Very quiet around the trapping area this morning, so just a handful of birds trapped and processed. An oddity on e of the nets was a male Chaffinch that had no feet, just stumps needless to say it was released without a ring. A Peregrine half heartedly chased a Sparrowhawk.

Mid morning at the ARC  2 Green Sandpipers, 4 Common Sandpipers, a Wood Sandpiper, 2 Little Ringed Plovers and a Great White Egret, 8 Black-tailed Godwits and a Curlew flew through and ended up on Burrowes pit. 

The moth trap was again busy but contained nothing out of the ordinary.

Juvenile Common Tern

A very warm and slow sea watch this afternoon kept cool by several refreshing swims:
Midday-15.30 from the fishing boats:
Common Scoter: 16E
Gannet: 5W
Lapwing: 3 in (a rare occurrence on a Dungeness sea watch)
Mediterranean Gull: 6 ( a single party of juveniles around)
Sandwich Tern: c20 around
Common Tern: 4 around
Grey Seal: 1
Harbour Porpoise: 5+

 Adult Common Tern

Sandwich Tern

Juvenile/1w Mediterranean Gull

Grey Seal

Trickling Migrants!

Many gulls off shore from The Patch this morning but none on the beach due to the oriental fisherman after Mackerel. Among the Gulls were a single juvenile Yellow-legged Gull and a few Mediterranean Gulls also a Common Seal present.

 My first Willow Warbler of the autumn

A net round round with JTM produced my first Willow Warbler of the autumn, also Garden Warbler, Reed Warbler, Green Woodpecker, Great and Blue Tits and a Chaffinch. Over the trapping area at least 70 Mediterranean Gulls with Black-headed and Herring Gulls spiralling around after flying Ants, also a minimum of 150 Swifts.

 Juvenile Green Woodpecker

An early afternoon visit to the ARC found another 14 Mediterranean Gulls including a green ringed individual RV17 among c200 Black-headed Gulls, also my first Golden Plover of the autumn, 3 Garganey, a Wood Sandpiper, a Ruff, a Dunlin and a Black-tailed Godwit all among the many eclipse ducks.

 Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull fly by this afternoon at the fishing boats:

15.15-17.15 from the fishing boats joined by JTM:

Gannet: 8E   12W
Cormorant: 8 around
Turnstone: 1 on beach
Whimbrel: 1W
Mediterranean Gull: 3 around
Yellow-legged Gull: 1 around  juv
Sandwich Tern: c15 around
Guillemot: 1 around
Grey Seal: 1
Harbour Porpoise: 5

Jersey Tiger on the Buddleia in my garden

Another bulging moth trap today with a record 10 Jersey Tigers in the trap with 3 more on the Buddleia but nothing else out of the ordinary.

Green Sandpiper from Firth taken through the curtain of vegetation in front the the hide

A lazy day today in the heat. A very full MV with a few nice moths took me the best part of the morning go through. Even the lure of a Wood Warbler skulking in the trapping area couldn't lure me from home.

Late afternoon I visited Hanson Hide where all I could find of note was 2 Black-tailed Godwits and a Common Sandpiper, though there could have been much more obscured by the reeds blocking the from most the hide.

From Dennis's Hide there was plenty of Common Tern activity on the new Tern raft and on a nearby island with several birds sitting and a few chicks visible, with the addition of non breeding birds there was a minimum of 250 Common Terns present on Burrowes. From Firth a Green Sandpiper and 7 Common Sandpipers and 2 Little Ringed Plovers around the islands.

Summer Fog!

Early morning at The Patch saw 100s of Herring and Black-headed Gulls, c25 Mediterranean Gulls mainly juveniles moulting into 1w plumage, off shore a few each of Gannet, Sandwich and Common Tern.
A net round with JTM was predictably disappointing, trapping a Reed Warbler, Chaffinch and a Robin.
An attempt at a sea watch from the fishing boats was stopped by a fog bank moving in and shrouding the beach.
3 visits to the ARC found 2 Wood Sandpipers, 2 Common Sandpipers, a Little Stint, a Dunlin, 3 Redshanks, 2 Black-tailed Godwits, 5+ Little Ringed Plovers, 3 Ringed Plovers, 4 Garganey, a Bittern, 2+ Great White Egrets and the usual 100s of Pochard, Gadwall and Tufty's.

Spotlighting in the Gobi Desert!

 European Eagle Owl

On our recent to trip to Mongolia we went out spotlighting for cats and various rodents in the southern Gobi Desert on several evenings. During one of these evenings as we were walking along a gorge, a European Eagle Owl flew just c25 feet over our heads carrying prey for its owlets, 2 LED spotlights picked it out completely dazzling it, causing it to crash into the side of the gorge dropping its prey which landed at my feet with a thump, it then fell to the ground dazed and dazzled just a few feet away from us. As far as I know the Owl recovered. I had never worried about the consequences of spotlighting, but this incident bothered me to the extent that I now feel I don't want to participate in spotlighting again.

