Arriving at Lidlington, we could immediatly hear the Lady A pheasant calling from the vegetation ahead of us, and it continued calling frequently throughout the morning from the vegetation west of the ride where it is usually seen so we set up by the fenced-in open area and waited. While we waited, there was a good selection of warblers including my first Garden Warbler and Whitethroats of the year.
Garden Warbler - Lidlington
After just over 2 hours, the call went up. Raising my bins, I saw the gorgeous male Lady Amherst's Pheasant, showing the bright yellow and red rump. By the time I got my scope onto where the bird was it had disappeared into the vegetation on the other side of the ride. Very pleased to finally have connected with a tickable Lady A in Britain (my only previous sighting was a dodgy bird in Norfolk) and also very pleased to have got it on my first attempt as many other birders are still struggling to connect with this individual.
Had a Red Kite over the M1 while heading back south. Dungeness was the second stop, where I had my first Wheatear of the year as soon as I got out of the car. A breif seawatch produced a single Pomarine Skua, many Common Scoters, Common and Sandwich Terns and a few Gannets. A breif look at Rye Harbour produced nothing better than singles of Lesser Whitethroat and Bullfinch.
The last stop was Otford. Not long after arrival we were told that the RUFOUS TURTLE DOVE was feeding in one of the locals gardens. Not long after, the birders around the other side of the houses shouted over to say that it was showing... but only just! I eventually got some views of a head and some primaries in amongst tree blossom, but changing position gave some better, if still mostly obscured views of the bird. Also of note here were another pair of Ring-Necked Parakeets.
RUFOUS TURTLE DOVE - Otford
Ring-Necked Parakeets - Otford
On the drive back, had another Red Kite over the M25.
One of the most enjoyable days birding I've had in a long time!
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