A pretty decent morning with a good number of birds in the bushes and passing overhead and a very decent movement of birds offshore. The highlights from the bushes were a Yellow-browed Warbler and a Siberian Chiffchaff (trapped), 100 Chiffchaffs, a late Willow Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Dartford Warbler, 14 Firecrests, 38 Goldcrests, 600 Redwings, 30 Song Thrushes and two Wheatears. A Woodcock and three Snipe were also seen. Birds passing overhead included 24 Skylarks, two Rock Pipits, seven Bramblings, 65 Goldfinches, seven Siskin and 11 Reed Buntings. A three-hour seawatch this morning saw a large westerly movement of mainly wildfowl including 3011 Brent Geese, 81 Shelduck, 14 Shoveler, 105 Wigeon, 28 Pintail, 11 Teal and the first Red-breasted Merganser of the autumn along with a Little Gull, 166 Mediterranean Gulls, an Arctic Tern, four Arctic Skuas and a Sooty Shearwater.
Siberian Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita tristis Dungeness 15th October 2024 |
Three Porpoises and three unidentified dolphins and two Grey Seals were seen offshore. A Brown Hare was seen on the land.