3rd Apr

With the southerly breeze continuing to blow there was another excellent movement of birds offshore and a small arrival of migrants on the land.

The sea was watched for just under 12 hours with numbers totally dominated by 2483 Brent Geese and 2088 Common Scoters and with quality in the form of a Garganey, two Pintails, seven Eider, two Goldeneyes, the first three Black-throated Divers of the spring, a Shag, a Great Skua, an excellent 20 Arctic Skuas, 36 Mediterranean Gulls, 34 Little Gulls and 35 Common Terns.

Chiffchaffs were the main species involved on the land with 35 being seen along with three Willow Warblers, two Blackcaps, four Firecrests and a Bullfinch. Two Rock Pipits and a Siskin flew over while three Bramblings visited the feeders in the trapping area.

Brambling Fringilla montifringilla   Dungeness   3rd April 2018
top two images - female
bottom two images - male

At least four Porpoises were feeding offshore..

2nd Apr

A decent day with plenty of passage offshore and a small arrival of birds on the land. Over seven hours of seawatching produced 997 Brent Geese, 16 Shoveler, 12 Pintails, a party of three Garganey, 22 Pintail, 1815 Common Scoters and nine Red-breasted Mergansers, 208 Red-throated Divers, 315 Gannets, four Avocets, a Great Skua, four Arctic Skuas, three Mediterranean Gulls, 72 Little Gulls, 500 Sandwich Terns and 36 Common Terns. 

A small arrival of birds on the land included ten Firecrest, seven Goldcrests, 30 Chiffchaffs, the first two Willow Warblers of the spring and three Blackcaps. The feeding station was also entertaining with three Bramblings visiting.

At least four Porpoises were feeding offshore.

1st Apr

A handful of migrants on the land included four Chiffchaffs, a Blackcap, three Firecrests, three Wheatears, a Redwing, two Bramblings and two Siskins. Carrion Crows were much more in evidence with at least 90 birds moving west during the morning.

The sea was very quiet during the morning but a bit of movement from late morning produced 210 Brent Geese, three Red-breasted Mergansers, single Arctic and Great Skuas and 250 Sandwich Terns. A Merlin was also seen.

The juvenile Glaucous Gull and first-winter Caspian Gull were seen at the Patch again.

Six Porpoises were feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was also seen.

31st Mar

A cold morning with a fresh westerly breeze produced a trickle of birds offshore with 305 Common Scoters, a Velvet Scoter, a Great Skua, five Little Gulls and 86 Sandwich Terns. A juvenile/first-winter Glaucous Gull spent some time roosting at the Point.
Two Wheatears were seen on the beach between the road and fishing boats.

Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus   juvenile/first-winter   Dungeness   31st March 2018

Some late news involves three first-winter Caspian Gulls at the fishing boats in the afternoon.

A Porpoise was feeding offshore and two Brown Hares were seen from the road.

30th Mar

The day began with a fresh easterly breeze and a decent movement of birds offshore but this came to an abrupt halt when rain arrived from 1100hrs and then continued for much of the day. A 3.5hr seawatch before the rain came produced a number of wildfowl including 99 Brent Geese, 22 Shovelers, 26 Teal, eight Eiders, 978 Common Scoters and a Velvet Scoter. Gannets moved through in large numbers with 410 counted and other notable bits included 26 Sanderling, three Arctic Skuas, three Mediterranean Gulls, 26 Little Gulls, 100 Sandwich Terns and the first four Common Terns of the spring.

Common Eider Somateria mollissima   Dungeness   30th March 2018

At least six Porpoises were feeding offshore.

29th Mar

With a light onshore breeze this morning there was a bit of easterly movement with 934 Brent Geese, an Arctic Skua and 77 Sandwich Terns of note. In the afternoon, a new first-winter Glaucous Gull was found  at the Patch.
It is still pretty quiet on the land with just six Firecrests dotted around the Point and two Bramblings and six Siskins of note. A Ring-necked Parakeet also flew over the area.

Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus   juvenile/first-winter   Dungeness   29th March 2018
A new bird at the Patch.

Four Porpoises were also seen.

28th Mar

Rain and flat calm throughout the morning made for a fairly uneventful days birding. The best of the migrants on the land were a Mistle Thrush, four Redwings, eight Firecrests and 20 Chaffinches. There was virtually no movement offshore and very few gulls at the Patch although they did include a first-winter Caspian Gull. 

27th Mar

A wet and breezy morning produced a bit of offshore movement which included two Shoveler, four Pintail, a Great Skua, two Arctic Skuas, 41 Kittiwakes and 137 Sandwich Terns. The Glaucous Gull was roosting at the fishing boats in the afternoon.
Very little to report from the land other than six Firecrests and a Black Redstart.

26th Mar

There was a small increase in the numbers of early migrants on the land with a Marsh Harrier, a Buzzard, seven Firecrests, 37 Redwings, ten Black Redstarts, six Stonechats, 35 Chaffinches, nine Bramblings and three Siskins of note.
Offshore passage was very light with just four Shovelers, nine Red-breasted Mergansers, a Mediterranean Gull and 68 Sandwich Terns of any interest. 

Two Bottle-nose Dolphins were feeding offshore this morning along with four Porpoises.

Six Peacocks and a Small Tortoiseshell were also on the wing in the sunny conditions. 

25th Mar

There was an easterly trickle of birds offshore during the day with a party of four Scaup, two Arctic Skuas and 168 Sandwich Terns of note while there were three Caspian Gulls (two first-winters and a third-winter) at the Patch.
A pair of Egyptian Geese flew around the area in the morning and was an unusual sighting for the Observatory recording area record. Passerines remain very scarce but did include 19 Jackdaws, four Chiffchaffs, five Firecrests, six Black Redstarts, three Siskins and 20 Reed Buntings.

Six Porpoises were feeding offshore and two Brown Hares and a Bank Vole were seen on the land.