8th Nov

A brilliant day on the land with two Pallas's Warblers and two Yellow-browed Warblers of note along with a Woodlark, 30 Chiffchaffs, a Dartford Warbler, 12 Firecrests, 130 Goldcrests, 18 Blackbirds, a Grey Wagtail, 50 Chaffinches, nine Bramblings, 50 Redpolls and 150 Goldfinches. Two Egyptian Geese also flew over. The sea was very quiet with just nine Little Gulls, two Mediterranean Gulls and six Sandwich Terns of note. 

Pallas's Warbler Phylloscopus proregulus   Dungeness   8th November 2025
The first of two birds today - this one was caught in the Trapping Area. (Lower two images by Gill Hollamby)

Pallas's Warbler Phylloscopous proregulus   Dungeness   8th November 2025
The second bird was found in the afternoon in the Old Lighthouse garden.

A Brown Hare was seen on the land.

The fine weather brought out a few butterflies including four Clouded Yellows.

7th Nov

With fresh SE winds it was a good day on both land and sea. The highlights on the land were 150 Stock Doves, six Woodlarks, two Yellow-browed Warblers, nine Chiffchaffs, a Dartford Warbler, 19 Firecrests, 55 Goldcrests, 2438 Starlings, 30 Blackbirds, 15 Fieldfares, 16 Redwings, 15 Song Thrushes, 70 Robins, a Rock Pipit, 213 Chaffinches, 51 Bramblings, 19 Redpolls, 720 Goldfinches and 17 Siskin. Seawatching produced 563 Brent Geese, 25 Shelduck, 44 Shovelers, 94 Wigeon, 26 Pintails, 34 Teal, six Velvet Scoters, 60 Common Scoters, six Red-breasted Mergansers, five Grey Plovers, 12 Bar-tailed Godwits, three Knot, 278 Sanderling, 60 Dunlin, 40 Little Gulls, 15 Mediterranean Gulls, two Great Skuas and 515 Razorbills.

A Grey Seal was feeding offshore.

The moth traps were surprisingly productive with a Palpita vitrealis, a Red-green Carpet and a Radford's Flame Shoulder of note while another Palpita vitrealis and a Scarce Bordered Straw were seen during the day. 

6th Nov

Light showers in the early morning grounded a few migrants including a Yellow-browed Warbler, a Willow Warbler, 15 Chiffchaffs, two Blackcaps, three Dartford Warblers, 15 Firecrests, 65 Goldcrests and 36 Blackbirds. There was also some good overhead passage with 35 Stock Doves, 88 Wood Pigeons, a Woodlark, ten Skylarks, 1350 Starlings, two Rock Pipits, eight Bramblings, 68 Redpolls, 11 Crossbills, 307 Goldfinches and 24 Siskins of note. The sea was fairly quiet with just ten Mediterranean Gulls, ten Sandwich Terns, 1010 Razorbills and 1640 auks sp.

Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus   Dungeness   6th October 2025

Two Bottle-nose Dolphins, two Porpoises and two Grey Seals were seen offshore and a Brown Hare was seen on the land.

The highlight on the insect front was a superb Crimson Speckled moth found near the Sanctuary.

Crimson Speckled Utetheisa pulchella   Dungeness   6th October 2025 

5th Nov

More birds offshore today with the highlights of a Leach's Petrel and a Sooty Shearwater along with 182 Kittiwakes, 11 Little Gulls, 23 Mediterranean Gulls, 11 Sandwich Terns, 3091 Razorbills, 1115 "auks sp"., and 160 Gannets. Grounded migrants included eight Chiffchaffs, four Firecrests, 27 Goldcrests and seven Song Thrushes while passing overhead included a Great White Egret, 11 Jackdaws, six Skylarks, three Swallows, 4400 Starlings, a Grey Wagtail, forty Meadow Pipits, a Rock Pipit, two Bramblings, eight Redpolls, a flock of 12 Crossbills, 550 Goldfinches and six Siskins. 

One Grey Seal was seen offshore.

