{"id":7958,"date":"2024-03-04T14:45:05","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T14:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/?p=7958"},"modified":"2024-04-01T13:26:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T13:26:00","slug":"birds-march-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/birds-march-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Birds: March 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Sunday 31st<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Highlights on New Downs were 12 Pintails, a Great Crested Grebe, and a Merlin. The <strong>Cattle Egret<\/strong> remained at the Observatory.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Saturday 30th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">RSPB Worth marshes produced an adult Little Gull, eight Egyptian Geese, a Ruff, and a White Wagtail, whilst 23 Chiffchaffs were in full song on the Green Wall.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8141\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8141\" style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-8141 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Little-Gull-Mar24-AML.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1066\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Little-Gull-Mar24-AML.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Little-Gull-Mar24-AML-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Little-Gull-Mar24-AML-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Little-Gull-Mar24-AML-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Little-Gull-Mar24-AML-1536x1023.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8141\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Little Gull by A.Lipczynski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Friday 29th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Despite the fairly horrible conditions over the last few days it was pleasing to report our first Sedge Warbler on RSPB Worth marshes and Common Tern offshore.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Wednesday 27th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A Great Crested Grebe was fresh in on RSPB Worth marshes. Though common offshore, this species has always been rare inland at Sandwich Bay. However, the appearance of individuals on various water bodies in the area seems to be becoming a regular spring occurrence. Perhaps we don't have to wait long until our first breeding record? Two Little Ringed Plovers, two <strong>Cattle Egrets<\/strong>, and a <strong>Great White Egret<\/strong>\u00a0were also on the marshes and 48 Siskins flew over.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Don't forget tomorrow evening is our special South Africa themed event. John Buckingham will be presenting The Magnificent Western Cape and all funds will go to the development of the Jubilee and Dragonfly Pond Fields. This is your<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> last chance to get tickets<\/span>, they can be bought online <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/book-events\/\">HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Tuesday 26th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Little Ringed Plover flock continues to build on RSPB Worth marshes with a minimum of eight birds there today. Two Ruffs, one Dunlin, and two Egyptian Geese were also on the floods. A few Siskins and Ravens were flying around, a Swallow was near the Chequers, and there was a further increase in Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps in the area.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Sunday 24th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Three Little Ringed Plovers were <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">on RSPB Worth marshes and a Red Kite flew north over the Observatory, where at least one <strong>Cattle Egret<\/strong> still remained.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8118\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8118\" style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-8118 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Shoveler-Mar24-SNorth.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Shoveler-Mar24-SNorth.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Shoveler-Mar24-SNorth-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Shoveler-Mar24-SNorth-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Shoveler-Mar24-SNorth-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Shoveler-Mar24-SNorth-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8118\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shovelers by S.North<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Saturday 23rd<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Four Red Kites flew north and over on RSPB Worth marshes there were six Pintails, a Water Pipit, and three Blackcaps. Singles of Willow Warbler and Merlin were on the Estate again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Friday 22nd<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Estate produced a fine male Merlin, five <strong>Cattle Egrets<\/strong>, 16 Chiffchaffs, one Blackcap, and one Willow Warbler with a handful of Linnets and Siskins heading north and seven Black-tailed Godwits high overhead. A Swallow was also in Pegwell Bay.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8108\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8108\" style=\"width: 1280px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-8108 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Linnet-Mar24-SReynaert-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Linnet-Mar24-SReynaert-1.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Linnet-Mar24-SReynaert-1-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Linnet-Mar24-SReynaert-1-1024x682.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Linnet-Mar24-SReynaert-1-768x512.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8108\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Linnet by S.Reynaert<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Thursday 21st<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There were 70 Sanderlings, 17 Turnstones, and a Wheatear on Prince's Beach whilst six <strong>Cattle Egrets<\/strong>, three Bar-tailed Godwits, and a few Blackcaps were new in on RSPB Worth marshes. Of interest, was a striking Stonechat at Dickson's Corner showing a broad white collar, extensive white panel on the wing, and large white rump, all of which are usually features of the Continental subspecies, <em>S.r.rubicola<\/em>, and can be easily confused with the rare eastern species, Siberian Stonechat <em>S.maurus<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8102\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8102\" style=\"width: 1100px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-8102 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/image0-11.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1100\" height=\"1042\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/image0-11.jpeg 1100w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/image0-11-300x284.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/image0-11-1024x970.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/image0-11-768x728.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8102\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">'Continental' Stonechat by I.Nash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Wednesday 20th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yesterday's Little Ringed Plover was still present on RSPB Worth marshes, as was the Wheatear on the Estate just south of Sandilands. Two Red Kites headed north in the late morning sunshine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With Spring now well on it's way we should see more Blackcaps and Wheatears arrive in the next few weeks, as well as the first Sand Martins, Willow Warblers, and Sedge Warblers. Garganey, Redstart, and Ring Ouzel are all possible and if we're <em>really<\/em> lucky then early migrants such as Alpine Swift and Great Spotted Cuckoo may drop in.