26/27/07/2020

Sunday 26/07/2020

Early Sunday morning was sunny and almost windless so I visited The Midrips and Wicks to see how the Avocet and Black-headed Gull colony was faring. I was delighted to count 20 Black-headed Gull chicks in this newly established colony, there was also 13 of this years young Avocets still present with 8 Adults which I'm sure is record number for this site. On the pools 2 smart Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Turnstones, 4 Ringed Plovers and 3 Whimbrel on the beach. A Little Egret on the Pool was unusual due to the lack of food available to it at this site.

 1 of 2 Black-tailed Godwits at The Midrips

 Young Black-headed gulls

 Ever vigilant parent Avocet

 2 of 3 socially distancing Whimbrel

Little Egret an unusual sighting at The Midrips not surprisingly it didn't hang around

Monday 27/07/2020

The Black dot just in front of the bow of the ship is a Manx Shearwater

05.30-08.45 from the fishing boats AJG, CP & (MC 0745-08.45 only)
Common Scoter: 5E.   3W
Great-crested Grebe: 2 o/s
Manx Shearwater: 2W  (MC only
Sooty Shearwater: 1E. (CP & AJG only)
Gannet: 21E     46W
Cormorant: 4 o/s
Oystercatcher: 3E
Arctic Skua: 1W
Kittiwake: 28W
Yellow-legged Gull: 4 juveniles around
Common Tern: c40 o/s
Sandwich Tern: 28W
Auk sp: 1E
Sand Martin: 158S
Swift: 10S
Harbour Porpoise: 4+
Grey Seal: 1

 Aggressive juvenile Yellow-legged Gull

 A real bruiser of a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull

Another Herring Gull sentenced to a lingering death by a careless fisherman

13.30-18.30 DS, MH, AJG, CP, MC Many thanks to all contributers.
Common Scoter:13E     11W
Great-crested Grebe: 3 o/s
Fulmar: 4W      1E
Manx Shearwater: 1W
Balearic Shearwater: 2W  DS only
Gannet: 89W     13E
Cormorant: 4 o/s
Dunlin: 2W
Knot: 22W
Kittiwake: 83W
Mediterranean Gull: 1 juvenile around
Little Tern: 3W
Common Tern: 110W
Sandwich Tern: 53W
Swift: 573S

Black-winged Stilt still present today

Argyrestia brockeela a common micro but very attractive

Saturday 25/07/2020

I was a little late getting to the fishing boats this morning:

05.40-07.40 courtesy of JY, CP & AJG:

Common Scoter: 65W     19E

Great-crested Grebe: 2 o/s

Fulmar: 2W

Manx Shearwater: 1W

Gannet: 68W     24E

Cormorant: 8E

Ringed Plover: 2W

Dunlin: 1W

Whimbrel: 2W

Kittiwake: 8W

Mediterranean Gull: 2W

Little Tern: 1W

Common Tern: 112E.    39W

Sandwich Tern: 19W

Auk sp: 2E

Harbour Porpoise: 8+

Grey Seal: 1

A quick stop on the causeway on my back home for breakfast saw the Black-winged Stilt happily feeding in from of Hanson Hide. A quick count of Pochard got to 558 but there was large areas I could not see, also 100s of Sand martins hawking over the lake.

Adult male Marsh Harrier hunting the fields in front of my house

By late morning there was drizzle in the air so I checked out the fields in front of my house. There were many Sand Martins and a few Swallows hawking over the fields, the 5 members of the Corn Bunting Family were feeding along the track as were 14 Yellow Wagtails, a few Reed Buntings and 3 Skylarks. In the ditches Reed Warblers are still rattling out their song and a lone Sedge Warbler is still singing while Grey Heron stalks along the bank grabbing a Marsh Frog occasionally. The hedge around the football field is full of House Sparrows at the moment and attracting the attention of the local Sparrowhawk, which dived at full speed head long into the hedge and came out with its unfortunate quarry, it is amazing that the Sparrowhawks don't injure themselves in these attacks, there were at least 8 Greenfinches in the hedge as well.