Corpse of a Pallas's Cat kitten decapitated by a European Eagle Owl that was meant to be fed to the 2 Owlets nearby. We thought the adult owl would return and pick the kitten up after we left, but the corpse was still where we left it on our return in the morning. 

 European Eagle Owlet possibly going hungry because we dazzled one of its parents. Fortunately the owlet didn't panic and fall off the cliff edge when spotlighted.

 Adult Lammergeier

Had these 2 Lammergeier's panicked when picked out by our spotlights, they could easily have been seriously injured, launching themselves off the cliffs into the darkness.

Juvenile Lammergeier

Adult Pallas's Cat

Although this adult Pallas's Cat looks relaxed in the spotlights, it eventually did panic when we got to close and launched itself down the rock face to escape us. As far as I know it did not injure itself, but it did leave me with a bad taste in my mouth, another reason for me not to spotlight again.

 These Marbled Polecats seemed quite relaxed and seem to be playing in the spotlight

Marbled Polecats

On another evening a juvenile Pallas's Sandgrouse caught in our spotlights, we could easily have caught this bird had we had a net. Whether or not the bird and rodents were stressed by spotlighting I don't know. Several other Pallas's Sandgrouse were flushed as we drove around the desert looking for Jerboa's and Gerbils.

 A couple of Fat-tailed Gerbils were found by spotlights, the one above froze where as the other dived into cover.

 Hairy-footed Jerboa

Long-eared Jerboa

This Long-eared Hedgehog definitely didn't enjoy the attention we gave it.

 Box-tree Moth a first for me and apparently only the second Dungeness record.

Passerines have been very difficult to find just lately around the peninsular, with the constant N.E wind making things even more difficult. Bearded Tits have been seen occasionally but very briefly from the viewing ramp, even Reed and Sedge Warblers have been elusive. On the brighter side islands are rapidly appearing on the ARC and on Burrowes attracting the first returning Common Sandpipers, Dunlin, Ruff, Greenshank and a Knot. This morning the first juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was seen at The Patch per DW, on the reserve the Little Gull is still present also a Mediterranean Gull there. I'm off to Mongolia tomorrow, hopefully when I return towards the end of the month things will be really moving.

Plutella Xylostella have been coming to the Plodland MV in good numbers

Rye Harbour Nature Reserve!

The paved track was covered in 100s of smashed Mussels, this Herring Gull showed me why.

Walking along the beach track towards the Ternery Pool I heard a couple of Little Terns but saw none, apparently they are having a poor breeding season so far. I did see a pair of Wheatears taking food into there nest site. 

It would seem Black-headed Gulls, Mediterranean Gulls and Sandwich Terns are all doing well this year.

 Lots of juvenile Mediterranean Gulls on the Ternery Pool

 This Mediterranean Gull appears to have have snatched another Mediterranean gull chick

 A ringed adult

A colour ringed adult, but as I was to lazy to carry my scope around today it went unread.

 A constant stream of Sandwich Terns bringing in Sand Eels

 A juvenile Sandwich tern

 The Sandwich Terns seem to have had a good breeding season at Rye

 Another Sand Eel arrives

Good numbers of juvenile Sandwich Terns on the Ternery Pool

Not so many Common Terns

 Curlew

 Juvenile Redshank

 Redshank

Oystercatcher

Female Tufted duck trying to protect her young from a very persistent Common Gull

Late afternoon a summer plumage Ruff and 3 Black-tailed godwits were on the ARC

 Great Tit in the moth trap at 04.30 this morning!

I got up extra early to cove the moth trap this morning but the Great Tit still beat me, it had eaten at least 1 Elephant Hawk moth and a Privet Hawk Moth before I could chase it out along with a lot of the moths.

 A Whitethroat singing by the beach car park

From the sea watch hide this morning again very little of note, just a handful each of Gannets and Sandwich Terns and few Harbour Porpoises.

1s Mediterranean Gull from Firth

On the reserve the Little Gull still present along with a few Ringed Plovers and a 1s Mediterranean Gull. The Common terns seem to have at least 6 young at present.

This afternoon I had the beach at the fishing boats all to my self, allowing me to scan the sea whilst basking in the glorious sunshine and listening to the France V Denmark match, which was probably the most boring match of the world cup.

14.15-17.00

Common Scoter: 11E
Great-crested Grebe: 1 around
Gannet: 6E    6W
Cormorant: 7around
Shag: 1E
Oystercatcher: 6E    1W
Black-headed Gull: 42E
Mediterranean Gull: 7 around (4 x ads, 2s, 2 x 1s)
Sandwich Tern: 44E   2W
Swift: 1 out
Swallow: 1 out
Skylark: 1 singing behind beach
Harbour Porpoise: 6+
Grey Seal: 1
Common Seal: 1