There was another very decent arrival of migrants on the land in calm conditions with 160 Chiffchaffs, 34 Blackcaps, two Ring Ouzels and two Redwings while birds passing overhead included 15 Skylarks, 270 Swallows, two Grey Wagtails, 515 Meadow Pipits, three Rock Pipits, three Bramblings, 12 Redpolls, 640 Siskins and ten Reed Buntings. Very quiet offshore with just ten Mediterranean Gulls, a Caspian Gull and a Yellow-legged Gull of interest.
Three Porpoises were feeding offshore.
A lighter westerly wind today saw an increase in grounded migrants and passage overhead. Of note on the land were 100 Chiffchaffs, 12 Blackcaps, a Firecrest, 25 Goldcrests, a Spotted Flycatcher, a Redstart and five Tree Sparrows while a party of four Glossy Ibis (continuing a remarkable series of sightings of this species), 30 Skylarks, 205 Swallows, 45 House Martins, a Grey Wagtail, 850 Meadow Pipits, 205 Chaffinches, two Bramblings, 35 Redpolls, 28 Crossbills, 280 Siskins and 10 Reed Buntings passed overhead. Seawatching produced 14 Brent Geese, four Shelduck, four Grey Plover, 28 Ringed Plover, a Sanderling, 45 Mediterranean Gulls, two Caspian Gulls, 60 Sandwich Terns, an Arctic Tern and four Black Terns.
Elsewhere, the American Golden Plover was at Jury's Gap and the Buff-breasted Sandpiper was at Scotney again.
Strong westerly winds resulted in a decent movement overhead but just a trickle of birds offshore and a few birds in the bushes. Of note overhead were 62 Swallows, 23 House Martins, seven Grey Wagtails, 73 "alba" Wagtails, 661 Meadow Pipits, a Rock Pipit and 104 Siskins. Grounded migrants included 18 Chiffchaffs, five Blackcaps, six Firecrests, 11 Goldcrests, a Spotted Flycatcher and three Wheatears. Two Little Gulls, 15 Mediterranean Gulls, a Great Northern Diver and a Shag were the best the sea had to offer.
Elsewhere, the American Golden Plover was at Jury's Gap and the Buff-breasted Sandpiper was at Scotney again.
With a howling westerly wind all day the sea was fairly disappointing and the land was virtually unbirdable. Seven hours of seawatching produced just a Grey Plover, 15 Sanderlings, 417 Sandwich Terns, ten Arctic Skuas, two Sooty Shearwaters and 395 Gannets and also a White Stork which flew high and out to sea. A Merlin,100 Swallows, 42 House Martins and a Firecrest were the only birds of interest on the land.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were seen offshore.
With strong SSW winds most of the interest was offshore although even here it was fairly underwhelming. Four hours of coverage during the morning produced 277 Kittiwakes, a Little Gull, 242 Mediterranean Gulls, 351 Sandwich Terns, a Black Tern, 17 Arctic Skuas, 45 Razorbills, a Sooty and a Balearic Shearwater and 464 Gannets. Five Caspian Gulls and four Yellow-legged Gulls came to bread at the fishing boats.
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| Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus Dungeness 3rd October 2025 An unusually marked individual. |
Four Porpoises, a Common Seal and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
There was a reasonable arrival of migrants on the land and a decent overhead passage this morning. Numbers on the land were dominated by 60 Chiffchaffs and 27 Goldcrests along with seven Blackcaps, two Firecrests and a Redstart. The Red-breasted Flycatcher was still present. Birds passing overhead included a Little Egret, 30 Swallows, 350 House Martins, two Grey Wagtails, a Rock Pipit, a Brambling, three Redpolls, an excellent total of 33 Crossbills, 155 Siskins and 13 Reed Buntings. the sea was very quiet with just two Mediterranean Gulls of interest.
With fine conditions again there were plenty of migrants in the bushes and with the clear highlight of a first-year Red-breasted Flycatcher in the garden of Southview Cottage. However, the title for bird of the day went to a first-year Pallid Harrier (a first for the recording area) which flew low over the trapping area and then departed northwards. What was presumably the same bird was seen later in the day at South Foreland. Other birds in the bushes included 135 Chiffchaffs, 24 Blackcaps, two Lesser Whitethroats, 30 Goldcrests, four Song Thrushes, a Redstart and three Wheatears while two Yellow Wagtails, four Grey Wagtails, four Rock Pipits, two Bramblings, four Redpolls, 23 Crossbills, 150 Siskins and 13 Reed Buntings passed overhead. A Kingfisher was an unusual capture in the trapping area. Thirty Mediterranean Gulls and six Arctic Skuas were feeding offshore in the evening.
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| Red-breasted Flycatcher Ficedula parva Dungeness 1st October 2025 |
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| Kingfisher Alcedo atthis Dungeness 1st October 2025 |
Yet another September Thorn and a Scarce bordered Straw were trapped overnight and a Clouded Yellow was seen in the Moat. Ten Mediterranean Stick-insects were found after dark around the Observatory gardens as was a Southern Oak Bush-cricket.
Another fine and calm morning brought more migrants in the bushes and passing overhead but very quiet offshore. Of particular note was a party of three Glossy Ibis along with 11 Sand Martins, 400 Swallows, 500 House Martins, four Yellow Wagtails, four Grey Wagtails, two Rock Pipits, 23 Chaffinches, a Brambling, three Redpolls, 230 Siskins and 27 Reed Buntings. Grounded migrants were also present in good numbers and included 150 Chiffchaffs, a Reed Warbler, 26 Blackcaps, ten Goldcrests and a Redstart.
Three Porpoises were feeding offshore.
Another September Thorn was the highlight from the moth traps.
A light northerly breeze and some early cloud resulted in a huge arrival of Chiffchaffs with at least 600 birds seen along with 105 Blackcaps, two Redstarts, three Whinchats and 20 Wheatears. Overhead passage was light and limited to a Golden Plover, a Great White Egret, a Merlin, two Hobbies, a few Skylarks, 130 Meadow Pipits, three Rock Pipits, a Redpoll, 30 Siskins and 12 Reed Buntings.
The moth traps were productive with a September Thorn (only added to the Observatory list last year), a Pale Pinion, a Dewick's Plusia, a Four-spotted Footman and the pyralid Acrobasis tumidana of note.
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| Acrobasis tumidana Dungeness 29th September 2025 |
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| Pale Pinion Lithophane hepatica Dungeness 29th September 2025 |
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| September Thorn Ennomus erosaria Dungeness 29th September 2025 |
There was another decent arrival of grounded migrants with 115 Chiffchaffs, a Reed Warbler, a Firecrest, a Mistle Thrush, a Spotted Flycatcher and a Redstart while passage overhead included 50 Skylarks, 172 Sand Martins, a spectacular 16,600 Swallows, 1000 House Martins, three Grey Wagtails, 380 Meadow Pipits, a Rock Pipit, a Brambling, three Redpolls, 120 Siskins and 25 Reed Buntings. A check of the sea in the evening produced 30 Mediterranean Gulls feeding offshore.
Two Porpoises were feeding offshore and two Brown Hares were seen in the Desert.
The highlights from the moth traps included a Scarce Bordered Straw, a Delicate and a Palpita vitrealis.
The Buff-breasted Sandpiper was still showing at Scotney.