Another late start ended well down here; A North Westerly wind met me as I made for the highest point on Foxhill down and not soon after, at 8.38 am, I picked up a large bird coming my way. As soon as it was in the bins I could see it was the Black Stork that has been seen in a few sites recently in East Kent.
Im pretty sure its a browner headed bird than Rich B and I had in early June which was an immaculate adult. Could this be the bird that was in the west country at that time? Some forensics are probably necessary to be sure.
The bird basically flew past me at some distance East to West, I put the news out and Ian R connected with it near Folkestone but not before It spent some time above the port of Dover and the town itself, gaining and loosing height and at one point I thought it was heading out to sea but eventually carried on in a westerly direction.
In other news my first Yellow Wagtail since may flew west as did c30 Swallows over the course of the morning, Colin J had a Cuckoo at the lighthouse, and i’d forgotten to mention that Mark and Lucy L have had a pair of Turtle Doves visiting their feeders on lighthouse down recently. As I got back to the house, a Whimbrel flew high and west calling.
Also of note; I had a smart Dark Green Fritillary on my walk up the path to the cliffs, possibly the one I saw in my garden a couple of days ago and apparently a good record in this part of Kent.
PERDIX BIRDER 