14/09/2020

Submarine making its way down channel was probably the highlight of the sea watch

I joined AJG and CP for a very disappointing sea watch at the fishing boats this morning.

06.10-08.10

Common Scoter: 10E     4W

Great-crested Grebe: 2 o/s

Gannet: 37 o/s

Cormorant: 9o/s

Greenshank: 1 heard calling

Turnstone: 9 on beach

Knot: 1W

Dunlin: 4E

Arctic Skua: 3 o/s

Yellow-legged Gull: 1 on beach briefly

Black Tern: 1W

Little Tern: 1 juvenile o/s 

Sandwich Tern: 173W

Common Tern: 4W

Auk sp: 2E

Swallow: 43 out

House Martin: 24 out

Harbour Porpoise: 6+

Grey Seal: 2

Juvenile Little Tern at the fishing boats this morning

1st cal yr Yellow-legged Gull briefly on the beach

Wheatear

A slog around the Desert and Long Pits found a few Wheatears, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps along with the usual Stonechats but little else was seen.

Stonechats in The Desert

Chiffchaff

Glossy Ibis with 3 Great White Egrets and a Little Egret

The Glossy Ibis was still on the ARC this morning along withe flocks of Knot, Golden Plover and Lapwing, 3+ Great White Egrets, 3 Black-necked Grebes and a Hobby of note. At least 3 Cattle egrets still in the hay fields per MH.

A long wander out to Scotney from home this afternoon saw 42 Yellow Wagtails with the cattle on the sward, 8 Tree Sparrows, a few Corn Buntings and 100s of feral geese.

Life history of Great Black-backed Gull 99L seen on the reserve on 08/09/2020

Sunday 13/09/2020

06.00-09.00 from the fishing boats with CP and AJG who kindly kept the log:

Common Scoter: 2W  3E

Great-crested Grebe: 2 around

Gannet: 188W

Cormorant: 28W

Ringed Plover: 1W

Turnstone: 7W

Sanderling: 21W

Knot: 10W

Dunlin: 30 W

Sandwich Tern: 688W

Little Tern: 1W

Common Tern: 28W

Arctic Skua: 8W  3 around

Guillemot: 2W   1E

Auk SP: 3W

Swallow: 13 out

Harbour Porpoise: 12

Grey Seal: 2

White Stork from the Southern England reintroduction scheme as it flew over The Point this morning

A slog around The Point, Desert and Long Pits saw the usual 2 Black Redstarts at the Polish Memorial, a few each of Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Common and Lesser Whitethroats,  c20 Stonechats and 3 Wheatears of note. SP trapped a Willow Warbler among the Chiffchaffs which could well be the last I see this year.

I had just met JD at the Long Pits when he spotted a White Stork which circled then flew west. An hour later I was at home having brunch in the garden when presumably the same bird appeared low in front then over my house. It was low enough for me to get images that allowed me to get a partial reading of the Darvic ring, which confirmed that it was one of the Southern England release scheme birds.

A short while later it flew in front and over my house in Lydd

On the ARC the Glossy Ibis was still present along with 2 Black-necked Grebes and the usual waders, Herons and wild fowl. There were at least 4 Cattle Egrets still around the hay fields today but little else of note.

Marsh Mallow Moth the undoubted highlight of last nights catch

 

10-11/09/2020

Yesterday and today AJG has continued to do the early morning sea watch and an afternoon sea watch from the fishing boats, they can only be described politely as disappointing.

 Great Spotted Woodpecker at The Point

1 of at least 3 Black Redstarts usually around the Polish memorial

Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs have started arriving on the peninsular in numbers, overhead Siskins and Meadow Pipit numbers are increasing, while Willow Warblers, Common Whitethroats and Lesser Whitethroat numbers are falling. I flushed a Short-eared Owl from The Desert yesterday, though the highlight was a party of 19 Common Buzzards over the observatory that gradually drifted off in land. Today there were still a few Wheatears and a Whinchat around, also still lots of Stonechats all around the peninsular, there were still good numbers of Yellow Wagtails around, especially where there are cattle.

Around the hay fields at least 6 Cattle Egrets, a nice Wood Sandpiper and 2 Green Sandpipers and plenty of Yellow Wagtails. Great White Egret numbers seem to have increased so if we get a still evening I'll check the roost. At least Hobby's are still around Denge Marsh chasing the many Hirundines.
On the ARC the Glossy Ibis still in residence, as is the Little Gull, up to 4 Black-necked Grebes and 6 Garganey are present, along with a Little Stint, several Bar-tailed Godwits and Ruff, 200+ each of Golden Plover and Lapwing, a few Dunlin and Common Snipe, Great White Egrets and the usual wildfowl.

