14 year ticks on a rainy day at Dungeness

Jimmy & I set off & drive into the rain for a day of birding around the Dungeness area to get as many ticks as we could despite the weather.
First up we park up & scan all the Coots at Petts Level E Sussex looking for the Glossy Ibis that we saw just before the new year & hope that it had stayed around to give us a new year tick as well,the rain was really pouring down so we scan from the car & soon pick it out walking about with all the Coots to give us a good start to the day.
Next up we head to Scotney Gravel Pits & pick out a Black-necked Grebe without to much trouble, Brian had marked our card for us on this Grebe & a Gooseander so we knew where to look for them, but  missed out on the Goosesander,but get a couple of  year ticks with loads of Barnacle Geese & a single Pied Wagtail.
A  short drive to Dungeness See's us looking at the Long-eared Owl over the back of the dipping pool although it was a short look at it as the heavens opened again & we have to make a run to the hide.
The first hide gets us nothing new so down to the next one & we are soon looking at a Female Smew & some Goldeneye, a fellow in the hide gets us onto a Shag that had drifted in from the sea a bit of a bonus bird to see on here.As we drive out of the reserve we see a Great white Egret & later on we return to the same place just by the farm to get a Slavonian Grebe that had just came out on the pager.
We head up to the beach by the fishing boats & get 3 more ticks with Gannet, Guillemot & we pick out the Caspian Gull with the help of a bit of bread on the way, the wind was blowing a bit of a Gale & it was getting harder to keep out of the rain, so with 3 ticks we call it a day on the beach & pop round the back of the reserve down by the military camp to look for & getting a Raven that was another tip off from Brian.
So 14 year ticks for me & 16 for Jimmy on a not very pleasant day weather wise sends us home happy.