road triangle....with the hope of catching up with a Dartford Warbler...failed again, though no real surprise as its a vast area and I didn't have enough time to give it really...however...a Stonechat showed up well...

A walk out to the fishing boats gained a Great Black-backed Gull....though I was really trying to find Caspian Gull.  I did find a probably one, but I'm not prepared to put it down for one without better knowledge...and needing someone there who knows what they are looking at....

With time being swallowed up it was a call at the patch to spend an hour or so searching through the gulls...and wow....how many gulls...I haven't been for a while so its always amazing to see this fabulous spectacle.....

Out on the water, or just above it, were hundreds of gulls...on the beach were hundreds of gulls....Thousands or More....

In among the flyers were Kittiwake and an Eider drifting around...and in the roost on the beach...

1st Winter Iceland Gull (standing behind

central seated bird)

A Red Throated Diver passed by some distance out.....but it was time to go...

A five minute stop on the way home at Scotney GP produced a Ringed Plover....