A wet and windy day with very little on the land and good numbers of birds feeding offshore including 200 Mediterranean Gulls, three first-winter Caspian Gulls, a Great Skua, four Arctic Skuas and a Balearic Shearwater.
Two Porpoises were feeding offshore.
An excellent morning on the land with the highlight of two Yellow-browed Warblers (one caught), along with 150 Chiffchaffs, 13 Blackcaps, a Lesser Whitethroat, two Whitethroats, two Dartford Warblers, two Firecrests, eight Goldcrests, a Ring Ouzel in the Moat, three Redwings, a late Redstart and a Wheatear. There was also a decent bit of passage overhead with 46 Stock Doves, a Short-eared Owl, five Bramblings, 60 Goldfinch, 50 Siskins, a Yellowhammer and 30 Reed Buntings. A Little Gull and 40 Mediterranean Gulls were feeding offshore in the evening.
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| Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus Dungeness 11th October 2024 |
A Porpoise was seen offshore.
A Mediterranean Stick-insect and a Mottled Shieldbug were found in the Observatory garden.
A fairly quiet day with 13 Mediterranean Gulls and four Arctic Skuas offshore, 35 Chiffchaffs and two Firecrests in the bushes and singles of Tree and Rock Pipit, two Bramblings, 75 Goldfinch, 21 Siskins and 23 Reed Buntings overhead.
Four Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
There was a surprisingly good catch of moths overnight with 34 Delicates, a Scarce Bordered Straw, a Radford's Flame Shoulder, nine Udea ferrugalis and two Palpita vitrealis of note.
The highlight of the day was the seemingly overdue arrival of Yellow-browed Warblers with two in the Trapping Area and one at the north end of the Long Pits. Other notable grounded migrants included a Snipe, a Jay, 50 Chiffchaffs, 11 Blackcaps, a Whitethroat, seven Firecrests, four Song Thrushes and four Wheatears. There was also some overhead passage with a Golden Plover, 37 Skylarks, 500 Swallows, three Tree Sparrows, a Yellow Wagtail, three Grey Wagtails, three Bramblings, 240 Goldfinches, 70 Siskins and eight Reed Buntings. The sea was fairly quiet with a two-hour watch producing just 14 Mediterranean Gulls, 80 Sandwich Terns, four Arctic Skuas, 51 Razorbills, three Balearic Shearwaters and 431 Gannets.
Three Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore and a Grey Squirrel was seen in the Trapping Area.
The land was dominated by another sizable movement of hirundines with 6600 Swallows and 1050 House Martins during the day while other visible migrants included a Grey Wagtail, 155 Goldfinches and ten Siskins. Grounded migrants were in short supply with just 30 Chiffchaffs, a Whitethroat, a Firecrest and a Wheatear of interest. A decent seawatch in the morning produced 18 Mediterranean Gulls, 246 Sandwich Terns, two Little Terns, 13 Arctic Skuas, 109 Razorbills, a Sooty Shearwater, nine Balearic Shearwaters and 663 Gannets.
Two Porpoises and two Common Seals were feeding offshore.
The moth traps produced 11 Delicates but not much else.
A disappointing day. Seawatching produced two Balearic Shearwaters of note along with 22 Mediterranean Gulls, two Arctic Terns, five Arctic Skuas and 229 Gannets. There was a steady trickle of birds passing overhead including a Great White Egret, nine Skylarks, 340 Swallows, two Yellow Wagtails, a Grey Wagtail, 120 Meadow Pipits, a Tree Pipit, 28 Goldfinches three Siskins and six Reed Buntings. Migrants in the bushes remain few in number with just 20 Chiffchaffs, six Blackcaps, a Dartford Warbler, a Firecrest, three Goldcrests, a Whinchat and three Wheatears.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
With a strong SSE wind blowing there was hope for the sea but it wasn't that productive with five hours of watching revealing just 16 Teal, a Little Gull, 14 Mediterranean Gulls, 215 Sandwich Terns, 81 Common Terns, three Arctic Terns, three Black Terns, 12 Arctic Skuas and 538 Gannets. A second-winter Caspian Gull and an adult Yellow-legged Gull were in a small roost of gulls on the beach. Birds passing overhead included 14 Skylarks, 3200 Swallows, 230 House Martins, three Grey Wagtails, 100 Meadow Pipits, three Redpolls, 15 Goldfinches, a Siskin and seven Reed Buntings. Grounded migrants were fairly few and far between with just 20 Chiffchaffs, four Firecrests, three Goldcrests, a Whinchat and seven Wheatears of note.
Three Porpoises and Brown Hare leveret were seen.
Elsewhere, a Yellow-browed Warbler was seen at the Pines at ARC.
A bright, sunny morning produced a decent bit of visible migration and good numbers of grounded migrants in the bushes. The highlights on the land were the first Ring Ouzel of the autumn, 120 Chiffchaffs, late Sedge and Reed Warblers, 35 Blackcaps, a Dartford Warbler, three Firecrests, two Whinchats and two Wheatears. Of note among the birds passing overhead were 20 Skylarks, 1500 Swallows, 50 House Martins, two Yellow Wagtails, 150 Meadow Pipits, two Bramblings, a Redpoll, 35 Goldfinches, 27 Siskins and 70 Reed Buntings. The best from a very quiet sea were two Shelduck, seven Wigeon, a Little Gull, five Mediterranean Gulls and three Arctic Skuas.
A Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
The moth traps were surprisingly productive with a Gem, seven Delicates and a Scarce Bordered Straw and 15 Udea ferrugalis of note.
Seven Mottled Shieldbugs were seen in the Old Lighthouse garden
The first calm morning for a few days and there were good numbers of birds on the land and passing overhead. There were at least 120 Chiffchaffs and 40 Blackcaps on the land and variety provided by a party of eight Bearded Tits in the Trapping Area, a Grasshopper Warbler, a Dartford Warbler, three Redwings, three Song Thrushes, a Spotted Flycatcher, two Whinchats and four Wheatears. Overhead migration also picked up with 1500 Swallows, two Tree Sparrows, a Yellow Wagtail, a Grey Wagtail, 140 Meadow Pipits, a Tree Pipit, two Rock Pipits, the first Brambling of the autumn, 30 Goldfinches, seven Siskins and 32 Reed Buntings. The sea remains extremely quiet though with just 12 Wigeon, a Little Gull, 11 Mediterranean Gulls and five Arctic Skuas of any interest.
Four Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
Two Mediterranean Stick-insects were found in the Observatory garden.
Twenty Chiffchaffs and 80 Meadow Pipits were the only birds of note on the land while seawatching produced just 248 Brent Geese, three Shelduck, 24 Wigeon, a Little Gull, two Mediterranean Gulls and three Arctic Skuas of interest.
A Brown Hare was seen on the land.
Still very little on the land and only marginally better offshore. Highlights from three hours of seawatching were just 304 Brent Geese, 21 Wigeon, a Little Gull, six Mediterranean Gulls and three Arctic Skuas. A Jay and a Buzzard were of note from the Trapping Area but only 20 Chiffchaffs were found in the bushes and a Rock Pipit, seven Siskins and nine Reed Buntings flew over.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Very quiet. Seventy Chiffchaffs were the only migrants on the land in any numbers and just a Merlin, a Hobby, a Yellow Wagtail, two Grey Wagtails and three Reed Buntings passing overhead of note. Very little offshore with just two Little Gulls and three Mediterranean Gulls of any interest.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
A foul day of strong SSE winds and almost constant rain. The only sensible option was seawatching but this was ultimately underwhelming with eight hours of coverage producing just 51 Brent Geese, seven Teal, two Red-breasted Mergansers, a Knot, two Dunlin, a Little Gull, seven Mediterranean Gulls, two Little Terns, three Black Terns, 312 Sandwich Terns, six Arctic Skuas, a juvenile Pomarine Skua, a Great Skua, four Sooty Shearwaters, 21 Balearic Shearwaters and a Merlin in off.
Four Porpoise and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
With a fresh increasing to strong SW wind most of the interest was offshore with over six hours of watching producing 178 Brent Geese, six Shelduck, nine Shoveler, two Wigeon, a Pintail, two Teal, an excellent total of 263 Little Gulls, 57 Mediterranean Gulls, 30 Common Gulls, an Arctic Tern, 16 Black Terns, a Great Skua, seven Arctic Skuas, seven Sooty Shearwaters, five Balearic Shearwaters and a Manx Shearwater. Movement on the land was more or less limited to Swallows with 16,000 passing out to sea along with 85 Meadow Pipits and 30 Goldfinches. Seventy Chiffchaffs and a Lesser Whitethroat were the only noteworthy birds in the bushes.
Four Porpoises and a Grey Seal were seen offshore and a Brown Hare was seen on the land.
Today was the day of the Big Kent Bird Migration Watch and we were able to contribute through the morning's ringing, visible migration counts and seawatchng. Most of the interest was on the land with a Jay, a flock of ten seemingly migrant Long-tailed Tits (all unringed), 110 Chiffchaffs, seven Blackcaps, a Goldcrest and the first two Redwings of the autumn. Birds passing overhead included a Golden Plover, a Snipe, an Osprey, eight Buzzards, a Hobby, 500 Swallows, a Tree Sparrow, a Grey Wagtail, 400 Meadow Pipits, two Rock Pipits, two Redpolls, 33 Goldfinches, two Siskins and 18 Reed Buntings. The sea was fairly slow going and produced just seven Wigeon, two Mediterranean Gulls, an Arctic Tern and three Arctic Skuas of note.
Six Porpoise and a Grey Seal were seen offshore.
With a fresh NW wind most of the interest was offshore where seven hours of watching produced two Avocets, a Little Gull, 173 Mediterranean Gulls, 92 Common Gulls, 813 Sandwich Terns, three Arctic Terns, a Great Skua, 27 Arctic Skuas, singles of Sooty and Manx Shearwaters and three Balearic Shearwaters. Two first-winter Caspian Gulls were also seen at the fishing boats where four Merlins and four Kestrels also came in off the sea. It was fairly quiet on the land with just 260 Swallows, a Willow Warbler, 38 Chiffchaffs, a Yellow Wagtail and 120 Meadow Pipits of note.
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| Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans first-winter Dungeness 27th September 2024 |
Six Porpoise and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.