16/08/2024

A very slow week migrant wise, small numbers of Warblers, a few Tree Pipits and singles of Common Redstart, Pied and Spotted Flycatcher on The Point. The sea has fared no better the highlight being a single Balearic Shearwater, Caspian Gull and several Yellow-legged Gulls, Tern numbers have been very low, but 8 Black Terns roosted on Lade Beach one evening per DS. Elsewhere on the peninsula a White Stork from the reintroduction programme has been present on the reserve for last 3 days. A single Wood Sandpiper and up to 17 Garganey have been the highlights on the ARC. There are still 1,000s of Sand martins moving through with a few Swallows and a handful of Swifts. At Galloways up to 3 Whinchats present but just a single Wheatear. This week the sandpit has had up to 3 Wood Sandpipers, 19 Green Sandpipers, 6 Common Sandpipers, 3 Ruff and a few Avocet, Snipe and Black-tailed Godwit.

Wood Sandpiper at the ARC from Hanson

Party of 8 Garganey at the ARC from Hanson

Garganey

Spotted Flycatcher in a private garden

Harbour Porpoises at the fishing boats

2nd calendar year Yellow-legged Gull at the fishing boats

Juvenile Caspian Gull at the fishing boats

Brussels Lace, long overdue in my trap

Peach Blossom. A real beauty that is just about annual in my trap 

A slightly funky Portland Ribbon Wave

Cydia amplana

14/08/2024

A lovely Nightingale trapped by Tom in the TA this morning. Sad to remember just a few years ago Nightingales bred around the peninsular.

A hot walk around the Long Pits and TA this morning found a female Redstart, c30 Willow Warblers, also several Lesser Whitethroats and Blackcaps but Common Whitethroats were very few and far between, a Curlew flew over and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard.

An impressive Eyed Hawkmoth caterpillar in the TA

I could only a few Autumns Ladies Tresses in the TA today

 

A White Stork from the Knepp re-wilding project made a visit to Dungeness today, settling on Burrowes Pit on the RSPB reserve. It was bearing blue Darvic ring GB87, also a backpack transmitter. Although not technically a wild bird it is still an impressive sight.

The only successful seabird breeding on the ARC 2 Common Tern chicks and a single Avocet chick, not a great return for all the money spent on island creation and sea bird rafts.

This afternoon 10 Garganey could be seen from Hanson but just the odd Dunlin, Ringed and Little Ringed Plover and Common Sandpiper, with usual wildfowl and Herons.

A female Gypsy Moth that I found by the trap in my garden, they are apparently flightless so presumably confirms breeding on the peninsular.

12/08/2024

6 Wheatears along the railway sleeper posts today

An hours sea watch this morning was again very poor, the highlight being 3 Tufted Duck going west, only a handful of Terns and Gannets off shore. Another hour at the fishing this afternoon with Richard was just as poor with 12 Teal moving west along with 5 Sandwich Terns and 3 Gannets and that was it! shocking for this time of year. We couldn't even chuck some stale bread for the Gulls because os the anglers and the risk of the Gulls getting caught in their lines.

One of Just a handful of Willow Warblers seen in the trapping area this morning

1 of the 3 Peregrine youngsters

3 Hummingbird Hawkmoths on the power station perimeter wall this morning

The Great-crested Grebe and her chicks

There are 7 Garganey in this image

These 2 were in the Axell viewpoint pool with 2 other Garganey

Black and Bar-tailed Godwit is about as exciting as the ARC  has got wader wise this week

Wader passage has so far been appalling around the reserve, I guess mainly due to high water levels, but the levels are dropping but very little is dropping into Burrowes where once again not a single pair of Terns nested and even the Herring Gulls faired very poorly, Lesser and Greater Black-backed Gulls appear to have a complete failure, I did see 2 Common Gull chicks but I don't think they survived.

The ARC was also a disaster area as far as breeding sea birds are concerned, one pair of Common Terns has hatched 2 chicks, although they are still today, all the time I have spent watching them I have not seen them have a single feed, BWP states they are fed between 14 and 41 times per day. The parent birds appear to ignore the chicks spending there time chasing other Terns, there chicks are literally sprinting up and down the island beaks wide open begging for food which I have seen them get, its almost as if the parent birds are trying to torture the youngsters.

The Willow Trail Common Buzzard

04/08/2024

4 of the 10+ Green Sandpipers in the Scotney sandpit this morning, also 2 Wood Sandpipers, 6+ Common Sandpipers, 2 Black-tailed Godwits, 8 Avocets, a Greenshank,12 Whimbrel over and a few Yellow Wagtails.

What I believe is an early juvenile Merlin in the sandpit this morning

Willow Warbler were around in numbers today

I couldn't resist another shot of my local Little Owl basking in the sun

There was many birds at the ARC today though the vast majority were the local wildfowl, migrant wise there did not seem to be any new arrivals apart from Warblers in the bushes and a single Grey Plover briefly per SO.

At the ARC the Great-crested Grebes were nurturing their two babies

One of at least four Garganey that were present at the ARC today

03/08/2024

Very little change around the area at the moment, the main interest is still the ARC and the Sandpit.

At the Sandpit which appears to be rapidly filling with water  up to 3 Wood Sandpipers, 17 Green Sandpipers, 7 Common Sandpipers, 2 each of Ruff, Greenshank, and Black-tailed Godwit, 10 Avocet, 3 Snipe, 4 Little Ringed Plovers and a few Dunlin.

The ARC has plenty of wildfowl including up to 7 Garganey,  but few waders.

The sea is still non productive though Richard and I dis manage 2 juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls at the fishing this afternoon.

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull at the fishing boats this afternoon

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull

Juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull

Juvenile Herring Gull

A Southern Hawker at the ARC found by DW

01/08/2024

A sea watch this afternoon with Richard produced the first Balearic Shearwater of the year but absolutely nothing else of note. I have been without a car for few days which is probably just as well in the warm temperatures of the last few days, I am now fully mobile so will hopefully get out more with the arrival of some migrants to motivate me.

The Scotney Sand Pit, East Sussex still looking good for waders despite the water level rising slowly.

A visit to the sand pit this morning found a Wood Sandpiper, 9 Green Sandpipers (down from a high of 28 last week) 5 Common Sandpipers, 2 Snipe, 2 Greenshank, 4 Little Ringed Plover, 10 Avocets including a very young chick, several each of Shelduck, Teal, Gadwall and Yellow Wagtails, all the Sand Martin holes have now been vacated. 2 Hares were present. A lovely site to visit the only downside is that all the views are quite distant. On the way back to the ARC I stopped off to see my local Little Owl

Great White Egret fending off an attack by a Lapwing

Catching and devouring a small Pike in front of Hanson

Yay, the Great-crested Grebes have a chick at last

Wood, Green and Common Sandpiper from Hanson

Green Sandpiper with Avocet chick

Mum Avocet with chick

Little Grebe from Hanson

The Leucistic White Cheeked Pintail was still present on the ARC today