15/06/2025

At the ARC there are now 7 Avocets sitting, the Red-crested Pochard is still hanging on to the last surviving duckling from her brood, a few pairs of Common Terns look as though they are now sitting and the 2 Little Gulls are still present. The reserve is fairly quiet which is to be expected this time of year, the same goes for the sea watching. 

Norfolk Hawker at the ARC today

Broad Bodied Chaser at the ARC today a rare dragon on the peninsular

 

A lovely Cherry Bark Tortrix, from todays catch but refused to let me photograph it properly

Bordered Straw from Yesterdays catch

Pine Hawkmoth from Yesterdays catch

I found this Gypsy Moth caterpillar by my trap yesterday

Owens moth of the year so far a Concolourous very rare at Dungeness

13/06/2025

Yesterdays Serin that most of the day around The Moat but was still very elusive

 

The Black Redstarts are regularly behind the sea watch gathering food for their young

A posing Meadow Pipit by the beach car park yesterday

Corn Buntings in the field in front my house

This morning while going through a very disappointing catch of moths considering how mild and still the weather was last night, I realised how lucky I am to able to listen to Corn and Reed Buntings singing, Yellow Wagtails calling, Reed, Sedge and Cetti's Warblers singing along with the common garden birds, Swallows, House Martins, Swifts, Hobbys, Sparrowhawks etc all without leaving my front garden.

Yellow Wagtail in the field in front my house

11/06/2025

Todays highlight was this gorgeous Rose-coloured Starling found this afternoon around The Moat by Jacob.

At the ARC this morning the female Red-crested Pochard was hiding in the reeds with her ducklings, alas it would seem that she has lost one of them, the drake appears to have relocated to Denge Marsh. Also there 8 Avocets of which at least 4 are sitting on eggs, probably 2 Ringed Plovers sitting and the Lapwing still sitting, the Redshank chick is growing a pace so hopefully will survive, several miserable looking Hobbys were sitting around obviously not enjoying this mornings cool drizzly weather. A Bee-eater found by Jacob toured The Desert this morning for c15 minutes which I managed to miss due to to poor decisions by me.

 

Drake Garganey going into eclipse plumage at the ARC from Hanson this morning

Drake Garganey with a 1st Summer Little Gull and a Black-headed Gull at the ARC this morning

1st Summer Little Gull at the ARC this morning

A Water Ermine a relatively frequent visitor to my trap

10/06/2025

The Nao Santa Maria 

Apparently it is a replica of Christopher Columbus ship that crossed the Atlantic, it looked very uncomfortable on board as it made its way past Dungeness this morning, I can't imagine how bad it would be in an Atlantic storm.

Some of the very few Gannets that passed the Bouy this morning

A 2nd calendar year Hobby waiting for some Dragonflys to take to the wing at the ARC this morning

A cycle ride around the Scotney complexwas very disappointing in the strong SW wind. Apart from feral Geese there was little else to see there, a few Yellow Wagtails and Corn buntings but not much else. There was no news of note from the reserve.

A Grass Rivulet probably the scarcest moth in my trap this morning

A Puss Moth the 3rd this year so far in my trap

 

09/06/2025

The 2 first Summer Little Gulls were still to be found on the ARC today

1s Little Gull from Hanson

At least 4 pairs of Avocets are sitting again at the ARC, along with a couple of pairs of Common Terns, Black-headed Gulls and Ringed Plovers. Hobbys continue hunt in good numbers over the reed beds when the sun comes out, otherwise plenty of eclipse wildfowl there and around the rest of the reserve. The Dengemarsh Greylags, Canada and Egyptian Geese have been joined by a Barnacle Goose and 2 Bar-headed Geese. There have been no obvious signs of successful breeding of the Bitterns, hopefully they started a little later due to the poor spring weather.

Female Red-crested Pochard still had her 4 ducklings today

Four Spotted Chaser

Caterpillar of a Herald Moth

Southern Marsh Orchid, a very poor showing of these this year at Dungeness no doubt due to the cold, dry strong NE winds that blew for weeks.
 

07/06/2025

A pair of juvenile Bearded Tits at the ARC this morning

There has been not been much to post about for the last few days, spring sea watching has more or less petered out, with the exception of a trickle of Manx Shearwaters an a couple of pulses of Arctic Skuas.

This morning with more strong SW winds and rain I went straight to the ARC just in case Red-necked Phalarope had pitched in overnight with little expectation of seeing one, so I was not disappointed when I didn't see one. I was delighted to see a family of Bearded Tits up close, but more delighted to see a Redshank chick on the long island, it was totally unexpected after the Avocets and Black-headed Gulls all deserted there nests there, at least the Avocets look as though they are trying again on a different island. 

I had just left the hide when Ray O'reilly put out a message that the female Red-crested Pochard had reappeared after being missing for some weeks and she had 4 newly hatched ducklings, representing the first breeding on the Dungeness peninsular.

Around the reserve 17 Hobbys hunting together over the Hookers viewpoint, a couple of Black-tailed Godwits and Sanderling on the Hayfields and Burrowes. A Purple Heron was reported over the New Excavations thgis afternoon.

Juvenile Bearded Tits at the ARC this morning

Adult male Bearded Tit at the ARC this morning

A female Red-crested Pochard with 4 ducklings at the ARC this morning

Adult and juvenile Redshank at the ARC this morning

 

03/06/2025

2 Sea watches today, this mornings watch was not particularly exciting, but 2hrs this afternoon produced 10 Arctic Skuas including a flock of 5 all East, also 12 Manx Shearwaters 7 East 5 West, so much better but birds were not flooding past.

Around the reserve the Red-crested Pochard remains at the ARC, usually asleep on the centre islands from Hanson, also 1 pair of Avocets look as though they are trying nest there.

Burrowes was very windswept producing 3 Little Gulls of note all 1st Summer birds.

Yellow Wagtail Lydd Fields

A walk out onto Lydd Fields yesterday found 3 pairs of Yellow Wagtails and 2 pairs of Corn Buntings, in the evening I found many more pairs of each around Scotney and Walland. I checked the Tree Sparrow boxes whilst I was there and most looked as though they have been used or are still in use 🤞for a good season. On the minus side I did not encounter a single Barn Owl which I would have expected to be out hunting to feed young, I'm hoping they are late laying and hatching this year.

A Pale Tussock a new moth for my VC15 trap

While out in Lydd Fields I came across many of these Whit-Satin caterpillars