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| The 2006 Annual Report is now available and costs £7.50 (inc. p&p) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st | A
quiet day with rain during the morning followed by
strong winds through the afternoon. Four Mediterranean
Gulls and 70 Sandwich Terns flew east
at sea and a Common Tern was lingering at
the Patch.
The only birds of significance on the land were three Black Redstarts and four Firecrests. |
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| 2nd | A
day of quality migrants rather than numbers. The
best birds were two Water Pipits which
spent the afternoon around the moat or between
here and the Old Lighthouse and two
"Continental" Coal Tits in the
moat in the morning. Other notable migrants
included a Little Egret, a Buzzard
in the afternoon heading north and our first Swallow
of the year. There were at least 12 Firecrests,
six Wheatears, eight Black Redstarts
and two Willow Warblers in the area and at
least three Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Brambling
and three Siskins passed through. The sea
was very quiet but there was a Common Tern
at the Patch.
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| 3rd | Most
of the days migrants were passing overhead with
350 Wood Pigeons, three Swallows, 44
Jackdaws, 27 Chaffinches, six Bramblings
and 30 Siskins whilst grounded migrants
included 12 Willow Warblers and three Firecrests.
Two Black Redstarts were also seen.
Pairs of both Marsh Harrier and Sparrowhawk were displaying over the area. Seven Eider and 65 Sandwich Terns flew east and six Common Terns were lingering offshore. |
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| 4th | The highlight of the day was a first-winter Caspian Gull at the fishing boat in the evening. It was very disappointing on the land with just a Sand Martin (our first of the year), a Swallow, nine Willow Warblers, two Firecrest and four Bramblings of interest. Two Little Ringed Plovers were seen on the beach in the morning. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th | A
surprising day with a mid-morning spell of rain
suddenly dropping in an excellent selection of
early migrants. Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs
dominated in terms of numbers with 30 of each but
other significant migrants included a Yellow
Wagtail, a Nightingale, two Redstarts,
a Whitethroat, 12 Blackcaps, a Firecrest,
two
"Continental" Coal Tits and 28
Siskins. A Buzzard flew north
over the area and Peregrine Falcon and Merlin
were also seen.
The sea was quiet with just four Eiders and a Great Skua of note flying east and with two Little Gulls, a few Sandwich Terns and a Common Tern feeding offshore. |
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| 6th | A
cold night and clear skies left little to be seen
of yesterdays birds except for one of the Redstarts.
A Firecrest was a new bird at the
Observatory and a Swallow and a few Siskins
flew over. However, from just after midday winter
weather returned with a vengeance and saw the
first significant snowfall of the year. Hard to
believe that only yesterday saw a decent arrival
of summer migrants.
There was a Common Tern at the Patch. |
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| 7th | After
the wintry weather of yesterday there was little
expectation of anything good turning up so it was
a huge surprise when this superb Dark-eyed
Junco was found shortly after daybreak in the
garden of Southview cottage. It then gave views on
and off throughout the day. Special thanks must go
David Bunney for allowing several hundred birders
to surround his garden for most of the day.
Surprisingly, this is actually the second
Dungeness record - the first being seen on 26th
May 1960 which was also the first British record.
Needless to say there was little coverage of anywhere else but two Marsh Harriers flew over the area, there were four Mediterranean Gulls at the Patch and Redstart, Whitethroat and Firecrest were all reported to be in the moat. |
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| 8th | The
Dark-eyed Junco remained in the garden of
Southview cottage throughout the day and
frequently gave good views. Other migrants on the
land were again limited with just a Great
Spotted Woodpecker, six Swallows, a Redstart,
12 Chiffchaffs and two Brambling.
Several hours seawatching during the day produced a Black-throated Diver, 162 Brent Geese, ten Shoveler. 14 Eider and a Velvet Scoter of interest whilst there were at least six Common Tern feeding offshore. Also of great interest was a fine male White-spotted Bluethroat which was seen at Hookers Pit on the RSPB Reserve from late morning. |
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| 9th | The Dark-eyed Junco remained in the garden of Southview Cottage and the first Ring Ouzel was also seen. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10th | A Black-throated Diver, two Marsh Harriers and a Ring Ouzel were seen in the area. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11th | A handful of birds offshore included 13 Red-breasted Mergansers and 11 Mediterranean Gulls whilst a Marsh Harrier was in the area for a time. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12th | A Black-throated Diver, a Marsh Harrier and 13 Great Skuas were of note. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13th | A
Long-tailed Duck, five Red-breasted
Mergansers, a Black-throated Diver, the
first Whimbrel of the spring, an Arctic
Skua, seven Great Skua and the first Arctic
Terns of the year were seen.
