14th Oct

It was fairly quiet for grounded migrants with two Merlins, a Firecrest, a Mistle Thrush and a few Song Thrushes and Blackbirds being about the best to be seen although the Wryneck made another brief appearance in the Desert. Visible migration was much more noticeable with 65 Skylarks, a Grey Wagtail, two Rock Pipits, two Bramblings,1300 Goldfinches, 780 Siskins and 56 Reed Buntings.
It was also a strange day offshore with a massive arrival of over 1000 Mediterranean Gulls into the area along with large numbers of Kittiwakes and Sandwich Terns and ten or so Arctic Skuas in attendance.

Mediterranean Gulls Icthyaetus melanocephalus   Dungeness   14th October 2018
Just part of the huge flock of Mediterranean Gulls and Kittiwakes feeding offshore today

Three Porpoises and a Grey Seal were also feeding offshore.

The event of the day on the insect front was the finding and capturing of another Asian Hornet Vespa vetulina as it fed on Ivy flowers at the Lighthouse Garden and what a stunner it is. Sadly as it is considered a very harmful invasive pest species and it cannot be released back into the wild.

Asian Hornet Vespa velutina    Dungeness   14th October 2018
In the field shots.

Admiring the Asian Wasp - the first wasp to be twitched in Britain?

Asian Hornet Vespa velutina   Dungeness   14th October 2018
A few close-up shots 

With a mass arrival of migrant moths across the country as a whole our moth traps were actually fairly disappointing with just the pyralid Palpita vitrealis of note but it was very windy so we were probably lucky to get this, A Blair's Shoulder-knot was also caught - only the 12th Observatory record.

Later in the day a Western Conifer Seed Bug was found at the Observatory. 

Western Conifer Seed Bug Leptoglossus occidentalis   Dungeness   14th October 2018

13th Oct

With the strong but very warm winds still blowing seawatching was the order of the day. Nearly eight hours of observations produced a Pintail, 2000 Gannets, four Great Skuas, 36 Arctic Skuas, 474 Mediterranean Gulls, 410 Kittiwakes, 225 Sandwich Terns and two late Black Terns of note, mostly passing westwards.
A first-winter Caspian Gull was seen on the beach at the fishing boats this afternoon.

A few Song Thrushes were seen in the bushes and 1700 Goldfinches and 250 Linnets passed through.

Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were seen offshore.

The moth traps were very quiet in the windy conditions but a Hummingbird Hawkmoth was seen in the field and the caterpillar that was found on Sep.12th also hatched out.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth Macroglossom stellatarum   emerged from pupa    13th October 2018

The saga of the Asian Hornet continues with a male seen in a private garden and then it/or another individual was trapped not far away in the lighthouse garden.

Asian Hornet Vespa vetulina   male   Dungeness    13th October 2018   (D.Bunney)

12th Oct

Another very windy day which made observations on the land very difficult whilst the sea was disappointingly quiet again.
Gannets and Sandwich Terns continued to push through but 4.5 hours of watching produced just two Shovelers, two Great Skuas, maybe 15 Arctic Skuas, 52 Kittiwakes and seven Mediterranean Gulls of additional interest.
A few Goldfinches flew south, a Little Owl was found in the Desert and a Firecrest was still present in the lighthouse garden. A couple of late Sand Martins were also seen.

Seawatching at dawn   Dungeness   12th October 2018

Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

Overnight moth trapping produced a Delicate, a Scarce Bordered Straw and a Clancy's Rustic of note.

Ivy Bees were feeding in good numbers in the Lighthouse Garden but the disturbing news on the insect front was that David Bunney videoed an Asian Hornet Vespa velutina in his garden yesterday. Despite searching it was not seen today.

Asian Hornet Vespa vetulina  11th October 2018  (D.Bunney))

This wasp was first seen in Europe in France in 2004 and has since spread rapidly from there across much of western Europe and was first recorded in Britain in 2016. It is considered one of the most harmful of all the invasive species listed by European Union  and is of particular concern because of its likely impact on the European Honeybee Apis mellifera. Please report any confirmed sightings to the Observatory or direct to the GB Non-native Species Secretariat.

11th Oct

A day with strong SSE winds and most of the interest offshore. Nearly seven hours seawatching produced five Sooty Shearwaters, 150 Mediterranean Gulls, an Arctic Tern and five Great Skuas of note along with a few wildfowl including 61 Brent Geese, six Shoveler, six Pintail, an Eider and three Red-breasted Mergansers. At least three Arctic Skuas were also lingering offshore.
It was very quiet on the land with just 17 Skylarks and a few Goldfinches heading out to sea, a Firecrest in the Lighthouse Garden and 12 Song Thrushes scattered around the Point.

Two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

10th Oct

A few grounded migrants were present this with a Firecrest, ten Chiffchaffs, six Blackcaps, four Redwings, four Song Thrushes, four Wheatears and three Bearded Tits were in the reedbed at the Long Pits. The Wryneck was still present but continued to be fairly elusive. 
Visible migration also picked up a bit with a Buzzard, 45 Chaffinch, 250 Goldfinch, 230 Siskins and 20 Reed Buntings and also a flock of 20 Crossbills of note. 

The sea was very quiet with just two Mediterranean Gulls, 53 Sandwich Terns and two Arctic Skuas of interest.

