19th Aug

A wet morning but still very warm. Disappointing on the land with just 22 Willow Warblers, 18 Lesser Whitethroats and 12 Wheatears in the bushes and 15 Yellow Wagtails overhead of interest. Three Whimbrels, 27 Turnstones, three Mediterranean Gulls, 415 Sandwich Terns, 41 Common Terns and an Arctic Skua of note.

Four Porpoises were feeding offshore.

The moth traps produced a Portland Ribbon Wave, 30 Delicates, 18 Small Mottled Willows and a Small Ranunculus.

The White-winged Black Tern was still showing very well on the RSPB Reserve.

18th Aug

Hot and sunny again. Very quiet on the land with just 15 Willow Warblers, 19 Lesser Whitethroats and a Pied Flycatcher in the bushes and 405 Swallows, 143 Sand Martins and 36 Yellow Wagtails overhead. Seawatching produced a Bar-tailed Godwit, a Common Sandpiper, 21 Mediterranean Gulls, 190 Sandwich Terns, 34 Common Terns and an Arctic Skua.

Two Porpoises and five Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

The moth traps produced 16 Small Mottled Willows, 26 Delicates, a Small Ranunculus and a Scarce Bordered Straw.

17th Aug

The first rain for weeks although it only lasted for a few minutes. Very quiet on the land with just two Whinchats of note while birds passing overhead included a Grey Plover, a Golden Plover, a Short-eared Owl. a Hobby, 180 Swallow, 330 Sand Martins and 28 Yellow Wagtails.

The moth traps were excellent with a Blair's Mocha (seventh Observatory record), a Portland Ribbon Wave, a Gem, 85 Small Mottled Willows, a remarkable 44 Delicates, a Beautiful Marbled,  a Marsh Mallow Moth (fourth Observatory record), a Radford's Flame Shoulder, two Scarce Bordered Straws, a Prays rufescens and two Beet Moths.

Blair's Mocha Cyclophora puppilaria   Dungeness   17th August 2026

Marsh Mallow Moth Hydraecia osseola   Dungeness   17th August 2026

A Birch Shield-bug was also trapped and a Southern Oak Bush-cricket was seen in the Observatory garden.

Birch Shield-bug Elasmostethus interstinctus   Dungeness   17th August 2026

The White-winged Black Tern was still showing well on Burrowes Pit, RSPB Reserve.

16th Aug

Another very hot day. A few migrants on the land with 15 Willow Warblers, 16 Reed Warblers, a Grasshopper Warbler, 15 Lesser Whitethroat, 35 Whitethroats and ten Yellow Wagtails. In the evening, 200 Mediterranean Gulls and an Arctic Skua were feeding offshore.

Two Small Mottled Willows, a Delicate and a Scarce Bordered Straw were of interest from the moth traps.

Elsewhere of note was a first-winter White-winged Black Tern on Burrowes Pit on the RSPB Reserve.

White-winged Black Tern Chlidonias leucopterus    Burrowes, RSPB Reserve   16th August 2026

15th Aug

And on it goes - another hot and dry day. Migrants continue to arrive in small numbers in the bushes with a Nightingale and six Pied Flycatchers of note as well as 18 Willow Warblers, six Sedge Warblers, 23 Reed Warblers, nine Lesser Whitethroats and 30 Whitethroats while two Wood Sandpipers, 115 Swallows and 25 Yellow Wagtails passed overhead.

A Grey Seal was seen offshore. 

The moth traps were productive again with a Celypha rufana, an Acrobasis tumidana, two Portland Ribbon Waves, a Small Ranunculus, a Delicate and a Pinion-streaked Snout of note. 

Six Large Coneheads were found in the trapping area and the Tree Cricket was superb again but no Sickle-bearing Bush-crickets were found.

14th Aug

A very hot and sunny day yet again. There was another reasonable arrival of migrants in the bushes with  20 Willow Warblers, 11 Sedge Warblers, 24 Reed Warblers, a Grasshopper Warbler, a Garden Warbler, 12 Lesser Whitethroat and a Pied Flycatcher of note. Birds passing overhead included 195 Swifts, a Golden Plover, two Green Sandpipers, a Greenshank, 283 Swallows, 332 Sand Martins and 28 Yellow Wagtails and in the evening a massive flock of gulls arrived to feed on flying ants which included at least 1000 Mediterranean Gulls. An Arctic Skua was seen offshore. 

Two Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

The moth traps were very productive again with the highlight being a Tapestry Moth. This was once a common enough moth in houses etc but is now hardly ever recorded even at a national level. Other noteworthy moths included a Beet Moth, two Evergestis limbata, a Pyralis farinalis, a Neophopteryx angustella, two Clay Triple-lines, two Portland Ribbon Waves, 40 Small Mottled Willows, a Delicate and four Small Ranunculus,  A Clouded Yellow butterfly was also seen.

Tapestry Moth Trichophaga tapetzella   Dungeness   14th August 2026

13th Aug

There were good numbers of migrants in the bushes including 15 Willow Warblers, a Grasshopper Warbler, 28 Lesser Whitethroats and three Pied Flycatchers while a Golden Plover, a Greenshank, a Little Egret, 54 Swallows, 30 Sand Martins and 23 Yellow Wagtails flew over. The sea was quiet except for 200 Sandwich Terns feeding offshore.

Six Porpoises were seen offshore and two Brown Hares were seen in the Desert.

The moth traps were productive with a Clay Triple-lines, a Scorched Carpet, nine Small Mottled Willows and two Beet Moths of note. A Clouded Yellow was also seen

The clear highlight of the day though was the finding of a Verge Cricket Eumodicogryllus bordigalensis on the beach at the Lifeboat Station. Remarkably this follows one heard singing (but not seen) in the early hours of 9th August in a private garden at Lydd-on-sea. These constitute the second and fifth British records. Over the following days it has become clear that there has been a significant arrival of this cricket into southern England. 

Verge Cricket  Eumodicogryllus bordigalensis   Dungeness   13th August 2026

12th Aug

There were a few grounded migrants around the Point including 13 Willow Warblers, 14 Reed Warblers, a Garden Warbler, 15 Lesser Whitethroats and two Pied Flycatchers. There was also a bit of wader passage with 20 Curlew, two Green Sandpipers and three Greenshanks overhead and 700 Sandwich Terns were feeding and roosting offshore. Five Buzzards also flew over. 

Fourteen Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

11th Aug

There was a small but significant arrival of migrants today in the continuing strong NE winds. Of  particular note were a Cuckoo, a Spotted Flycatcher, four Pied Flycatchers, a Redstart and a Whinchat while numbers were provided by 14 Willow Warblers and 15 Lesser Whitethroats.

10th Aug

A party of seven Little Egrets, five Buzzards, a Hobby, 80 Swallows and 23 Yellow Wagtails flew over while migrants in the bushes included 12 Willow Warblers, two Sedge Warblers, 12 Reed Warblers, a Garden Warbler and 15 Lesser Whitethroats. Two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls were seen at the fishing boats.

A brilliant night of moth trapping with many notable species including a Striped Hawkmoth, a Ni Moth, a remarkable 92 Small Mottled Willows, a Tree-lichen Beauty, two Scarce Bordered Straws, eight Pearly Underwings, six Delicates, a Palpita virealis and two Cydia amplana.

The evening chorus from the Tree Crickets was easily audible from the Observatory.