Still quiet on the land although 13 Willow Warblers were seen. |
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| 14th | Four Manx Shearwaters were seen offshore and five Sparrowhawks, three Sand Martins, two Yellow Wagtails, two Redstarts and a Ring Ouzel were of note on the land. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15th | An Arctic Skua, a Redstart and two Firecrests were the only birds of note. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16th | A
few birds moved east at sea with 16 Shovelers,
693 Common Scoters, 130 Velvet Scoters,
nine Red-breasted Mergansers, two Black-throated
Divers, six Bar-tailed Godwits, 131 Whimbrel,
four Arctic Skuas and 79 Little Gulls
of note.
The first two Tree Pipits of the spring and a Ring Ouzel were seen. |
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| 17th | Seawatching
was the order of the day in strong ENE backing NE
winds. Ducks were well represented with 27 Gadwall,
90 Teal, 18 Pintail, four Mallard,
ten Garganey, 81 Shovelors, 448 Common
Scoters, 21 Velvet Scoters and 15 Red-breasted
Mergansers of note. Other interesting birds
included a Black-throated Diver, a Slavonian
Grebe, the first Hobby of the year,
five Avocets, five Arctic Skuas,
three Great Skuas, three Mediterranean
Gulls, 19 Little Gulls whilst a few
other waders passing through in good numbers
including 12 Grey Plovers, 12 Knot
and 162 Whimbrel.
There were also 400 Common and two Little Terns at the Patch. A Ring Ouzel was still in the moat. |
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| 18th | Another
day of strong and cold north-easterly winds. Most
of the interest was again at sea where five Slavonian
Grebes, 15 Shovelers, 30 Teal,
seven Gadwall, six Avocets, three Arctic
Skuas, 334 Common Terns and two Arctic
Terns all flying east were of note. The first Black
Tern of the spring was also seen at the Patch.
The Ring Ouzel was still in the moat and single Whitethroat and Firecrest were seen in the trapping area. |
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| 19th | A
few birds moved east again including two Black-throated
Divers, ten Grey Plover, ten Knot,
123 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Spotted
Redshank and a Great Skua whilst the Black
Tern remained at the Patch.
The Ring Ouzel was still in the moat where a Redstart was also seen. Also of interest, a Hooded Crow was seen in the sheep fields at Dengemarsh Road. |
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| 20th | The
cold north-easterly winds continue and most of the
days interest was again at sea although there was
a slight increase in the number of migrants on the
land.
Of note offshore was a passage of skuas with 37 Arctics and the first three Pomarine Skuas of the spring along with 73 Little Gulls. Waders also passed by throughout the day with 11 Grey Plovers, 31 Dunlin, 450 Bar-tailed Godwits and 56 Whimbrels as well as five Mediterranean Gulls and 22 Arctic Terns. Of interest on the land were our first House Martins and Lesser Whitethroat of the year and single Tree Pipit and Ring Ouzel. |
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| 21st | Another
fairly disappointing day. Extensive seawatching
through much of the day eventually produced seven Arctic
Skuas and a Great Skua and 72 Whimbrel.
The Black Tern was feeding at the Patch
again.
A handful of migrants included two Ring Ouzels, four "Greenland" Wheatears, two Lesser Whitehroats and seven Chiffchaffs. |
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| 22nd | A
fine and warmer day produced a small increase in
grounded migrants with our first Sedge and Reed
Warblers of the year, four Ring Ouzels,
17 Wheatears and 20 Chiffchaffs and
a movement of birds overhead including 100 Swallows,
a Tree Pipit, 13 Yellow Wagtails and
14 Siskins. Two Marsh Harriers and a
Merlin were also seen.
