Cormorants at the RSPB reserve Dungeness

A fine Saturday. No rugby so we were able to stroll into town for coffee and shopping without having to be back for a specific time.

We were planning to visit the RSPB reserve at Dungeness this afternoon, rounding off the visit with an enormous pile of fish and chips at the nearby Pilot Inn. The weather in Maidstone was not promising, being dull and misty. However, the BBC app promised sunshine down on the coast and so it proved to be.

We've visited the reserve many times, often commenting on the sparsity of birds. Not today. There were cormorants galore. It was only on closer examination of this photo that I noticed loads of cormorants draped like witches knickers in the trees in the background.

We saw shovelers and teal and large flocks of lapwings but the star of the show was a male smew which is, apparently, a very rare bird with only 180 or so in the whole of the country. At least we thought it was a smew being as it was in the distance in line with the setting sun. A couple of other twitchers in the hide assured us that it was indeed a smew as they duly ticked it on their list.

The fish and chips lived up to expectations, enormous. The chips marginally let it down not being made from fresh potatoes. We washed it all down with a very enjoyable pint (or half in Susan's case) of B17 American Pale Ale brewed on Romney March especially for The Pilot.

As we came out of the pub a train from the RHDR flashed over the nearby crossing. First time I've seen a train on the line in the dark. Very atmospheric.