Willow Warblers! (Saturday 3rd August)

  Superb juvenile Willow Warbler

There must have been several 100 Willow Warblers on the peninsular today many of which were in the Long Pits area, along with many Common Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroats, Reed & Sedge Warblers, 4 Pied Flycatchers, a Grasshopper Warbler, 2 Tree Pipits, some Yellow Wagtails and a juvenile Cuckoo.

Dengemarsh area including the Gully and Galloways, also had many Willow Warblers and Common Whitethroats, another Grasshopper Warbler and 8+ Wheatears.

 Juvenile Grasshopper Warbler

 Pied Flycatcher

 Juvenile Cuckoo

 3 Visits to the ARC saw at least 8 Wood Sandpipers still, 6 Common Sandpipers, 6 Dunlin, 5 Ruff, 3 Greenshank, 3 Little Ringed Plovers, a Redshank, 5 Garganey, 3 Little Gulls and 2 Great White Egrets plus all the usual birds.

 Common Sandpiper (From Dennis's picnic area)

A couple of visits to Burrowes saw another 6 Common Sandpipers, a Turnstone, 6 Great White Egrets and usual Common Terns.

Red-legged Partridge one of the scarcest birds on the peninsular now

Egrets! (Friday 02/08/2019)

 Passerine migrants today were represented by a few each of Willow Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Sedge and Reed Warbler

 Great White Egret at the ARC

3 visits to the ARC today saw an excellent selection of birds a minimum of 7+ Wood Sandpipers, 6+ Common Sandpipers, a singles of Green Sandpiper, Avocet & Turnstone, 3+ Ruff, 6+ Dunlin, 3 Little Gulls, Black Tern, 3+ Garganey, all 3 Egret species, Water Rail, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk, Marsh Harrier and the usual wildfowl, Terns, Warblers and Hirundines.

 Juvenile Cattle Egret at the ARC

 Little Egret at Firth this evening

A couple of visits to Burrowes added to the day list 3 Whimbrel, Common Snipe, another 10 Common Sandpipers and 3 more colour ringed Gulls.

Common Snipe at Firth this evening

Details for Polish ringed Black-headed Gull TXUW

Juvenile Cattle Egret! (thursday 01/08/2019)

 Juvenile Cattle Egret a first for me at Dungeness at the ARC late morning

This morning at the ARC a nice first for me at Dungeness in the form of a juvenile Cattle Egret, also 5 Wood Sandpipers, 3 Ruff, 6 Dunlin, 3 Common Sandpipers, a Black Tern several Mediterranean Gulls, at least 1 Garganey, many Sand Martins hawking over the lake and the usual wildfowl.

 Black Tern roosting with Common and Sandwich Terns at the ARC

 Pied Wagtail busy collecting food at the fishing boats this afternoon

14.15-15.30 from the fishing boats with AJG & JTM:
Great-crested Grebe: 2 around
Gannet: 5E   5W
Cormorant: 4 around
Mediterranean Gull: 2W
Yellow-legged Gull: 1 Juvenile around
Sandwich Tern: 2E   27W
Common Tern: 1E   18W
Sand Martin: 497 out
Swallow: 1 out
Pied Wagtail: 1 around
Common Seal: 1
Harbour Porpoise: 3+

 1 of nearly 500 Sand Martins past the fishing boats this afternoon

Common Seal with a Skate at the fishing boats

Adult Black Tern at Firth this evening

This evening at firth an adult Black Tern was the highlight, also 2 Norwegian Great Black-backed Gulls JK556 & JK302.

From Hanson at the ARC this evening, the Wood Sandpipers count went up to 7,  the Black Tern was still flying around and the juvenile Cattle Egret looked like it was going to roost with the Cormorants. 

Ancylolomia tentaculella. Amazingly the 2nd time this very rare moth has found my trap. 

Dark Sword-grass

 New brood of Tufted Duck on the ARC this morning

First thing during the rain at the ARC 5 Wood Sandpipers, 4 Common Sandpipers, 6 Dunlin, 4 Ruff, 2 Little Gulls, 2 Garganey, 2 Water Rail chicks, the usual wildfowl, also 100s of Sand Martins hawking over the lake with a few Swifts.

Young Coot tasting a dead Perch this morning at Firth

From Firth Hide 5 Dunlin, 4 Common Sandpipers, 2 Knot and a Turnstone.
09.15-10.15 from the sea watch hide with OL and AJG who collated the numbers:
Common Scoter: 12W   3E
Fulmar: 2W
Gannet: 34W   9E
Oystercatcher: 1E
Whimbrel: 1W
Kittiwake: 3W
Mediterranean Gull: 1E
Yellow-legged Gull: 1 juvenile around
Sandwich tern: 2W
Common tern: 25W
Harbour Porpoise: 2+

The first reurning Turnstones at the fishing boats.

13.30-15.30 from the fishing boats with RW, JTM, AJG, PT:
Common Scoter: 3W
Gannet: 5W
Cormorant: 6 around
Turnstone: 5 around
Kittiwake: 1W
Yellow-legged Gull: 3 Juveniles around
Sandwich tern: 2E.  5W
Common tern: 18W
Swift: 18 out
Sand Martin: 9 out

 Juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls

Sandpipers!

As a South Easterly wind was blowing I was hoping for a good sea watch this morning, unfortunately it was not as good as hoped for.