Short-eared Owl in The Desert

Sparrowhawk in The Desert

2 of a party of 19 Common Buzzards over the observatory yesterday

Wheatear

Brown Hare flushed today from the Broome behind Jarmans

Wood Sandpiper on hay field 1

Some of the 6 Cattle Egrets at hay field 3

Some of the 6 Cattle Egrets at hay field 3

1 of 10+ Clouded Yellows I've seen around the peninsular

Makepiece Hide

I checked out Makepiece hide this afternoon and was surprised to find it empty considering the number of people walking around the reserve. You are required to wear a face mask while in the hide which is not a problem, there is a hand sanitiser when you go in and the benches are socially distanced. Without the back seats using a scope is problematic though can be done but not very comfortably. I found it difficult to concentrate, as I could hear people walking by and kept thinking I should leave to give them a chance to come in, but no one attempted to come in. However after 15 minutes in there given that this afternoon was warm with just a light breeze I was frozen, which explains why the hide was empty. As both doors are open and the hatches in front of the benches have been removed, thus creating a gale force through draught, I am certainly not looking forward to going in there on any windy day, also I imagine it will be very wet in there if it rains, so probably unusable most days in the winter and late autumn. You won't have to worry about Covid 19 killing you in the hide the frost bite will get you first. 

09/09/2020

Sea watch this morning by AJG showed some improvement on recent days.

06:15-08:15 from the fishing boats:

Common Scoter: 2E

Fulmar: 2W

Balearic Shearwater: 1W

Gannet: 181W

Cormorant: present n/c

Dunlin: 4E

Arctic Skua: 4W

Sandwich Tern: 328W

Common Tern: 106W

Short-eared Owl top of the Long Pits this morning

Most the morning was spent around the Long Pits, Desert and trapping area where of note there were c50 each of Common Whitethroat, Blackcap and Chiffchaffs,  c10 Willow Warblers, c20 Lesser Whitethroats, 10+ Wheatear, c20 Yellow Wagtails, 2 Whinchat, 2 Spotted Flycatchers, 3 Black Redstarts, a single Common Redstart, 2 Great-spotted Woodpeckers, a Cuckoo, c15 Siskin, 3 Sparrowhawks, a Marsh Harrier and a Short-eared Owl. Also a steady trickle of Hirundines over.

Burrowes early morning was very disappointing with just a single Common Sandpiper of any note.

The ARC today continues to host the Glossy Ibis, 3 Black-necked Grebes, Great White Egrets, 3 Ruff and 4 Dunlin among the Golden Plover and Lapwing, also c50 Knot pushed off Lade Sands by the tide. At least 1 Cattle Egret remains around the hay fields. A sea watch from the boats this afternoon was very poor with the highlights being 2+ Grey Seals, 3+ Harbour Porpoises and an Arctic Skua as I left.  

Whinchat top of the Long Pits this morning

Red Fox top of the Long Pits this morning

Chiffchaff

Willow Warblers

2 Great-spotted Woodpeckers

One of two Spotted Flycatchers

Common Redstart

Black Redstart

Cattle Egret in  hay field 1

The Glossy Ibis still present today, has now been present for a month

06/09/2020

Another poor early morning sea watch for AJG who kindly sent me the details:

06.00-07.00 from the fishing boats:

Common Scoter: 4W

Fulmar: 1W

Gannet: 16 feeding offshore

Fulmar: 1W

Ringed Plover:  2E

Oystercatcher: 8E

Sandwich Tern: 664W out of Lade Bay

The forecast is for the weather to get stormy next weekend so hopefully the sea watching will improve.

Glossy still here with all the usual avifauna

A morning and evening visit to the ARC found the Glossy, a Little Gull (different from the Denge Marsh bird) 2 Black-necked Grebes, 2 Garganey, a distant Bittern, a Little Stint, 4 Ruff, 4 Dunlin, c40 Knot, c150 Golden plover, 2 Ringed Plovers, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 6 Black-tailed Godwits, the usual Common Terns and all the usual wildfowl and Marsh Harriers. 

Garganey

A very distant Bittern

No.7 coming in

All 7 Cattle Egrets at Denge Marsh

Around Denge Marsh7 Cattle Egrets were the largest flock I have seen at Dungeness, 6 Great White Egrets, Short-eared Owl, a showy Little Gull, Greenshank, a Grasshopper Warbler I kicked up as walked through the rank grass by the wooden bridge on the footpath to Lydd, 2 Kingfishers, a minimum of 20 Whinchats around the whole of Denge Marsh, 100s of Hirundines good numbers of Common and Lesser Whitethroats, Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs, in total for the day 98 species and i never made it to the sea. 

A Showy Little Gull on Denge Marsh

A Showy Little Gull on Denge Marsh

Nice footpath post!

One of 2 Kingfishers around Hookers today

Social distancing Hobbys over Hookers today

Pale Eggar in the trap this morning, apparently a first for Dungeness area.

A Delicate

Hummingbird Hawkmoth back in the garden again today