Still very quiet. The windy conditions continue to disappoint at sea with just a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull, three Little Terns and 146 Common Terns of any interest. Swifts also passed through with a total of 178 birds counted.
Four Porpoise and a Grey Seal were seen.
Very quiet. A trickle of terns moved west including three juvenile Arctic Terns along with 45 Kittiwakes and an Arctic Skua which flew east.
Six Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
The highlight from the moth traps was a Scarce Bordered Straw.
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| Scarce Bordered Straw Helicoverpa armigera Dungeness 29th July 2023 |
Most of the interest remains offshore but even here it was fairly quiet. Over 4.5hrs of seawatching produced just a Tufted Duck, 45 Common Scoters, 54 Kittiwakes, just one Mediterranean Gull, 51 Sandwich Terns, 319 Common Terns, an Arctic Skua, a party of nine Razorbills and a Little Egret. Just 15 Sand Martins and two Willow Warblers were seen on the land.
Four Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Heavy rain and strong winds overnight continued for most of the day. There was very little movement offshore and the land was barely covered.
Three Porpoises were seen.
Today saw the first small arrival of grounded migrants of the autumn with 16 Willow Warblers being counted.
Moth trapping produced a surprise in the form of Radford's Flame Shoulder. This is the fifth Observatory record and also the first "summer" record for the wider area and possibly suggesting a locally-bred individual rather than a primary migrant.
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| Radford's Flame Shoulder Ochropleura leucogaster Dungeness 26th July 2023 |
An evening seawatch produced 190 Common Terns west and two Arctic Skuas lingering offshore while two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls were in the roost at the fishing boats.
Seven Porpoise and two Grey Seals were seen.
A couple of seawatches during the morning produced 69 Kittiwakes, two Mediterranean Gulls, 36 Common Terns (with another 70 feeding offshore in the evening) and a Manx Shearwater west. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen in the Moat and 38 Sand Martins passed through.
Five Porpoises, two Grey Seals and a Common Seal were feeding offshore.
Around five hours of seawatching during the day produced 134 Common Terns west, an Arctic Skua and two Manx Shearwaters.
Singles of Porpoise and Grey Seal were seen.
The morning seawatch produced just a Whimbrel, six Mediterranean Gulls and a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull. Two Yellow Wagtails and a Grey Wagtail flew over during the morning and as the weather deteriorated in the afternoon around 2,000 Swifts initially went out to sea and later gathered overhead.
Six Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore and a party of three unidentified dolphins went west but evaded identification.
Moth trapping remarkably produced another two Dark Crimson Underwings and also a Rose Plume of note.
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| Rose Plume Cnaemidophorus rhododactyla Dungeness 22nd July 2023 The fifth Observatory record. |
Singles of Black-tailed Godwit, Snipe and Redshank and two Yellow Wagtails flew over the Observatory this morning but it was otherwise a quiet day.
The highlight of the day was the trapping of a Dark Crimson Underwing.
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| Dark Crimson Underwing Catocala sponsa Dungeness 21st July 2023 |
A Wood Sandpiper flew over the Observatory this morning and three Yellow-legged Gulls and a flock of 11 Little Terns were the best the sea could offer.
The best of the overnight moth trapping were a Pine Hawkmoth, a Dog's Tooth and the tortrix Endothenia profundana.
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| Endothenia profundana, Dog's Tooth Lacanobia suasa and Pine Hawkmoth Hyloicus pinastri Dungeness 20th July 2023 |
A thorough check of the main areas for rare crickets produced just one nymph Sickle-bearing Bush-cricket and only six Tree Cricket nymphs.
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| Sickle-bearing Bush-cricket Phaneroptera falcata Dungeness 20th July 2023 |
A Grey Plover, ten Mediterranean Gulls, four Yellow-legged Gulls and 24 Sandwich Terns were the highlight of this morning's seawatch.
Three Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Two Southern Oak Bush-crickets were found in the Observatory garden.
Most frustratingly two right forewings from Light Crimson Underwing moths were found in the Observatory garden. A Jersey Tiger was also seen at the Railway Station.
A two-hour seawatch this morning this morning produced nine Shovelers, 43 Mediterranean Gulls and a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull. Overhead passage included 140 Sand Martins.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
A male Lesser Emperor dragonfly was seen at the northern end of the Long Pits.
A Dark Crimson Underwing was seen briefly as it fed in the flowers of the Buddleja bush in the front gardens of the cottages.
The morning seawatch produced 54 Kittiwakes, 33 Mediterranean Gulls, a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull, 19 Sandwich Terns and an Arctic Skua of note. It was very quiet on the land.
Three Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Despite the stormy conditions the sea was fairly uneventful with just 15 Mediterranean Gulls and a juvenile Little Tern feeding offshore and two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls on the beach.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Seawatching in stormy conditions produced a Wigeon, 45 Common Scoters, four Whimbrel, 68 Mediterranean Gulls, four Yellow-legged Gulls, 22 Sandwich Terns, an Arctic Skua and three Manx Shearwaters but the highlight of the day was overhead with at least 2,500 Swifts flying over the Point and out to sea.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Around 40 Mediterranean Gulls and five juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls were roosting on the beach at the Patch this morning but very little else was seen.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Very quiet on the land but most of the interest offshore where at least 200 Mediterranean Gulls and five juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls were seen.
