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Local weather

Update

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23rd July

Fairly slow on the bird front. A bit of visible migration involved 404 Sand Martins and 11 Yellow Wagtails whilst three Willow Warblers and 17 Reed Warblers were among the few grounded migrants. Waders roosting on the beach included a Knot, 125 Sanderling and 40 Dunlin along with a Little Egret.

Eight Porpoise and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

The moth traps were very disappointing but dragonflies continued to provide interest with a Small Red-eyed Damselfly, three Lesser Emperors and a Red-veined Darter seen. A Bee Wolf was caught in the trapping area.

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22nd July

The early morning netting session in the Trapping Area produced a Nightingale of note along with a Cuckoo and a Redstart seen and later in the day a total of 1200 Sand Martin also passed through. An attempt to catch some was very successful with 108 birds ringed and also two British controls. Five Mediterranean Gulls were seen offshore. 

Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos   Dungeness   22nd July 2026



Sand Martins Riparia riparia   Dungeness   22nd July 2026

Twelve Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was also seen.

Moth-trapping produced a Jersey Tiger and a Bordered Straw of note and notable dragonflies included three Lesser Emperors and a Southern Migrant Hawker.

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21st July

A Snipe, a Kingfisher, two Willow Warblers, two Sedge Warblers and 12 Reed Warblers were seen on the land while two Grey Herons, 108 Sand Martins and eight Yellow Wagtails flew over. Seven Mediterranean Gulls were feeding offshore.

Five Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

Of note from the moth traps were another Eastern Bordered Straw, a Tree-lichen Beauty and an Agonopteryx curvipunctosa.

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20th July

Still warm and sunny with a trickle of passage overhead including 25 Sand Martins, nine Yellow Wagtails and a Grey Wagtail. There was a small increase in grounded migrants with a Common Sandpiper and a Kingfisher at the Long Pits and three Great Spotted Woodpeckers, two Willow Warblers, four Sedge Warblers, two Garden Warblers and 35 Reed Warblers in the bushes. Eight Shelduck flew east while 25 Mediterranean Gulls and a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull were feeding offshore.

Three Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

Another Eastern Bordered Straw was caught in the moth traps while three Lesser Emperor dragonflies and a Norfolk Hawker were seen.


Eastern Bordered Straw Heliothis nubigera   Dungeness   20th July 2026



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19th July

Another warm and sunny day. A Grasshopper Warbler was caught in the Moat and a Golden Plover and two Yellow Wagtails flew over. Three Mediterranean Gulls were feeding offshore.

Six Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

A Scarce Bordered Straw and a Small Mottled Willow were the highlights from the moth traps.

A Southern Oak Bush-cricket and two Mediterranean Stick-insects were seen in the Observatory garden.

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18th July

A trickle of movement offshore included 18 Shelducks, four Teal and four Mediterranean Gulls and an Arctic Skua, and 23 Sanderling and 18 Dunlin were on the beach at high tide. Two Willow Warblers were seen at the Long Pits and two Yellow Wagtails flew over.

Sanderlings Calidris alba and Dunlins Calidris alpina   Dungeness   18th July 2026

A Grey Seal was feeding offshore.

An Eastern Bordered Straw was the unexpected highlight from the moth traps. 

Eastern Bordered Straw Heliothis nubigera   Dungeness   18th July 2026





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17th July

A Treecreeper and two Willow Warblers were seen at the Long Pits and 1000 Sand Martins went out to sea in the afternoon/evening. There were 25 Mediterranean Gulls offshore. 

A Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

A decent catch of moths overnight included a Red Underwing, a Small Ranunculus, a rare gelechid Metzneria neuropterella, two Cydia amplana and the pyralids Aglossa pinguinalis (only the fourth Observatory record) and Acrobabsis tumidana.

Small Ranunculus Hecatera dysodia   Dungeness   17th July 2026

A Southern Oak Bush-cricket was also caught and a Mediterranean Stick-insect was seen in the Observatory garden.

However, the highlight of the day was a Gull-billed Tern which dropped into ARC briefly. Remarkably it was a bearing a colour-ring from a German ringing scheme. Despite extensive searching it could not be relocated.

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16th July

Very windy and hot yet again. A couple of checks of the sea produced 25 Mediterranean Gulls but very little else.

A Brussel's Lace and six Small Mottled Willows were of note from the moth traps.

A Porpoise and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

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15th July

Hard work in the very hot and windy conditions and nothing of any note seen.

The moth traps produced an example of the scarce pyralid moth Acrobasis tumidana.

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14th July

The heatwave and strong to gale force NE wind continues. Very little to be seen other than eleven Mediterranean Gulls and 35 Sandwich Terns offshore this morning.

A Porpoise and a Grey Seal were seen offshore.

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