20/08/2025

This mornings sea watch with Richard was as expected poor carrying on the recent theme, the highlight being 2 Black Terns moving East, but you can guarantee the first day I don't look birds will be streaming past, so I will be back again tomorrow.

From Hanson a Little Stint, Common and Green Sandpipers, a Greenshank the usual Egrets and wildfowl though in smaller numbers.

Whilst doing the Moth Trap a message on WhatApp alerted me to the presence of an Osprey over the reserve,  a quick scan from the garden soon spotted it seemingly over New Diggings, I made my way to the top of the Long Pits and the Osprey soon appeared and started to look for fish, hanging around for a few minutes then disappearing, then  reappearing some tome later.

Juvenile Osprey over The Long Pits

Juvenile Osprey over The Long Pits

From the southern end of the ARC a dozen or so Common Swifts were moving North with Sand Martins, an hour later another pulse of 6 Swifts flew over the garden.

The Cisticola was agin showing intermittently at Galloways today, also another Pied Flycatcher was on The Point.

An attractive Calybites phasianpennella a relatively common micro in my trap

18/08/2025

2.5hrs of sea watching saw 400+ Sandwich Terns, 100+ Common Terns but very little else, the juvenile 

Cuckoo was still hanging out behind the sea watch hide as was a Wheatear. From Hanson 3 Green Sandpipers, 4 Common Sandpipers, 2 LRPs andb the usual Egrets and Wildfowl, though this evening 6 Ruff, a Greenshank and a Little Stint were present per JY, also a Spotted Redshank was seen by Rob and Ravi. The Fan-tailed Warbler was showing on and off at Galloways with a few Whinchats.

Highlight of the day came when Ravi found a juvenile Icterine Warbler in The Moat, a Pied Flycatcher was also present.

Juvenile Icterine Warbler

 

17/08/2025

My first stop this morning was at Hanson hide where a  Little Stint,  3 Green Sandpipers, 2 Common Sandpipers, a Common Snipe, 3 Little Ringed Plovers and a Redshank were on view along with the usual Egrets and wildfowl, While I was there news came of a Fan-tailed Warbler  (Zitting Cisticola)  at Galloways. Knowing how narrow the road is at Galloways I drove the short distance home, then cycled down Galloways to where the finder Barry Wright was with Keith and Kevin, to be shown where the was last seen, it wasn't a long wait before it showed again in flight, which it did several times eventually alighting in a fairly distant Broome Bush which allowed reasonable scope views but to far for good images to obtained as my image below shows. A not unexpected bird to be found on the Dungeness peninsular with perfect habitat for it, a nice addition to the Dungeness list and to my cycle list. The rest of my day was taken up with domestic stuff.

Fan-tailed Warbler (Zitting Cisticola)

16/08/2025

 

Some of the 30+ Cattle and Little Egrets sheltering at at the SE end of the ARC early morning

                      Some of the 700+ Mediterranean Gulls moving east past The Point today

Several hours of sea watching today saw a steady eastward passage of Mediterranean Gulls, Black-Headed Gulls, Sandwich and Common Terns with 8 Little and single juvenile Arctic Tern, 2 Arctic Skuas moved west as did a single Balearic Shearwater.

Around the reserve a juvenile Black Tern from Firth with a Little Stint  a Greenshank and Black-necked Grebe per NB. 5 Whinchat and a Spotted Flycatcher at Galloways per BH.

Juvenile Little Tern

Juvenile Little Tern

Adult Little Tern

Sandwich Tern with a Sand Eel

Juvenile Common Tern

The first Marsh Mallow Moth to grace my trap for a few years, they are very rare in the UK

15/08/2025

An hour in the sea watch hide this morning saw a few Terns Gannets and Gulls with the only quality a single juvenile Black Tern going west.

Whinchat by the Polish Memorial this morning

Around The Point and TA a sprinkling of migrants, single Pied Flycatcher, 2+ Whinchats, Willow Warblers, Common and Lesser Whitethroats etc. 

A visit to Burrowes this evening found juvenile male and female Ruff from Firth, 3 Little Ringed Plovers and 100+ Common Terns.

Willow Warbler on The Point this morning looking stunning in the sun.