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| Mediterranean Gulls Larus melanocephalus Dungeness 13th July 2023 A small part of the feeding flock of gulls |
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| Great Black-backed Gulls Larus marinus juveniles Dungeness 13th July 2023 The two youngsters are very close to fledging. |
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Four Hummingbird Hawkmoths were seen along the Power Station wall and an Olive-tree Pearl Palpita vitrealis was caught in the moth traps overnight.
Most of the interest was along the tide/offshore where several visits eventually produced three Shelducks, at least 220 Mediterranean Gulls, a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull and two Arctic Skuas. Three Little Egrets also came in from the south, a Greenshank flew over the Long Pits and a Hobby was hunting on the Point this evening.
Three Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
Two Holly Blue butterflies were seen in the Trapping Area.
Most of the days interest was in a large arrival/movement of Mediterranean Gulls with an minimum of 350 birds being seen along with at least three juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls. Single Whimbrel and Curlew also flew west and 690 Swifts and 16 Sand Martins flew out to sea.
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| Mediterranean Gulls Larus melanocephalus Dungeness 11th July 2023 |
Five Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
Some outstanding late news concerns a moth trapped by Dorothy Beck on 7th July, Searching through the foreign literature by Sean Clancy eventually showed it to be an example of Hadula odontites and is a new species to Britain.
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| Hadula odontites Lydd-on-sea 7th July 2023 |
Thirty Mediterranean Gulls and 20 Sandwich Terns were feeding offshore and 155 Sand Martins and a Yellow Wagtail passed overhead.
Five Porpoise and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
The moth traps remain productive with a Mottled Beauty (perhaps surprisingly only our fifth record), a Brussels Lace and our seventh record of a superb Dewick's Plusia of note.
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| Dewick's Plusia Macdunnoughia confusa Dungeness 10th July 2023 |
Fifteen Swift flew out to sea and 20 Mediterranean Gulls were feeding offshore.
Two Porpoises were seen.
The moth traps were very productive with at least 144 species recorded and including our second Bright Wave, a fourth record of Beautiful Hook-tip, our sixth record of Dark Umber and our tenth record of Obscure Wainscot.
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| Beautiful Hook-tip Laspeyria flexula Dungeness 9th July 2023 |
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| Bright Wave Idaea ochrata Dungeness 9th July 2023 |
The morning's seawatch produced 16 Shelducks passing east and 12 Mediterranean Gull passing west of note. There was very little to be seen on the land.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were seen offshore.
The moth traps were fairly quiet but did produce a nice pyralid in the form of a Moitrelia obductella and only the second Observatory record.
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| Moitrelia obductella Dungeness 8th July 2023 |
An hours seawatch this morning saw seven Mediterranean Gulls passing west but little else was seen during a very warm day.
Three Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
A thorough search of the flower meadow in front of the Observatory produced two Ornate Shieldbugs, 20 Crucifer Bugs and at least 100 Firebugs.
Elsewhere, a Cattle Egret was seen on the RSPB Reserve.
The morning seawatch produced 44 Common Scoters east and a Manx Shearwater west while 30 Mediterranean Gulls and the juvenile Yellow-legged Gull were feeding at the Patch again. In the evening 100 Sand Martins flew south and out to sea.
Two Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
There was little doubt about the oddest sighting of the day when a large Smooth-hound Shark swam along the shoreline and eventually stranded itself on the beach this evening.
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| Smooth-hound Shark Mustelus mustelus Dungeness 6th July 2023 |
The moth traps were fairly quiet but notable insects during the day were two Small Red-eyed Damselflies at the southern end of the Long Pits and a Bee Wolf nest digging in a sandy mound at the front of the Observatory.
There were lots of gulls at the Patch this morning with 30 Mediterranean Gulls and three Yellow-legged Gulls with the latter including the first juvenile of the summer of note. A total of 24 Swifts and a lone Sand Martin flew over.
A Grey Seal was feeding offshore.
Very quiet with just eight Swifts and six Mediterranean Gulls offshore of interest.
A Grey Seal was feeding offshore.
Perhaps a bit surprisingly, Pied Shieldbug was finally added to the list of shieldbugs for the recording area. It is described as Widespread but I have been searching for this species for several years and have failed to find one until now. It was found in the Lilac bush in front of the Observatory. A Heath Shieldbug and c20 Crucifer Bugs were also noted. A bit of sweeping for insects at the south-east corner of the Trapping Area produced the first Tree Cricket and Sickle-bearing Bush-cricket nymphs.
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| Pied Shieldbug Tritomegas bicolor Dungeness 4th July 2023 |
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| Sickle-bearing Bush-cricket Phaneroptera falcata Dungeness 4th July 2023 |
Nine Mediterranean Gulls feeding offshore and 12 Swifts over the area were the only birds of note.
Two Porpoise and a Grey Seal were seen offshore.
An Ornate Shieldbug was found in front of the Observatory.
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| Ornate Shieldbug Eurydema ornatum Dungeness 3rd July 2023 |
Quiet again. The morning seawatch produced a Teal, eight Mediterranean Gulls and 14 Sandwich Terns of interest.
Three Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
A Balearic Shearwater and a Whimbrel flew west this morning and 30 Mediterranean Gulls were feeding at the Patch.
Seven Porpoises were feeding offshore.