24th Oct

Violent NW winds overnight decreased during the day bring with it a bit of seawatching and some passage overhead. The highlight of the day was probably a remarkable total of 23 Woodlarks while other notable birds included 113 Stock Doves, three Snipe, a Great White Egret, 25 Swallows, three House Martins, a Mistle Thrush, two Rock Pipits, 112 Chaffinches, six Bramblings, a Redpoll, 520 Goldfinches, seven Siskins and 21 Reed Buntings. Grounded migrants included 17 Chiffchaffs, 13 Goldcrests and two Firecrests. Six Dartford Warblers were also seen.

Seawatching produced 41 Little Gulls, 16 Mediterranean Gulls, a first-year Caspian Gull, two Great Skuas, singles of Storm and Leach's Petrels and a Manx Shearwater and also a Great Northern Diver feeding offshore.

Four Porpoises and three Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

23rd Oct

Gale force SE winds meant another day of mainly seawatching which produced 11 Wigeon, 41 Little Gulls, 93 Kittiwakes, a Pomarine and two Great Skuas, ten Leach's Petrels, four Sooty Shearwaters and a Manx Shearwater in 5.5hours of coverage. A first-year Caspian Gull and two Yellow-legged Gulls were roosting on the beach and a Hen Harrier flew out to sea.

A Woodcock, a Barn Owl, eight Chiffchaffs, a Dartford Warbler and 11 Goldcrests were seen in the bushes while a Rock Pipit and five Siskins flew over.

22nd Oct

Bright and sunny but with a cold NW breeze. Seawatching produced another flock of six Tundra Bean Geese and a second-year Caspian Gull but not much else.

Birds passing overhead included 64 Stock Doves, a Great White Egret, a Little Egret, four Woodlarks, 18 Skylarks, 30 Swallows, a Grey Wagtail, seven Rock Pipits, 160 Chaffinches, a Redpoll, 275 Goldfinches and five Siskins while grounded migrants included 25 Chiffchaffs, a Lesser Whitethroat, 29 Goldcrests, a Firecrest and a Ring Ouzel.

A Brown Hare was seen.

The highlight of the day was a Long-tailed Blue which spent several hours around the south-east corner of the Trapping Area.

Long-tailed Blue Lampides boeticus   Dungeness   22nd October 2026

21st Oct

A day of strong southerly winds and heavy rain meant most of the interest was offshore. Seven hours of watching produced 11 Shelducks, two Tufted Ducks, 215 Kittiwakes, 26 Little Gulls, three Mediterran ean Gulls, a first-year Caspian Gull, 29 Sandwich Terns, an Arctic Tern, a Little Auk and a Puffin of note.

It was fairly quiet on the land but two Woodcocks, two Little Egrets, 22 Chiffchaffs, three Blackcaps, 25 Goldcrests, three Firecrests, 15 Song Thrushes, six Redwings and 26 Blackbirds were seen while birds passing overhead included two Grey Wagtails and 55 Goldfinches.

A Bottle-nose Dolphin was the mammalian highlight while two Porpoises and three Grey Seals were also seen and the Grey Squirrel was in the trapping area again. 

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20th Oct

Fresh easterly winds resulted in plenty of birds in the area including a notable passage of grey geese with a party of five Tundra Bean Geese and 345 White-fronted Geese. Other wildfowl featured six Shelduck, eight Shoveler, 84 Wigeon, 45 Pintail, 75 Teal and 86 Common Scoters. There was also a large movement of Little Gulls with 441 birds seen along with 11 Mediterranean Gulls, a Great Skua, an Arctic Skua and four Sooty Shearwaters.

Other birds passing overhead included two Golden Plovers, 157 Lapwings, a Redshank, 60 Skylarks, three House Martins, 461 Starlings, a Grey Wagtail, three Rock Pipits, 600 Chaffinches, 13 Bramblings, 46 Goldfinches, 44 Siskins and 12 Reed Buntings.

There was also a notable increase in grounded migrants including three Woodcocks, a Jack Snipe, five Snipe, 38 Chiffchaffs, two Blackcaps, 48 Goldcrests, five Firecrests, 50 Song Thrushes, 140 Redwings, a Fieldfare, ten Ring Ouzels, 125 Robin and a Wheatear. A Barn Owl and three Dartford Warblers were also seen.   

