Thanet Birding - Birding main page
Foreness - Margate
Cemetery - Minnis Bay - Minster - North
Foreland - Northdown Park
Pegwell Bay - Ramsgate
Cemetery - Ramsgate Harbour
Probably the most accessible bit of the Foreness area with any amount of tree cover, so consequently it gets fairly good coverage. Most of it is open grass, but the south-western corner is wooded. You can enter the park at almost any point along its northern, western or southern boundaries; only the eastern side is walled off. The park is perhaps best known for its Ring-neck Parakeets, being one of the early British strongholds of this species. As elsewhere on Thanet, spring and autumn are the best times to visit, since many migrant passerines drop in. Things like Brambling and Ring Ousel are regular in autumn. Wood Warblers turn up every spring, but you have to be early to stand much chance of getting them. Parrots aside, the most notable breeder is Green Woodpecker, a relatively recent colonist. I've watched the young birds dodging cricket balls in an August heatwave.
There are two main bits of the park that are particularly worth checking, inconveniently placed at opposite corners.
(5) - The Paddock
No longer a paddock, actually, but it used to be. It also used to
be fenced off but now you can just walk right in. There is a
copse of tall trees (mostly sycamores) here, with quite a bit of
elder and maple scrub around the edges. It looks perfect for
warblers, and you do indeed get them here, but not in any great
numbers. Still, it's one of those spots where almost anything
might turn up one day and there's usually something lurking in
the bushes when birds are moving.
(6) - Northdown House
Big old building, you can't miss it. The house itself is not
terribly renowned for birds, but it sits at the wooded southern
end of the park which is. There's a lot of cover round this bit,
and it's here that flycatchers and rare warblers tend to turn up.
The very SW corner is particularly overgrown and can take a while
to check thoroughly. Usually this is a total waste of time but
enough good birds have turned up over the years to justify the
effort.
Rare birds seen in or over Northdown Park include Spoonbill, Red Kite*, Honey Buzzard*, Red-footed Falcon, Marsh Warbler*, Icterine Warbler*, Yellow-browed Warbler*, Pallas' Warbler*, Collared Flycatcher, Red-breasted Flycatcher, and Hawfinch*.
Thanet Birding - Birding main page
Foreness - Margate
Cemetery - Minnis Bay - Minster - North
Foreland - Northdown Park
Pegwell Bay - Ramsgate
Cemetery - Ramsgate Harbour