A wet and windy day again which promised much on the sea but ultimately failed to deliver. Over five hours of watching eventually produced three Gadwall, three Red-breasted Mergansers, a Sooty Shearwater, 380 Gannets, 179 Kittiwakes, two Little Gulls, six Mediterranean Gulls, 267 Sandwich Terns and 701 Razorbills of note. An adult Yellow-legged Gull was also seen at the Point. A Wheatear was seen in the moat this afternoon.
Two Porpoises were also seen.
Yet another day with very little to report other than a a decent bit of movement offshore and a trickle of mainly finches overhead. Four hours of seawatching produced two Tufted Ducks, a Sooty Shearwater, 564 Gannets, an excellent 166 Mediterranean Gulls, 26 Sandwich Terns, singles of Great and Arctic Skuas and 564 Razorbills. The best of the overhead passage were 65 Swallows, a Rock Pipit, 765 Starlings, eight Bramblings, 15 Redpolls and 12 Siskins.
Two Porpoises were also seen.
Not a great deal of coverage today with fresh south-westerly winds limiting observations to four hours of seawatching but not much coverage of the land. Of note offshore were 1039 Gannets, 334 Kittiwakes, three Mediterranean Gulls, ten Sandwich Terns and 764 Razorbills.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were also seen offshore.
A single Delicate was of note in the moth trap.
Still very quiet. Over four hours of seawatching produced 1372 Gannets, 13 Sandwich Terns, a Great Skua and 314 auks but very little else. Three Merlins were hunting around the Point. Grounded migrants remain almost non-existent and a few finches passed overhead.
Three Porpoise were feeding offshore.
The moth trap was surprisingly productive with two Gems, two Delicates and a Green-brindled Crescent.
More of the same really with some westerly movement offshore and a few finches passing overhead but still very little in the way of grounded migrants. Highlights from the seawatch included a Scaup, a Manx Shearwater, 13 Mediterranean Gulls, 48 Sandwich Terns, an Arctic Skua and 181 Razorbills. Birds moving overhead included a Jay, 40 Swallows, three House Martins, 36 Tree Sparrows, five Bramblings, nine Redpolls and 60 Siskins. Grounded migrants were limited to six Chiffchaffs, two Song Thrushes, a Redwing and a Rock Pipit.
Two Porpoises were feeding offshore.
A very late Common Blue butterfly was also seen.
The dearth of birds on the land continues with just a Woodcock in the bushes of note and a trickle of finches passing overhead. Seawatching continues to provide a bit of interest with a Pintail, 20 Wigeon, a Red-breasted Merganser, two Little Gulls, seven Mediterranean Gulls, 158 Sandwich Terns, two Great Skuas, three Arctic Skuas and 93 Razorbills of note in 3.25hrs of observations.
One Porpoise was seen feeding offshore.
A calm, cloudy morning felt like it should be perfect for a few birds in the trapping area but yet again there was barely a migrant to be found. Two Jays were seen at the Long Pits and five Black Redstarts were seen along the front of the power stations. The lack of 'crests is shocking with only one Goldcrest and four Firecrests all autumn! There was a light passage of birds overhead including 14 Bramblings, 18 Redpolls, 40 Siskins and a Yellowhammer as well as 3160 Starlings. The sea was fairly quiet with four hours of watching producing just 135 Kittiwakes, two Mediterranean Gulls, an Arctic Tern and two Arctic Skuas.
Six Porpoises were seen offshore.
A Gem and a Delicate were trapped overnight and this evening, even before the moth traps had been switched on, a Radford's Flame Shoulder was found at the kitchen window.
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| Radford's Flame Shoulder Ochropleura leucogaster Dungeness 23rd October 2021 |
A late autumn feel to the day with a cold WNW wind and clear skies. A trickle of passerines passed overhead including 30 Tree Sparrows, two Rock Pipits, 11 Bramblings, 50 Chaffinches, a Redpoll, 15 Siskins, 120 Goldfinches and ten Reed Buntings. Grounded migrants were very scarce though with just a handful of Chiffchaffs to be seen. The sea was also fairly quiet with 2.5 hours of watching producing just three Gadwall, 14 Sandwich Terns, a Great Skua and five Arctic Skuas passing through and 50 Mediterranean Gulls and an Arctic Tern feeding offshore and at the Patch.
Near gale force winds and heavy rain overnight had cleared by dawn but it was much colder than of late. Most of the observations concerned the sea where 3.5 hours of watching produced four Teal, 350 Gannets, two Curlews, 58 Kittiwakes, seven Little Gulls, nine Mediterranean Gulls, 130 Sandwich Terns, 13 Arctic Skuas and 150 Razorbills of note.
Two Porpoises and two Grey Seals were seen.
Strong winds and heavy rain restricted observations to the sea where an 8.5hr seawatch produced an Eider, 1316 Gannets, 267 Kittiwakes, 34 Little Gulls, two Mediterranean Gulls, 394 Sandwich Terns, four Arctic Terns, two Great Skuas, 24 Arctic Skuas and 135 Razorbills of note. A Merlin and a Peregrine also came in and passerines at the Point included a Rock Pipit and 435 Goldfinch.
Four Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.