The first cold day of the autumn produced a bit of movement offshore but very little on the land.
Of note offshore were the first Brent Geese (31) of the autumn, 95 Wigeon, 14 Teal, a Ruff, 24 Arctic Skuas, seven Great Skuas, three Mediterranean Gulls, a Little Tern and two Black Terns.
Four Kestrels and six Merlins appeared to arrive from the south and two Swifts, 300 Swallows and 550 House Martins also flew through, Grounded migrants were pretty scarce with just ten Chiffchaffs of note.
Ten Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore and a Stoat was also seen.
The moth traps were very quiet but the catch did include a Scarce Bordered Straw.
Elsewhere, the obvious highlight of the day was a first-winter Pallid Harrier which was hunting over the Army Ranges at Galloways Road at 1840hrs before it headed strongly west towards Scotney. This is the first Dungeness area record.
Data Protection
At Dungeness Bird Observatory we take security of your data very seriously. The data we hold is kept securely on a password protected device and we never pass on any information to a third party. For more information please read our Data Policy available here.
Local weather
Update
The Observatory can accommodate up to 9 people in two dormitories, you need to bring your own sleeping bags and it is self-catering. As well as Birdwatchers, we welcome people from many areas of interest including Moths, Butterflies, Bugs and Beetles or just a general interest in Nature and the local environment.
Please forward any Dungeness recording area records to the Warden.
You can still support the Obs by using Give as you Live when shopping online.