30th Mar

Strong westerly winds resulted in a few birds moving east with the obvious highlight of a second cal.yr Glaucous Gull as well as 199 Common Scoters, eight Mediterranean Gulls, 35 Sandwich Terns, an Arctic Skua and a Manx Shearwater. A Polish-ringed second cal.yr Caspian Gull spent a few hours roosting at the Point. There was a clearout of yesterdays migrants on the land with just three Chiffchaffs, four Firecrests and a few Meadow Pipits to be seen.

Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans   2cy   Polish colour-ringed P:62H   Dungeness   30th March 2023

Eight Porpoises were feeding offshore.

29th Mar

Thick fog through the morning prevented any serious seawatching but grounded a decent number of migrants. The highlights on the land were two Willow Warblers, 35 Chiffchaffs, 18 Firecrests, two Goldcrests and three Song Thrushes. A short seawatch in clearer weather in the afternoon produced 216 Brent Geese and a Black-throated Diver.

28th Mar

The morning dawned with a fresh southerly wind and produced a decent seawatch. Numbers were provided by 370 Brent Geese, 1033 Common Scoters, 108 Sandwich Terns, 205 Red-throated Divers and 200 Gannets along with 11 Shovelers, 15 Pintail, six Velvet Scoters, eight Red-breasted Mergansers, a Black-necked Grebe, three Grey Plovers, 12 Little Gulls, 29 Mediterranean Gulls, the first Common Tern of the year, a Great Skua and 13 Fulmars.

Five Porpoises were feeding offshore.

27th Mar

There was a small arrival of migrants on the land this morning but seawatching was very slow. Of note on the land were the first Willow Warbler of the spring, 20 Chiffchaffs, four Firecrests, two Black Redstarts, three Wheatears, a Grey Wagtail, a Siskin and a minor scarcity these days in the form of a Bullfinch. The best the sea could offer were just two Red-breasted Mergansers and three Sandwich Terns. 

Six Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

26th Mar

Another very quiet day. Seawatching produced just ten Shovelers and five Sandwich Terns of note. Two Caspian Gulls (2cy and 3cy) were feeding along the shoreline this afternoon.

Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

The clear highlight of the day from elsewhere was a 3cy White-tailed Eagle which spent most of the morning in fields on Dengemarsh before heading off in SW direction.

25th Mar

Another windy day and with very little in the way of passage. A Pheasant, a Merlin, ten Chiffchaffs and two Firecrests were seen on the land. The early morning seawatch produced 14 Mediterranean Gulls and 13 Sandwich Terns of note.

Two Porpoises were feeding offshore.

24th Mar

Very quiet in strong WSW winds. Six Mediterranean Gulls and five Sandwich Terns flew east during the morning.

Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

23rd Mar

An arrival of migrants, mainly around the Long Pits, included 14 Chiffchaffs and nine Firecrests. A Merlin and four Siskins were also seen. Seawatching was very slow with just 53 Common Scoters, three Mediterranean Gulls, seven Sandwich Terns and two Arctic Skuas of note.

The highlights of the day were two White-backed Dolphins along with two Porpoises.

A Small White and a Peacock were the first of the year and a Hummingbird Hawk-moth was seen in the Trapping Area.

22nd Mar

Another wet and windy day with very few birds to be seen. A Wheatear was seen at the fishing boats and 14 Sandwich Terns were of note offshore.

Two Porpoises were feeding offshore.

Elsewhere, an Alpine Swift was reported from the ARC this morning but could not be found later.

21st Mar

More miserable weather and very few migrants to be seen. A 4hr seawatch during the morning included 230 Brent Geese, 145 Common Scoters, a Red-breasted Merganser, 16 Sandwich Terns and 133 Gannets.  A first-winter Caspian Gull and a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull were in the roost at the Point. A Wheatear was seen at the fishing boats.

The highlight of the day though was a pod of four White-headed Dolphins along with three Porpoise.

