Bluethroat, eventually

Waking up to white roofs and odd blizzards didn't look good but by the time I left for Dungeness it had more or less gone. A pair of buzzards over Reading Street and a flock of green finches and chaffinches at the feeding station at Cheyne were the highlights.
A quick walk along the entrance road and we found 5/6 black redstarts and my first wheatear of the year.
Following a quick lunch we headed to Samphire Hoe and spent nearly an hour trying to find the Bluethroat. Just as we decided we were too cold and were giving up someone spotted it in a gulley being dug for an amphib curtain. The bird gave great views but just too distant to photograph. We watched it for about half an hour before it flipped out and into a bush.
Returned to the obs across the marsh at Appledore and located the crane with another Buzzard perched on the drying barn roof. A really good dy.
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Signs of Spring

The emergence of the sun this morning prompted us to go for a stroll in Park Wood, nr Appledore.  The tracks were very muddy and churned up by feet, human and canine.  

There were plenty of signs of early spring with primroses, wood anemones in flower and honeysuckle buds breaking into leaf.

Way up in the blue sky a pair of buzards were displaying , Blue tits and Great Tits were chattering and calling all over the wood, many feeding in loose flocks but often paired, we saw several investigating various nooks and crannies.  We also had views of a pair of Long-tailed Tits working their way down the southern tree line, one of the birds was missing it's tail feathers. Nuthatches were not as numerous but we did have great views of one shouting his head off on the west side of the wood where we also had a Great Spotted Woodpecker poking about the branches of an oak tree. 

A very pleasant walk in almost spring-like weather.