13/05/2021

The highlight of a very dull sea watch was the arrival of this RIB carrying 18 refugees

07.00-09.00 with CP

Common Scoter: 33E   4W

Red-throated Diver: 1W

Great-crested Grebe: 4 around

Fulmar: 1W

Gannet: 178W     46E

Kittiwake: 13W

Sandwich Tern: 6E

Common Tern: 5E

Arctic Skua: 1W

Guillemot: 3W

Harbour Porpoise: 6+

Yesterdays Purple Heron over the Long Pits, appeared to fly out to the reserve

A walk around the reserve today heard a Bittern calling and glimpses of Bearded Tits and the usual reed bed warblers. A Greenshank with the Redshanks in the hay fields, it was good to see 4 Lapwing chicks, how many if any will survive the onslaught from the many predators is another matter. It looks as though the small colony of Black-headed Gulls at the southern end of the ARC has been raided and destroyed by Badgers. The Glossy Ibis is still making appearances on the ARC and at Cooks Pool, also a breeding plumaged Great White Egret has returned to the reserve, Cuckoo's seem to be very scarce on the reserve.

The Hobbys have been putting on superb displays around the reserve when the sun comes out

Dropping onto its prey

Common Terns are making themselves heard all around the reserve

Dunlin in front of Firth

Greenshank on the hay field

Yellow Wagtail on Dengemarsh flood

At last I've started to get a few moths in my traps

Silver Y

First Angleshades of the year

Wormwood Pug I think?

11/05/2-21

One of yesterdays very distant Pomarine Skuas

3 of the 4 Mute Swans that flew East this morning, rarer than Poms on a sea watch

 06.00-11.00 with CP

Mute Swan: 4E

Brent Goose: 13E

Garganey: 1E

Mallard: 3E

Teal: 5E

Velvet Scoter: 2E

Common Scoter: 274E   25

Red-breasted Merganser: 1E

Red-throated Diver: 2E    2W

Black-throated Diver: 2E

Fulmar: 2E    2W

Great-crested Grebe: 5 around

Gannet: 459E     55W

Cormorant: 56 around

Oystercatcher: 1E

Kittiwake: 23E    6W

Sandwich Tern: 108E

Little Tern: 2E

Common Tern: 132E

Commic Tern: 327E

Arctic Tern: 142E 

Great Skua: 2E

Pomarine Skua: 1E @ 09.52

Arctic Skua: 5E

Guillemot: 5E

Auk sp: 8E   2W

Swallow: 17 in

Grey Seal: 1

Harbour Porpoise: 16+ under recorded.

One of the many Harbour Porpoises off shore lately

Female Yellow Wagtail collecting nest material at Dengemarsh this evening

1 of several Hobby's around Dengemarsh this evening

The Dengemarsh Black Swan is becoming quite tame

Brown Hare at Dengemarsh over the weekend

Whimbrel at Dengemarsh over the weekend

Lesser Whitethroat at Dengemarsh over the weekend

Wheatear at Dengemarsh over the weekend

07/05/2021

A poor 2 hour watch this morning!

06.00-08.00

Greylag Goose: 2 in off

Common Scoter: 14E

Great-crested Grebe: 4 around

Fulmar: 1E  1W

Gannet: 72E    38W

Cormorant: 47 off shore

Hobby: 1 in

Oystercatcher: 2E

Kittiwake: 5E   1W

Mediterranean Gull: 1E  1st summer

Little Tern: 2E

Common Tern: c200 around The Patch

Commic: 45E

Arctic Skua: 1E

Auk sp: 31E.  4W

Swift: 1 in

Harbour Porpoise: 6+

Grey Seal: 1

As I had to visit Canterbury Hospital this morningI thought I'd go to Grove ferry afterwards, when I left the hospital I only got as far as the roundabout by the city walls before I'd had enough of the traffic and headed straight back to Dungeness, I feel sorry for anyone who regularly use that Road.

As I made my way back to Dungeness I received news of a Wood Warbler the top of the Long pits. On arrival a Grasshopper Warbler was singing there and did so on and off for most of the afternoon, the Wood Warbler was singing but was now very showy. In the lighthouse garden a Pied Flycatcher and a Spotted Flycatcher and a Garden Warbler, as the garden is so overgrown viewing was difficult.

Pied Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher

I went back to the top end of the Long Pits where the Wood warbler was still showing and the Grasshopper Warbler was still reeling, being joined by another Spotted flycatcher and a couple more Garden Warblers. 

Despite my best efforts I completely messed up the image of the superb Wood Warbler😅 

06/05/2021

One of this mornings Pomarine Skuas

 0630-12.00 with AJG, CP, PT, RB et al

Brent Goose: 1E

Greylag Goose: 2 in

Common Scoter: 113E    7W

Red-throated diver: 4E

Black-throated diver: 3E

Great-crested Grebe: 4 around

Fulmar: 1E  1W

Gannet: 83E     21W

Cormorant: present n/c

Oystercatcher: 1E

Whimbrel: 8E

Bar-tailed Godwit: 8E

Dunlin: 2E

Kittiwake: 11E

Sandwich tern: 57E

Common Tern: 156E

Commic Tern: 37E

Pomarine Skua: 3E

Arctic Skua: 2E

Auk sp: 2E    6W

Swallow: 4 out

Black Redstart: 1 male

Harbour Porpoise: 4

Grey Seal: 1

Common Seal: 1

Male Black Redstart collecting food for its young at the back of the sea watch hide this morning

At The Patch this afternoon 192 Common Terns resting on the beach and feeding over the boil,  also 3 Mediterranean Gulls (2 X 1st summers & a 2nd summer). 2 Great and an Arctic Skua passed offshore with a few Gannets and Common Scoter.

