21/09/2023

A brief sea watch this morning and again this afternoon were definitely after the Lord Mayors Show.

A wander in The Desert had c1,000 Meadow Pipits moving South West also several 100s of Siskin. In the bushes Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps seemed to have arrived in numbers, a Common Whitethroats and a Willow Warbler were seen. At least 7 Wheatears and 6 Black Redstarts were around The Point.

Most of the Waders appear to have left the ARC, though Glossy Ibis and Egrets are still around.

Spotted Flycatcher and Chiffchaff at the ARC car park today

One of 4 Wheatears at the fishing boats today

Juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull at the fishing boats today

Ruff and a Knot with Black-headed Gulls infant of the Firth Fence

What I can only describe as atmospheric images below of yesterdays superb sea watch 

Balearic Shearwaters

Balearic Shearwaters

Balearic Shearwater

Sooty Shearwaters 

19/09/2023

Record images of Balearic Shearwaters passing the fishing boats today

Today's long but rewarding sea watch:

07.45-17.00 RW,OL,DW,PT,MC,CP et al

Common Scoter: 3E   4W 

Great-crested Grebe: 1 present  

Kittiwake: 4W   

Mediterranean Gull: 1W

Sandwich Tern: 726W

Common Tern: 23W      

Arctic Skua: 8W   c6 present  

Guillemot: 8W

Razorbill: 4W

Auk sp: 62W

Balearic Shearwater: 211W

Sooty Shearwater: 9W

Gannet: 562W   28E     

Cormorant: Present n/c

Swallow: 41 out

House Martin: 17 out

Harbour Porpoise: 3+

Grey Seal: 1

Common Seal: 1

Balearic Shearwater

Common Terns

Arctic Skua

 

17/09/2023

Juvenile Arctic Skua at the fishing boats

Sea watching has begun to improve at the fishing boats, 2 Great Skuas today my first of the autumn, c20 Arctic Skuas, c150 each of Sandwich Tern and Gannet, a few each of Balearic Shearwater, Common Tern, Little gull. Guillemot, Razorbill Common Scoter etc. The weather this coming week looks conducive to sea watching though I am usually wrong.

Garganey

At the ARC Curlew and Common Sandpipers, Little Stints, Common Snipe. Golden Plovers along with the regular Garganey, Glossy Ibis's, Egrets and the common wildfowl. Sadly Burrowes is largely very poor, though late afternoon Gulls have been roosting on the islands to the left of Dennis's hide, today 2 Caspian gulls were present. Hobbys can still be seen at Dengemarsh. Around the peninsula Warblers and Chats can be found but in very low numbers.

Glossy Ibis

Kestrel

Convolvulus Hawkmoth

 

14/09/2023

The Dungeness Lifeboat powering past the fishing boats this morning

10.30-12.30 from the fishing boats:

Common Scoter: 1W

Ringed Plover: 7W

Turnstone: 1W

Sandwich Tern: 49W

Common Tern: 1W

Guillemot: 1 on

Razorbill: 1 on

Balearic Shearwater: 1W

Gannet: 12W    4E

Cormorant: 13 on

Swallow: 4W

Harbour Porpoise: 8

Grey Seal: 2

As you can see from the above list the sea watching has not really improved, at least the weather was glorious.

 
I spent the afternoon walking from Dengemarsh to Burrowes. 2 juvenile Hobbys were honing their hunting skills catching Dragonflys very successfully at Springfield Bridge, they were the highlight of my walk around the reserve, 2 Raven flew high over and 2 Juvenile Marsh Harriers quartered the reed beds. Hayfield 3 and 1 are bone dry, Hayfield 2 has had water pumped into it so why not pump 1& 3, both of which when wet seem to be more attractive to birds than 2. Burrowes held a few Little Egrets and a Great White Egret but little else of any note, there were a few Chiffchaffs in the bushes around the reserve and 3 lingering Common Whitethroats. In my walk around the reserve I only encountered 2 couples wandering around the reserve and they were out for a walk, it seems birders realise the heart has been torn out of the reserve so no longer visit. 

A gorgeous pristine Clifton Nonpareil that was attracted to my moth trap this week

12/09/2023

Yesterdays surprise juvenile Long-tailed Skua at the fishing boats

The last couple of days have seen a trickle of Arctic Skuas, Sandwich and Common Terns and Gannets past The Point, certainly not the numbers and variety I would expect this time of year, though the Long-tailed skua was most welcome.

Little Stint and a Dunlin on the ARC today

The ARC is still where most of the birds are to be found, in recent days Curlew, Common and Green Sandpipers, Ruff, Common Snipe, Little Stint, Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers, several Garganey, Great, Cattle and Little Egrets, Glossy Ibis, Peregrine, Hobby and a few warblers. I'm afraid Burrowes is still very disappointing avian wise. 

The view from the very poorly thought out Firth Fence with as is now usual, absolutely no birds there due to them being flushed by the first person to walk out onto the viewpoint. 

Another very poorly thought out venture are the new islands at Makepiece, again no birds present. I doubt that situation will change even when the planned all singing and dancing hide is built.

Juvenile Peregrine creating havoc over the ARC yesterday

A worn Clifton Nonpareil a monster of a moth, the first one to have graced my trap

Euchromius ocellea a very scarce migrant from the continent, a first for my trap.

08/09/2023

100s House Martins around the top of the Water Tower

The paucity of common migrants at Dungeness continued today, with just the odd Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher , Wheatear and Whinchat being seen, warbler numbers were also very low, a few new waders dropped into the ARC 5 Curlew Sandpipers, a Little Stint and 4 Ruff this evening, but numbers generally low. Sea bird passage has stopped completely in this windless hot weather. 

Little Stint from Hanson

Great Whites and Cattle Egret from Hanson

Wheatear at The Pines

4 of the 5 Curlew Sandpipers from Hanson today

Wasp Spider at the observatory today

Abherrant Small Copper at the observatory

Waved Black the first record for my trap

Centre-barred Sallow

 

06/09/2023

Some of the 1,000s of Hose Martins, Swallows and Sand Martins around the Peninsula today

A poor image of a party of 6 migrant Tree Sparrows in The Desert today, the Wood Lark that was also in The Desert absolutely refused to be photographed. Just a few Common Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroats, Blackcaps and Willow Warblers there today with a single Whinchat and 3 Wheatears.

Whinchat in The Desert

Winter is coming, the first Red-throated Diver of the Autumn, this was the highlight of another very poor sea watch this afternoon.

Snipe feeding at the ARC. Also they're the Glossibis, 3 Egret species, Garganey, Golden Plovers, Common Sandpiper and the usual wildfowl.

Pied Flycatcher at top of Long Pits

A very unshowy Spotted Flycatcher at the Long Pits