7th Oct

Most of the interest was offshore but even here the numbers were low. Over six hours of watching produced five Balearic Shearwaters, five Sooty Shearwaters, 80 Sandwich Terns, three Arctic Skuas and 241 Razorbills passing through and four Caspian Gulls and two Yellow-legged Gulls around the beach. Finches moved through in decent numbers with 850 Linnets, 1350 Goldfinches and six Siskins along with 450 Swallows, 66 Pied Wagtails and a Rock Pipit.

Three Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

6th Oct

No question about today's highlight with a super Red-breasted Flycatcher found in the moat in the early afternoon and which then gave excellent views until dark. Other migrants were pretty scarce with just two Golden Plovers, a Snipe, 65 Skylarks, 400 Swallows, 165 House Martins, two Rock Pipits, 18 Chaffinches, 260 Goldfinches, 35 Siskins and 45 Reed Buntings overhead and just 15 Chiffchaffs and a late Wheatear on the land.

Red-breasted Flycatcher Ficedula parva   Dungeness   6th October 2022

Three Porpoises were feeding offshore. 

5th Oct

A fairly quiet day with seawatching producing three Balearic Shearwaters, 681 Gannets, three Caspian Gulls, 195 Sandwich Terns, 19 Arctic Skuas and 89 Razorbills of note. A Hobby, 2210 Swallows and 220 House Martins flew out to sea. Three Firecrests were seen in the bushes.

4th Oct

Most of today's recording involved looking at the sea in fresh southerly winds though it was generally disappointing with just 112 Brent Geese, a Pintail, two Balearic Shearwaters, two Ruff, a Little Gull and five Arctic Skuas. A first-winter Caspian Gull was seen at the fishing boats where a Hobby also went out to sea. There was a large movement of hirundines with 6900 Swallows and 1090 House Martins moving through. 

Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus   Dungeness   4th October 2022
Our regular Polish-ringed bird.

Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans   first-winetr   Dungeness   4th October 2022

Five Porpoises and two Great Seals were feeding offshore.

Five Ornate Shieldbugs were found in a brief search this morning.

3rd Oct

There was another considerable drop of Chiffchaffs this morning with 120 seen and also a Siberian Chiffchaff trapped along with 15 Blackcaps, four Firecrests, a Mistle Thrush and a Spotted Flycatcher. Large numbers of hirundines passed through with 3050 Swallows and 2500 House Martins counted as well as a Yellow Wagtail, ten Grey Wagtails, four Rock Pipits, two Bramblings, three Redpolls, 322 Goldfinches, six Siskins and 28 Reed Buntings. Ringing ceased as the wind increased and attention turned to the sea in the afternoon where 812 Brent Geese, 46 Common Scoters, a Little Gull and five Arctic Skuas were seen and two first-winter Caspian Gulls were on the beach.

Siberian Chiffchaff Phylloscopus tristis   Dungeness   3rd October 2022

A Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore and a Weasel was seen on the land.

A check for insects around the Observatory produced 20 Ornate Shieldbugs and also a Bee-wolf which is only my second sighting in the Observatory recording area.

Bee-wolf Philanthus triangulum   Dungeness   3rd October 2022

2nd Oct

A Dotterel which flew over the Trapping Area during the morning was the highlight of the day. Other bits and pieces of note were a Hobby, 2500 Swallows, 35 Chiffchaffs, a Dartford Warbler a Wheatear and a Tree Pipit.

Shieldbugs provided plenty of interest with 21 Ornate Shieldbugs, 87 Brassica Bugs and a Mottled Bug of interest. 

Mottled Shieldbug Rhaphigaster nebulosa   Dungeness   2nd October 2022

1st Oct

A Yellow-browed Warbler was heard but not seen in the Trapping Area this morning although the strong westerly wind made further observations difficult. The only other grounded migrants appeared to be a few Chiffchaffs and a Spotted Flycatcher. A Greenshank, 720 Swallows, 800 House Martins, three Grey Wagtails and six Rock Pipits flew over the area. There was little of interest offshore other than 1154 Gannets west during the day and a first-winter Caspian Gull on the beach.

Two Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

Six Ornate Shieldbugs were found in front of the Observatory and a Green Shieldbug was found at the north end of the recording area.

30th Sep

A fine morning produced another large arrival of Chiffchaffs with at least 120 in the area along with 15 Blackcaps, a Firecrest, 12 Song Thrushes, a Pied Flycatcher in the Moat, a Yellow Wagtail, six Grey Wagtails, a Brambling, eight Siskins and 30 Reed Buntings. Around 22 Sand Martins, 900 Swallows and 200 House Martins were also feeding over the Point.

As the weather deteriorated this afternoon 105 Brent Geese and 760 Gannets flew west and a Little Gull, three first-winter Caspian Gulls and five Yellow-legged Gulls were seen on the beach.

Two Ornate Shieldbugs were found at the Observatory.

29th Sep

Chiffchaffs continue to pass through n large numbers along with smaller numbers of Blackcaps and Reed Buntings and a Dartford Warbler, a Firecrest, a Wheatear, 15 Grey Wagtails, a Yellow Wagtail, two Rock Pipits and a Brambling, two Redpolls and six Siskins. Swallows arrived in good numbers this evening with 500 feeding over the Point.

28th Sep

There was a small arrival of Chiffchaffs and Reed Buntings on the land along with two Firecrests and a Wheatear. A trickle of migrants also passed overhead including three Buzzards, two Tree Sparrows, nine Grey Wagtails, three Rock Pipits and five Siskins. A Caspian Gull was seen on the beach.

Another two Harvest Mice were caught at the Long Pits and two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were seen offshore.

The fine weather brought out a few interesting insects with hundreds of Fire Bugs in the Observatory garden and eight Ornate Shieldbugs (including a nymph) and ten Brassica Bugs. in the rough ground in front of the Observatory.

Fire Bugs Pyrrhocoris apterus   Dungeness   28th September 2022

Ornate Shieldbugs Eurydema ornata   nymph and adult   Dungeness   28th September 2022

A couple of flowering plants of Vervain were also found.