16th Oct

With a strong south-easterly wind in the morning hopes were fairly high for some good bird but it never really happened. Six hours of seawatching produced just 118 Brent Geese, three Shovelers, two Wigeon, three Teal, 163 Mediterranean Gulls, a Yellow-legged Gull, 61 Sandwich Terns, a Great and 15 Arctic Skuas and 287 Gannets. Numbers of birds in the bushes were much reduced with just 14 Chiffchaffs, two Firecrests, five Goldcrests, 40 Redwings, ten Song Thrushes and a Wheatear of note. Birds passing overhead were dominated by the first big movement of 2500 Goldfinches along with a Merlin, 13 Skylarks, 275 Swallows, 215 Meadow Pipits, three Bramblings, two Siskins and eight Reed Buntings.

Four Porpoises and a Grey Seal were seen offshore.

15th Oct

A pretty decent morning with a good number of birds in the bushes and passing overhead and a very decent movement of birds offshore. The highlights from the bushes were a Yellow-browed Warbler and a Siberian Chiffchaff (trapped), 100 Chiffchaffs, a late Willow Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Dartford Warbler, 14 Firecrests, 38 Goldcrests, 600 Redwings, 30 Song Thrushes and two Wheatears. A Woodcock and three Snipe were also seen. Birds passing overhead included 24 Skylarks, two Rock Pipits, seven Bramblings, 65 Goldfinches, seven Siskin and 11 Reed Buntings. A three-hour seawatch this morning saw a large westerly movement of mainly wildfowl including 3011 Brent Geese, 81 Shelduck, 14 Shoveler, 105 Wigeon, 28 Pintail, 11 Teal and the first Red-breasted Merganser of the autumn along with a Little Gull, 166 Mediterranean Gulls, an Arctic Tern, four Arctic Skuas and a Sooty Shearwater.

Siberian Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita tristis   Dungeness   15th October 2024

Three Porpoises and three unidentified dolphins and two Grey Seals were seen offshore. A Brown Hare was seen on the land.

14th Oct

A thoroughly miserable day with heavy rain from first light and until late afternoon. A Little Gull and two Arctic Skuas were the best of the meagre offerings offshore while two Firecrests in the Trapping Area were the only bits of interest on the land.

The moth traps produced a Radford's Flame Shoulder, two Delicates and a Scarce Bordered Straw of note. 

13th Oct

A bright, sunny morning with a light NW breeze. The more unusual records were a Barn Owl in the Trapping Area and a Dartford Warbler in the Moat while other grounded migrants included a Hobby, 35 Chiffchaffs, five Goldcrests, ten Song Thrushes and a Wheatear. There was a trickle of migrants passing overhead with 37 Stock Doves, a Grey Wagtail, two Rock Pipits, 40 Siskins and eight Reed Buntings. The sea was very quiet with just 30 Mediterranean Gulls feeding offshore of any note.

Three Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore. 

12th Oct

A wet and windy day with very little on the land and good numbers of birds feeding offshore including 200 Mediterranean Gulls, three first-winter Caspian Gulls, a Great Skua, four Arctic Skuas and a Balearic Shearwater.

Two Porpoises were feeding offshore. 

11th Oct

An excellent morning on the land with the highlight of two Yellow-browed Warblers (one caught), along with 150 Chiffchaffs, 13 Blackcaps, a Lesser Whitethroat, two Whitethroats, two Dartford Warblers, two Firecrests, eight Goldcrests, a Ring Ouzel in the Moat, three Redwings, a late Redstart and a Wheatear. There was also a decent bit of passage overhead with 46 Stock Doves, a Short-eared Owl, five Bramblings, 60 Goldfinch, 50 Siskins, a Yellowhammer and 30 Reed Buntings. A Little Gull and 40 Mediterranean Gulls were feeding offshore in the evening.

Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus   Dungeness   11th October 2024

A Porpoise was seen offshore.

A Mediterranean Stick-insect and a Mottled Shieldbug were found in the Observatory garden.

10th Oct

A fairly quiet day with 13 Mediterranean Gulls and four Arctic Skuas offshore, 35 Chiffchaffs and two Firecrests in the bushes and singles of Tree and Rock Pipit, two Bramblings, 75 Goldfinch, 21 Siskins and 23 Reed Buntings overhead.

Four Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

There was a surprisingly good catch of moths overnight with 34 Delicates, a Scarce Bordered Straw, a Radford's Flame Shoulder, nine Udea ferrugalis and two Palpita vitrealis of note.

9th Oct

The highlight of the day was the seemingly overdue arrival of Yellow-browed Warblers with two in the Trapping Area and one at the north end of the Long Pits. Other notable grounded migrants included a Snipe, a Jay, 50 Chiffchaffs, 11 Blackcaps, a Whitethroat, seven Firecrests, four Song Thrushes and four Wheatears. There was also some overhead passage with a Golden Plover, 37 Skylarks, 500 Swallows, three Tree Sparrows, a Yellow Wagtail, three Grey Wagtails, three Bramblings, 240 Goldfinches, 70 Siskins and eight Reed Buntings. The sea was fairly quiet with a two-hour watch producing just 14 Mediterranean Gulls, 80 Sandwich Terns, four Arctic Skuas, 51 Razorbills, three Balearic Shearwaters and 431 Gannets.

Three Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore and a Grey Squirrel was seen in the Trapping Area.

8th Oct

The land was dominated by another sizable movement of hirundines with 6600 Swallows and 1050 House Martins during the day while other visible migrants included a Grey Wagtail, 155 Goldfinches and ten Siskins. Grounded migrants were in short supply with just 30 Chiffchaffs, a Whitethroat, a Firecrest and a Wheatear of interest. A decent seawatch in the morning produced 18 Mediterranean Gulls, 246 Sandwich Terns, two Little Terns, 13 Arctic Skuas, 109 Razorbills, a Sooty Shearwater, nine Balearic Shearwaters and 663 Gannets.

Two Porpoises and two Common Seals were feeding offshore.

The moth traps produced 11 Delicates but not much else.

 

7th Oct

A disappointing day. Seawatching produced two Balearic Shearwaters of note along with 22 Mediterranean Gulls, two Arctic Terns, five Arctic Skuas and 229 Gannets. There was a steady trickle of birds passing overhead including a Great White Egret, nine Skylarks, 340 Swallows, two Yellow Wagtails, a Grey Wagtail, 120 Meadow Pipits, a Tree Pipit, 28 Goldfinches three Siskins and six Reed Buntings. Migrants in the bushes remain few in number with just 20 Chiffchaffs, six Blackcaps, a Dartford Warbler, a Firecrest, three Goldcrests, a Whinchat and three Wheatears. 

Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.