Nearly all the interest today was offshore where 7.5 hrs of watching producing 275 Brent Geese, a flock of seven Velvet Scoters, 353 Common Scoters, 169 Bar-tailed Godwits, two Mediterranean Gulls, 152 Sandwich Terns, an excellent 32 Little Terns, 11 Arctic Terns, a Great Skua, an Arctic Skua, three Black-throated Divers and 424 Gannets. A Hobby also arrived.
A Grey Seal was seen offshore.
Still pretty slow going with seven hours of seawatching producing 165 Common Scoters, a drake Long-tailed Duck, 162 Sandwich Terns, six Arctic Skuas and 252 Gannets. A Buzzard, three Sand Martins, 27 Swallows and a female Common Redstart were the best that could be found on the land.
Five Porpoises were feeding offshore.
The highlight of the day was a Cattle Egret which arrived from the south along with 933 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Mediterranean Gull, two Arctic Skuas and 345 Gannets. It was very quiet on the land with a Yellowhammer being about the only notable bird.
Six Porpoises were feeding offshore.
A day with some quality but still low on quantity. Seawatching produced nine Whimbrels, 66 Bar-tailed Godwits, 137 Sandwich Terns, the first six Little Terns of the year, two Great Skuas and two Arctic Skuas. Of note on the land were a Red Kite and a Short-eared Owl, 20 Swallows, a Sedge Warbler, seven Lesser Whitethroats and 13 Wheatears.
The Roe Deer was seen at the Long Pits and four Porpoises were feeding offshore.
A trickle of birds passing offshore included four Shelduck, 106 Common Scoters, a Red-breasted Merganser, 54 Bar-tailed Godwits, two Mediterranean Gulls and 108 Sandwich Terns. Very slow on the land with just a Sedge Warbler, six Blackcaps and eight Lesser Whitethroats of note.
Very quiet as the northerly wind continues. Of note from the sea were just 167 Common Scoters, six Whimbrel, 111 Bar-tailed Godwits and 61 Common Terns. The best on the land was just four Blackcaps.
Two Porpoises were feeding offshore.
The cold, brisk NW wind continues and with barely any migration on the land to be seen. Seawatching improved slightly on recent days with 76 Brent Geese, five Shelduck, three Shovelers, 171 Common Scoters, eight Whimbrel, 50 Bar-tailed Godwits and two Mediterranean Gulls of interest.
Four Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
There was a noticeable increase in Wheatear numbers with at least 56 birds across the Point along with eight Willow Warblers, nine Lesser Whitethroats and the Ring Ouzel still in the Desert. A Yellow Wagtail, a Redpoll and seven Siskins flew over.
Three Brown Hares were seen in the Desert.
The first dragonflies of the year were seen with an Azure Damselfly and three Hairy Hawkers at the Long Pits.
Another cold day but with a few migrants on the land including the first Cuckoo of the year, 19 Willow Warblers, 17 Lesser Whitethroats, a Ring Ouzel in the Desert and 24 Wheatears scattered across the Point and a Yellow Wagtail and two Siskins overhead. Seawatching continues to be slow going with just three Egyptian Geese, four Red-breasted Mergansers, eight Whimbrels, two Mediterranean Gulls and 26 Common Terns of note.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
With a cold, strong north-westerly wind blowing migration was at a virtual standstill. The only birds of any note were five Mediterranean Gulls west offshore and five Willow Warblers, ten Chiffchaffs, seven Lesser Whitethroats and two Siskins on the land.
Four Porpoises were feeding offshore and four Brown Hares were seen in the Desert.
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| Brown Hares Lepus europaeus Dungeness 16th April 2024 (Tom Wright) |