Littlestone, Snowbunting. Hooded Crow Harty Ferry

Off early to Dungeness on Saturday, when we arrive we are the only people about.
So up onto the beach & take shelter from the wind at the side of the locked hide,the sea is rough with waves getting a long way up the beach.
The first thing we spot is over a hundred Cormorant flying past, then Razorbills show, needed them for a year tick so nice.
Plenty of G C Grebe all over the water, A Red-breasted Merganser also shows, Brian spots a Little Gull for us, another tick for me. Plenty of Gannets diving. A dead Seal had been washed up onto the beach, not nice to see.

A bit sleepy

Off to find the Glaucous Gull that we dipped on a couple of weeks ago, we scan about by the boats, but it's not here so we walk over the stones to go further up the beach, then it's spotted in with a flock of Gulls,another tick for the year.

In flight

Off now to Littlestone just round the coast from here, the target bird is Snow Bunting.
We find the lifeboat station & park up, we are right on the beach, so with any luck not to much walking to do.
Down on the edge of the water a few Knot, also Oystercatcher, loads of Sandlings, Turnstone, a Grey  Plover also, Redshanks all very close to us which was nice to see.
We get talking to the plodding birder, it's he's local patch, & it's him who finds the Snowbunting a few yards away from us, they are hard to spot even when you know where they are.
There are 2 birds here & they are very happy to sit where they are, so cameras out.

Snow bunting

Redshank

 Now we head to Harty Ferry for the Hooded Crow,  the first fellow we talk to happens to be the person who had found the Crow, he tells us where to go.
So we head down to a church, & park. there is a big gap in front of us that looks right over the area where the bird has been spotted, we was told we would have to walk a long way down the valley to the hide to see it, but we scan the field anyway, & Brian picks the bird up with his scope, great another tick,I think this is the first Hooded crow I have seen in England.

Not the one we saw today, this is one I saw in Scotland

Back up to the Raptor watch point, from here there are 7 Cranes walking about showing well, Hen Harrier, Buzzard, a Merlin is seen sitting in the field.
On the way down to the Point we had seen over 50 Corn Buntings on a bush.
The watch point was packed with birders & they all wanted to know where we had seen the Crow, we were very happy to point them in the right direction. Off home now after a very good day birding, meeting some more nice people, & seeing the target birds,& another new place seen.