Dungeness Bird Observatory : 15th May

The dearth of migrants continues on the land but there was another Turtle Dove of note along with a Lapwing, 25 Swallows and singles of House and Sand Martin. The sea was a bit more productive than of late with a Black-throated Diver, a handful of waders, three Arctic Skuas and a trickle of terns with the latter including a single flock of 52 Black Terns.

Three Porpoises were feeding offshore.

Three Variable Damselflies were seen at the north end of the Long Pits.

The sunnier conditions brought out a few bees with several Tree Bumblebees in the trapping area and at the Observatory. A mining-bee trapped yesterday was confirmed as Andrena labialis and was released today. The patch of new vegetation in front of the Observatory is also proving to be a good source of bees with what I think must be Nomada lathburiana caught there this morning. One Geotomus shieldbug was also seen in the usual spot in the moat.
A bit of late news from yesterday involves the finding of a early stage nymph Great Green Bush-cricket. This species is surprisingly rare in the Observatory area given how common they are just a bit inland and this may well be the first record of a nymph.