Moth Licences for 'Friends'

Friends of Dungeness Moth Licences

With the changes in permission for moth trapping in the area around the Long Pits, Dungeness, we are very pleased to announce that we have 2 moth licences for use by 'Friends' of the Observatory. Please contact the Warden for more information.

18th Aug

There was another small arrival of migrants this morning with 20 Willow Warblers dominating the numbers.
Seawatching provided most of the interest for the rest of the day with a long afternoon watch producing two Grey Plovers, 660 Sandwich Terns, 150 Common Terns and nine Black Terns. Three lingering Arctic Skuas and a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull were also present.

Six Porpoise, a Common Seal and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

17th Aug

The highlight of the day was an Osprey which few out to sea in the afternoon. Four Black Terns flew west during the morning seawatch and a flock of nine Whimbrel flew over the area..
There was a small arrival of migrants on the land with 25 Willow Warblers, three Garden Warblers, 20 Lesser Whitethroats, ten Wheatears and two Tree Pipits being the most significant.

Five Porpoises and a Common Seal were feeding offshore.

A Clouded Yellow was seen.

16th Aug

A check of the gulls feeding and roosting at the Patch this morning proved quite profitable with the finding of a juvenile Caspian Gull. A Black Tern was also present. In the afternoon there were four Arctic Skuas and two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls loitering at the fishing boats. There was a steady westerly movement of terns with 498 Sandwich and 635 Commons during three hours of watching.

Generally very quiet on the land 

Two Porpoises and a Common Seal were feeding offshore.

15th Aug

There was a small arrival of migrants this morning, mostly centred around the moat, with 40 Willow Warblers and a Spotted Flycatcher of note while two Tree Pipits and 15 Yellow Wagtails passed overhead.
Offshore, there was a big westerly movement of Sandwich Terns with over 1700 counted along with six Arctic Skuas. A Black Tern was feeding at the Patch and four Yellow-legged Gulls came to the bread offerings at the fishing boats.

A Grey Seal and two Porpoises were feeding offshore.

14th Aug

Not a great deal to report today. A few migrants, mainly around the Long Pits again, were present including 20 Willow Warblers and 11 Lesser Whitethroats. Fifteen Yellow Wagtails and a Grey Wagtail flew over. Three juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls were seen at the fishing boats. 

Three Porpoises were feeding offshore.

A Clouded Yellow and a Holly Blue were of note among the butterflies and a V-Pug was the only notable moth trapped overnight.

A stunning Death's Head Hawkmoth was found at Lydd-on-Sea and was brought to the Observatory for public viewing.  

Death's Head Hawkmoth Acherontia atropos   Lydd-on-Sea   14th August 2018

13th Aug

Frequent heavy downpours throughout the day hampered observations but there was clearly very little to be seen in the bushes and several hours of seawatching produced just seven Manx Shearwaters of interest.

Single Common and Grey Seals were feeding offshore. 

The moth traps produced another decent record for the area with only our fifth-ever Barred Rivulet.

Barred Rivulet Perizoma bifaciata   Dungeness   13th August 2018

12th Aug

A breezy day which eventually produced a Balearic and two Manx Shearwaters, two Arctic Skuas and a Great Skua of note along with large numbers of Gannets and Sandwich Terns. A Yellow-legged Gull was also seen.

It was very quiet on the land.

Three Porpoises were feeding offshore. 

11th Aug

There was a large arrival of migrants this morning but unfortunately for ringing purposes it was almost all around the Long Pits. The highlights were a Grasshopper Warbler near the Pumphouse and a Spotted Flycatcher at the top end while numbers were provided by 100 Willow Warblers, six Sedge Warblers, 25 Reed Warblers, four Garden Warblers and 120 Whitethroats.
The sea was very quiet with just a lingering juvenile Yellow-legged Gull of note. 

10th Aug

A mainly wet and windy day and much cooler than of late. A handful of migrants in the bushes included 15 Willow Warblers, a Garden Warbler and a few Whitethroats and Reed Warblers.
At sea, Gannets, Sandwich and Common Terns trickled westwards through the day, as did four Black Terns, while an Arctic Skua flew east.

Four Porpoises were feeding offshore.