A wet and windy day meant plenty of seawatching where the two main highlights of the day were noted in the form of a Leach's Petrel and a Pale-bellied Brent Goose. Two Gadwall, a Mediterranean Gull, a Yellow-legged Gull, 385 Sandwich Terns, a Great Skua and 32 Arctic Skuas were also of note.
Hard going on the land with just a Short-eared Owl, 37 Chiffchaffs and a Firecrest of note along with 500 Swallows and a Grey Wagtail passing through.
Seven Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Most of the days interest was in birds passing overhead although the highlight was another brief Yellow-browed Warbler at the Long Pits. A Short-eared Owl was seen at the Lifeboat Station and a Wood Lark also flew over. Other visible migrants included 37 Skylarks, 305 Swallows, 327 House Martins, two Mistle Thrushes, four Tree Sparrows, 12 Grey Wagtails, 375 Meadow Pipits, a Tree Pipit, three Rock Pipits, seven Bramblings, 250 Redpolls, 1390 Goldfinches, 256 Siskins and 14 Reed Buntings. Grounded migrants included 65 Chiffchaffs, 15 Blackcaps, five Firecrests, a Whinchat and three Wheatears.
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| Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros Dungeness 7th October 2020 This bird was originally ringed here as a locally-bred juvenile in August 2019. |
The best of the seawatching were just two Mediterranean Gulls and five Arctic Skuas.
A Grey Seal was seen offshore.
Another decent morning for visible migration but numbers of ground migrants were fairly low and the sea remains very quiet. Highlights of the day included a Little Tern, three Arctic Skuas, a Kingfisher, 36 Chiffchaffs, three Firecrests, a Redstart, a Whinchat, 160 Pied/alba Wagtails, 350 Meadow Pipits, two Rock Pipits, a Brambling, 75 Redpolls, 700 Goldfinches and 100 Siskins.
A Grey Seal was feeding offshore.
An overcast and fairly calm morning resulted in a big movement of finches and good numbers of grounded migrants. Of note on the land were a Yellow-browed Warbler along with 50 Chiffchaffs, 35 Blackcaps, seven Firecrests, 27 Song Thrushes, 25 Robins and 17 Wheatears. Highlights of the visible migration were a Mistle Thrush, three Tree Pipits, a Rock Pipit, 55 Chaffinches, two Bramblings, nine Crossbills, 260 Siskins and at least 1000 Redpolls (with five of 33 birds trapped being Common Redpolls).
The sea remains quiet with just 169 Sandwich Terns, a Little Tern, two Great Skuas and nine Arctic Skuas of note.
A Clouded Yellow was seen and 21 adult Mottled Shieldbugs were found.
The highlights of the day were three Yellow-browed Warblers along with 22 Chiffchaffs, ten Blackcaps, five Firecrests, a Spotted Flycatcher, 45 Robins, eight Grey Wagtails, a Tree Pipit, two Rock Pipits and 120 Siskins.
The sea was fairly quiet although six hours of observations eventually produced 658 Sandwich Terns, a Little Tern, three Great Skuas and 24 Arctic Skuas.
Two Porpoises were also seen.
A good day on both the land and at sea. Grounded migrants included 50 Chiffchaffs, a Yellow-browed Warbler, 50 Blackcaps, two Garden Warblers, four Firecrests, two Ring Ouzels, 50 Song Thrushes, a Spotted Flycatcher, an excellent 120 Robins, two Redstarts, four Whinchats and ten Wheatears. Overhead passage produced a remarkable 24 Grey Herons, two late Swifts, 12 Skylarks, a Yellow Wagtail, 1000 Meadow Pipits, two Tree Pipits, a Rock Pipit, a Brambling, 300 Lesser and one (trapped) Common Redpoll and 90 Siskins.
Nearly seven hours of seawatching produced 13 Shelducks, 21 Shovelers, two Gadwall, 60 Wigeon, 11 Pintail, 422 Common Scoters, six Knot, 54 Dunlin, six Snipe, 461 Sandwich Terns, two Little Terns, a Great Skua and ten Arctic Skuas.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
The "new" ground in front of the Observatory revealed another new species for the area in the form of Tuberous Verbena Verbena rigida.
Heavy rain and strong easterly winds overnight and for much of the day produced our first Yellow-browed Warbler of the year with one seen briefly in the trapping area. Other grounded migrants were few and far between and overhead passage was also very slow. Some seven hours of seawatching produced 15 Gadwall, a Sooty Shearwater, six Little Gulls and a few Arctic Skuas of note.
Three Porpoises and a Grey Seal were seen offshore.
After strong winds and rain overnight followed by a calm and cloudy morning hopes were high but in the end it was a fairly quiet morning. Highlights included a very distant White Stork, a Dartford Warbler in the Desert and the first Firecrest of the autumn. Grounded migrants were fairly thinly spread with 60 Chiffchaffs, 11 Blackcaps and three Wheatears while birds passing overhead included 600 House Martins, a Tree Pipit, 130 Siskins and six Reed Buntings. The sea remains very quiet with five Great Skuas and seven Arctic Skuas being about the best on offer.
A Porpoise and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore and three Brown Hares were seen on the land.
The weather was not great for insects but two Mottled Shieldbugs were found.
A reasonably calm morning saw a decent movement of birds overhead and in the bushes. Grounded migrants included 100 Chiffchaffs, ten Blackcaps, a Lesser Whitethroat and three Wheatears. Birds passing overhead included a late Swift, 3600 Swallows, 360 Meadow Pipits, 200 Lesser Redpolls, five Crossbills and 200 Siskins. A few redpolls were caught and two were considered to be Common Redpolls Acanthis flammea. It remains quiet offshore with eight hours of watching producing nine Mediterranean Gulls, 825 Sandwich Terns and six Arctic Skuas.
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| Common Redpoll Acanthis flammea first-winter Dungeness 30th September 2020 |
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| Common Redpoll Acanthis flammea ad.male Dungeness 30th September 2020 |
The Nocmig recorder was also operated last night with a Snipe, two Sandwich Terns, 19 Redwings, 21 Song Thrushes, a Tree Pipit and two Meadow Pipits.
A Badger came into the garden during the night and ravaged the seed feeders. Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were noted offshore and a Brown Hare was also seen.
A calm morning saw a reasonable arrival of commoner migrants with a Willow Warbler, 70 Chiffchaffs, ten Blackcaps, four Goldcrests while passage overhead included four Grey Wagtails, 420 Meadow Pipits, a Tree Pipit, 95 Lesser Redpolls, six Crossbills, 40 Siskins and 17 Reed Buntings.
A Badger was seen around the Observatory in the evening.
The moth traps were fairly quiet but two Palpita vitrealis, a Vestal and two Delicates were seen. Five Mottled Shieldbugs were also found.
Elsewhere there was little doubt as to the star bird of the day when a moulting adult American Golden Plover was found in the afternoon at the ARC Pit.