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Local weather

Update

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29th Aug

A cold day with a strong NW wind blowing made observations on the land difficult and seawatching not unexpectedly disappointing despite the numbers being reported from the north Kent coast.

 The best the sea could provide was a party of three Grey Herons moving west, a few Gannets and terns, 14 Knot and seven Arctic Skuas. Three Yellow-legged Gulls were seen among the gulls gathered at the fishing boats.
Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis   juvenile/first-winter   Dungeness   29th August 2020
A Hobby, a Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper and two Swifts flew over the area but grounded migrants were almost non-existent.

 Four Grey Seals and four Porpoise were seen offshore and a Common Pipistrelle was heard on the Bat Detector this evening.


Grey Seal Halichoerus grypus   Dungeness   29th August 2020
However, the highlight of the day came at dawn when a look round the corner of the Observatory to the moth trap revealed a superb Clifden Nonpareil sitting on the wall above the light. The only other moth of note was a Pearly Underwing.
Clifden Nonpareil Catocala fraxini   Dungeness   29th August 2020
Another nocturnal visit to the trapping area in far from ideal conditions produced a female Large Conehead and three Sickle-bearing Bush-crickets but the Tree Cricket chorus was very subdued. 
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