The clear highlight of the day was an Iberian Chiffchaff in the garden of Southview Cottage (actually seen just before dark last night and confirmed this afternoon). It showed really well at times and was very occasionally heard called or singing. This is the second Dungeness record. There was a decent spread of other grounded migrants with 18 Black Redstarts and six Wheatears were notable along with a Merlin, 12 Chiffchaffs, two Blackcaps, a Firecrest, seven Goldcrests, 18 Redwings, eight Song Thrushes, two Grey Wagtails, a Rock Pipit and two Bramblings.
Over seven hours of seawatching from first light was productive with 2269 Brent Geese, 15 Eider, 1,214 Common Scoters, 23 Red-breasted Mergansers, a Little Ringed Plover, 206 Kittiwakes, 74 Little Gulls, 26 Mediterranean Gulls, 299 Sandwich Terns, three Arctic Skuas, 247 Red-throated Divers and a Black-throated Diver.
Mammals were well represented today with a pod of 11 White-beaked Dolphins passing through in the early morning along with seven Porpoises, a Grey Seal, a Brown Hare and a Weasel.
A Red Chestnut was trapped overnight - only the eighth Observatory record.
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| Red Chestnut Cerastis rubricosa Dungeness 21st March 2025 |