By the time I had gone through last nights poor catch in my moth trap the rain had arrived, with no hides to sit in I spent the afternoon trying to identify many images of micro moths I have taken this year, that is still an ongoing job.

As I sit here typing 19.00 hrs the rain has stopped and the a little bit of brightness is shining through, I really should go out to see what birds the rain has dropped onto the lakes, but the reserve is so unwelcoming and frustrating not being able to view the lakes, I really can't be doing with the bother of having to park in lay by on the main road and trudge across the shingle to get poor views of Burrowes and the ARC, I doubt anyone else will either.   

23/24/07/2020

 The Black-winged Stilt  still doing its thing in front of Hanson hide

Once again there was very little on the sea early this morning, c40 Gannets were feeding a mile off shore presumably on a Mackerel shoal, also there a few each of Common Terns and Sandwich Terns, along with some Kittiwakes that all appeared to be catching White Bait, they joined by up to 10 Harbour Porpoises and a Grey Seal. In shore a single Great-crested Grebe and a few Cormorants. The Gull roost is getting nearer to Dengemarsh every day as hordes of anglers with there families descend on Dungeness in the hope of catching Mackerel or Bass. 

The trapping area was very quiet with the highlight being 2 fly over Crossbills, a few Willow Warblers in the Sallows with Common and Lesser Whitethroats and a couple of singing Blackcaps.

This evening  at the ARC the Stilt still present along with a Garganey and a Black Tern of note. 

Yesterday afternoon I walked around the newly opened trails, to be honest without access to the hides you can't view Burrowes(which is the main attraction avian wise this time of year) without climbing the banks which is not permissible. Undoubtedly human nature and curiosity will get the better of some people who will in frustration climb the banks. Burrowes can still be viewed from the causeway between it and the New Diggings, but views are very distant and weather dependant. I can't in all honesty advise anyone to travel any distance to visit the reserve to see birds, better to go to Rye Harbour or Oare Marshes.  

 This Marsh Harrier came over the garden while I was going through my moth trap this morning 

 Plumed Fan-foot is now an everyday occurrence in the Plodland trap

 The Pine Tree Lappet that Barry Banson caught at Littlestone last night

Hungarian Ringed Mediterranean Gull H1Y5

Yesterday morning after getting up at silly o.clock to try and photograph comet Neowise and failing miserably, I headed back to Copt Point where I met Renaud Flamant. Between us we read 84 Mediterranean Gull rings from a flock of c600 birds. Looking at Gulls legs is not too everyones taste but I find it interesting. The majority of the rings were Belgian and French, but we also had German, Czech, Polish, British, Italian, Hungarian and Norwegian. 

British Ringed Mediterranean Gull 2L89

Hungarian Ringed Mediterranean Gull H9A5 

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull 35KH ringed in Antwerp

Another Antwerp bird 3326

Juvenile Sandwich Tern resting with some of the Mediterranean Gulls

If your patient the Gulls allow close approach

Rock Pipit

Monday 21/07/2020

French Green Ringed RAA1

This morning I was chauffeured to Copt Point by AJG, where we spent a couple of hours in perfect weather conditions in the company of c350 Mediterranean Gulls. We managed to read 25 Rings mainly Belgian and French, but also 2 German and a British ring. 

Antwerp ringed Juvenile 39JJ

Antwerp ringed E561

 Every Mediterranean Gull plumage on show at Copt Point

Frustrating couldn't quite read the ring 

A Really Smart Bird

Antwerp ringed 3KN9 in the background

Juvenile Rock Pipit

Walking back to the car we came across a family of Rock Pipits, a bird I rarely see at Dungeness.

Adult Rock Pipit

Whilst i saw sorting through the moth trap at lunchtime OL called to say Sam had found a Wood Warbler in the Sallows in The Moat, not a bird you can guarantee to see at Dungeness every year. Eventually I did get several good views of it in the top of the Sallows but no chance of a snap of it. 