Four Porpoises and two Grey Seals were seen offshore and the Grey Squirrel and a Brown Hare were seen on the land.

19th Oct

A day of quality with a Yellow-browed Warbler in a private garden being the highlight along with a Hawfinch in the trapping area and nine White-fronted Geese and a Lapland Bunting overhead.

Other birds passing overhead included five Golden Plover, 51 Skylarks, 64 Swallows, seven Mistle Thrushes, two Fieldfares, four Tree Sparrows, 165 Meadow Pipits, a Rock Pipit, 101 Chaffinches, eight Bramblings, 1139 Goldfinches, 28 Siskins and 14 Reed Buntings. Grounded migrants included 37 Chiffchaffs, a Lesser Whitethroat, four Goldcrests, a Firecrest, 42 Blackbirds, 85 Robins and a late Redstart while other bits and pieces included a Great White Egret, a Barn Owl, two Merlins and five Dartford Warblers.

The sea was pretty quiet but still produced 116 Wigeon, six Pintail, 18 Teal, two Little Gulls, ten Mediterranean Gulls and a Black-throated Diver of note.

A Grey Seal was seen offshore.

Although it was fairly cold and windy overnight the moth traps still produced a goody in the form of a White-speck.

White-speck Mythimna unipuncta   Dungeness   19th October 2026

18th Oct

A thoroughly miserable day with strong NE winds and heavy rain from 0800hrs saw a continuous heavy passage of birds arriving from the east with a Lapwing, six Snipe, two Short-eared Owls, 21 Skylarks, 2009 Starlings, a Mistle Thrush, 13 Fieldfares, four Grey Wagtails, three Rock Pipits, another massive movement of 8300 Chaffinches, 18 Bramblings, five Redpolls (three Commons), 362 Goldfinches and 260 Siskins. Four Egyptian Geese and a Cattle Egret flew over. Grounded migrants included two Firecrests, 14 Song Thrushes, 166 Redwings, 50 Blackbirds and a Redstart while a Merlin and a Dartford Warbler were also seen.

Birds passing offshore included Brent Geese (137E,690W), 52 Wigeon, a Pintail, nine Teal, 64 Common Scoters, a Red-breasted Merganser, 23 Sanderlings, 26 Mediterranean Gulls, 12 Sandwich Terns, an Arctic Skua and 200 Gannets.

Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

17th Oct

A cold northerly wind saw some movement offshore, a large overhead passage and a small arrival of grounded migrants. Wildfowl were the main movers offshore with Brent Geese (120E, 545W) Wigeon (30E,95W), 12 Pintail, 12 Teal and 59 Common Scoter along with 29 Mediterranean Gulls. 

Grounded migrants included 16 Chiffchaffs, a Firecrest, 19 Song Thrushes, two Mistle Thrushes and 83 Redwings and a Long-eared Owl was also seen. Overhead passage included high counts of 751 Stock Doves, 3474 Chaffinches and an excellent total of 110 Bramblings, along with five Snipe, a Woodlark, 105 Skylarks, five Tree Sparrows, three Rock Pipits, five Redpolls (two of which were Commons), 252 Goldfinches, 43 Siskins and 45 Reed Buntings.

Five Porpoises and three Grey Seals were seen offshore and a Brown Hare was seen on the land.

Contacting the Observatory

Please use the following email address to contact the Observatory from now on.

dbotwarden@gmail.com 

to contact the Observatory. Many thanks.

16th Oct

A quiet day with 38 Chiffchaffs, two Dartford Warblers, four Goldcrests, nine Song Thrushes, four Redwings and a Wheatear seen on the land while birds passing overhead included 51 Stock Doves, 11 Tree Sparrows, 124 Meadow Pipits, two Bramblings, two Redpolls, 185 Goldfinches, 49 Siskins, two Corn Buntings and 53 Reed Buntings. The sea produced 51 Mediterranean Gulls, an Arctic Skua and 808 Razorbills.

A Weasel was seen.