06.45-0845 from the hide with CP, JTM and AJG who kindly collated the numbers:

Shelduck: 1E

Teal: 3E

Tufted Duck: 1E

Common Scoter: 25E  1W

Great-crested Grebe: 1W

Fulmar: 9E

Gannet: c75 around

Kittiwake: 71E

Mediterranean Gull:1E

Yellow-legged Gull: 1 Juvenile at The Patch

Sandwich tern: c40E

Common Tern: c40 around

Auk sp: 1E

Sand Martin: 21 out

Grey Seal: 1

Harbour Porpoise: 15+

 A little twitch to see the Eclipse drake Red-crested Pochard at Hookers this morning first for the year

 Greenshank from Firth early afternoon (a party of 11 dropped in briefly per DC)

 Excellent views of waders and Terns can be had from Firth Hide especially from Midday onwards when the sun has started to move round to the west.

 Polished colour ringed Black-headed Gull TXUW at the ARC this afternoon, I saw this bird almost a year ago on 27/07/2018. Also in 3 visits to Hanson up to 5 Wood Sandpipers, 6 Common Sandpipers, 2 Green Sandpipers, 8 Dunlin, 4 Ruff, 4 Redshank, a Turnstone, a Peregrine, Mediterranean Gull, 4 Garganey, 2 Green Sandpipers, 2 Great White Egrets and many of the usual wildfowl. This evening 100s of Swifts and Sand Martins over it and New Diggings viewed from the causeway. There were no reports of yesterdays lovely summer plumaged Cattle Egret from the reserve today, I will have do an Egret roost count in case it is feeding elsewhere.
A sea watch by AJG from the fishing boats 13.05-15.45:
Common Scoter: 11W
Great-crested Grebe: 3 around
Fulmar: 2W
Gannet: 15W
Kittiwake: 5W
Mediterranean Gull: 1 around
Yellow-legged Gull: 1 juvenile around
Common Tern: 42W
Sandwich Tern: 18W
Swift: 84 out
Sand Martin: 5 out

 Green Sandpipers

 The Green Sandpipers joined by a Common Sandpiper

 Little Ringed Plovers

Colour Ringed Little Tern!

Lat Saturday evening Owen Leyshon called me to say that there was a colour ringed Little Tern in front of Firth Hide, by luck I was driving down the entrance track to the VC, within minutes I joined Owen and was attempting to read the ring. We originally read it as Y18 but after an email exchange with Ulf in Denmark we realised it was actually Y1B. Remarkably this is only the 5th foreign ringed Little Tern of any ringing scheme to have been reported in the UK.

 Colour ringed Little Tern at Firth  on Saturday 27/07/2019

 The known history

This image was taken on its breeding grounds by Ulf M.Berthelsen

The Day After!

The first Willow Warbler of the Autumn

The first Willow warblers of the autumn were trapped today along with a few Common Whitethroats, a few Swifts went south and a Peregrine was on the pylons.

The reserve was very quiet after yesterdays excitement as most the waders cleared out over night.

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull at the fishing boats this afternoon

A predictably quiet sea watch this afternoon, but at least it was pleasantly warm on the beach.
14.15-15.30 from the fishing boats with RW, JTM & JK.
Fulmar: 1W
Gannet: 16E  4W
Cormorant: 11 around
Oystercatcher: 4W
Kittiwake: 1W
Mediterranean Gull; 1 Juvenile around
Yellow-legged Gull: 1 Juvenile around
Little Tern: 9W
Common Tern: c15 around
Sandwich tern: c10 around
Pied Wagtail: 1 around
Harbour Porpoise: 10+
Grey Seal: 1
Common Seal: 2

 Juvenile Mediterranean Gull at the fishing boats this afternoon

This evenings visit to the reserve found nothing of note from Firth, at Hanson in the company of Joe there were 4 Wood Sandpipers, 3 Common Sandpipers, 3 Ruff and 3 Garganey of note.

 Owens stunning Orache at the observatory 

Mine and Jacques Pale Shoulders at the observatory

Barry's lovely Dewick's Plusia

I Live for Days like Today!

 Flock of Greenshanks over Burrowes this morning

Todays weather brought what I believe to be unprecedented numbers of waders of at least 22 species down onto the peninsula throughout the day. Redshank were most abundant with a day total of c600, I even had a flock of 100+ over my house, 60+ Greenshank, c30 Spotted Redshank, c40 Curlew Sandpipers, c20 Wood Sandpipers, c20 Common Sandpipers, c10 Green Sandpipers, 7 Ruff, 7 Knot, 15 Dunlin, 2 Temminck's Stint, Black and Bar-tailed Godwits, Curlew, Whimbrel, Avocet, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Lapwing, Oystercatcher and Common Snipe. 

Even at 20.00 this evening Wood, Green and Common Sandpipers were dropping into Burrowes from the Dennis's picnic area, with Greenshank overhead. A most memorable day at Dungeness, I'm afraid the images aren't brilliant due mainly to the dull conditions and my incompetence, but I don't really care I had a brilliant day and to make things the better the moths have been superb. A Little Tern at Burrowes this evening was probably ringed in Denmark but could have been ringed in Senegal, I will update when I get a reply from the ringers.

 Mainly Redshanks over Burrowes this morning

  Redshanks and Curlew Sandpipers at Firth this morning

 Temminck's Stints at Firth

 Wood Sandpiper at Firth

Common Sandpiper at Firth

Wood Sandpipers at the ARC

The recent warm weather brought a brilliant array of goodies to my moth trap along with 100s of the common moths, there has been several Plumed Fan-foot, Jersey Tigers, 100s of Xylostellas and double figure numbers of Silver Y. 

 A gorgeous Tawny Wave only the 13th Dungeness record

 Small Purple-barred only the 8th Dungeness record and the second since 2010 

 Ancylolmia tentaculella the 3rd Dungeness area record 1in1935 another in 2003, probably only the 10th British record

 Cydia amplana a scarce migrant

Pale Shoulder the 9th or tenth Dungeness are record