There was a decent arrival of migrants on the land today with 70 Willow Warblers, 20 Reed Warblers, seven Garden Warblers, two Pied Flycatchers and four Redstarts of note. Whilst out checking the moth trap at 0030hrs a Bittern was heard calling as it passed overhead and a Little Egret flew over during the day. A White Stork which spent a good part of the day roosting on the telephone mast at Lade was easily discernible from the Observatory through a telescope. Not so long ago this would have been an exciting sighting but this (like nearly all recent UK sightings) was a released bird from the "reintroduction" project based at Knepp in Sussex. Five Common Sandpipers also passed through the day and 14 Mediterranean Gulls and two Arctic Skuas were seen offshore.
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| Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus Dungeness 16th August 2022 |
The moth of the day was a superb Spurge Hawkmoth which came to a light at Southview Cottage.
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| Spurge Hawkmoth Hyles euphorbiae Dungeness 17th August 2022 |
A -Southern Oak Bush-cricket and a Mediterranean Stick-insect were seen at the Observatory.