Having missed them last year, I was especially keen to see *and smell* these minuscule Musk Orchids! Amazing little things 🌱

Arrived back in Kent just in time to appreciate some of the orchid spectacles across the county. Some sites really ablaze with colour, seems to be a great year for them!

Sandwich Bay is a kaleidoscope of colour at the moment! Pyramidal, Southern Marsh and Lizard Orchids are carpeting the recording area en masse! 🌸

Some focus on Odonata over recent weeks has been enjoyable and taken me to new places! Downy and Brilliant Emeralds were excellent, with Golden-ringed adding to the west Kent experience Marc Heath

Late Helleborine season is kicking off nicely in Kent, with some dense clusters of Marsh Helleborines in full force at Sandwich Bay! 🌱

Some more time appreciating Emeralds, this time on the more delicate damselflies: Scarce and Southern Emerald were good to see across Sandwich Bay, with a copulating pair of Scarce noted Marc Heath

Some seriously bright blue Southern Migrant Hawkers bombing about the Sandwich Bay recording area recently, two were fiercely defending territories Marc Heath

It’s fantastic to see Beavers living alongside the hustle and bustle of Canterbury’s city centre in the Kentish Stour CP 🦫 Great to see so many people enjoying them as they walked past, with an overwhelming sense of pride from the locals. Wildlife coexisting perfectly 🌳

Weekend botanising the Kent Downs produced several Broad-leaved Helleborines showing lots of variation in colour! A single Violet Helleborine was a challenge to find, albeit a slightly worn individual 🌱

Bit of a surprise when Sandwich Bay’s fourth(!) Wood Warbler of the autumn so far was ringed this morning. Giving brief calls as it returned to nearby scrub, accompanied by small flocks of Willow Warblers 🍂

Autumn kicking off nicely 🍂

When a new species for Kent is discovered on your doorstep, it’d be rude not to go?! Enjoyed the Scarce Blue-tailed Damselflies over the weekend at SBBOT. Managed to see 3+ males using the newly created pond! Superb efforts from Andrew Lipczynski 🇺🇦🕊

Today’s deluge dropped some nice birds and created some nice movements at Pegwell Bay: Three Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, five Knot, 21 Whimbrel, 200+ Sandwich Tern. Steady movement of 96 Common Tern moved north, containing at least two Arctic Terns briefly stopping 🍂

Birding around Dungeness Bird Observatory and the wider area on the wknd. Six Garganey, two Black Tern, three Cattle Egret! Before visiting the infamous Scotney Sandpit where it was Sandpiper central: Pectoral, 2 Wood, 20+ Green and 5 Common Sandpipers. Plus a Little Stint for good measure

Really enjoying seeing Curlew Sandpipers in their fresh juvenile plumages this autumn, one of four at Oare Marshes gave David W. Smith and I lovely views

Saw my first White-winged Black Tern at Dungeness with Tom Wright, super smart bird and nice opportunity to note the differences from juvenile Black Tern

Nice to see SBBOT getting in on the east coast arrivals. This Wryneck gave some classic views, always a nice bird to see in the autumn! A few Whinchats were nice to see also 🍂

#MigFest24 certainly delivered, what an incredible experience witnessing falls of drift migrants over the weekend 🍂 All part of the Spurn magic: my first Red-breasted Flycatcher, scores of common migrants, found a Wryneck with Samuel Levy and brilliant company all-round! 🔭