18th Sep

Another hard day in strong NE winds which continue to produce very little. There were several spells of seawatching but all they could come up with were a handful of lingering Arctic Skuas and three Mediterranean Gulls. Landbirds were very few and far between with just a Whinchat, eight Wheatears, three Tree Sparrows and a Grey Wagtail of note.

Four Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was seen in the Desert.

17th Sep

With a strong NE wind blowing all day it was hard going on the land and the sea continues to disappoint although two Pintails, 75 Wigeon, 25 Teal, two Avocets and two Arctic Skuas were of note. A colour-ringed first-winter Caspian Gull spent some time at the Point.

Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans   first-winter   Dungeness   17th September 2020
A bird wearing a colour-ring probably from one of the Polish projects.

Four Porpoise and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

16th Sep

The highlight of the day was two Dotterel which flew over the Observatory in the early morning. There were a few grounded migrants including 50 Chiffchaffs, 35 Blackcaps, a Spotted Flycatcher and two Redstarts. A few birds also flew over with two Marsh Harriers, eight Yellow Wagtails, eight Grey Wagtails, two Redpolls and 100 Siskins of note.

The sea remains very quiet but extensive watching eventually produced three Balearic Shearwaters, 32 Mediterranean Gulls and three Arctic Skuas of note. 

Three Grey Seals and six Porpoises were feeding offshore.

The moth traps were very productive this morning with a new (though expected) moth species for the Observatory trap with a Box Moth along with a superb Convolvulus Hawkmoth, a Golden Twin-spot, a Beautiful Marbled and our second Oak Hook-tip of the season.

Golden Twin-spot Chrysodeixis chalcites, Beautiful Marbled Eublemma purpurina,
Box Moth Cydalina perspicalis and Convolvulus Hawkmoth Agrion convolvuli. 

An evening visit for the rarer orthoptera was difficult in the very windy conditions but eventually five Large Coneheads and a single Sickle-bearing Bush-cricket were found.

15th Sep

Not a great deal on the land with a juvenile Cuckoo, just nine Grey Wagtails (two caught), 53 Siskins and three Lesser Redpolls of note.

Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea   Dungeness   15th SEptember 2020

It also remains quiet offshore although a Balearic Shearwater, a Little Gull, a Little Tern and five Arctic Skuas flew west and a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull was on the beach.

Three Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

A late morning search for Large Coneheads produced one female.

Large Conehead Ruspolia nitidula    female   Dungeness   15th September 2020

Another small catch of moths was high on quality with a Golden Twin-spot and our first record of Box Moth trapped. Four Clouded Yellow were seen.

Golden Twin-spot Chrysodeixus chalcites   Dungeness   15th September 2020

14th Sep

Clear skies and mist in the early morning rarely produce large numbers of birds and today was no exceptions although Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps continue to move through in small numbers. Other bits of note included a Hobby, a juvenile  Cuckoo, a Spotted Flycatcher, a Redstart, seven Grey Wagtails, three Tree Pipits and 90 Siskins.
The sea was also quiet with the early morning seawatch producing just a Greenshank, a Black Tern and three Arctic Skuas of note.

The moth catch remains small but today included a Cypress Pug and a Delicate.

Three Large Coneheads were heard in the trapping area this evening along with a Sickle-bearing Bush-cricket and good numbers of Tree Crickets.

Two Brown Hares were also of note on the land.

13th Sep

A White Stork flew over Point before heading west this morning. Unfortunately this individual was colour-ringed which showed that it was a Knepp reintroduction bird and therefore of captive origins. Other than the stork it was a fairly quiet day with just small numbers of migrants in the bushes including 25 Chiffchaffs and a Garden Warbler and six Grey Wagtails and 15 Siskins overhead.

Seawatching produced a few waders, 772 Sandwich Terns, two Little Terns and 19 Arctic Skuas.

Fourteen Porpoises and two Grey Seals were also seen feeding offshore.

12th Sep

There were a few birds of note on the land including a juvenile Cuckoo, 200 House Martins, 25 Chiffchaffs, 12 Blackcaps, a Redstart, six Grey Wagtails and 40 Siskins.
We were able to catch three Grey Wagtails in the Crow Trap with images of two of them below.

Grey Wagtails Motacilla cinerea   Dungeness   12th September 2020
Two of the three birds ringed today. Previously only five birds had been ringed by the Observatory.

There was a decent movement of birds offshore during the day with 600 Gannets, 1272 Sandwich Terns, a Little Tern, two Great Skuas and 45 Arctic Skuas of note.

A small moth catch still produced two Delicates of note.

A Common Toad was found in the garden of one of the RNSSS Cottages.

Another evening foray into the trapping area produced ten Large Coneheads, three Sickle-bearing Bush-crickets and a good numbers of singing Tree Crickets. On our return to the Observatory a female Southern Oak Bush-cricket was also found.  

11th Sep

Calm conditions resulted in another decent arrival of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps in the bushes and a large overhead movement of Siskins with at least 230 birds counted. Swallows and House Martins also flew through in small numbers.

Still very quiet offshore with just a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull and an Arctic Skua seen.

At least 39 Porpoises were seen offshore this morning in flat calm conditions.

A female Southern Oak Bush-cricket was found in the Observatory Garden.

Southern Oak Bush-cricket Meconema meridionale   female   Dungeness   11th September 2020

10th Sep

It was quieter today but there were still a few nice records including a flock of 19 Common Buzzards over the Observatory and a Short-eared Owl in the Desert, a Kingfisher at the Long Pits, a Spotted Flycatcher in the Moat, a Tree Pipit and 50 Yellow Wagtails. Numbers were provided by 12 Willow Warblers, 25 Chiffchaffs, 25 Blackcaps and 100 Meadow Pipits.
Butterflies seen today included two Clouded Yellows on the beach whilst an Oak Hooktip and a Delicate were caught at the Observatory.

Oak Hooktip Watsonalla binaria   Dungeness   10th September 2020

9th Sep

There was a decent arrival today with a Short-eared Owl, 15 Willow Warblers, 55 Chiffchaffs, 60 Blackcaps, 20 Lesser Whitethroats, 50 Whitethroats, two Spotted Flycatchers, a Redstart, two Whinchats, 13 Wheatears, 50 Yellow Wagtails, 70 Meadow Pipits, a Rock Pipit and ten Siskins of note. A Green Sandpiper flew over the area after dark.
There was a slight improvement in the birds seen offshore with a Balearic Shearwater, two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls and five Arctic Skuas of note.

Five Porpoises and two Grey Seals were seen offshore and a Brown Hare was seen on the land. The evening visit to the trapping area produced contacts on the Bat Detector with Nathusius's  and Common Pipistrelles.

Nocturnal surveying for orthoptera continues to be very productive with 12 Large Coneheads and eight Sickle-bearing Bush-crickets along with an excellent chorus from the Tree Crickets. Two Southern Oak Bush-crickets were seen at the Observatory.