Most of the interest was offshore again where over five of watching produced two Wigeon, 169 Kittiwakes, 12 Little Gulls, three Mediterranean Gulls, a Caspian Gull, a Yellow-legged Gull, 275 Sandwich Terns, 321 Common Terns, singles of Arctic and Black Tern, a Great Skua, ten Arctic Skuas, 80 Guillemots, a Red-throated Diver, a Sooty Shearwater and 18 Balearic Shearwaters.
Twelve Porpoises and three Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
Grounded migrants included 41 Chiffchaffs, two Sedge Warblers, five Blackcaps and two Spotted Flycatchers, There was a strong overhead passage with 340 Sand Martins, 3300 Swallows, 4500 House Martins, three Yellow Wagtails, a Grey Wagtail and 120 Meadow Pipits of note.
There were plenty of birds feeding offshore this morning including 25 Mediterranean Gulls, a juvenile Caspian Gull, 1000 Sandwich Terns, 200 Common Terns, two Arctic Terns and a Black Tern while five Little Gulls, 21 Arctic Skuas and 15 Balearic Shearwaters flew west. A Little Egret, four Bar-tailed Godwits and 15 Sanderling were on the beach.
Six Porpoises, three Grey Seals and a Common Seal were feeding offshore.
With fresh south westerly winds and frequent rain most of the interest was offshore with a Wigeon, a Shoveler, a Tufted Duck, 583 Kittiwakes, 16 Little Gulls, 14 Mediterranean Gulls, two first-year Caspian Gulls, a Yellow-legged Gull, over 2000 each of Sandwich and Common Terns, seven Black Terns, 95 Arctic Skuas and 76 Balearic Shearwaters in eight hours of watching.
Waders on the beach included 28 Curlews, 17 Bar-tailed Godwits and 18 Knot.
Grounded migrants were harder to find in the poor but included 36 Chiffchaffs, five Blackcaps, three Lesser Whitethroats and two Spotted Flycatchers and a Dartford Warbler was seen in the Moat.
Eight Porpoises and three Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
A Honey Buzzard flew south in the morning and a Red Kite flew east over the Long Pits in the afternoon. There was another large movement of hirundines with 50 Sand Martins, 600 Swallows and 3250 House Martins (another 75 ringed), along with six Yellow Wagtails, 90 Meadow Pipits and seven Reed Buntings.
Grounded migrants continue to appear in decent numbers with 20 Willow Warblers, 50 Chiffchaffs, 30 Blackcaps, nine Lesser Whitethroats, 18 Whitethroats, five Spotted Flycatchers, two Whinchats and five Wheatears of interest. A Jay in the bushes was also of note.
Seawatching produced 19 Mediterranean Gulls, 887 Sandwich Terns, 271 Common Terns, a Black Tern and 36 Balearic Shearwaters mostly moving west and ten Arctic Skuas feeding offshore.
Eight Porpoises and three Grey Seals were feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was seen on the land.
The moth traps produced a Small Mottled Willow and a Delicate, three Clouded Yellows were seen during the day and a Willow Emerald was seen near the Sycamore in the Trapping Area.
The Western Bonelli's Warbler was still present and eventually found its way into a mistnet. Other migrants in the bushes included 22 Willow Warblers, 65 Chiffchaffs, 70 Blackcaps, a Spotted Flycatcher, a Whinchat, a Redstart and five Wheatears.
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| Western Bonelli's Warbler Phylloscopus bonelli Dungeness 15th September 2026 |
A Great White Egret flew over the area and 45 Sand Martins, 7440 Swallows, 800 House Martins, five Yellow Wagtails, two Grey Wagtails, 200 Meadow Pipits, two Siskins and 11 Reed Buntings also flew through.
A Black Tern and 26 Arctic Skuas were the only birds of note from the sea.
The moth traps produced a Tamarisk Peacock (hot on the heels of our first record on 26th August), five Vestals and two Small Mottled Willows. There was also a Lesser Emperor in the trap with another individual in the trapping area. Six Clouded Yellows were seen during the day.
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| Tamarisk Peacock Godonela aestimaria Dungeness 15th September 2026 |
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| Lesser Emperor Anax parthenope Dungeness 15th September 2026 |
The clear highlight today was a fine Western Bonelli's Warbler first seen at the Long Pits before making its way into the Trapping Area. Fortunately it occasionally called and allowed confirmation as a Western. This is the sixth Dungeness record. Other migrants were present in high numbers including 46 Willow Warblers, 105 Chiffchaffs, 40 Blackcaps, two Garden Warblers, 12 Lesser Whitethroats, six Spotted Flycatchers, 50 Robins, a Redstart, two Whinchats and 14 Wheatears. There were more large movements overhead with nearly 20,000 Swallows of note along with six Yellow Wagtails, eight Grey Wagtails and two Tree Pipits. The sea was fairly quiet with just 13 Black Terns, three Mediterranean Gulls, ten Arctic Skuas and a Balearic Shearwater of note.
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| Western Bonelli's Warbler Phylloscopus bonelli Dungeness 14th September 2026 |
Two Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
The moth traps produced a Blair's Mocha, ten Small Mottled Willows and another Ni Moth of note.
Ni Moth Trichoplusia ni Dungeness 14th September 2026 
Blair's Mocha Cyclophora puppillaria Dungeness 14th September 2026
The highlights from the the seawatching were two Long-tailed Skuas, 20 Black Terns and two Balearic Shearwaters with backup in the form of two Little Gulls, eight Mediterranean Gulls, 754 Sandwich Terns, 498 Common Terns and 105 Arctic Skuas. Grounded migrants included a Cuckoo, 50 Chiffchaffs, five Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler and two Whinchats.
Two Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was seen on the land.
The moth traps produced a Vestal and four Small Mottled Willows and two Clouded Yellows were seen during the day.
Elsewhere, an adult American Golden Plover was seen in a stubble field at Jury's Gap.
The morning began well with a few migrants in the bushes followed by a large movement of hirundines with 7000 House Martins (145 ringed), 5080 Swallows and 154 Sand Martins and also 14 Grey Wagtails. A Short-eared Owl and a Wryneck were seen in the Desert and Merlin and Hobby were hunting around the Observatory. Grounded migrants included 31 Chiffchaffs, 17 Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler, three Song Thrushes, two Spotted Flycatchers, two Redstarts, two Whinchats and ten Wheatears.
The sea was fairly quiet during the morning but came to life in spectacular fashion in the afternoon with an incredible sighting of a Brown Booby which spent about 30 minutes offshore as it slowly drifted west and even allowed a few locals to get to the boats to witness the event. A first record for Dungeness. Also of note on the seawatch was a juvenile Long-tailed Skua, a Little Tern, 15 Black Terns, 465 Common Terns, 761 Sandwich Terns, three Little Gulls, three Mediterranean Gulls and 46 Arctic Skuas.
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| Brown Booby Sula leucogaster Dungeness 12th September 2026 Thanks to Martin Casemore for these images. |
Seven Porpoises, two Grey Seals and a Common Seal were feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was seen on the land.
A Common Frog was seen in the Observatory garden.
The moths produced five Vestals, a Delicate and four Small Mottled Willows of note. One Clouded Yellow was also seen.
There have been a handful of sightings of the very rare paper-wasp Polistes biglumis in the last year or so and a couple of days ago an active nest was found.
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| Polistes biglumis nest and adults Dungeness 12th September 2026 |
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Thank you.