Black Redstart at Galloways very early morning, Little Owl was also there today.

Lesser whitethroats and Dunnock at the ARC

Heavily cropped Black-winged stilt from tonight

The Stilt was still present on the ARC this evening as was the Black Tern and Little Gull all socially distancing in front of Hanson Hide. Also there a Garganey, 10 Dunlin, a Common Sandpiper an LRP and 8 Wigeon, Autumns coming.

Great White Egret at the ARC tonight

Fast growing Fox Cubs at the ARC tonight

Always a pleasure to find one of these Cynaeda dentalis in the trap even though there relatively common here.

Saturday 18/07/2020

07.15-0845 from by the sea watch hide, many thanks to AJG for his endurance:

Common Scoter: 7E

Gannet: 11 o/s

Whimbrel: 1W

Kittiwake:6W

Mediterranean  Gull: 1W

Sandwich tern 7 down

Common Tern 9 down

Swallow: 3W

Sand Martin: 1W

At the same time I was wandering around Galloways, where there were plenty of juvenile Common Whitethroats and Stonechats and a few Sedge Warblers, the only grounded migrant was a single Willow Warbler, there were plenty of Sand Martins moving west. A walk along the front of Scotney this afternoon saw 3 Tree Sparrows of note.

Very heavily cropped image of the Black-winged Stilt and Black Tern taken this evening from the causeway. Also Garganey and LRP tonight. Unless you live close by it is not worth burning fuel to take your life in your hands with the traffic on the causeway, to get such poor views of the birds. It would be a much better return for your money to go to Oare Marshes where you can actually see the birds well and in comfort. 

Bisigna procerella a new micro for my trap

Metalampra italica the second occurrence of this micro in my trap

Yet another Sussex Emerald. an impressive 8 in my trap this year

Wednesday 15/07/2020

 Barn Owl over Boulderwall early morning

Sea watch from The Point by AJG & RW
07.15-08.15
Common Scoter: 1E
Manx Shearwater: 1W
Gannet 22 o/s
Cormorant: 6 at The Patch
Oystercatcher: 2E
Curlew: 2W
Mediterranean Gull: 3W
Sandwich Tern: 5W
Common Tern: 8W
At The Patch 2 Little Egrets came in off, 5 Mediterranean Gulls were in the Gull roost, also a Kittiwake and a colour ringed Herring Gull R8VT, but I couldn't find any Yellow-legged Gulls.

 Little Egrets coming in off the sea early morning

 Great White Egret at the ARC

The Black-winged Stilt is still present at the ARC. Unfortunately it spends most of its time in front of Hanson hide to which there is no access. It can be seen distantly from the causeway, but be careful of the traffic, sometimes when a raptor comes through it can be seen in flight from just past the screen hide.

 Juvenile Long-tailed Tit that was with a flock of Tits and wWarblers moving through the Sallows on the causeway between the New Diggings and Burrowes. 2 Common Sandpipers and a black-tailed Godwit were on Burrowes, along with the usual Common Terns, Gulls and wildfowl. 

 Herring Gull at the fishing boats this afternoon

An hour at the fishing boats this afternoon with RW & PT 15'30-16.30

Gannet: 13 o/s

Cormorant: 2 o/s

Kittiwake: 13W

Sandwich Tern: 8 o/s

Common Tern: 10+o/s

Swift: 4S

Harbour Porpoise: 2

Grey Seal: 2

Just as well that the moths have been relatively interesting, because the birds have been very poor.

 A5UX Herring Gull a regular bird at the fishing boats this afternoon

 Maple Prominent, very scarce on the peninsular, only my second one.

 Brown form of Agapetha zoegana my first, of this form

 Dotted Fan-foot, less than annual in my trap

 Brown Line Bright Eye, less than annual in my trap but relatively common on the shingle 

 2 more Sussex Emeralds in the trap this morning, a good year for them.