A Delicate was the best of the overnight trapping and two Hummingbird Hawkmoths were seen during the day.

9th Oct

Although there was very little in the way of new grounded migrants there was still plenty of interest with the Wryneck showing again in the Desert and a Yellow-browed Warbler showing well at times in the trapping area. Other grounded migrants included 15 Chiffchaffs, 14 Redwings, six Song Thrushes, a Whinchat and two Wheatears.
There was also bit of visible migration with 150 Siskins of note along with a Merlin, two Yellow Wagtails, seven Grey Wagtails. six Bramblings, 75 Goldfinches and 25 Reed Buntings.
There was no signs of passage offshore but 28 Mediterranean Gulls were feeding off the fishing boats were of note.

One Porpoise was seen.

The moth traps turned up a goodie in the form of a Porter's Rustic. Not the most stunning of moths to look at but it is very rare in Britain and a new species for the Observatory traps. A Barred Yellow and a Beaded Chestnut were also trapped and three Hummingbird Hawkmoths were feeding in the Red Valerian around the Observatory.

Porter's Rustic Proxenus hospes   Dungeness   9th October 2018

8th Oct

A calm morning resulted in an interesting day on the land. With Yellow-browed Warblers turning up in numbers elsewhere it was not unexpected that one would turn up here but when it did it was extremely elusive and seen by only one person. Also very elusive were a Long-eared Owl at the Long Pits and a Wryneck in the Desert. The most spectacular sight of the day was probably a flock of nine Great White Egrets which came in low from the south east and headed steadily inland. 
Other grounded migrants included 30 Chiffchaffs, ten Blackcaps, two Fieldfares, 18 Redwings, 12 Song Thrushes, a Mistle Thrush, a Whinchat and a Wheatear while a Green Sandpiper, seven Grey Wagtails, five Bramblings, 60 Siskins and 20 Reed Buntings passed overhead.
The sea was very quiet with just two Mediterranean Gulls of interest.

Four Porpoises were feeding offshore.

A Hummingbird Hawkmoth was seen feeding at the Red Valerian near the Observatory.

Elsewhere, a co-ordinated roost count from Burrowes and ARC (by MC) produced a total of 23 Great White Egrets and five Cattle Egrets. The former equals the recent record count but omits the nine birds which came in earlier in the day and which presumably flew straight through.

7th Oct

After a wet and very windy night the day began with fresh northerly winds and clear skies which resulted in a decent amount of movement on both the land and sea.
Grounded migrants included a Firecrest, 25 Chiffchaffs, a Ring Ouzel, ten Song Thrushes, 16 Redwings, a Fieldfare a Redstart and a Wheatear. Overhead passage also provided some interest with five Grey Herons, two Buzzards, a Marsh Harrier, five Sparrowhawks, six Grey Wagtails, four Rock Pipits, 45 Chaffinches, eight Bramblings, 75 Goldfinches and 60 Siskins.
There were also plenty of birds moving in both directions offshore including a party of four distant Barnacle Geese heading west, 425 Brent Geese, 12 Pintail, six Teal, over 560 Gannets, 134 Mediterranean Gulls, 74 Sandwich Terns, five Arctic Skuas and a juvenile Pomarine Skua.

Two Porpoises and single Grey and Common Seals were feeding offshore.

6th Oct

A calm and sunny morning saw more Chiffchaffs arriving but very little else in the way of grounded migrants other than 15 Blackcaps and 10 Song Thrushes. Overhead passage was rarely busy but by the end of the morning a Mistle Thrush, three Tree Sparrows, nine Grey Wagtails, two Rock Pipits, a Brambling, 30 Goldfinches,150 Siskins and 75 Reed Buntings had flown through.
Very quiet offshore with just three Arctic Skuas and three Mediterranean Gulls of interest before the weather closed in in the afternoon.

Four Porpoises were feeding offshore.

Moth trapping produced a Hummingbird Hawkmoth and a Delicate.

5th Oct

With clear skies and almost no wind it was very quiet on the land with just a handful of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps in the bushes and single Wheatear and Rock Pipit on the ground. Visible migration was limited to a party of six Buzzards, a Tree Sparrow, two Grey Wagtails, 40 Siskins and 30 Reed Buntings.
Passage offshore was also fairly slow and limited mainly to Sandwich Terns during the morning. However, there was a notable influx of at least 102 Mediterranean Gulls on the sea and beach. A Great Northern Diver and a Great Skua also flew west and a Manx Shearwater flew east and at least five Arctic Skuas were lingering.  

Mediterranean Gulls Ichthyaetus melanocephalus   Dungeness   5th October 2018
Two colour-ringed birds were among a group of birds on the beach.

Three Porpoises were feeding offshore. A Badger was running around the moat as we opened the nets in the morning.

The moth trap was quiet for migrants but in the afternoon a Convolvulus Hawkmoth larva was found and brought to the Observatory. We provided it with a pot of compost and it promptly buried itself and began to pupate.

Convolvulus Hawkmoth Agrion convolvuli   larva   Dungeness    5th October 2018

A Spiked Shieldbug was also found.
 

Spiked Shieldbug Picromerus bidens   Dungeness   5th October 2018

Elsewhere, six Cattle Egrets and 14 Great White Egrets came in to roost at the ARC Pit.