20th Mar

Very quiet on a mostly miserable day. The morning seeawatch produced just a Mediterranean Gull and seven Sandwich Terns of interest. Three Chiffchaffs and five Firecrests were about the best the land could rustle up.

Another overnight session with the Audiomoth recorder produced a flock of Teal, three flocks of Wigeon, two Curlews and 54 Redwings,

Four Porpoises and a Grey Seal were seen offshore.

19th Mar

A much quieter day on both land and at sea. A Mediterranean Gull and three Sandwich Terns were about the best the sea had to offer. Migrants on the land included two Buzzards, ten Jackdaws, two Chiffchaffs, three Firecrests, 20 Redwing,  two Black Redstarts and eight  Wheatears.

The Audiomoth recorder was operated again last night with some excellent results. Redwings moved through for much of the night with a final total of 2276 calls counted although the passage between 0300 and 0500hrs with 2057 of the calls in this period. Also noted was a flock of Wigeon, a Snipe, seven passes by Common Gulls, a Fieldfare and nine Blackbirds.

Eight Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

A Small Tortoiseshell was the first butterfly of the year.

On the national front there has been a widespread arrival of Alpine Swifts in recent days and one finally made it into the wider Dungeness recording area with one seen at Scotney this afternoon

18th Mar

Seawatching provided most of the interest (mainly during the morning) with 6.5hrs of watching producing 426 Brent Geese, two Mute Swans, two Velvet Scoters, 450 Common Scoters, six Red-breasted Mergansers, 194 Kittiwakes, ten Little Gulls, 46 Sandwich Terns, a Great Skua, two Arctic Skuas, 117 Red-throated Divers, seven Fulmars and 689 Gannets. A scatter of migrants on the land included five Chiffchaffs, two Firecrests, a Black Redstart and six Wheatears.

The Audiomoth NocMig recorder was also deployed overnight with 242 Redwings calls counted. A flock of Common Scoters passed overhead at 0101hrs.

Seven Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore. 

17th Mar

A light southerly breeze with drizzle through the morning resulted in a decent arrival of commoner migrants on the land. Of note were a Merlin, 25 Chiffchaffs, six Firecrests, three Redwings, three Song Thrushes, two Black Redstarts and five Wheatears.

Birds continued to move offshore, mainly during the morning, with 421 Brent Geese, 16 Shoveler, two Gadwall, two Pintail, eight Teal, three Pochard, a Velvet Scoter, 159 Common Scoters, three Red-breasted Mergansers, six Mediterranean Gulls and 13 Sandwich Terns.

Six Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

A Dark Sword-grass was of note in the moth trap.

Dark Sword-grass Agrotis ipsilon   Dungeness   17th March 2023

16th Mar

Seawatching continued to provide most of the interest with 5.5hrs of coverage producing 2000 Brent Geese, eight Shelduck, five Shoveler, 21 Teal, three Pochard, two Velvet Scoters, 199 Common Scoters, six Red-breasted Mergansers. eight Curlews, 15 Mediterranean Gulls, seven Little Gulls, 41 Sandwich Terns, 190 Red-throated Divers, seven Fulmars and 114 Gannets. Very quiet on the land.

Three Porpoises were feeding offshore.

15th Mar

The first two Wheatears of the spring arrived on the beach and a Firecrest was also seen on the land. The sea was generally quiet except for 345 Brent Geese, 13 Tufted Ducks, two Mediterranean Gulls and a Great Northern Diver from nearly five hours of watching.

Eleven Porpoise were feeding offshore.

14th Mar

Very thin fare today with seawatching producing just 85 Brent Geese, 35 Common Scoters, a Redshank, three Mediterranean Gulls and three Sandwich Terns of note. A Woodcock and nine Stonechats were seen on the land.

Two Porpoises were feeding offshore.

13th Mar

Brent Geese moved east in good numbers with 953 birds during the morning but variety was limited to three Shovelers, four Teal, six Curlew, 18 Knot, 41 Kittiwakes, 13 Mediterranean Gulls and 273 Gannets. Seven Skylarks arrived and a Merlin was seen on the beach.

