20th Apr

A bright, sunny but virtually birdless day. Seven hours of seawatching recorded just seven Whimbrel, seven Bar-tailed Godwits, 156 Sandwich Terns and two Arctic Skuas of interest. The merest trickle of birds overhead included six Swallows and two Yellow Wagtails but grounded migrants were virtually non-existent except for a small party of Wheatears around the Observatory.

Two Grey Seals and 25 Porpoises were feeding offshore.

Two Terrapins were seen at the Long Pits. 

A Grizzled Skipper was seen in the Trapping Area.

19th Apr

A few migrants arrived on the land and included a male Pied Flycatcher at the Long Pits and a Ring Ouzel over the Observatory of note along with two Buzzards, a Merlin, 17 Willow Warblers, a Yellow Wagtail and two Siskins. It was very slow offshore with just 26 Mediterranean Gulls and a Great Skua of any interest.

Thirty Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore again.

18th Apr

Another calm but clear morning and still very few commoner migrants on the land although two Yellow Wagtails and a Tree Pipit were new for the year as was an Osprey which came in at the Lifeboat Station and then head north this afternoon. There was a decent trickle of birds moving east offshore this morning with 327 Brent Geese, six Velvet Scoters, 228 Common Scoters, two Red-breasted Mergansers, 51 Whimbrel, three Great Skuas and seven  Arctic Skuas. Numbers were much reduced in the afternoon but a Pomarine Skua and a Puffin flew east and 60 Mediterranean Gulls flew west.

The impressive numbers of Porpoises continue to feed offshore with 40 present and a Grey Seal was also seen.

Three Grizzled Skippers were seen.

17th Apr

The clear highlight of today was a Black Kite which spent a couple of hours this morning flying around the Point and even landing for a time in the Desert, before heading off north-east. Other migrants on the land were almost non-existent but did include a Jay. Nearly ten hours of seawatching produced three Garganey, 59 Shoveler, six Pintails, 28 Velvet Scoters, 636 Common Scoters, 12 Red-breasted Mergansers, six Black-throated Divers, 118 Whimbrels, 11 Little Gulls, 17 Mediterranean Gulls, 611 Sandwich Terns, five Little Terns and nine Arctic Skuas.

Thirty Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore, a Brown Hare was seen in the Desert and a Badger came into the Observatory garden this evening.

An example of the rare beetle Hister quadrimaculatus was found in the Moat.

16th Apr

Seawatching provided of the interest today with 36 Shovelers, two Pintail, two Goldeneyes, 211 Bar-tailed Godwits, 50 Arctic Terns, three Great Skuas and three Arctic Skuas of note. Four Little Egrets and a Redpoll also flew over and a Coal Tit was heard in the Trapping Area.

Around 30 Porpoises were feeding offshore.

Two Light Orange Underwing moths were seen at the Long Pits.

15th Apr

Highlights on the land were a wing-tagged Red Kite, a Coal Tit, a singing Grasshopper Warbler and a Redstart whilst seawatching produced just a Black-throated Diver, 37 Bar-tailed Godwits, nine Mediterranean Gulls, a Great Skua and two Arctic Skuas of any note.

There was a minimum of 52 Porpoises feeding offshore along with two Grey Seals.

Among a few insects seen were our first Geotomus petiti shieldbug of the year and singles of Brimstone and Grizzled Skipper butterflies.

Geotomus petiti   Dungeness   15th April 2022

14th Apr

A very quiet day on both land and sea. A Black-throated Diver, six Mediterranean Gulls and 30 Sandwich Terns were the best from the sea. A small arrival of migrants on the land included 25 Willow Warblers, 18 Blackcaps, eight Whitethroats, seven Bramblings and a Redpoll.

At least 40 Porpoises were feeding offshore.

13th Apr

No doubt about the bird of the day when a Red-breasted Flycatcher was found by David Bunney in his garden. It gave excellent views at times through the afternoon for the gathering of locals. This was a totally unexpected bird and over a month earlier than any other Kent record. Other migrants seen during the day included five Swallows, five Willow Warblers, five Whitethroats and a Ring Ouzel. A Buzzard and a Merlin were also seen.

Red-breasted Flycatcher Ficedula parva   Dungeness   13th April 2022

Seawatching was fairly quiet but over five hours of watching produced 208 Brent Geese, five Red-breasted Mergansers, two Little Gulls, 197 Sandwich Terns, seven Great Skua, 12 Arctic Skuas and a very early Pomarine Skua.

Although the sea was quiet for birds it provided the mammalian highlight of the day with a pod of at least five White-beaked Dolphins along with ten Porpoises and a Grey Seal. A Brown Hare also seen on the land.

12th Apr

Seawatching was quieter than yesterday but still good with 7.5hrs of observation producing six Gadwall, 15 Velvet Scoters, a Black-throated Diver, four Manx Shearwaters, 92 Whimbrel, 16 Mediterranean Gulls, 20 Little Gulls, seven Little Terns, a Great Skua and 34 Arctic Skuas of note. The bulk of the passage consisted of 1320 Common Scoters, 297 Gannets, another very high count of 1584 Sandwich Terns, 158 Common Terns and 374 auks.

It remains very quiet on the land although a Redstart in the trapping area was new for the year and six Crossbill flew over.

Six Porpoises and singles of Common and Grey Seal were feeding offshore and a Badger was feeding in the Observatory garden this evening.

11th Apr

With winds coming from the south-east today all the interest was offshore and where 13 hours of coverage was achieved. A spectacular passage occurred and of particular note were 13 Garganey (taking the spring total to remarkable 111 individuals), 72 Velvet Scoters, two Avocets, 14 Little Gulls, 29 Mediterranean Gulls, seven Little Terns, 24 Arctic Terns and 23 Arctic Skuas. Numbers were provided by 40 Shelduck, 315 Shovelers, 47 Gadwalls, 123 Pintail, 202 Teal, 1672 Common Scoters, 30 Red-breasted Mergansers, 1194 Gannets, 277 Whimbrels, 124 Kittiwakes, 2898 Sandwich Terns (a new spring day record), 235 Common Terns and 687 auks species.

A singing Reed Warbler at the Long Pits was our first of the year..

Fifteen Porpoises were feeding offshore and a Badger was seen in the Observatory garden again this evening.