Very quiet with just nine Willow Warblers, 15 Chiffchaffs and three Tree Sparrows of interest.
Two Porpoises were feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was seen in the Desert.
Of note from the moth traps were another Portland Ribbon Waves (so with two a few day days ago, these are 4th-7th Observatory records), an Oak Nycteoline and two Palpita vitrealis. A Birch Shieldbug was also trapped.
The White-winged Black Tern continues to show very well on Burrowes Pit, RSPB.
A quiet morning with very few migrants about but with the clear highlight of two Honey Buzzards which came in over the Old Lighthouse and then spent some time at the Long Pits, even landing in the bushes, before heading off to the north-west. The only other migrants of significance were 11 Willow Warblers, a Garden Warbler and 11 Tree Sparrows.
Three Porpoises were seen offshore.
Very windy conditions overnight limited the moth catch but surprisingly did include our second record of Porter's Rustic. Unfortunately the wind was such that it blew the moth off the tray and into the bushes and couldn't be refound for a photo opportunity. A Hoary Footman and a Palpita vitrealis were also caught.
Elsewhere, the White-winged Black Tern was showing well on Burrowes Pit, RSPB.
There was another reasonable arrival of migrants this morning with 40 Willow Warblers, 15 Chiffchaffs, five Spotted Flycatchers and a Whinchat of note. Two Mediterranean Gulls and five Black Terns were feeding offshore.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were seen offshore.
The White-winged Black Tern was still showing well on Burrowes Pit.
A few grounded migrants included a Common Sandpiper, 35 Willow Warblers, 15 Chiffchaffs, two Spotted Flycatchers while 32 Yellow Wagtails and a Crossbill. One Mediterranean Gull was seen offshore.
The moth traps produced two more Beautiful Marbled, a Delicate and a Box-tree Moth.
An evening search for Orthoptera proved successful with 20 Large Coneheads and including a brown nymph, 12 Sickle-bearing Bush-crickets and large numbers of Tree Crickets.
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| Large Cone-head Ruspolia nitidula brown form Dungeness 30th August 2024 |
Elsewhere, a first-winter White-winged Black Tern appeared on the Burrowes Pit.
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| White-winged Black Tern Chlidonias leucoptera Burrowes Pit 30th August 2024 |
There was a decent scattering of migrants in the bushes including 35 Willow Warblers, a Grasshopper Warbler, two Sedge Warblers, 30 Whitethroats, two Spotted Flycatchers, a Whinchat and 11 Tree Sparrows. A Greenshank, 55 Yellow Wagtails, four Grey Wagtails, two Tree Pipits and a Crossbill passed overhead.
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| Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia Dungeness 29th August 2024 |
The moth traps produced a Palpita vitrealis, a Hoary Footman and yet another Beautiful Marbled but perhaps more significant were two Dialectica scalariella.
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| Dialectica scalariella Dungeness 29th August 2024 |
A small arrival of migrants in the bushes included 30 Willow Warblers, 25 Whitethroats, two Spotted Flycatchers, a Redstart, four Whinchats and 13 Tree Sparrows while seven Swift, two Wood Sandpipers, 810 Sand Martins, 1437 Swallows, 15 House Martins, 115 Yellow Wagtails, two Grey Wagtails and a Tree Pipit passed overhead. Seawatching produced four Pintail, nine Teal, five Grey Plover, a Redshank, 341 Sandwich Terns and three Balearic Shearwaters.
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| Whinchat Saxicola rubetra Dungeness 28th August 2024 |
Three Porpoises were feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was seen of note on the land.. offshore.
The moth traps were much improved with a two Portland Ribbon Waves, a Gem and another Beautiful Marbled.
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| Portland Ribbon Wave Idaea degeneraria Dungeness 28th August 2024 |
A light north-easterly breeze encouraged a decent movement of birds offshore with nine hours of coverage producing two Pintail, 12 Teal, 28 Sanderling, 35 Dunlin, 1029 Sandwich Terns, four Little Terns, a Great Skua, six Arctic Skuas, 11 Sooty Shearwaters and 36 Balearic Shearwaters. Quiet on the land with just 30 Willow Warblers and four Garden Warblers of note while overhead passage included 1,100 Sand Martins, 60 Swallows, three Tree Sparrows, 33 Yellow Wagtails, three Grey Wagtails and a Tree Pipit. A flock of c40 White Storks also flew over the area before heading west.
At least 20 Porpoises and singles of Common and Grey Seals.
Another Beautiful Marbled was trapped overnight.
Seawatching improved a bit today with over 6.5 hours of coverage producing 602 Sandwich Terns, a Black Tern, four Arctic Skuas, singles of Sooty and Manx Shearwaters and three Balearic Shearwaters. An Osprey and 400 Sand Martins were of note on the land.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were seen offshore.
A night walk for rare orthopters proved very successful with 31 male Large Coneheads heard singing in the Trapping Area along with 12 Sickle-bearing Bush-crickets and hundreds of Tree Crickets.
A Lesser Emperor was seen in the Trapping Area during the afternoon
More windy weather which failed to produce very much on the sea with just a Grey Plover, 348 Sandwich Terns and an Arctic Skua of any note. A small arrival of migrants on the land included 50 Willow Warblers, an early Goldcrest and three Whinchats.
The Pectoral Sandpiper was seen at the Scotney Sand Pit.
A Little Gull, eight Mediterranean Gulls, an Arctic Skua and a Balearic Shearwater were the highlights of a very quiet sea. Nothing of note on the land.
Elsewhere, the Pectoral Sandpiper reappeared at the Scotney Sand Pit.