The highlight of the day was a Honey Buzzard which came out of the Trapping Area at 0920hrs and then flew rapidly east and out to sea with a few gulls giving chase. Four hours of seawatching produced just 22 Manx Shearwaters (flocks of 10 and 12), a Great Skua and two Arctic Skuas.
Ten Porpoise were feeding offshore and a Badger came into the Observatory garden again this evening.
Two Grizzled Skippers and the first Brown Argus of the year were seen.
Seawatching was very slow this morning but as the wind increased in the afternoon there was an improvement with a long watch producing two Great Skuas, six Pomarine Skuas and 11 Arctic Skuas of note. On the land a male Cuckoo and a Hobby were of interest but very little else could be found.
A Badger was feeding in the Observatory garden in the early hours of the morning. Two Porpoises were seen offshore.
The rare shieldbug Geotomus petiti has now been found at three site in the Observatory area following confirmation of the identity of two more specimens as of this species.
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| Geotomus petiti Dungeness 11th May 2021 Found at a new site in the Trapping Area. |
Elsewhere, a Cattle Egret was a new arrival on the RSPB Reserve.
Rain for much of the day limited coverage a bit but it was clear that there was no obvious arrival of fresh migrants. However there was still some interest with a Spoonbill flying over, a Cuckoo seen at the fishing boats, a Dartford Warbler which was wandering around the Point and seen on several occasions and two Siskins..
A Badger came into the garden to feed on seed spilt from the bird feeders.
A small improvement in the moth numbers trapped overnight included a Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella.
Despite what felt like fairly promising weather conditions this morning it was actually very quiet on the land and not much better on the sea where five hours of watching produced just three Arctic Skuas of note.
Six Porpoises were seen offshore.
Three Grizzled Skippers were seen in the Trapping Area.
A sub-adult Purple Heron which spent about 30 minutes at the Long Pits this morning before flying towards the RSPB Reserve was today's clear highlight. There was very little else of note on the land and several seawatching sessions produced just one Great Skua, a distant Pomarine Skua in the evening and four Arctic Skuas.
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| Purple Heron Ardea purpurea Long Pits 12th May 2021 |
At least 12 Porpoises were feeding offshore and a dead Grey Seal was washed up on the beach. A Brown Hare was also seen.
Nine Grizzled Skippers were seen today but there were no surprises in the moth trap.
More of the same with a quiet sea eventually producing a drake Garganey, two Velvet Scoters, two Black-throated Divers, 142 Arctic Terns, two Great Skuas, three Pomarine Skuas and five Arctic Skuas of interest. It remains hard work on the land with just a Spotted Flycatcher at the northern end of the Long Pits and a Redpoll of any note.
At least 16 Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Small Heath butterfly was new for the year and five Grizzled Skippers and plenty of Painted Ladies were also of interest. Moth trapping has been very poor this spring so far but last night showed a bit of an improvement with a Chamomile Shark being the highlight.
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| Chamomile Shark Cucillia chamonillea Dungeness 11th May 2021 |
Over eight hours of seawatching eventually produced four Pomarine Skuas along with a Great Skua, three Arctic Skuas and a Great Northern Diver of note. It remains very quiet on the land but a Turtle Dove and a Yellowhammer along the beach were both new species for the year.
At least 20 Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
A Terrapin sp was sunning itself at the Long Pits.
Large numbers of Painted Ladies arrived on the Point this morning.
A morning of thunderstorms with a few birds moving offshore and two Great Northern Divers, a Great Skua and five Pomarine Skuas of interest.
Still very quiet on the land with just two Spotted Flycatchers at the Long Pits of note.
Several Painted Ladies were seen.
With a strong southerly wind and heavy rain this morning hopes were high but in the event not a great deal was to be seen. Of note on the sea were two Great Northern Divers, 870 Gannets, six Black Terns, eight Great Skuas and four Pomarine Skuas but it was very quiet on the land.
Only two Porpoises were seen feeding offshore this morning.
There was a small but rich and varied arrival of migrants through the day with a Wood Warbler and a Grasshopper Warbler (both singing at the North end of the Long pits), six Whinchats, a Redstart, three Spotted Flycatchers, a Pied Flycatcher (in the Old Lighthouse Garden) and a Tree Pipit. Commoner migrants included a Buzzard, 12 Willow Warblers, seven Garden Warblers, a few "Greenland" Wheatears, two Yellow Wagtails and two Redpolls.
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| Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix Dungeness 7th May 2021 |
Seven Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore and two Brown Hares were seen on the land.
Insects of note included another presumed Geotomus petiti shieldbug but from a new location so will need to be properly checked, another Hister quadrimaculatus in the moat. Two Grizzled Skippers were also seen.
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| Geotomus petiti and Hister quadrimaculatus Dungeness 7th May 2021 |