Cattle Egrets bathing in the ARC this afternoon but no migrant waders yet. 

This stunning Bedstraw Hawk-moth will I'm sure be the Moth highlight of the year in my trap

A beautiful Peach Blossom, a scarce visitor to my trap

 

13/08/2025

 Spotted Flycatcher at the bottom of the Long Pits

A disappointing early morning on the peninsular, however birds were obviously dropping in during the day with the light showers, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Common Redstart, Willow Warblers etc.

As the fog horn was going most of the day I resisted the temptation to look at the sea, those that did saw very little. The juvenile Cuckoo is still frequenting the Sea Cale in front of the Power Station. 

There appeared to be no migrant waders dropping into the ARC or Burrowes today.

One of a small fall of Willow Warblers at the LOng Pits today 

Autumn lady’s tresses at the Long Pits

Pied Flycatcher at Galloways

Rest Harrow my first of the year in the trap this morning

Three-humped Prominent trapped at Dungeness by Bob Arnfield last night, it has only been recorded a few times in the last 100 years.

A party of 5 Teal moving west this mornings was the highlight of yet another poor sea watch this morning.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth in my garden while I was emptying the moth trap which contained 264 Common Wainscots but no quality.

The only migrant on the peninsular of note was a very elusive Pied Flycatcher in a private garden, I heard it call several times but didn't see it. Hopefully overcast skies tonight will drop some migrants for tomorrow.

This juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was the highlight of this afternoon watch from the boats

11/08/2025

An hour at the sea watch hide this morning saw little of note except 10+ Hummingbird Hawk-moths by the wall. The Ta and The Desert were equally quiet, a Common Redstart in the latter early afternoon per CF.

A brute of a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull at the fishing boats this afternoon, but very little else.

A Greenshank from Firth late afternoon with c150 Common Terns there, the ARC was equally quiet with just 2 Black-tailed Godwits and 3 Great White Egrets of note.

 

09-10/08/2025

Tree Pipit in the bushes in the trapping area yesterday

Tree Pipit in the hand, thanks to Jacob and the DBO ringing team

Avian wise a rather disappointing weekend as migrant birds were thin on the ground, singles of Common Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher and Whinchat, a sprinkling of Wheatears with 22 recorded at the Midrips per Dave Scott, also a few Common and Lesser Whitthroats, Garden Warblers, Willow warblers and the odd Chiffchaff. Up to 5 Black-necked Grebes at Lade with another found today on Burrowes, A juvenile Black Tern on Burrowes still present but the juvenileArctic Tern didn't linger. The sea remains quietwith small nubers of Terns, Gannets and Kittiwakes. Along the power station wall 10+ Hummingbird Hawkmoths and 8 Clouded Yellows.

A pristine Striped Hawkmoth was a nice surprise in my trap yesterday, only the second ever. 

 

A German ringed Mediterranean Gull at the ARC this afternoon

Large Thorn was new for the year this morning

A Pale Grass Eggar, I usually manage to catch at least a couple of these a year, they are very scarce and only occur in the Dungeness area as far as I know.

08/08/2025

1 of 9 Hummingbird Hawk-moths by the power station wall on my way to the sea watch hide

An hours sea watching this morning was enough to realise that there was little or no sea bird migration  today, according to the observatory ringing team the same could be said about land bird migration.

A quick look at the SE end of the ARC found no sign of the Pectoral Sandpiper, though it could have been hidden by the vegetation, 2 Common Sandpipers could be seen. From Hanson this morning the usual Egrets and wildfowl but nothing new, another visit late afternoon found a juvenile Black Tern feeding around the old Cormorant island but I'm not convinced it is not the same bird found by John Young on Burrowes.
 

Juvenile Black Tern and Juvenile Common Tern at Firth this afternoon

A walk up to Dengemarsh was pleasant but very few birds seen, 2 Greenshank flew over towards hayfield 3 and Common Sandpiper was on Dengemarsh islands.

Common Terns bathing at Firth

Adult and juvenile Little Ringed Plovers at Firth this afternoon

Cynaeda dentalis (Starry Pearl) my personal favourite micro moth

Scarce Bordered Straw