A much quieter day on the sea than yesterday but still produced four Pintail, nine Grey Plovers, 223 Whimbrels, 78 Bar-tailed Godwits, two Black Terns, 33 Little Gulls, 11 Mediterranean Gulls, six Great Skuas, four Pomarine Skuas, 20 Arctic Skuas, singles of Black-throated and Great Northern Divers and four Manx Shearwaters of note. Birds passing overhead included 125 Swallows.
Six Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
A Wall butterfly was an unusual record.
All day coverage of the sea in fresh ENE winds produced some spectacular movements. Highlights were 77 Black Terns, a remarkable total of 1467 Little Gulls, 22 Pomarine Skuas, 31 Arctic Skuas, ten Great Skuas, five Black-throated Divers and seven Manx Shearwaters. Numbers were provided by 514 Common Scoters, 244 Whimbrels, 666 Bar-tailed Godwits, 40 Little Terns, 2920 Common Terns, 3165 "commic" Terns and 685 Sandwich Terns while other bits included 72 Brent Geese, 17 Shelducks, two Velvet Scoters, five Grey Plovers, 11 Mediterranean Gulls and 46 Arctic Terns.
A Buzzard, 140 Swallows, four Yellow Wagtails flew over and four Willow Warblers, 11 Blackcaps and 12 Lesser Whitethroats were seen on the land.
Ten Porpoises and a Grey Seal were seen offshore and a Brown Hare was seen on the land.
Eight Grizzled Skippers were seen around the Trapping Area.
More strong NE winds resulted in another day of seawatching and numbers really picking up in the afternoon. Of note were two Shoveler, six Pintail, 21 Teal, 424 Common Scoters, six Avocets, 42 Grey Plovers, an excellent total of 534 Whimbrel, 115 Bar-tailed Godwits, six Knot, 17 Sanderling, 18 Mediterranean Gulls, 97 Little Gulls, 122 Kittiwakes, nine Arctic Skuas, 18 Pomarine Skuas, four Great Skuas, 1246 Sandwich Terns, 21 Little Terns, 25 Black Terns, 377 'commic' Terns, four Black-throated Divers, 25 Fulmars, a Manx Shearwater and 427 Gannets. It remains hard-going on the land with just a Green Sandpiper, 75 Swallows, four Willow Warblers, nine Blackcaps, 11 Lesser Whitethroats and a Yellow Wagtail of note.
Eight Porpoise and two Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
The cold, strong ENE wind continues and resulted in some excellent seawatching. Dawn till dusk coverage produced two Garganey, 20 Shovelers, two Gadwall, seven Pintail, four Teal, two Eiders, two Velvet Scoters, 171 Common Scoters, two Red-breasted Mergansers, 14 Grey Plover, 353 Whimbrel, 111 Bar-tailed Godwits, 27 Sanderlings, 20 Little Gulls, six Mediterranean Gulls, three Little Terns, five Black Terns, 1330 Sandwich Terns, four Arctic Skuas, a Pomarine Skua, two Black-throated Divers, 18 Fulmars and 736 Gannets. Two Sand Martins, 24 Swallows and four Yellow Wagtails flew over.
Three Porpoises and two Grey Seals were seen offshore.
The strong and cold NE wind continues and meant that most of the days interest was offshore. Of note were four Shoveler, four Pintail, three Eider, a Velvet Scoter, 16 Grey Plover, 205 Whimbrel, 155 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Knot, seven Sanderlings, seven Greenshank, four Mediterranean Gulls, nine Little Gulls, seven Arctic Skuas, two Pomarine Skuas and ten Arctic Terns. Two Sand Martins, 35 Swallows and a Yellow Wagtail flew over.
Eight Porpoises and three Grey Seals were seen offshore.
A cold and strong NE restricted any migration on the land but there was a steady movement of birds offshore. Twelve hours of seawatching produced ten Shelducks, 26 Oystercatchers, three Grey Plovers, 69 Whimbrel, 390 Bar-tailed Godwits, two Sanderlings, 1064 Sandwich Terns and two Arctic Skuas. A Swift, 44 Swallows, four Yellow Wagtails and a Rock Pipit also arrived.
Six Porpoises and two Grey Seals were seen offshore.
Seawatching produced five Shelduck, 29 Common Scoter, ten Red-breasted Mergansers, 51 Oystercatchers, 19 Grey Plovers, 83 Whimbrel, 199 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Knot, a Mediterranean Gull, 883 Sandwich Terns and seven Arctic Terns. Very quiet on the land with just four Willow Warblers, eight Blackcaps, 13 Lesser Whitethroats and seven Wheatears of note.
A pod of three Bottle-nose Dolphins were seen.
A Grizzled Skipper was seen.
It was a bit of a return to normality on the land with very few migrants to be seen other than 22 Willow Warblers, eight Blackcaps and 17 Lesser Whitethroats. Seven Yellow Wagtails flew over and a flock of 15 Corn Bunting were feeding at the Point again. The sea was very quiet in the morning but improved as the wind veered into the north-east and induced an afternoon movement of 70 Whimbrel, 745 Bar-tailed Godwits, four Little Gulls and an Arctic Skua.
Five Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Light showers and a light NW wind resulted in an excellent fall of migrants with quality in the form of a singing Wood Warbler at the Long Pits, a female Pied Flycatcher in a private garden, two Garden Warblers, two Redstarts, a Ring Ouzel, a Tree Pipit and a Green Sandpiper while numbers were provided by 110 Willow Warblers, 21 Chiffchaffs, eight Sedge Warblers, 23 Blackcaps, 17 Lesser Whitethroats, 100 Whitethroats and 26 Wheatears. A flock of 40 Corn Buntings were feeding in the railway circle area. An Egyptian Goose, a Greenshank, a Red Kite and 24 Swallows also flew over. The sea was very quiet.
A Streamer and a Waved Umber were of interest from a small catch in the moth trap.
 |
| Streamer Anticlea derivata Dungeness 18th April 2026 |
 |
| Waved Umber Menophra abruptaria Dungeness 18th April 2026 |
Two Grizzled Skippers in the Desert were the first of the year.
A trickle of birds moving offshore included three Teal, 496 Common Scoters, eight Bar-tailed Godwits, 23 Mediterranean Gulls, the first Little Tern of the spring and a Great White Egret. Very quiet on the land with just four House Martins, six Willow Warblers, 12 Chiffchaffs, six Blackcaps, 25 Wheatears, a Yellow Wagtail, a Grey Wagtail, a Redpoll and two Siskins of interest.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.