Reculver

Two Wheatears, three Mute Swans, half a dozen Redshank, Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, three Little Egret, a juvenile Pied Wagtail, a Meadow Pipit, several Reed Buntings, and I also found at least one very neat Common Sandpiper at the lagoon.

On the sea was a raft of Mallard, a pair of Gadwall and a few Teal.

There were a few Golden Plover, one Dunlin and a few Ringed Plover with about 35 gorgeous Sanderling on the shore on the return walk. This one still has a couple of summer feathers showing.

This one is slightly further back in the moult process.

Bough Beech briefly

Green Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Lapwings, one Snipe flyover, Buzzards, Great Crested Grebes, at least three Egyptian Geese, Greylag Geese, Canada Geese, Mallards, Gadwall, Teal, Wigeon.

Autumn migrants at Bough Beech

A lovely lapwing came quite close:

but the big star were a handful of Green Sandpipers, Tringa ochropus, and I had quite good views, fairly close.

Here is a view of a Greenshank wading through the water, washing the mud off the legs, to expose the yellowish-green legs. As the tertials are blown slightly up and off by the breeze, the plain dark primary feathers of the wing are quite clearly visible.

Migrant waders at Oare

This is a juvenile Ringed Plover - white not buff above the eye, no sharp dip in the dark below the eye, a relatively thick bill and possibly a little orange on the legs, and a fairly clear primary projection.

This is a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper, with neat anchor-marked scapulars with clearly outlined white edges. Pale and pastel, longer-legged in comparison to Dunlin.

Oare Marshes

Nice view of the Little Ringed Plover, the first one that I have definitely seen.

Yellow legs (despite the mud) and slight yellow eye-ring. Buff supercilium. Sleek shape. 

Bony's Gull at Oare

Bonaparte's Gull, Chroicocephalus philadelphia, a rare wanderer from America, the gull on the right of course! I wonder where this bird spends its summers, and who with!

Focussing on the Round Pond Dragons at Leybourne

Late afternoon. From the Pond-dipping platform on the Round Pond a female Emperor Dragonfly meandered past briefly.

Small Red-eyed Damselflies were close to the bank on Blanket Weed and Water plants, there no Water Lilies and apparently no Red-eyed Damselflies. Go figure?

A few Blue-tailed Damselflies were on the emergent stems.

Common Blues were on the Blanket Weed, emergent stems and many were all around the pond on the grasses and herbaceous plants, mainly males.