10th Nov

With plenty of overcast skies and frequent light showers there was a considerable movement of finches overhead and a few grounded migrants and also some good seawatching during the morning. The highlights of the visible migration were a late Swallow, two Fieldfares, a Grey Wagtail, a Rock Pipit, 64 Chaffinches, 15 Bramblings, 1200 Redpolls, a Crossbill, 277 Goldfinches and 84 Siskins. Grounded migrants included three Snipe, four Firecrests and 40 Goldcrests. A Dartford Warbler was seen in the Station Gorse. A 2.25hrs seawatch this morning produced eight Eider, three Velvet Scoters, 322 Kittiwakes, 26 Mediterranean Gulls, 11 Sandwich Terns, two Great Skuas and 747 Razorbills of note.

A Porpoise and a Grey Seal were seen offshore.

Moth trapping produced our second-ever Radford's Flame Shoulder. The fine weather this afternoon saw Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock on the wing.

Radford's Flame Shoulder Ochropleura leucogaster   Dungeness  10th November 2020

A Mottled Shieldbug was seen along with two Hairy Shieldbugs.

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9th Nov

There were a few birds in the bushes this morning along with a decent visible migration. There was also some interest offshore. The best of the grounded migrants were a Woodcock, four Firecrests, 11 Fieldfares and 25 Redwings while three Swallows, a Grey Wagtail, eight Bramblings and two Corn Buntings also passed overhead. A Pheasant was also seen in the Trapping Area. Four hours of seawatching proved very productive with 400 Brent Geese, eight Shelduck, 28 Shovelers, three Gadwall, 71 Wigeon, 46 Pintail, 47 Teal, three Scaup and a Velvet Scoter, 822 Gannets, 450 Kittiwakes, nine Little Gulls, 500 Kittiwakes and 11 Great Skuas.

The highlight among the moths was an Olive-tree Pearl.

8th Nov

Grounded migrants included  a Woodcock and four Snipe, 50 Goldcrests and 15 Firecrests of note whilst good numbers of birds also passed overhead with three Swallows, a Grey Wagtail, ten Bramblings, 300 Redpolls and a Yellowhammer.

The early morning seawatch was fairly slow-going but a check in the afternoon produced a Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 16 Little Gulls, three Mediterranean Gulls, 21 Sandwich Terns and a Great Skua. 

A Grey Seal was seen offshore.

7th Nov

A very busy day with 186 birds ringed and overall totals of 150 Goldcrests, ten Firecrests, ten Bramblings,150 Redpolls (with 28 Lesser Redpolls and 13 Common Redpolls ringed). Other notable sightings included a Jack Snipe, two Long-eared Owls this evening, a Dartford Warbler and a fly-over Corn Bunting and a Kestrel was also ringed. Four Mediterranean Gulls, four late Sandwich Terns and a Great Skua were seen offshore.

A Grey Seal and a Brown Hare were also seen.

The warm weather saw some late butterfly activity with four Red Admirals noted.

6th Nov

Another clear morning which produced a few birds passing overhead and grounded migrants but nothing particularly rare. Of note on the land were a Jack Snipe, seven Chiffchaffs, ten Firecrests and 60 Goldcrests while visible migrants included a Grey Wagtail, six Bramblings, 90 Redpolls, 570 Goldfinches and 45 Siskins. The best from four hours of seawatching were an Eider, three Velvet Scoters, 24 Mediterranean Gulls and three Great Skuas.

Two Great Skuas were feeding offshore.

5th Nov

What started out as a seemingly quiet morning after a cold, clear night suddenly came to life when a Hume's Warbler was heard and fairly quickly seen at the northern end of the Trapping Area. It proved to be fairly vocal so was not to difficult to locate but was quite hard to get good views of as it flitted quickly through the Sallow bushes. 

Hume's Warbler Phylloscopus humei   Dungeness   5th November 2020
This is the fourth Observatory record.

Remarkably as we were trying to locate the Hume's Warbler a Dusky Warbler was also found in one of the mistnets set just a few yards away. This was subsequently ringed at the Observatory and released in the Moat where it was seen later on several occasions.

Dusky Warbler Phylloscopus fuscatus   Dungeness   5th November 2020
The ninth Observatory record.

Other migrants were actually very sparsely spread but they did include a Short-eared Owl, a Woodlark, four Chiffchaffs, two Blackcaps, two Firecrests, a Tree Sparrow, three Bramblings, 30 Redpolls, a Crossbill and 16 Siskins. 

A NocMig recorder was also used last night and produced single Golden Plover and Sandwich Tern, 84 Redwings, 44 Blackbirds and eight Song Thrushes.

4th Nov

A day of quality rather than quantity with highlights including a Barnacle Goose over the area, a Dartford Warbler near the Lifeboat Station, seven Black Redstarts scattered across the Point, a Serin flying over this afternoon, a Snow Bunting at the Fishing Boats and a Yellowhammer over the Observatory this morning. Other bits and pieces of interest included  two Marsh Harriers, two Snipe, a Merlin, 16 Skylarks, two Swallows, a late Ring Ouzel, a Firecrest, five Tree Sparrows, 19 Bramblings, two Common Redpolls trapped and 19 Siskins.

A few butterflies were on the wing and included a Clouded Yellow on the beach and ten Mottled Shieldbugs in a private garden.

3rd Nov

A bright and clear morning but still very windy. Seawatching was productive for oddities although overall numbers were generally low with the highlights of a Sooty Shearwater, three Purple Sandpipers, a Grey Phalarope, eight Mediterranean Gulls, 21 Sandwich Terns and a Pomarine Skua. Visible migration was also heavy during the morning with 24 Stock Doves, a Rock Pipit, 41 Chaffinches, 19 Redpolls and 28 Siskins and massive totals of 2155 Linnets and 6800 Goldfinches.

A Jack Snipe was found in the now flooded pools just to the north of the Trapping Area and possibly as many as five Merlins were hunting over the area and also offshore.

Purple Sandpiper Calidris maritima    Dungeness   3rd November 2020

A Porpoise was feeding offshore.

Elsewhere in the general area, a party of four Glossy Ibis were found around the Chicken Barns at Dengemarsh which appeared to be in addition to the two regular birds in the Cook's Pool?Boulderwall area.

Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus    Dengemarsh   3rd November 2020

2nd Nov

Still more of the same with a bit of movement offshore and a large movement of finches when the weather cleared. The best of the seawatching were 334 Gannets, a Great Northern Diver, 16 Sandwich Terns and two Arctic Skuas. The main overhead comprised of 4200 Goldfinches along with eight Swallows, a Brambling, 21 Siskins and 300 Linnets. Four Merlins and two Peregrine Falcons were hunting around the Point and a late Wheatear was also seen.

Goldfinches Carduelis carduelis   Dungeness   2nd November 2020
Some images of the flocks of migrating Goldfinches.

One Porpoise was seen feeding offshore.

1st Nov

Not a great deal of change in the weather today but it was much quieter for birds than yesterday. The highlights of the seawatch were a Manx Shearwater, 1261 Gannets, two Purple Sandpipers, 27 Sandwich Terns, two Great Skuas and an Arctic Skua. A first winter Caspian Gull and an adult Yellow-legged Gull were also seen on the beach. It was very quiet on the land.