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A miserable day of almost constant heavy drizzle and fresh winds. Seawatching produced four Eiders, 565 Red-throated Divers, nine Fulmars, 172 Kittiwakes, three Mediterranean Gulls, a Great Skua and 1606 auks.
A Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
A 2.5hr seawatch this morning produced 54 Teal, 625 Red-throated Divers, four Fulmars, 406 Gannets, two Sanderlings, 180 Kittiwakes, five Mediterranean Gulls, two Great Skuas, 872 Guillemots, 329 Razorbills and 2200 auks species.
A Grey Seal was feeding offshore.
Limited coverage today but an hour seawatch this morning produced 19 Shelduck, 14 Shoveler, a Velvet Scoter, 180 Kittiwakes, four Great Skuas and 2000 auks of note. Two first-winter Caspian Gulls were seen at the Patch.
A visit to the Patch produced four first-winter Caspian Gulls and a Black Redstart along the wall and a walk out to fill the feeders in the Trapping Area produced the Siberian Chiffchaff again along with two Chiffchaffs.
More seawatching this morning produced another Slavonian Grebe along with nine Shovelers, 572 Red-throated Divers, 107 Kittiwakes, two Great Skuas, 844 Guillemots, 511 Razorbills and 1961 auks sp.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were also seen.
The sea continues to provide most of the interest with the morning seawatch producing the highlight of a Slavonian Grebe along with 441 Red-throated Divers, 89 Kittiwakes and 538 auks.
A Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Another 3.25 hrs of seawatching during the day produced 12 Shelduck, 18 Teal, 16 Wigeon, three Shovelers, three Eider, 337 Red-throated Divers, 65 Kittiwakes and 1675 auks.
Two Chiffchaffs were seen in the Trapping Area.
Most of the morning was spent seawatching where the highlights included 12 Shelduck, five Shoveler, 31 Wigeon, a Pintail, 15 Teal, 729 Red-throated Divers, 250 Gannets, 5,000 Cormorants, two Mediterranean Gulls, a Sandwich Tern and 2800 auks (mainly Guillemots).
Two Grey Seals were also seen.
Elsewhere, a mixed flock of geese at Dengemarsh included a Pink-footed Goose, five Tundra Bean Geese and 23 White-fronted Geese. Three Cattle Egrets were seen at Cockles Bridge and Short-eared Owls were seen at Scotney and on the Lydd Ranges.
Thick fog for most of the day restricted observations but a flock of White-fronted Geese flew unseen but heard over the Trapping Area and a Jack Snipe was seen at the Long Pits. Three Chiffchaffs, a Fieldfare and three Black Redstarts were seen on the land.
Seawatching through the morning and early afternoon produced 22 Brent Geese, 17 Shovelers, three Gadwalls, 52 Wigeon, six Mallard, a Velvet Scoter, 945 Red-throated Divers, a Great Northern Diver, a Knot, 13 Mediterranean Gulls, three Great Skuas and 3000 auks. A first-winter Caspian Gull, a Sandwich Tern and 7150 Cormorants were also seen offshore. A Black Redstart was seen along the power station wall.
A Porpoise and three Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
There was a small arrival of birds on the land and a decent movement of birds offshore. The best on offer on the land were seven Chiffchaffs, six Fieldfares, 15 Redwings, a Mistle Thrush, a Brambling and three Siskins. Just under four hours of seawatching saw eight Shelducks, five Gadwall, 107 Wigeon, 890 Red-throated Divers, 539 Gannets, 57 Kittiwakes, three Mediterranean Gulls and around 5,200 auks.
A Grey Seal was seen offshore.
Lots of birds offshore including 48 Wigeon, two Red-breasted Mergansers, 678 Red-throated Divers, a Little Gull, a Mediterranean Gull, a Great Skua, 1150 auks and the highlight of two Great Northern Divers. Two Chiffchaffs and a Black Redstart were seen on the land.
Singles of Porpoise, Common Seal and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
With the absolutely flat conditions it was perfect for the arrival of human migrants and at least five boats were seen today. One boat made landfall just a few yards along the beach from where I was watching.
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| Migrants making landfall at the Point |
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| And a desolate footnote to their arrival |
The sea was much quieter today with 1200 auks in the first two hours of light and a Mediterranean Gull at the Patch. Five Chiffchaffs were seen in the bushes.
Two Grey Seals were seen offshore.
