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Local weather

Update

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11th Nov

Another windy but drier day. The Pallas's Warbler from the 9th was showing again in the Moat. Two Firecrests, 12 Goldcrests, a Brambling, seven Redpolls and 200 Goldfinches were also seen on the land.  Two sessions of seawatching totalling 6.5hrs produced three Shoveler, 22 Teal, 94 Kittiwakes, 91 Little Gulls, 15 Mediterranean Gulls, 17 Sandwich Terns, a Great Skua and 490 Gannets.

Singles of Porpoise and Grey Seal were feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was seen on the land.

Tuna were seen breaching offshore again on several occasions.

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10th Nov

A thoroughly miserable day with strong southerly and dawn 'til dusk rain restricted serious observations to the sea. Over seven hours of watching produced two Leach's Petrels, two Sooty Shearwaters and a Manx Shearwater of note along with ten Dunlin, 204 Little Gulls, 217 Kittiwakes, two Arctic Skuas and a first-winter Caspian Gull. Two Firecrests were of note in the trapping area.

Four Porpoises and two Grey Seals were seen offshore.

Tuna were seen breaching on several occasions during the day.

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9th Nov

Thick, but low level fog and then freshening winds hampered observations this morning but a Pallas's Warbler was trapped in the moat (possibly yesterdays bird from the Old Lighthouse garden) and a Yellow-browed Warbler was seen in the trapping area. Other birds of interest seen during the day included 121 Stock Doves, a Little Egret, 23 Chiffchaffs, two Blackcaps, a Dartford Warbler, nine Firecrests, 55 Goldcrests, 18 Blackbirds, 54 Robins, nine Black Redstarts, two Rock Pipits, 70 Chaffinches, 18 Bramblings, 22 Redpolls and 39 Siskins.

Pallas's Warbler Phylloscopus proregulus   Dungeness   9th November 2025 (Charlotte Foote)

The moth traps were also surprisingly and good produced only our second and third records of Oak Rustic and our fifth record of Grey Shoulder-knot and also a Palpita vitrealis. Four Mediterranean Stick-insects were still showing in the Observatory garden.

Grey Shoulder-knot Lithophane ornitopus   Dungeness   9th November 2025


Oak Rustics Dryobota labecula   Dungeness   9th November 2025




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8th Nov

A brilliant day on the land with two Pallas's Warblers and two Yellow-browed Warblers of note along with a Woodlark, 30 Chiffchaffs, a Dartford Warbler, 12 Firecrests, 130 Goldcrests, 18 Blackbirds, a Grey Wagtail, 50 Chaffinches, nine Bramblings, 50 Redpolls and 150 Goldfinches. Two Egyptian Geese also flew over. The sea was very quiet with just nine Little Gulls, two Mediterranean Gulls and six Sandwich Terns of note. 





Pallas's Warbler Phylloscopus proregulus   Dungeness   8th November 2025
The first of two birds today - this one was caught in the Trapping Area. (Lower two images by Gill Hollamby)



Pallas's Warbler Phylloscopous proregulus   Dungeness   8th November 2025
The second bird was found in the afternoon in the Old Lighthouse garden.

A Brown Hare was seen on the land.

The fine weather brought out a few butterflies including four Clouded Yellows.
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7th Nov

With fresh SE winds it was a good day on both land and sea. The highlights on the land were 150 Stock Doves, six Woodlarks, two Yellow-browed Warblers, nine Chiffchaffs, a Dartford Warbler, 19 Firecrests, 55 Goldcrests, 2438 Starlings, 30 Blackbirds, 15 Fieldfares, 16 Redwings, 15 Song Thrushes, 70 Robins, a Rock Pipit, 213 Chaffinches, 51 Bramblings, 19 Redpolls, 720 Goldfinches and 17 Siskin. Seawatching produced 563 Brent Geese, 25 Shelduck, 44 Shovelers, 94 Wigeon, 26 Pintails, 34 Teal, six Velvet Scoters, 60 Common Scoters, six Red-breasted Mergansers, five Grey Plovers, 12 Bar-tailed Godwits, three Knot, 278 Sanderling, 60 Dunlin, 40 Little Gulls, 15 Mediterranean Gulls, two Great Skuas and 515 Razorbills.