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8097\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8097\" style=\"width: 2513px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-8097 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pied-Wagtail-Mar24-GLee.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2513\" height=\"1831\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pied-Wagtail-Mar24-GLee.jpg 2513w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pied-Wagtail-Mar24-GLee-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pied-Wagtail-Mar24-GLee-1024x746.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pied-Wagtail-Mar24-GLee-768x560.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pied-Wagtail-Mar24-GLee-1536x1119.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pied-Wagtail-Mar24-GLee-2048x1492.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2513px) 100vw, 2513px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8097\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pied Wagtail by G.Lee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Tuesday 19th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A Little Ringed Plover on RSPB Worth marshes was another new spring arrival. Singles of White Wagtail and Water Pipit and at least five <strong>Cattle Egrets<\/strong> were also present. Six Pintails were still on New Downs plus a Bar-tailed Godwit and a Green Sandpiper.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Monday 18th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Three Wheatears on the Estate were our first records of this smart spring migrant. There was also a Woodcock in the Oasis, four <strong>Tree Sparrows<\/strong> still in their favoured spot behind the Asparagus fields, and six <strong>Cattle Egrets<\/strong> at the Observatory. There was another concerted movement of birds of prey with <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>39<\/strong> Buzzards and three Red Kites north overhead. RSPB Worth marshes contributed with three Bearded Tits and three additional <strong>Cattle Egrets<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8083\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8083\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-8083 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/image0-10.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/image0-10.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/image0-10-300x225.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8083\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wheatear by R.Rackliffe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Saturday 16th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A surprisingly busy session of seawatching produced our first <strong>Slavonian Grebe<\/strong> of the year, singles of both <strong>Black-throated Diver<\/strong> and <strong>Great Northern Diver<\/strong>, a <strong>Shag<\/strong>, and small numbers of <em>intermedius<\/em> Lesser Black-backed Gulls. A <strong>Great White Egret<\/strong> and two Ruffs were on RSPB Worth marshes and late morning raptor passage saw three Red Kites, 24 Buzzards, and a Marsh Harrier head north.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Friday 15th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Today's highlights on the Estate included five <strong>Cattle Egrets<\/strong>, a Water Rail, nine Chiffchaffs, a Siskin, and a Bullfinch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8068\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8068\" style=\"width: 2480px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-8068 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Observatory-and-Flood-Mar24-JBuckingham-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2480\" height=\"1812\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Observatory-and-Flood-Mar24-JBuckingham-2.jpg 2480w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Observatory-and-Flood-Mar24-JBuckingham-2-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Observatory-and-Flood-Mar24-JBuckingham-2-1024x748.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Observatory-and-Flood-Mar24-JBuckingham-2-768x561.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Observatory-and-Flood-Mar24-JBuckingham-2-1536x1122.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Observatory-and-Flood-Mar24-JBuckingham-2-2048x1496.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2480px) 100vw, 2480px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8068\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Observatory and surrounding wetland by J.Buckingham<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Thursday 14th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Knot was still showing off to everyone on Restharrow Scrape and 14 Mediterranean Gulls dropped in among the Black-headed Gulls. A White Wagtail was seen south of the Sailing Club and a few Siskins flew south. Just after midday a <strong>Waxwing<\/strong> flew over Stonar calling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Wednesday 13th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Knot remained on Restharrow Scrape and performed well just in front of the first hide. A 'small' ringtail Harrier flew over the Observatory early on but evaded identification and subsequent searches, with the five <strong>Cattle Egrets<\/strong> still cavorting around the flooded fields in the vicinity. Meanwhile two <strong>Great White Egrets<\/strong> were on Willow Farm, viewable from the Drove, and four Firecrests were in the Gorse and Bramble nearby.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8055\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8055\" style=\"width: 1440px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-8055 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Knot-Mar24-PColtman.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1440\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Knot-Mar24-PColtman.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Knot-Mar24-PColtman-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Knot-Mar24-PColtman-1024x640.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Knot-Mar24-PColtman-768x480.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8055\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Knot by P.Coltman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Tuesday 12th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The day was mostly rained off though a Knot on Restharrow Scrape was a very unusual sighting. There was also lots of activity overnight on the Nocmig recordings and it included an early <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Stone-curlew<\/strong><\/span> over Stonar.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">An oil spill just off the coast has been in the news in the last few days. At the moment only small amounts have washed up but there have been a few reports of oiled marine life. <strong>If you see any large deposits or affected animals please report this to DDC at 01304 821199.