19th Oct

A day of quality with a Yellow-browed Warbler in a private garden being the highlight along with a Hawfinch in the trapping area and nine White-fronted Geese and a Lapland Bunting overhead.

Other birds passing overhead included five Golden Plover, 51 Skylarks, 64 Swallows, seven Mistle Thrushes, two Fieldfares, four Tree Sparrows, 165 Meadow Pipits, a Rock Pipit, 101 Chaffinches, eight Bramblings, 1139 Goldfinches, 28 Siskins and 14 Reed Buntings. Grounded migrants included 37 Chiffchaffs, a Lesser Whitethroat, four Goldcrests, a Firecrest, 42 Blackbirds, 85 Robins and a late Redstart while other bits and pieces included a Great White Egret, a Barn Owl, two Merlins and five Dartford Warblers.

The sea was pretty quiet but still produced 116 Wigeon, six Pintail, 18 Teal, two Little Gulls, ten Mediterranean Gulls and a Black-throated Diver of note.

A Grey Seal was seen offshore.

Although it was fairly cold and windy overnight the moth traps still produced a goody in the form of a White-speck.

White-speck Mythimna unipuncta   Dungeness   19th October 2026

18th Oct

A thoroughly miserable day with strong NE winds and heavy rain from 0800hrs saw a continuous heavy passage of birds arriving from the east with a Lapwing, six Snipe, two Short-eared Owls, 21 Skylarks, 2009 Starlings, a Mistle Thrush, 13 Fieldfares, four Grey Wagtails, three Rock Pipits, another massive movement of 8300 Chaffinches, 18 Bramblings, five Redpolls (three Commons), 362 Goldfinches and 260 Siskins. Four Egyptian Geese and a Cattle Egret flew over. Grounded migrants included two Firecrests, 14 Song Thrushes, 166 Redwings, 50 Blackbirds and a Redstart while a Merlin and a Dartford Warbler were also seen.

Birds passing offshore included Brent Geese (137E,690W), 52 Wigeon, a Pintail, nine Teal, 64 Common Scoters, a Red-breasted Merganser, 23 Sanderlings, 26 Mediterranean Gulls, 12 Sandwich Terns, an Arctic Skua and 200 Gannets.

Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

17th Oct

A cold northerly wind saw some movement offshore, a large overhead passage and a small arrival of grounded migrants. Wildfowl were the main movers offshore with Brent Geese (120E, 545W) Wigeon (30E,95W), 12 Pintail, 12 Teal and 59 Common Scoter along with 29 Mediterranean Gulls. 

Grounded migrants included 16 Chiffchaffs, a Firecrest, 19 Song Thrushes, two Mistle Thrushes and 83 Redwings and a Long-eared Owl was also seen. Overhead passage included high counts of 751 Stock Doves, 3474 Chaffinches and an excellent total of 110 Bramblings, along with five Snipe, a Woodlark, 105 Skylarks, five Tree Sparrows, three Rock Pipits, five Redpolls (two of which were Commons), 252 Goldfinches, 43 Siskins and 45 Reed Buntings.

Five Porpoises and three Grey Seals were seen offshore and a Brown Hare was seen on the land.

Contacting the Observatory

Please use the following email address to contact the Observatory from now on.

dbotwarden@gmail.com 

to contact the Observatory. Many thanks.

16th Oct

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.

15th Oct

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.

Western Conifer Seed Bug Leptoglossus occidentalis   Dungeness   15th October 2026

14th Oct

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.

13th Oct

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. 

12th Oct

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.

Convolvulus Hawk-moth Agrius convolvuli   12th October 2026

11th Oct

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.