30th Aug

A day of seawatching with seven hours of coverage producing 1887 Sandwich Terns, seven Black Terns, 41 Arctic Skuas, ten Balearic Shearwaters and 307 Gannets. A few birds passed overhead including four Swifts, 119 Sand Martins, 180 Swallows, five House Martins, four Grey Wagtails and two Siskins. A Kingfisher was seen at the Long Pits where two Spotted Flycatchers and a Redstart were also seen.

Four Porpoises and a Grey Seal were seen offshore and a Brown Hare was seen on the land.

Elsewhere, a Dotterel was found on the Lydd Ranges, accessible with care from Jury's Gap.

29th Aug

With strong winds virtually all the interest was offshore were nearly ten hours of coverage produced eight Ringed Plovers, 76 Bar-tailed Godwits, five Knot, 29 Dunlin, 1859 Sandwich Terns west, three Little Terns, an Arctic Tern, 11 Black Terns, 76 Arctic Skuas (mainly west), 34 Balearic Shearwaters and 885 Gannets, The Caspian Gull was showing at the fishing boats again. The only obvious migrants on the land were two Spotted Flycatchers at the Long Pits.

Two Convolvulus Hawkmoths at the mothtraps was a very nice surprise given the dismal overnight conditions.

Convolvulus Hawkmoths Agrion convolvuli   Dungeness   29th August 2025   

28th Aug

There was a small arrival of migrants on the land with 32 Willow Warblers, four Grasshopper Warblers (all ringed), 13 Blackcaps, three Garden Warblers, three Spotted Flycatchers, a Pied Flycatcher, two Redstarts and nine Tree Sparrows. A light overhead passage included six Swifts, three Buzzards, 70 Sand Martins, 183 Swallows, ten Yellow Wagtails, four Grey Wagtails and a Tree Pipit.  

Seawatching provided a bit of interest again today with 25 Whimbrel, two Mediterranean Gulls, four Black Terns, 20 Arctic Skuas and four Balearic Shearwaters. The Caspian Gull was still present at the fishing boats.

Five Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

A Small Copper (considered to be of the form cuprinus) was found in the moat where two Clouded Yellows were also seen. A Holly Blue was seen at the Long Pits.

Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas    ab.cuprinus   Dungeness   28th August 2025   (image by Allan Ward)

27th Aug

Over fours seawatching eventually produced three Mediterranean Gulls, 330 Sandwich Terns, a juvenile Arctic Tern, five Black Terns, 20 Arctic Skuas and 11 Balearic Shearwaters. A first-winter Caspian Gull came onto the beach at the fishing boats. There was a bit of migration overhead and included 16 Swifts, 410 Sand Martins, 700 Swallows, nine House Martins and 35 Yellow Wagtails.

Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans   first-winter   Dungeness   27th August 2025

Three Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

The moth traps were fairly quiet but still produced a Gypsy Moth, two Scarce Bordered Straws and a Bordered Straw. 

26th Aug

Very quiet in the bushes although the first Firecrest of the autumn arrived. Hirundines passed through in good numbers again with 1600 Sand Martins and 1250 Swallows and were joined by 20 Swifts and a juvenile Hen Harrier. Four Arctic Skuas were lingering offshore.

Three Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

The moth traps provided much of the excitement with a super Striped Hawkmoth of great note along with an Evergestis limbata, a Clay Triple-lines, a Four-spotted Footman, an Oak Nycteoline and an odd-looking Green Silver-lines.

Clay Triple-lines Cyclophora linearia   Dungeness   26th August 2025

Green Silver-lines Pseudoips prasinana   Dungeness   26th August 2025

Striped Hawkmoth Hyles livornica   Dungeness 26th August 2025

25th Aug

Very quiet on the land except for a good movement of hirundines with 1627 Sand Martins and 779 Swallows seen. A Merlin, a Hobby, three Tree Sparrows and 15 Yellow Wagtails were also seen. In the bushes, a Pied Flycatcher and a Redstart were of note. Two Mediterranean Gulls, a Black Tern and four Arctic Skuas were of note offshore. 

A Porpoise was feeding offshore.

24th Aug

A Little Egret, a Marsh Harrier and three Buzzards and 20 Yellow Wagtails flew over and two Redstarts and two Whinchats were of note on the land. Good numbers of waders were roosting on the beach near the Lifeboat Station and including 180 Ringed Plovers, seven Knot, five Turnstones, five Sanderling and 120 Dunlin. Five Mediterranean Gulls flew east and three Arctic Skuas were loitering offshore.

Two Porpoises and two Grey Seals were feeding offshore.

23rd Aug

There was a decent scatter of migrants with a Grasshopper Warbler and a Tree Pipit ringed of note while passage overhead included 110 Sand Martins, 100 Swallows, 16 Yellow Wagtails and three Grey Wagtails. A Great Skua and seven Arctic Skuas were seen offshore.

A Grey Seal was feeding offshore.

The clear highlight from the moth traps was a superb Bedstraw Hawkmoth - only our send-ever record. Back-up included a Palpita vitrealis, a Vestal and a Scarce Bordered Straw.

Bedstraw Hawkmoth Hyles gallii   Dungeness   23rd August 2025

 

22nd Aug

Another little arrival of migrants this morning saw 22 Willow Warblers, two Sedge Warblers, 10 Reed Warblers, 13 Blackcaps, two Garden Warblers, 20 Lesser Whitethroat, 25 Whitethroat, a Pied Flycatcher, a Redstart and five Wheatears. Some overhead passage included singles of Golden, Ringed and Little Ringed Plover, a Little Egret, four Buzzards, an Osprey which flew east out to sea (as did another from Lydd-on-sea), 134 Sand Martins, 18 Swallows, two Tree Sparrows and 11 Yellow Wagtails. The sea was very uninspiring today, with just eight Curlew in/west. 

Just a single Porpoise offshore.

Unfortunately no sign of the Zitting Cisticola at Galloways, however a Dotterel flew from there calling towards the Point early morning and so did an Osprey, which was presumably one of the birds later seen further east. Elsewhere there was six Black-necked Grebes on Lade Pit south and the RSPB had waders like Wood Sandpiper and six Ruff. 

Redstart (1st year male) Phoenicurus phoenicurus   Dungeness   (John Young)

Osprey Pandion haliaetus   Dungeness   (John Young)

21st Aug

Some light offshore passage with the first proper movement of Teal west as 26 passed the seawatching hide, also west over the sea was a Gadwall, seven Grey Herons plus small numbers of terns and gulls, which contained one Little Gull. Overhead passage was fairly quiet with just one each of Redshank and Greenshank about the only birds of note. The bushes were mostly very quiet for migrant birds, but four Pied Flycatchers were notable as was a Redstart. 

Feeding offshore there was four Porpoise and a Grey Seal. 

The Zitting Cisticola was seen again in the early morning in its usual place at Galloways.