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Monday 11th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The day was highlighted by the movement of Brent Geese offshore, with at least 317 logged flying north, plus three Red-breasted Mergansers. Another 422 Brent Geese were also in Pegwell Bay. The low cloud cover also meant light passage of 12 Meadow Pipits, two Fieldfares, 56 Redwings, 162 Starlings, 52 Chaffinches, and ten Lesser Black-backed Gulls overhead. There were also double-figures of Song Thrushes on the Estate and over 150 Redwings on the Green Wall.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Saturday 9th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A pleasant walk on New Downs produced a good selection including two Bearded Tits, two Egyptian Geese, and seven Pintails but RSPB Worth marshes struck gold with an early drake <strong>Garganey<\/strong> on Blue Pigeons pools. The 60+ White-fronted Geese, <strong>Great White Egret<\/strong>, Ruffs, and Black-tailed Godwits were all still present.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Friday 8th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Two Ruffs and 12 Black-tailed Godwits were new in on RSPB Worth marshes with <span style=\"color: #000000;\">seven Pintails still present from the wintering flock.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8029\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8029\" style=\"width: 1983px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-8029 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mediterranean-Gull-Mar24-GLee-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1983\" height=\"1540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mediterranean-Gull-Mar24-GLee-2.jpg 1983w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mediterranean-Gull-Mar24-GLee-2-300x233.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mediterranean-Gull-Mar24-GLee-2-1024x795.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mediterranean-Gull-Mar24-GLee-2-768x596.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mediterranean-Gull-Mar24-GLee-2-1536x1193.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1983px) 100vw, 1983px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8029\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mediterranean Gull by G.Lee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Thursday 7th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Movements of 40 Chaffinches south, a Reed Bunting north, and a Skylark out to sea all indicated spring migration in action. There was also a light scattering of Chiffchaffs and Redwings across the Estate, possible newly-arrived, plus six <strong>Cattle Egrets<\/strong>. Two <strong>Great White Egrets<\/strong> were seen, one on RSPB Worth marshes and the other on New Downs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Wednesday 6th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>BITTERN<\/strong><\/span> on New Downs was the highlight of the day. Despite being regular in the Stour Valley it is always a rare find here. Singles of Bearded Tit and Pintail were also present. Adult Kittiwake in the wader roost at the Point was odd whilst a Swallow was across the river in Pegwell Bay. RSPB Worth marshes provided 52 White-fronted Geese, a Rock Pipit, and two Water Pipits. Five <strong>Cattle Egrets<\/strong> were at the Observatory.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Tuesday 5th<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">After yesterday's report on Spring birds it was back to the Winter birds to provide interest. The flock of 62 White-fronted Geese were fairly mobile over RSPB Worth marshes and a Water Pipit was still present on the floods. The two <strong>Cattle Egrets<\/strong> were in the fields around the Observatory building.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There's still just about time to book yourself onto tomorrow's guided walk around Denge Wood where we will be looking for Marsh Tit, Brambling, Siskin, Redpoll, Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Woodpeckers, and may be even Goshawk and Hawfinch if we're lucky. There are also upcoming walks to Godmersham and Stodmarsh too. You can book tickets <strong><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/book-events\/\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>. And don't forget that every Sunday morning at 9am a <strong>free<\/strong> walk will be leaving from the Observatory carpark around the Sandwich Bay Estate. We hope to see you there.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Monday 4th<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Today was the best day in some time and it was clear that birds were taking advantage of the conditions to move around. Small flocks of Siskins and Chaffinches were observed migrating south along the coast and a Blackcap was seen in the Jubilee Field. A Woodcock in the Gullies was likely passing through, four Mediterranean Gulls on Restharrow Scrape were definitely so, whilst a Little Grebe on the Dragonfly Pond was unusual and possibly a sign of migration. There was an increase in the size of the Starling flocks and I expect many were migrants. You can often see large flocks of thousands passing through and going out to sea at this time of year. The flock of overwintering <strong>Tree Sparrows<\/strong> were seen at the back of the J<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">ubilee Field whilst the regular male Goosander was on New Downs. Inland, the first returning Avocets were on RSPB Worth marshes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sunday 3rd<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A Ruff dropped in on Restharrow Scrape, our first of spring, and three <strong>Cattle Egrets<\/strong> were still at the Observatory. At least two Bearded Tits were on New Downs and a <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Great White Egret<\/strong> flew over RSPB Worth marshes.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7959\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7959\" style=\"width: 2150px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-7959 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/image_123650291.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2150\" height=\"1963\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/image_123650291.jpg 2150w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/image_123650291-300x274.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/image_123650291-1024x935.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/image_123650291-768x701.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/image_123650291-1536x1402.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sbbot.org.uk\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/image_123650291-2048x1870.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2150px) 100vw, 2150px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7959\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bearded Tit by M.Simm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Saturday 2nd<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yesterday was a complete washout and today not much better, despite the lovely spring sunshine early on. Five <strong>Cattle Egrets<\/strong> at the Observatory were performing very well in the flooded fields by the carpark.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sunday 31st Highlights on New Downs were 12 Pintails, a Great Crested Grebe, and a Merlin. The Cattle Egret remained at the Observatory. Saturday 30th RSPB Worth marshes produced an adult Little Gull, eight Egyptian Geese, a Ruff, and a White Wagtail, whilst 23 Chiffchaffs were in full song on the Green Wall. Friday 29th Despite the fairly horrible conditions&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":8058,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sightingsbirds"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized 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