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

Splendid Brocade!

Splendid Brocade the first one to find its way into my trap

No improvement in the sea watching today.
07.10-08.10 from the sea watch hide with CP:
Common Scoter: 31W    1E
Gannet: 10E   9W
Cormorant: 9 around
Mediterranean Gull: 3E  2 x Juv + 1st summer
Sandwich tern: 14E    2W
Common tern: c15 feeding o/s
Auk sp: 1E
Harbour porpoise: 5+

 The Great White Egrets being mobbed by Common Terns at the ARC

Also on the ARC 4 Ruff, a Wood Sandpiper, a Common Sandpiper, 4 Redshank, 5 Dunlin along with all the 100s of eclipse wildfowl.

 Another new moth for my trap today was this Pale Oak Beauty

Only my 3rd Beautiful Hook-tip that has seen better days rather like me

Still in the Doldrums!

Dungeness is still very quiet going through the summer doldrums, especially as the power station is still shut down so there is no Patch for Gulls and Terns, it is I believe to come back on line next month but I wont hold my breath. Fortunately the moths are keeping me fairly busy. The first returning Willow Warbler was seen yesterday so hopefully over the next few days things will start to liven up. 

This juvenile Mediterranean Gull that was on Burrowes yesterday was ringed as a chick in Leipzig at Rehbach Gravel Pit, Germany on 11th June 2019.
This mornings sea watch was a little better than of late with the first Shearwater of the Autumn.
06.45-08.45 from the sea watch hide with AJG & CP:
Common Scoter: 2E  48W
Fulmar: 2W
Manx Shearwater: 1E
Gannet: 149W.  6E
Cormorant; 7 around
Turnstone: 1W
Whimbrel: 1W
Kittiwake: 2W
Sandwich tern: 5E    11W
Common Tern: 16W   3E
Swift: 1 out
Sand Martin: 22 out
Swallow: 8 out
Black Redstart: 2 around
Harbour Porpoise:4+
Grey Seal: 1

 Adult Spotted Redshank from Hanson this morning

At the ARC today in 3 visits a Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, 17 Ruff, 6 Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 3 Dunlin and 2 Little Gulls of note

Little Gulls from Hanson

This afternoons sea watch was very poor but good for the sun tan!

14.00-16.00 from the fishing boats with AJG & JTM.

Common Scoter: 14W
Great-crested Grebe: 1 around
Gannet: 2W
Mediterranean Gull: 1E
Sandwich Tern: 9W
Common Tern: 3W
Guillemot: 1 around
Sand Martin: 31 out
On Burrowes this evening a 4th calendar year Great Black-backed Gull bearing a black colour ring coded 628 which I have not been able to track down, its not the usual Norwegian/Danish or a Normandy bird.

 It's been a poor year for Jersey Tigers so far, this is only my second this year

 Sussex Emeralds seem to be having a bumper year as I now into double figure numbers this year

Roseate Tern!

 Whimbrel from Firth this morning looking into the sun

Both the ARC and Burrowes were disappointing early morning in the fact that very few new waders appeared to have dropped in by last nights the thunder storms, however Sand Martins carpeted the ARC.  The Roseate Tern later in the morning was very nice

Juvenile  Green Woodpecker by the visitor centre entrance track

 Roseate Tern From Firth this morning thanks to Joe

 Roseate Tern

 Roseate Tern

 Roseate Tern

 Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull at the fishing boats this afternoon

 14.00-17.00 from the fishing boats with JTM & CP.
Common Scoter: 7E
Fulmar: 3W
Gannet: 11E    58W
Kittiwake: 3W
Yellow-legged Gull: 5 x juveniles around
Sandwich tern: 6E.    11W
Common Tern: 62W
Sand Martin: 15 out
Auk sp: 1E
Harbour Porpoise: 2+
Grey Seal: 1

 Adult Curlew Sandpiper from the Dennis's Hide picnic area this evening

The Silver Barred was definitely a nice surprise new addition to the trap list this morning 

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull!

First thing this morning at The Patch a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull, a juvenile and adult Mediterranean Gull and a North Thames ringed Herring Gull F8ZT, which is regular around Dungeness with very little else. As the boil is still barely a ripple very little is attracted to it.
At the ARC it was much the same as yesterday, though lots more Swifts around.

 This juvenile Cuckoo was viewed from the reserve entrance track this morning also a Hobby over. Another Hobby was hawking over the Long Pits.

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull at the fishing boats this afternoon

14.20-16.05 from the fishing boats with JTM, AJG and CB:
Common Scoter: 11E
Fulmar: 1W
Gannet: 5E   16W
Arctic Skua: 2W
Kittiwake: 19W
Mediterranean Gull: 6W
Yellow-legged Gull: 1 juvenile around
Sandwich tern: 4E
Common Tern: 18W
Swift: 134 out
Sand Martin: 47 out
Harbour Porpoise: 1

 Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull

Fulmar past the fishing boats this afternoon

This evening Firth hide was disappointing as I was convinced the drizzle would have dropped something in, but it was not to be.