There was a small but significant arrival of migrants today in the continuing strong NE winds. Of particular note were a Cuckoo, a Spotted Flycatcher, four Pied Flycatchers, a Redstart and a Whinchat while numbers were provided by 14 Willow Warblers and 15 Lesser Whitethroats.
10th Aug
A party of seven Little Egrets, five Buzzards, a Hobby, 80 Swallows and 23 Yellow Wagtails flew over while migrants in the bushes included 12 Willow Warblers, two Sedge Warblers, 12 Reed Warblers, a Garden Warbler and 15 Lesser Whitethroats. Two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls were seen at the fishing boats.
A brilliant night of moth trapping with many notable species including a Striped Hawkmoth, a Ni Moth, a remarkable 92 Small Mottled Willows, a Tree-lichen Beauty, two Scarce Bordered Straws, eight Pearly Underwings, six Delicates, a Palpita virealis and two Cydia amplana.
The evening chorus from the Tree Crickets was easily audible from the Observatory.
9th Aug
The hot, dry weather continues and it remains fairly quiet on the land with eight Willow Warblers, a Sedge Warbler, ten Reed Warblers, a Nightingale and a Redstart and the highlight of two Grasshopper Warblers. Birds passing overhead included 29 Swifts, four Grey Plover, a Redshank and a Greenshank, 46 Sand Martins, 48 Swallows and 41 Yellow Wagtails. Ten Mediterranean Gull were feeding offshore.
A Grey Seal and 12 Porpoises were seen.
The highlights from the moth traps included two Purple Marbled, a Scarce Bordered Straw and a Channel Island Pug.
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| Purple Marbled Eublemma ostrina Dungeness 9th August 2026 |
8th Aug
A Little Egret, four Buzzards and 12 Yellow Wagtails flew over while a small arrival of migrants in the bushes included 11 Willow Warblers, a Sedge Warbler, 15 Reed Warblers and four Lesser Whitethroats, a Nightingale calling in the trapping area and a Redstart. A juvenile Caspian Gull flew past the Point and 200 Sandwich Terns and 50 Common Terns were feeding offshore.
Nine Porpoises and three Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
The moth traps came up trumps with another Eastern Bordered Straw, seven Small Mottled Willows, a Small Ranunculus, two Tree-lichen Beauty's and also a Hemp Agrimony Plume which is a new species for the Observatory traps. A Clouded Yellow butterfly was also seen.
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| Hemp Agrimony Plume Adaina microdactyla Dungeness 8th August 2026 |
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| Eastern Bordered Straw Heliothis nubigera Dungeness 8th August 2026 |
Two Large Coneheads were singing at the north end of the Long Pits and a Southern Oak Bush-cricket was seen in the Observatory garden where 15 Mediterranean Stick-insects were also seen.
Elsewhere, a male Montagu's Harrier was seen on the Lydd Ranges,
7th Aug
Still the heat goes on. A few migrants in the bushes included 23 Willow Warblers, nine Lesser Whitethroats, 40 Whitethroats and a Nightingale. A check of the beach at low tide produced the days highlight in the form of an adult Roseate Tern among 400 Sandwich Terns and a Black Tern while waders included ten Ringed Plovers, ten Turnstones, 45 Sanderlings and 150 Dunlin. There were also 25 Mediterranean Gulls and two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls.
Four Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was seen on the land.
The moth traps were fairly poor in terms of numbers but still produced our eighth Striped Hawkmoth of the year, a Rest Harrow, a Bordered Straw and 14 Small Mottled Willows. Seven Clouded Yellows were also seen.
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| Striped Hawkmoth Hyles livornica Dungeness 7th August 2026 |
Two Lesser Emperors and a Red-veined Darter were seen at the Long Pits.
An evening visit to look for the rarer orthoptera produced six singing Large Coneheads, two Sickle-bearing Bush-crickets and a superb chorus from the Tree Crickets while three Southern Oak Bush-crickets and ten Mediterranean Stick-insects were seen in the Observatory garden.
6th Aug
Another very hot day. Commoner migrants were scattered around the Point including 28 Willow Warblers, 11 Sedge Warblers, 23 Reed Warblers, two Garden Warblers and 20 Lesser Whitethroats and a Little Ringed Plover and nine Yellow Wagtails flew over. There was a large feeding frenzy offshore which included 300 Mediterranean Gulls, two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls and 300 Sandwich Terns.
There were ten Porpoises and three Grey Seals feeding offshore.
The highlight from the moth traps was a Cosmopolitan along with six Small Mottled Willows and a Cydia amplana. A Clouded Yellow and four Brown Argus were also seen.
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| Cosmopolitan Mythimna loreyi Dungeness 6th August 2026 |
There were two sighting of the rare fly Dune Villa Villa modesta but they avoided capture or cameras and a Lesser Emperor dragonfly was seen at the Long Pits.
A Mediterranean Stick-insect and a Southern Oak Bush-cricket were seen in the Observatory garden.
5th Aug
Still hot and sunny but with a fresh NE wind. Very quiet on the bird front with just a Common Sandpiper, 11 Mediterranean Gulls and around 400 Sandwich Terns of note.
Seven Porpoises and three Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
4th Aug
Very quiet despite the calmer conditions. Visible migration was limited to 54 Sand Martins and 15 Yellow Wagtails and a Garden Warbler was about the best in the bushes. Two Arctic Skuas flew west in the evening and a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was seen at the fishing boats.
A Brown Hare was seen on the land and four Porpoises were feeding offshore.
A Vestal, four Small Mottled Willows and a Cydia amplana were the highlights from the fairly quiet moth traps.
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| Vestal Rhodometra sacraria Dungeness 3rd August 2026 |
3rd Aug
Strong NE winds overnight and for much of the day. Three Marsh Harriers flew over the area and a Kingfisher was seen at the Long Pits again. Despite the windy conditions a decent haul of grounded migrants were seen including 13 Willow Warblers, 39 Reed Warblers, three Blackcaps, six Lesser Whitethroats, 71 Whitethroats, a Whinchat, three Wheatears and six Yellow Wagtails. A Mediterranean Gull and a third-summer Yellow-legged Gull were seen at the fishing boats.
Five Porpoise and three Grey Seals were feeding offshore.
A Lesser Emperor dragonfly was seen at the Long Pits.
2nd Aug
Fewer birds in the bushes in the continuing hot conditions. A thorough search produced 31 Willow Warblers, three Sedge Warblers, 49 Reed Warblers and 45 Whitethroats and singles of Redshank and Greenshank flew over.
A Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Two Small Mottled Willows were the only notable moths from the traps.
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