Dengemarsh at Sun set

An evening visit to the reserve when the wind had dropped out completely was very pleasant, with Sedge and Reed Warblers singing all round, a Bittern booming and Water Rails squealing, several Yellow Wagtails flitting around and Corn and Reed Buntings jangling and wheezing, Redshank doing what Redshanks do best, alarming all around the hay fields as I made my way to Burrowes. Where c100 Oystercatchers were roosting on the islands and 4 Hobby's were hawking along the back edge of the lake and over the Open Pits.

04/05/2021

Manx Shearwaters today

 06.45-10.00 

Shoveler: 4W

Velvet Scoter: 3W

Common Scoter: 41E      1W

Red-throated Diver: 1E

Black-throated Diver: 1W

Great-crested Grebe: 27W

Fulmar: 19W     2E

Manx Shearwater: 56W

Gannet: 32W      122E

Cormorant: 46W     9E

Oystercatcher: 1W

Whimbrel: 2W

Common Tern: 27W

Great Skua: 2E

Arctic Skua: 2E

Guillemot: 4E

Auk sp: 17E

Swift: 9 in

House Martin: 4 in

Glossy Ibis at the ARC today

Freshly arrived Wheatear

Numerous Whitethroats now in around the reserve

Little Ringed Plover at Scotney

30/04/2021

An awful image of a superb flock of 18 Velvet Scoter

06.00-17.00 joined at various times by SO,PT,CT,RO,GH,CP,DW et al

Brent Goose: 176E

Mute Swan: 10W  (2 + 2 + 6 then drifted back east)

Velvet Scoter: 18E in 1 flock        3W

Common Scoter: 458E

Red-throated Diver: 25E      1W  1 on 

Black-throated Diver: 3E

Great Northern Diver: 1E

Fulmar: 9E    2W

Great-crested Grebe:  2E    4 around

Gannet: 231E     17W

Cormorant: 55E

Peregrine: 2 around

Oystercatcher: 20E   7W

Sanderling: 23E

Dunlin:  38E 

Whimbrel: 36E

Bar-tailed Godwit: 12E

Turnstone: 2E

Kittiwake: 13E

Black-headed Gull:Present n/c

Little Gull: 5E

Mediterranean Gull: 3E   

Common Gull: Present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: Present n/c

Iceland Gull: 1 regular bird

Herring Gull: Present n/c

Sandwich Tern: 78E

Little Tern: 14E

Commic Tern: 4,330E

Common Tern: 495E

Arctic Tern: 360E

Black Tern: 1E

Great Skua: 10E

Pomarine Skua: 1E @14.50

Arctic Skua: 9E

Guillemot: 3E

Auk sp: 19E

Sand Martin: 1 in

Swallow: 42 in 

White-beaked Dolphin: 1E

Harbour Porpoise: 20+

Grey Seal: 1

Stunning Sea Watch!

Just a snap shot of the 1,000s of Common and Arctic Terns past Dungeness today

I doubt I'll ever see such a fantastic spectacle involving such huge numbers of birds at Dungeness again in my lifetime.

06.00-15.30 with CP, AJG, DW, CT, LW, OL, et al

Brent Goose: 1,210E.  1W

Shelduck: 2E

Teal: 4E

Velvet Scoter: 1E

Common Scoter: 57E    3W

Red-breasted Merganser: 4E  

Red-throated Diver: 26E   1 on 

Black-throated Diver: 3E

Great Northern Diver: 1W

Fulmar: 2W

Great-crested Grebe:  19 around

Great White Egret: 1 in off

Gannet: 268E

Cormorant:Present n/c

Oystercatcher: 22E 

Sanderling: 25E

Dunlin:4E 

Whimbrel: 19E

Bar-tailed Godwit: 39E

Kittiwake: 14E

Black-headed Gull:Present n/c

Mediterranean Gull: 4E   1W

Common Gull: Present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: Present n/c

Iceland Gull: 1 regular bird

Herring Gull: Present n/c

Sandwich Tern: 178E

Little Tern: 274E

Roseate Tern: 4E

Common Tern: 23,190E

Arctic Tern: 4,840

Black Tern: 84E

Great Skua: 3E

Arctic Skua: 11E

Guillemot: 17E

Auk sp: 58E

Sand Martin: 2 in

House Martin: 4 In

Swallow: 11 in 

Harbour Porpoise: 20+

Grey Seal: 1

I'd loved to have spent more time photographing the spectacle, but all eyes were needed to count the huge numbers of birds passing.

Another huge flock passing the Bouy

1 of the 274 Little Terns

Red-breasted Mergansers

No Poms today this one was yesterday

While the Tern spectacle was unravelling 3 RIB loads of refugees arrived

Coming ashore through The Patch

Border Force in hot pursuit

The second RIB arrives in front the sea watch hide

Border Force taking the empty RIBS back to Dover to auction for the Home Office Xmas Party😀

Border Force intercept and recover a RIB load before they make land

Helicopter takes a sick refugee to Hospital

Dungeness pebbles are no respecter of all terrain vehicles

Yesterdays superb Wood Warbler at Scotney Copse found by Paul

Male and female Ring Ouzel in Dengemarsh Gully yesterday through the heat haze