Neil Burt

An excellent day of seawatching with highlights being 2708 Brent Geese, 318 Pintail, a Long-tailed Duck, a redhead Smew and a full summer plumaged Black-throated Diver all heading east. On the land there was an arrival of birds with over 20 Chiffchaffs and at least nine Firecrest

The round-up February of #PWC2026 is now out! Head over to the blog to see the latest updates in the mini-leagues as well as all the best birds that have been seen across the competition! To take a look, click this link: patchworkchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/03/februa…

Come and volunteer at Dungeness Bird Observatory this year! We have a couple of positions available to help out with the monitoring of the wildlife on the Dungeness peninsula as well as helping in the running of the Observatory!

“Gulls galore” session cont.. at Singleton Lake, two adult Great Black-backed Gulls lumbered overhead with Herrings, as they headed towards the “smell” & Godinton field. Scarce bird in Ashford, my last was at the Flood Storage Reservoir in 2021. So 6 species of Gull #PWC2026 #72.

But today was a Gull Fest for #patchbirding. One of the Godinton fields by the Great Chart Cricket Pitch had been spread with manure, attracting hundreds of Gulls. Lots of Black-headed & Commons, 2 LBBs, Herrings & best of all, 4 adult Mediterranean Gulls. Yr ✅ #71 for #PWC2026.

Yesterday’s #patchbirding walk was uneventful but the drake Shoveler was still at the Hothfield Waterfall Lake with 2 Teal & a pair of Grey Wagtails. At the Flood Storage Reservoir another Grey Wagtail, C Snipe, 3 Canada Geese, 2 Stonechats, 4 Yellowhammers & 3 Reed Buntings.

Stay at the Observatory this spring with the season being well underway with plenty of offshore passage the last couple of days! Theres plenty of availability and for a very reasonable price of £15 per night for friends, and £20 per night for others! Come see migration in action!

Murky day at Dungeness. 2 Chiffchaffs singing, 3 Bearded Tits at the Hookers viewpoint, 15 Cattle Egrets, 2 GW Egrets, usual wildfowl & waders, 2 RL Partridges & 2 Whooper Swans at Cockles Bridge & the family of 3 Whoopers still at Scotney on the old sandpit & 3 Corn Buntings.

A murky walk around Denge Wood this morning but some nice woodland birds spotted: 3 Marsh Tits, Firecrest, plenty of Chaffinches & 2 singing Chiffchaffs. 2 Mandarins & male Bullfinch at Selling. Finished on Sheppey with more murk but a showy Cetti’s Warbler at Elmley.

A bit of patch gold after work today with a moulting drake SHOVELER (terrible record shot🤣) feeding on the Hothfield Waterfall Lake, very scarce this side of Ashford. Yr ✅ #70 #patchbirding #PWC2026. L Grebe, 2 Tufted Ducks (a pair with a 3rd drake noted on Tuesday) & 12 Teal.

At the Hothfield Flood Storage Reservoir: 2 Common Snipe, up to 3 Green Sandpipers, pairs of Stonechat & Grey Wagtail, 6 Yellowhammers, 3 Mipits, 4 Skylarks & 3 Reed Buntings, Raven nearby, Bullfinches, Siskins & Linnets. Pair of Tufted Ducks on Singleton lake & 4 Canada Geese.

3x #patchbirding visits this week since returning from Norfolk. The #PWC2026 list moves on to 70 species with the first male Greenfinch in song on rural Godinton Park, LBB Gulls back over the Cobbs Wood Industrial Estate, and the first Chiffchaffs singing (x7) across the area.

Spent a lovely couple of hours eating lunch in the Welney WWT cafe with splendid views over Lady Fen. More Common Cranes, Cattle & GW Egrets, Pinkfeet & White-fronted Geese, Avocets, Golden Plovers, Marsh Harrier & plenty of Wildfowl & waders. @WWTworldwide @WWTWelney

On the 2nd visited the Fens, the Nene & Ouse Washes. Plenty of wildfowl, raptors & a bonus LEO. 2 Common Cranes in flight at Ouse Fen, Water Rail, GW & Little Egrets, 1000s of Whooper Swans still. At Denver Sluice 1 red-head Goosander, Pinkfeet & a bonus 34 White-fronted Geese E.

On 1st Mar it was nice to catch up with the Eastern Black Redstart at Sheringham. pale-bellied Brent Goose with DBs between Cley & Salthouse, plus 2 of the 3 Glossy Ibises at Stiffkey Floods, 2 Cattle Egrets & 3 Pintails. A Barn Owl was a nice way to finish at Burnham Overy.

Spent the weekend in Norfolk, 1st visit of 2026. Plenty of birds & better weather. Highlights on 28th Feb of Slavonian & Black-necked Grebes, 3 Eiders & 2 R-B Mergansers in the channel between Brancaster Beach & Scolt Head. At Titchwell, Scaup & Goldeneye, Raven & 2 Tawny Owls.

It was great to be back on the @DungenessBO patch over the last couple of weeks in February for #PWC2026. The highlights being picking up a couple of goodies in the form of Red-necked and Slavonian Grebe. Now on 71/85. Would be great to get more Observatories in the league!

Come stay at the Observatory this spring with the season being well underway already! We have plenty of availability and for a very reasonable price of £15 per night for friends, and £20 per night for others!

For more info on signing up for this years competition, then check out the blog here: patchworkchallenge.blogspot.com For the sign-up sheet, follow this link: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

The Patchwork Challenge 2025 article is now out in the latest issue of @BirdwatchExtra Magazine! We hope all subscribers enjoy the write-up, it was a brilliant collaborative effort and we thank those patch birders that helped! Enjoy!