A quiet day with 38 Chiffchaffs, two Dartford Warblers, four Goldcrests, nine Song Thrushes, four Redwings and a Wheatear seen on the land while birds passing overhead included 51 Stock Doves, 11 Tree Sparrows, 124 Meadow Pipits, two Bramblings, two Redpolls, 185 Goldfinches, 49 Siskins, two Corn Buntings and 53 Reed Buntings. The sea produced 51 Mediterranean Gulls, an Arctic Skua and 808 Razorbills.
A Weasel was seen.
Fairly quiet on the land with 30 Chiffchaffs, just two Blackcaps, 13 Song Thrushes and a Wheatear but it was busier with birds passing overhead including 31 Skylarks, 150 Swallows, 680 Starlings, two Grey Wagtails, 124 Meadow Pipits, three Rock Pipits, 242 Chaffinches, 503 Goldfinches and 55 Siskins. The sea produced 11 Sanderling, 52 Dunlin, 157 Kittiwakes, four Little Gulls, 22 Mediterranean Gulls, seven Arctic Skuas, 1009 Razorbills, a Sooty Shearwater and 302 Gannets passing west, a party of five Eider going east and a first-year Yellow-legged Gull and nine Red-throated Divers feeding offshore.
Three Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
A Western Conifer Seed Bug was found in the moth traps.
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| Western Conifer Seed Bug Leptoglossus occidentalis Dungeness 15th October 2026 |
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A calm and bright morning saw a decent movement of birds overhead with 75 Stock Doves, three Woodlarks, 98 Skylarks, 47 Swallows, 1400 Starlings, 28 Tree Sparrows, 175 Meadow Pipits, three Rock Pipits, 40 Chaffinches, 20 Bramblings, 492 Goldfinches, 75 Siskins, a Corn Bunting and 81 Reed Buntings. Grounded migrants included 80 Chiffchaffs, eight Blackcaps, three Dartford Warblers, six Song Thrushes, 13 Redwings, 16 Blackbirds and a Wheatear.
An afternoon seawatch produced 167 Brent Geese, four Grey Plovers, eight Dunlin, 19 Mediterranean Gulls, 37 Sandwich Terns and 255 Razorbills.
Five Porpoises were feeding offshore.
A Scarce Bordered Straw was the best of the moths trapped overnight.
Strong south-westerlies meant more seawatching with over five hours of coverage producing 329 Brent Geese, 34 Wigeon, four Teal, 140 Common Scoters, three Grey Plovers, 26 Sanderling, 90 Dunlin, 195 Kittiwakes, three Little Gulls, 29 Sandwich Terns, six Arctic Skuas, 123 Guillemots, 663 Razorbills, a Sooty Shearwater, two Balearic Shearwaters and 640 Gannets. Four Cattle Egrets also flew out to sea. There was a scattering of migrants on the land including 32 Chiffchaffs, five Blackcaps, a Dartford Warbler, nine Redwings and a Wheatear. A Rock Pipit also flew over.
Three Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
A Palpita vitrealis, a Small Mottled Willows and two Scarce Bordered Straws were the highlights from the moth traps.
The day began with clear skies and fresh SSE winds but cloud and rain arrived from midday. Most of the observations came from the sea with over 10.5 hours of watching producing a first-year Sabine's Gull, two Long-tailed Skuas, a Puffin, a Great Northern Diver, a Leach's Petrel, five Sooty Shearwaters and a Shag of note and 1250 Brent Geese, 99 Wigeon, two Pintail, six Teal, four Tufted Ducks, 168 Common Scoters, four Snipe, 33 Little Gulls, 835 Kittiwakes, four Mediterranean Gulls, a Caspian Gull, 19 Arctic Skuas, 2658 Razorbills and 1208 Gannets as back-up.
Very quiet on the land with just two Bramblings and two Siskins of note.
Four Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore and a Common Pipistrelle was flying around the Observatory building in the evening.
The moth traps caught a Convolvulus Hawk-moth, two Small Mottled Willows and a Palpita vitrealis of note.
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| Convolvulus Hawk-moth Agrius convolvuli 12th October 2026 |
A bright, clear morning saw a decent movement of birds overhead including 158 Stock Doves, 30 Skylarks, five Tree Sparrows, three Grey Wagtails, 70 Meadow Pipits, three Rock Pipits, 20 Chaffinches, five Bramblings, two Redpolls, 120 Goldfinches, six Siskins and 30 Reed Buntings.
There were also a few migrants in the bushes with 70 Chiffchaffs, 11 Blackcaps, a Firecrest, 12 Song Thrushes, five Redwings, a Ring Ouzel and a Wheatear of note. A Long-eared Owl and a Dartford Warbler were also seen.
It was with great sadness that we learnt of the passing of Pete Burness. Pete was a long-time supporter of the Observatory, having first visited in 1957 with his father. He saw his first 'scarce' bird, a Barred Warbler, in 1959 and his first Bluethroat in 1962. He was among the early pioneers that tramped the shingle, walked the Heligoland traps and worked through the transition to Mistnets. He continued to visit and support the Observatory and was happy to share his knowledge with anyone, whether it be birds, books or music and there was never a negative word against him. His dry sense of humour and his fund of stories, often with a wry twist will be long remembered. Our thoughts are with his family and long time partner, Pam. He will be very much missed by everyone.
For anyone who wishes to make a donation in Pete’s name please go to one of the following:
Dungeness Bird Observatory Trust
The Salvation Army
The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
The wind backed into the west today and offshore was much reduced with just 108 Mediterranean Gulls, four Arctic Skuas and 50 Razorbills of note.
A Long-eared Owl at the Long Pits, 52 Chiffchaffs and a Dartford Warbler were the best on offer in the bushes. Overhead passage was also very light with just 27 Skylarks, four Tree Sparrows, 114 Meadow Pipits, a Tree Pipit, two Rock Pipits, three Redpolls, 22 Siskins and 16 Reed Buntings flying over.
A Common Seal was seen offshore.
More fresh to strong NW winds this morning meant most of the interest was offshore where the first sizable movement of Brent Geese occurred with 831 counted along with 135 Wigeon, four Pintail and a Teal. Also of note were seven Little Gulls, 335 Mediterranean Gulls and 27 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 11 Arctic Skuas, 311 Razorbills, eight Red-throated Divers and seven Balearic Shearwaters while waders included a Grey Plover, a Knot, 14 Sanderlings and 82 Dunlin. Three Caspian Gulls were seen on the beach during the day.
There was very little passage overhead with just two Marsh Harriers, 79 Swallows and a Rock Pipit of note.