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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.
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12th Oct

Another very windy day which made observations on the land very difficult whilst the sea was disappointingly quiet again.
Gannets and Sandwich Terns continued to push through but 4.5 hours of watching produced just two Shovelers, two Great Skuas, maybe 15 Arctic Skuas, 52 Kittiwakes and seven Mediterranean Gulls of additional interest.
A few Goldfinches flew south, a Little Owl was found in the Desert and a Firecrest was still present in the lighthouse garden. A couple of late Sand Martins were also seen.
Seawatching at dawn   Dungeness   12th October 2018
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

 Overnight moth trapping produced a Delicate, a Scarce Bordered Straw and a Clancy's Rustic of note.

 Ivy Bees were feeding in good numbers in the Lighthouse Garden but the disturbing news on the insect front was that David Bunney videoed an Asian Hornet Vespa velutina in his garden yesterday. Despite searching it was not seen today.
Asian Hornet Vespa vetulina  11th October 2018  (D.Bunney))
This wasp was first seen in Europe in France in 2004 and has since spread rapidly from there across much of western Europe and was first recorded in Britain in 2016. It is considered one of the most harmful of all the invasive species listed by European Union  and is of particular concern because of its likely impact on the European Honeybee Apis mellifera. Please report any confirmed sightings to the Observatory or direct to the GB Non-native Species Secretariat.
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