Monday, April 15, 2013
Dungeness
Saturday was a washout. We sat in the car eating our lunch in the ARC pit car park, watching a tree sparrow, along with chaffinches and reed buntings, flew between a bramble patch and a feeder.
Sunday began with light drizzle. We went to the RSPB reserve where half the round walk was closed because of flooding and the pits were so brimful that all the islands were submerged. However we saw two yellow wagtails and two firecrests; nice surprises because as usual we avoided reading the sightings board while passing through the information centre. (The way the RSPB leads you through the shop both coming and going is reminiscent of IKEA.)
By this time the sun had come out and it was a fabulous day so we returned to the beach. We saw our first swallow and our first butterfly - a Small Tortoiseshell, I believe. A Buff-tailed bumblebee was on the wing.
This strange shingle headland is dotted with structures in various states of dilapidation - but it's photogenic dilapidation, and people wander around with cameras or sketch books to capture some of it before it vanishes for good. And some of them even manage to get the horizon level.
As Greger remarked: "Really, the place is a mess." Yes, but (and he agrees) it's an interesting mess!
Several Sandwich terns flew past. Six wheatears were seen on the beach along with two ringed plovers and two black redstarts.
Several of these marine mammals were feeding close in to shore. We could never get a good look at their faces but from one glimpse I'd say they appeared rather blunt-nosed. They were fairly small and I think they were harbour porpoises.
It was hard to tear ourselves away from this atmospheric place but it was time to go home. A nice weekend.
// posted by Christine @ 2:02 AM 
