Dungeness Bird Observatory : July 2025

14th July

Very quiet on the land with just 15 Sand Martins and five Yellow Wagtails passing overhead a nd a Willow Warbler in the bushes. Seawatching produced nine Mediterranean Gulls, two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls and two Manx Shearwaters.

Single Grey and Common Seals were feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was seen on the land.

The presumed migrant pyralid moth Acrobasis tumidana was trapped overnight.

With the current weather conditions it was almost inevitable that there would be problems with fire at some stage and so it proved today when a large fire broke out in the broom and gorse near the Sanctuary. Fortunately the local brigade were soon on hand and had the fire quickly under control.

13th July

Very quiet in the bushes but a bit passing overhead with a Little Egret, a Red Kite, 90 Sand Martins, 11 Yellow Wagtails and a Siskin of note. Thirty Mediterranean Gulls were feeding offshore.

A Brown Hare was seen in the Desert.

A Scarce Chocolate-tip and a Dewick's Plusia were the highlights from the moth traps.

Scarce Chocolate-tip Clostera anachoreta Dungeness 13th July 22

12th July

Very quiet with a Little Ringed Plover and three Yellow Wagtails being the only birds of note.

11th July

A few birds trickled through overhead with a Common Sandpiper, 50 Sand Martins, seven Yellow Wagtails and a Corn Bunting of note and two Willow Warblers were seen in the bushes. Eighty Mediterranean Gulls were feeding offshore.

10th July

Very quiet with just a Whimbrel and two Mediterranean Gulls offshore, seven Yellow Wagtails and the first young Willow Warbler of the autumn.

Two Porpoise and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

The moth traps provided plenty of excitement with a Convolvulus Hawkmoth, a Small Mottled Willow and a Rose Plume-moth from the Observatory and Dark Crimson Underwing from an additional trap set up on the beach.

Dark Crimson Underwing Catocala sponsa Dungeness 10th July 2025

Rose Plume-moth Cnaemidophorus rhododactyla Dungeness 10th July 2025

Three Mediterranean Stick-insects and four Southern Oak Bush-crickets were seen in the Observatory garden.

9th July

A Little Ringed Plover and 21 Ringed Plovers were seen on the Point this morning while seawatching produced 154 Kittiwakes west and five Mediterranean Gulls feeding offshore. Five Yellow Wagtails and 150 Sand Martins also passed through.

Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

The highlight from the moth traps was another two Light Crimson Underwings.

Dragonflies provided plenty of interest with Small Red-eyed Damselflies and a Lesser Emperor seen at the Long Pits and a Red-veined Darter on the beach at the Lifeboat Station.

A Southern Oak Bush-cricket was found in the Observatory garden.

8th July

A juvenile Cuckoo was of note at the Long Pits and four Little Egrets, 260 Sand Martins and five Yellow Wagtails flew over. Offshore, 80 Kittiwakes flew west and 15 Mediterranean Gulls, two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls and an Arctic Skua were feeding.

Four Porpoise, a Common Seal and three Grey Seals were feeding offshore and three Brown Hares were seen in the Desert.

7th July

Most of the interest was offshore again where a party of three Black-tailed Godwits flew north and 45 Mediterranean Gulls, an Arctic Skua and a Manx Shearwater were feeding. On the land, two Little Egrets, 40 Sand Martins and two Yellow Wagtails passed through.

Three Porpoise and two Grey Seals were seen offshore and a Brown Hare was seen in the Desert.

The moth traps were very productive with a Striped Hawkmoth, a remarkable four Light Crimson Underwings and another Scarce Black Arches of note.

6th July

A Little Egret, 32 Sand Martins and two Yellow Wagtails passed through on the land and 114 Mediterranean Gulls and five Manx Shearwaters were seen offshore.

5th July

Birds passing overhead included 390 Swifts and a Little Egret while seawatching produced 150 Mediterranean Gulls, three juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls, an Arctic Skua and a Manx Shearwater.

The day was also notable for our Moth Meeting which we began last night and then participants gathered in the morning to go through the catches.

For the evening event we gathered around 9.00pm to set up the various traps across the area in a variety of habitats and then spent some time watching to see what came in.

The morning started at 7.00 am with a large numbers of moths coming from eight traps. A total of around 200 species were recorded. Highlights included Elephant Hawkmoths, Sussex Emeralds, Garden Tigers, White Spots and best of all, two Light Crimson Underwings.

Three Porpoises and four Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

4th July

A Little Ringed Plover and two Yellow Wagtails flew over the area and 50 Mediterranean Gulls were feeding offshore.

Two Porpoises and three Grey Seals were feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was seen in the Desert.

The highlights from the moth traps were a Scarce Black Arches and the first Observatory record of the tortrix Acleris umbrana.

Two Mediterranean Stick-insects were seen at the Observatory.

3rd July

There was a hint of autumn migration today with a Little Ringed Plover, two Song Thrushes, two Yellow Wagtails, a Grey Wagtail and a Siskin on the land and nine Mediterranean Gulls offshore.

A Common Toad in the Observatory garden this evening was an uncommon sighting.

The highlight of the day was a superb Black V Moth caught by Owen Leyshon in his garden. at Littlestone.

Black V Moth Arctornis l-nigrum Dungeness 3rd July 2025

Dragonflies seen today included a Norfolk Hawker and a Lesser Emperor

2nd July

A Honey Buzzard came in over the Point and then lingered over the Trapping Area/Long Pits before heading north over New Romney. A Little Egret, 200 Sand Martins and a Yellow Wagtail were also seen.

It was a superb night at the moth traps with two Light Crimson Underwings, a Scarce Black Arches, a Small Mottled Willow, the first shingle record of the pyralid Elegia similella, an Acrobasis tumidana and the second area record of the tortrix Sparganothus pilleriana and second area of Agonopteryx kaekeritziana while other notable records included a total of 35 Sussex Emeralds, four V-pugs, a Clay Triple-lines, a Scorched Carpet, a Black Arches and the pyralid Anania perlucidalis.