Four hours of seawatching this morning produced a flock of 39 Barnacle Geese, 25 Wigeon, 368 Red-throated Divers, 150 Kittiwakes, a Mediterranean Gull and 1233 auks. The massive arrival of Cormorants continues with 14,517 passing the fishing boats in the first couple of hours of daylight.. Very little coverage on the land but a Black Redstart was seen along the power station wall.
Two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
A 1.75hour seawatch this morning produced some decent numbers but not a great deal of variety. Of note were three Fulmars, 338 Kittiwakes, five Mediterranean Gulls, 545 Guillemots and 252 Razorbills. Two first-winter Caspian Gulls and two Yellow-legged Gulls were seen at the Patch. A Jack Snipe, four Chiffchaffs, a Dartford Warbler, a Brambling and a Redpoll were of note on the land.
One Porpoise was feeding offshore.
Seawatching produced 15 Wigeon, eight Teal, two Red-breasted Mergansers, a Grey Plover, 127 Kittiwakes and two Great Skuas and the count of the day of a remarkable 10.495 Cormorants. Adult Caspian Gulls were seen at the Point and the Patch. Very quiet on the land.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were seen offshore.
Not a great deal to report. Seawatchng produced nine Shelduck, a Red-breasted Merganser, 208 Red-throated Divers and a Mediterranean Gull. Five Chiffchaffs, four Goldcrests, three Black Redstarts, eight Bramblings, a Redpoll and seven Siskin were seen on the land.
A Common Seal and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Very quiet both on land and offshore. A Yellow-legged Gull was feeding at the Patch and two Sandwich Terns flew west. Two Chiffchaffs and a Brambling were seen in the trapping area.
One Porpoise was also seen offshore.
The highlights of an otherwise fairly quiet seawatch this morning were three Goosanders, a Great Northern Diver. and a late Sandwich Tern. On the land, there were six Chiffchaffs in the trapping area and a Bramblings and three Siskins flew over.
A Common Seal and a Grey Seal were seen offshore.
Very quiet today. Seawatching produced just 100 Red-throated Divers, six Fulmars, three Mediterranean Gulls and a Sandwich Tern of interest.
Two Common Seals, a Grey Seal and a Porpoise were feeding offshore.
A miserable day with strong winds and heavy rain at times, especially in the evening. Seawatching was the only sensible option but even here it was disappointing with 450 Kittiwakes, six Little Gulls, 20 Mediterranean Gulls, a Yellow-legged Gull, seven Sandwich Terns and 1075 Guillemots of note during the morning.
One Grey Seal was seen offshore.
Seawatching was a bit better today with the highlight being eight Great Skuas along with 18 Teal, two Red-breasted Merganser, 107 Red-throated Divers and five Mediterranean Gulls. Two Woodcocks and three Chiffchaffs were seen in the trapping area.
Two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
A damp morning with fresh NW winds resulted in very quiet seawatching with just a single Great Skua of note. The highlight from the Trapping Area was a Siberian Chiffchaff seen well near the feeding station along with a Woodcock and three Chiffchaffs.
A Grey Seal was seen offshore.
Very quiet with just a few Red-throated Divers and auks lingering offshore and a single Sandwich Tern moving into the Bay. A Merlin was also seen at the fishing boats.
Three Porpoises and two Grey Seals were seen.
Also of note was a party of five Whooper Swans which spent most of the day on the ARC Pit.
Another fairly miserable day with seawatching producing just five Teal, two Gadwall and a late Sandwich Tern of note and a brief stop in the small gull roost of a first-winter Caspian Gull.
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| Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans first-winter Dungeness 3rd December 2021 |
On the downside its depressing to see the number of gulls with ingested fishing line or severely damaged legs, mainly caused by entanglement with fishing tackle.
The highlight of the morning seawatch was a Manx Shearwater along with three Sandwich Terns and two Great Skuas. Very little else to be seen other than a flock of 30 Fieldfares.
Seawatching was the order of the day again with 3.75 hrs of recording producing 518 Red-throated Divers (mostly west), three Sandwich Terns, two Great Skuas, 3000 Guillemots and a Merlin of note.
Two Common Seals and a Grey Seal were also seen.
Over three hours of seawatching in fresh westerly winds produced a Goldeneye, 266 Red-throated Divers, a Mediterranean Gull, nine Sandwich Terns, two Great Skuas and 900 auks of note. Two Caspian Gulls and a Yellow-legged Gull were seen at the Patch.
A Grey Seal was seen offshore.