It’s become a strange ‘normal’ in a post Covid-19 world. Today we went to the dump ‘by appointment’! A time slot is booked and you enter by showing the booking on your phone while keeping all the car windows up. You are allocated a parking spot near to the appropriate recycling bin. Masked up and socially distanced, you join a queue which, in our case, was to dump our three bins of garden trimmings before loading up and driving away. Ironically, this was so much quicker and more efficient than the normal free-for-all.
An 11.30 slot lent itself to a bit of an outing, so we drove over to Sandwich Bay Obs to see if there was anything about. I guess every man and his dog had the same idea on the first day without rain and gale-force winds, despite the brooding skies, so the traffic was thick and Sandwich itself rammed. The Old Deal Road is like a cycle track with families taking their exercise along the toll road next to the crowded golf course. The RSPB-managed farms had recently mown fields, but that just revealed that there was not a lot about.
Threatening skies over Worth Marshes
It was nice to see healthy family flocks of Linnets in mixed livery and groups of smartly feathered Meadow Pipits. Rooks, Wood Pigeons and gulls made up the bulk of the bird life. The highlight was a small group (three) of Whimbrel probing the fields. Too far away for a picture I contented myself with the most unusual siting of the day between the Scrape and Restharrow Dunes.
Jungle Fowl Gallus gallus
Many dragonflies skimmed the willows and brambles but none settled for a photo so they remain unidentified. A few butterflies also ignored the many ripening fruit.