Two Porpoises were feeding offshore.

12th Mar

Very little on the move but the morning seawatch produced the highlight with a second calendar year Iceland Gull along with two Mediterranean Gulls and a Caspian Gull.

Two Porpoises were seen offshore.

11th Mar

Still not a great deal to report on the land. The sea saw a bit of movement with 5.5hrs of watching producing 15 Common Scoters, 688 Kittiwakes, four Mediterranean Gulls, 63 Common Gulls, two Sandwich Terns, 367 Red-throated Divers and 810 Gannets.

Three Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

10th Mar

Another quiet day. Seawatching produced two Pintails, a Sandwich Tern and 1088 Gannets of note.

Six Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore. 

9th Mar

Despite all the weather warnings in place it was not that bad today with the temperature peaking at 11C. Seawatching for much of the day produced 403 Brent Geese, eight Wigeon, three Pintail, a Red-breasted Merganser, seven Dunlin, four Mediterranean Gulls, eight Sandwich Terns, 302 Red-throated Divers, two Fulmars and 255 Gannets. Three Caspian Gulls were in the gull roost at high tide.

There were a couple of Chiffchaffs on the Point which were probably migrants.

Six Porpoises and a Grey Seal were seen offshore. 

8th Mar

Although there was no snow it was still a cold, wet and miserable day. It did, however, produce the best seawatch of the spring with six hours of observations producing 1223 Brent Geese, three Shelduck, seven Shovelers, 28 Wigeon, 128 Pintails, ten Teal, two Long-tailed Ducks, three Grey Plovers, four Ringed Plovers, 75(two flocks) Bar-tailed Godwits, two Sanderling, 121 Dunlin, a Snipe, three Mediterranean Gulls, a Sandwich Tern, 102 Red-throated Divers, three Fulmars and 262 Gannets. A first-winter Caspian Gull also dropped into the small roost at the Point.

Five Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

7th Mar

Another dreary day with light NE winds and generally overcast. A three-hour seawatch this morning produced just 106 Brent Geese, 120 Red-throated Divers, a Mediterranean Gull and 201 Gannets.

Two Porpoises were feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was seen in the evening.

6th Mar

Still slow going on the land but seawatching continues to produce some passage with 324 Brent Geese, 13 Teal, 15 Wigeon, three Eiders (all drakes), 53 Common Scoters, an Avocet, 111 Red-throated Divers and 88 Gannets. Three Ringed Plovers were also seen on the beach.

Three Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

5th Mar

Seawatching was the main interest with 4.5hrs of coverage producing 520 Brent Geese, 26 Common Scoters, 101 Kittiwakes, a Mediterranean Gull, 123 Guillemots, 700 auk sp, a Fulmar, 700 Gannets and a Merlin.

Three Porpoises were feeding offshore.

4th Mar

The morning seawatch saw an outstanding movement of Red-throated Divers with 2352 birds moving east (mostly in a one hour period) along with 114 Brent Geese, three Shelducks, 15 Shovelers, three Pintail, four Red-breasted Mergansers, 75 Kittiwakes, three Mediterranean Gulls and 633 Gannets. Two Snipe and a Firecrest were of note on the land.

Four Porpoise, a Common Seal and two Grey Seals were seen offshore.

3rd Mar

The morning seawatch produced two Red-breasted Mergansers, 102 Great Crested Grebes, two Curlews, two Mediterranean Gulls, 333 Red-throated Divers and 273 Gannets. A Chiffchaff and two Stonechats were seen on the land. 

Four Porpoises and two Grey Seals were seen offshore.

1st Mar

Seawatching produced 25 Oystercatchers, 50 Red-throated Divers, a Fulmar and 102 Gannets.

Three Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

2nd Mar

Not a great to report in the continuing cold NE winds. A 2.5hrs seawatch this produced 31 Brent Geese, a Shelduck, three Pintails, a Mediterranean Gull, 150 Red-throated Divers, seven Fulmars and 178 Gannets of interest.

Three Porpoises were feeding offshore.