4th Nov

Strong winds again meant yet more seawatching but with a bit more variety than on recent days with 15 Little Gulls, eight Mediterranean Gulls, a Black-throated Diver and a Sooty Shearwater of note while 11 Grey Plovers, four Knot, eight Sandwich Terns, 1261 Guillemots, 2398 Razorbills, 889 auk sp and 981 Gannets were also seen. A Woodcock, a Little Egret, four Firecrest, 1357 Starlings in, 56 Chaffinches, five Crossbills, 300 Goldfinches and 13 Siskin were the best on the land.

Two Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was seen.

Several Tuna were also seen.

3rd Nov

Even stronger winds today limited most of the observation to the sea where over six hours of watching produced five Red-breasted Mergansers, 420 Kittiwakes, two Little Gulls, two Mediterranean Gulls, a first-winter Caspian Gull, 39 Sandwich Terns, 374 Guillemots, 1073 Razorbills and 893 "auks sp". and 452 Gannets. Just three Firecrests, 20 Goldcrests, 85 Linnets and 390 Goldfinches were the best on the land.

Three Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

2nd Nov

Strong SW winds and frequent heavy rain brought more seawatching but still not a great deal on the land. Over four hours of seawatching saw 121 Kittiwakes, three Little Gulls, 16 Mediterranean Gulls, 30 Sandwich Terns, an Arctic Skua, 443 Guillemots, 2076 Razorbills and 730 auk sp., 18 Red-throated Divers and 783 Gannets. On the land there was a bit of overhead movement including six Skylarks, 14 Swallows, 210 Starlings, four Rock Pipits, a Brambling, 12 Redpolls, 175 Goldfinches and eight Siskins. A handful of birds in the bushes included eight Chiffchaffs, two Blackcaps, a Firecrest and 15 Goldcrests.

Singles of Porpoise and Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

 

1st Nov

Fresh SW winds produced a bit of movement offshore but there was very little to be seen on the land. Nearly seven hours of seawatching produced four Shovelers, a Velvet Scoter, a Red-breasted Merganser, 83 Kittiwakes, 56 Little Gulls, nine Mediterranean Gulls, 48 Sandwich Terns, three Arctic Terns, 937 "auks" sp.), 17 Red-throated Divers and 757 Gannets. A few birds on the land included a Merlin, a Swallow, a Blackcap, three Firecrests, 20 Goldcrests, a late Wheatear, two Rock Pipits and 180 Goldfinches.

Three Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore where a couple of Tuna were also seen.

Elsewhere, a Pallas's Warbler was found in bushes alongside Dengemarsh Road.

31st Oct

A strong southerly wind resulted in some good seawatching with a good variety of rarer species and some high numbers. Coverage for most of the day produced two White-fronted Geese, two Velvet Scoters, three Snipe, 18 Little Gulls, eight Mediterranean Gulls, an Arctic Tern, three Great Skuas, a Puffin, a Little Auk, a Great Northern Diver, a "petrel sp", two Sooty Shearwaters and a Manx Shearwater. Numbers were provided by 23 Shelducks, 31 Sandwich Terns, 779 Kittiwakes, 2956 Razorbills, 291 Guillemots, 1927 "auks sp" and 726 Gannets. Two Yellow-legged Gulls were also present. Good numbers of birds also came in off including 36 Swallows, 2086 Starlings, 86 Chaffinches and three Bramblings and five Firecrests were seen in the bushes.

Two Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was seen on the land.

Tuna were seen jumping on a couple of occasions.

30th Oct

A quiet day on the land and offshore. Little of note in the bushes with just four Chiffchaffs and three Firecrests seen while 58 Stock Doves, 50 Skylarks,  two Fieldfares, 1020 Starlings and a few finches including six Bramblings, a Crossbill  and a Common Redpoll trapped among a few Lesser Redpolls were of note.. The best the sea could offer were 113 Kittiwakes, 110 Mediterranean Gulls, 14 Sandwich Terns and 1930 Razorbills.

Common Redpoll  Acanthis flammea     30th October 2025   (Charlotte Foote)

The highlight of the day though was a party of about ten Bottle-nose Dolphins which showed well around midday. Four Porpoises, a Common Seal and three Grey Seals were also seen.

Tuna were also seen on couple of occasions during the morning