Another month of two halves, the first characterised by fine conditions and the second more unsettled with stronger winds from the SW and N. Birding was exciting and varied, with a number of scarcities augmenting the continued arrival of summer visitors.

The first big surprise came early in the month, with a Golden Oriole at Doleham Marshes in the Brede Valley on the 5th. It was a fine spring day with a light SE breeze and I’d paused to listen to the chorus of song coming from the railway embankment parallel to Doleham Ditch. There were two Blackbirds singing loudly in the foreground but my ears picked up some Orioleish notes among them and, low and behold, resplendent Golden Oriole song emerged shortly after (recording embedded below).

The Golden Oriole itself did not emerge however, and it was heard clearly for all of 5 minutes before it faded out again, presumably moving on along the railway embankment. A nice record though and interestingly the same location that Cliff Dean saw one on 27 May 2006.

On the 15th I spent a very pleasant day at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve covering most of the reserve, including some sections around Long Pit and Castle Water which I’ve never visited before. Much to my surprise the first bird I laid eyes upon from the Castle Water layby was a Purple Heron flying east over Harbour Road. Having not even had time to get my camera out yet I quickly threw open my bag and pinged off the lens cap to grab a few blurry photos as it disappeared over the bank. Presumably this is the same bird that James T had at Castle Water on the 5th.

More large wading birds from southern climes on the 29th, this time a Glossy Ibis at Combe Valley CP. I was walking the river path when I noticed a gangly looking bird flying over the flood being pursued by angry mob of Black-headed Gulls. It then reappeared a short while later, feeding along the south edge of the floods near the heronry until I left.

The last big surprise was at Pett Level on the 31st, where I arrived to spectacle of hundreds to Common Swift moving low SW over the level and shoreline in overcast drizzly conditions. I was almost immediately torn away from this as I noticed a kite over the grazing marsh south of the pools. I raised my binoculars to see a plain brown upperwing with paler wing bars and tail – then, moments later, a spread tail with a shallow fork: Black Kite.

Pursued by an Oystercatcher it quickly moved off to the west where it joined three Red Kite circling over the ridge behind Carter’s Flood, before dropping out of site. Nice to clearly see its smaller wingspan in comparison to that species, which have been quite frequent locally this spring. There were a few reports from the Pett Level / Icklehsam area the next day and, based on matching a couple of broken primary feathers from photographs, this seems to be the same individual seen at Dungeness a few days later.

Summer migrants continued to trickle in, with my first local Cuckoo (5th), Garden Warbler (7th), Yellow Wagtail (8th) and Spotted Flycatcher (16th) over the course of the month. I also caught up with the long staying Pied Flycatcher at Ashburnham Place, a lonely male which has ill-advisedly taken up territory in the SE corner of Front Water since mid-April. It was singing away and was even seen popping optimistically into a tree trunk hole. It struck me watching it just how short flycatcher legs are, which I guess makes sense given their limited function for this species!

The odd passage wader could still be encountered at suitable sites. Having seen a few flocks of small wader sp. either very briefly or distantly in April, it was gratifying to get good views of a small flock of Sanderling wind up and down Hastings seafront for a few minutes on the 17th. With the unsettled weather Combe Valley CP remained nicely wet and my visits would usually feature a small selection of waders including small groups of Black-tailed Godwit, a few Dunlin, a lingering Greenshank and a Common Sandpiper.

As the month progressed the spring singers started to quieten down as they got down to the business of nesting – most apparent in Nightingales which have become much quieter at Combe Valley CP. Before that I did manage my highest count this year of seven territories, with a concerted effort on the 13th. The first youngsters of some species started to appear in the second half of the month, including broods of Stonechat at Hastings CP. Also at Hastings CP, a Yellowhammer has continued to hold territory in Warren Glen, although it doesn’t seem to be paired.