Very little to be seen in near-gale conditions. Seawatching saw just two Grey Plovers, eight Sanderlings, two Little Terns and three Mediterranean Gulls of interest.
A Grey Seal was seen offshore.
Three Temminck's Stints were seen on the Reserve again.
It remains very quiet on the land but sewatching continues with another 13.5hrs recorded and producing two Shoveler, two Gadwalls, two Eiders, 167 Grey Plovers, 56 Whimbrels, 103 Sanderlings, 28 Redshank, 1005 Black-headed Gulls, 42 Mediterranean Gulls, six Arctic Skuas, 13 Pomarine Skuas, a Great Skua and two Little Egrets.
Two Porpoises, a Common Seal and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Nine Grizzled Skippers, ten Brown Argus and 40 Common Blues were seen.
A party of three Temminck's Stints were feeding around the pools at Boulderwall Farm on the RSPB Reserve.
Light, mainly ESE winds through the day meant a 14.5hour seawatch which produced six Shoveler, six Gadwall, seven Eider, 21 Grey Plovers, 105 Whimbrel, 53 Bar-tailed Godwits, 102 Knot, 59 Sanderlings, 541 Kittiwakes, three Great Skuas, 24 Pomarine Skuas, 11 Arctic Skuas, 18 Little Terns, an excellent total of 154 Black Terns and a Manx Shearwater. A Little Egret flew out to sea and 25 Mediterranean Gulls were feeding offshore.
Four Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Two Brown Argus and a Holly Blue were seen.
Another day of seawatching with ten hours of coverage producing three Eiders, 53 Grey Plovers, 27 Whimbrels, 96 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Knot, 34 Sanderlings, 17 Mediterranean Gulls, three Little Terns, 25 Black Terns, two Great Skuas, 17 Arctic Skuas, two Pomarine Skuas and 11 Black-throated Divers. Very quiet on the land with just a flock of 38 Corn Buntings feeding around the Point of note.
Eight Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
Seawatching continues to provide most of the interest where over six hours of coverage produced three Red-breasted Mergansers, nine Grey Plovers, two Little Gulls, 32 Little Terns, two Arctic Skuas and three Manx Shearwaters of note. Fifteen Mediterranean Gulls were feeding offshore. Two Red Kites flew over the Point and 38 Corn Buntings were seen in the Desert.
Five Porpoises and three Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
A Mottled Shieldbug was seen at the Lighthouse garden and a Holly Blue was seen in the Observatory garden..
Fresh NE winds continue with little sign of migration on the land and a steady trickle of birds offshore including 92 Whimbrel, a Pomarine Skua, 304 Kittiwakes, 12 Mediterranean Gulls, 26 Little Terns, two Black Terns and 90 Arctic Terns. Birds passing overhead included two Swifts and 94 Swallows flew over.
Twelve Porpoises and three Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
Five Grizzled Skippers, 26 Painted Ladies and two Brown Argus were of note.
A remarkable morning with almost the only new migrant in the bushes being a singing Iberian Chiffchaff. It was first found at the southern end of the trapping area but quickly moved north through the area and ended up at the top of the Long Pits where it gave good views until it was last seen at 1345hrs. This the third Observatory and Dungeness record and follows hot on the heels of one seen last year.
A foggy start to the day limited seawatching to the afternoon where 35 Whimbrel, three Little Gulls, seven Mediterranean Gulls, a Pomarine Skua, 12 Arctic Skuas, two Little Terns, a Black Tern, three Arctic Terns, 1271 Common/"commic" Terns and a Shag were of note.
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| Iberian Chiffchaff Phylloscopus ibericus Dungeness 4th May 2026 |
Six Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore and a Stoat was seen on the land.
Two Grizzled Skippers and 50 Painted Ladies were of note among the butterflies.
A very disappointing day on both land and sea despite what seemed like favourable conditions for a few migrants to appear. A Little Gull, nine Arctic Skuas and a Black-throated Diver were the only birds of note offshore while a Garden Warbler and a Tree Pipit were noteworthy on the land.
Three Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore and two Brown Hares were seen on the land.
Light winds failed to produce much on the land and the sea was fairly quiet. Over eight hours of seawatching produced three Pomarine Skuas and seven Arctic Skuas along with a Velvet Scoter, 16 Ringed Plovers, 157 Whimbrel, two Little Gulls and two Mediterranean Gulls while four Little Egrets flew out. A Fieldfare, a Whinchat, five Yellow Wagtails and 40 Corn Buntings were of note on the land.
Ten Porpoises and three Grey Seals were seen offshore and six Brown Hares were seen in and around the Desert.
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