For some reason all the information services liked the look of the Hooded Merganser in Kent. I had reservations and didnt bother going but after constantly seeing it in capital letters on the pager I finally cracked and went. Steve Smith also fancied it and came along. The journey was littered with queues and things didnt get any better on arrival. The site directions had us walking around in circles, regularly encountering other birders who were doing likewise. Somehow we eventually found the gravel pit some 5 hours after leaving home. Its a good job it was still there thats all I can say.
We then moved on to Scotney GPs to see more birds in the 'unknown origin' category. Despite having some rather smart blue morph birds making them look rather more genuine, the reality is they are almost certainly feral birds.
Tree Sparrows Dungeness
Just caught this Bittern as it flew into some reeds.
Lesser Black-back also a year tick
Good to see the Glauc has managed to grow its tail back
Losing the light now but still just enough to get identifiable pics of the Long-tailed Duck