A Grey Seal was feeding offshore.

The moth traps were surprisingly productive with a Palpita vitrealis, a Red-green Carpet and a Radford's Flame Shoulder of note while another Palpita vitrealis and a Scarce Bordered Straw were seen during the day. 

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6th Nov

Light showers in the early morning grounded a few migrants including a Yellow-browed Warbler, a Willow Warbler, 15 Chiffchaffs, two Blackcaps, three Dartford Warblers, 15 Firecrests, 65 Goldcrests and 36 Blackbirds. There was also some good overhead passage with 35 Stock Doves, 88 Wood Pigeons, a Woodlark, ten Skylarks, 1350 Starlings, two Rock Pipits, eight Bramblings, 68 Redpolls, 11 Crossbills, 307 Goldfinches and 24 Siskins of note. The sea was fairly quiet with just ten Mediterranean Gulls, ten Sandwich Terns, 1010 Razorbills and 1640 auks sp.

Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus   Dungeness   6th October 2025

Two Bottle-nose Dolphins, two Porpoises and two Grey Seals were seen offshore and a Brown Hare was seen on the land.

The highlight on the insect front was a superb Crimson Speckled moth found near the Sanctuary.

Crimson Speckled Utetheisa pulchella   Dungeness   6th October 2025 


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5th Nov

More birds offshore today with the highlights of a Leach's Petrel and a Sooty Shearwater along with 182 Kittiwakes, 11 Little Gulls, 23 Mediterranean Gulls, 11 Sandwich Terns, 3091 Razorbills, 1115 "auks sp"., and 160 Gannets. Grounded migrants included eight Chiffchaffs, four Firecrests, 27 Goldcrests and seven Song Thrushes while passing overhead included a Great White Egret, 11 Jackdaws, six Skylarks, three Swallows, 4400 Starlings, a Grey Wagtail, forty Meadow Pipits, a Rock Pipit, two Bramblings, eight Redpolls, a flock of 12 Crossbills, 550 Goldfinches and six Siskins. 

One Grey Seal was seen offshore.

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4th Nov

Strong winds again meant yet more seawatching but with a bit more variety than on recent days with 15 Little Gulls, eight Mediterranean Gulls, a Black-throated Diver and a Sooty Shearwater of note while 11 Grey Plovers, four Knot, eight Sandwich Terns, 1261 Guillemots, 2398 Razorbills, 889 auk sp and 981 Gannets were also seen. A Woodcock, a Little Egret, four Firecrest, 1357 Starlings in, 56 Chaffinches, five Crossbills, 300 Goldfinches and 13 Siskin were the best on the land.

Two Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was seen.

Several Tuna were also seen.

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3rd Nov

Even stronger winds today limited most of the observation to the sea where over six hours of watching produced five Red-breasted Mergansers, 420 Kittiwakes, two Little Gulls, two Mediterranean Gulls, a first-winter Caspian Gull, 39 Sandwich Terns, 374 Guillemots, 1073 Razorbills and 893 "auks sp". and 452 Gannets. Just three Firecrests, 20 Goldcrests, 85 Linnets and 390 Goldfinches were the best on the land.

Three Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

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2nd Nov

Strong SW winds and frequent heavy rain brought more seawatching but still not a great deal on the land. Over four hours of seawatching saw 121 Kittiwakes, three Little Gulls, 16 Mediterranean Gulls, 30 Sandwich Terns, an Arctic Skua, 443 Guillemots, 2076 Razorbills and 730 auk sp., 18 Red-throated Divers and 783 Gannets. On the land there was a bit of overhead movement including six Skylarks, 14 Swallows, 210 Starlings, four Rock Pipits, a Brambling, 12 Redpolls, 175 Goldfinches and eight Siskins. A handful of birds in the bushes included eight Chiffchaffs, two Blackcaps, a Firecrest and 15 Goldcrests.

Singles of Porpoise and Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

 

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