There was very little movement offshore except for 78 Whimbrel, 21 Curlew and 11 Mediterranean Gulls but there were 40 Arctic Terns and three Black Terns at the Patch in the evening. |
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| 23rd | A
small arrival of migrants during the morning
included a superb singing male Little Bunting
which spent a few minutes in the back garden of
the Observatory before moving out into the moat
and eventually flying quickly to the west after
just ten minutes or so. (Perhaps surprisingly this
is only the second Dungeness record). Other
grounded migrants included singing Nightingales
in the trapping area and at the Long Pits, six Blackcaps, 13 Willow
Warblers and ten Chiffchaffs. Overhead
passage was very light with 101 Goldfinches
being the only notable record.
After a quiet start at sea there was a sudden rush of birds from mid-morning and until the damp weather cleared in mid-afternoon with 585 Brent Geese, a Black-throated Diver, 30 Arctic Skuas, four Great Skuas, six Mediterranean Gulls, seven Little Gulls, 2850 Common Terns and 85 Arctic Terns of note. |
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| 24th | The
best of the birds on the land was a Pied
Flycatcher. Otherwise there was a handful of Willow
Warblers and Chiffchaffs of interest.
Seawatching was interesting, although overall numbers were low, but with five Black-throated Divers, a Shag, a Manx Shearwater, 20 Arctic Skuas and 13 Great Skuas of note. |
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| 25th | A
fairly quiet day for land migrants was enlivened
during the afternoon by the capture of both birds
of what might be a breeding pair of Nightingales.
Other migrants included eight Sand Martin,
56 Swallows, a small increase in Wheatear
numbers, a Garden Warbler, five Willow
Warblers and ten Chiffchaffs.
Seawatching was also very quiet with a Black-throated Diver, just two Arctic Skuas and five Great Skuas of note passing east during the day. |
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| 26th | A
steady trickle of birds moving mainly east
offshore included the days highlight when an adult
summer-plumaged White-billed Diver passed
through at 1720. Other birds of interest included
three Black-throated Divers and a Great
Northern Diver, a Manx Shearwater, 73 Bar-tailed
Godwits, 52 Whimbrel, a Pomarine
Skua, 35 Arctic Skuas, 16 Great
Skuas, 44 Little Gulls, four Mediterranean
Gulls, 626 Common Terns, 21 Arctic
Terns and two Black Terns during 12
hours of observation.
There was also some visible migration on the land including a Hen Harrier, six Sparrowhawks, the first Swift of the year, 75 Swallows, a Tree Pipit, ten Yellow Wagtails and three Redpolls whilst grounded migrants included four Lesser Whitethroats, a Blackcap and ten each of both Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff. |
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| 27th | Most
of the interest remains offshore where there was
an excellent passage of skuas throughout the day
with final totals of 45 Pomarines, 54 Arctics
and 13 Greats. Other species were in
surprisingly short supply but did include two Long-tailed
Ducks, 580 Common Scoters, a Black-throated
Diver, three Avocets, 54 Whimbrel,
15 Little Gulls, 16 Little Terns and
a Black Tern. In addition, a first
winter/summer Iceland Gull arrived at the
Patch in the early afternoon.
It was pretty quiet again on the land although the first Turtle Dove of the spring was seen along with 40 Swallows and a Tree Pipit. |
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| 28th | The
Iceland Gull was seen at the Patch again
during the morning whilst seawatching produced
three Pomarine Skuas, 14 Arctic Skuas
and nine Great Skuas.
Still very quiet on the land. |
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| 29th | All the interest was at sea in increasingly wet and windy conditions but even here it was fairly hard work with over ten hours of observation eventually producing six Black-throated Divers, five Manx Shearwaters, an Avocet, 286 Bar-tailed Godwits, 12 Arctic Skuas, a Pomarine Skua, 11 Great Skuas, six Little Gulls, 80 Arctic Terns, 33 Little Terns and 19 Black Terns of interest. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30th | Strong
to gale-force south-easterly winds and frequent
very heavy rain during the morning resulted in
another excellent seawatch. Skuas passed through
in good numbers with six Pomarines, 44 Arctics
and 23 Greats whilst numbers were provided
by 46 Fulmars, 1000 Gannets, 250 Bar-tailed
Godwits, 40 Kittiwakes, 325 Sandwich
Terns and 660 Common Terns. Other birds
of interest included two Manx Shearwaters,
three Black-throated Divers, ten Knot,
three Little Gulls, 16 Arctic Terns,
seven Little Terns and nine Black Terns.
Very quiet on the land with just a small increase in Wheatear numbers noted. |
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