30/11/2024

Humpback Whale

This Humpback Whale is probably the most amazing site I will see at Dunge this year, certainly something I never expected to ever see at Dungeness. Fingers crossed that it is not sick and won't get stranded on a shallow beach, a magnificent animal. My images don't do it justice but it was difficult to photograph as there was a lot of guesswork as to where it would surface, when it did it wasn't up for long.

 
                                                            Humpback Whale 

                                                                    Humpback Whale

                                                                  Humpback Whale

Humpback Whale

The Blow just before it surfaced

Surfacing with Blow behind it

29/11/2024

 

Merlin on the beach by the fishing boats early morning

Shelduck and Brent Geese passing the fishing boats this morning

07.20-09.20 from the Boats with CP, TH

Brent Goose: 69W  
Shelduck: 26W   
Wigeon: 4W
Common Scoter: 6W    3E
Great-crested Grebe: 10W
Oystercatcher: 4E
Dunlin: 37W
Sandwich Tern: 4W
Kittiwake: 76W
Black-headed Gull:  c250 present 
Mediterranean Gull: 2E
Common Gull:  41W
Herring Gull: c200 present
Great Black-backed Gull: c20 present
Lesser Black-backed Gull: 2 present
Sandwich tern: 4W       
Guillemot: 116W
Razorbill: 259W
Auk: 510W 
Red-throated Diver: 25W  
Sooty Shearwater: 1W @ 07.20 per CP 
Gannet: 124W    11E
Cormorant: present n/c
Merlin: 1 present
Harbour Porpoise: 1
Common Seal: 1
Grey Seal: 2
13.20-14.00
Turnstone: 1W
Kittiwake: 5W
Mediterranean Gull: 1E
Auk sp: 58W
Red-throated Diver: 2W
Gannet: 37W

Guillemots passing this morning

Brent Geese overhead along the beach

Very quiet around the peninsula today. The Black-necked Grebes and a Slavonian Grebe was still on Burrowes Pits with another Black-necked Grebe on the ARC, Scotney was very windswept with little to see of note. 

27/11/2024

A horrible wet and windy morning at the fishing boats, with little passage, 2 Sooty Shearwaters before I arrived was the highlight. This afternoon the juvenile Glaucous Gull returned.

On the reserve the Black-necked Grebes and Slavonian Grebe still reported as being present. 3 Greater White-fronted Geese at Scotney yesterday.

Juvenile Glaucous Gull at the fishing boats today

Juvenile Glaucous Gull on the Tern raft at the ARC, I sure this is the first one I have seen on the ARC
 

Merlin at The fishing boats yesterday

Turnstones at The fishing boats yesterday

Kittiwake at The fishing boats today

Mediterranean Gull at The fishing boats yesterday

Near adult Caspian Gull at The fishing boats yesterday

Red-breasted Merganser at The fishing boats yesterday

25/11/2024

Juvenile Glaucous Gull on the beach at the fishing boats early this morning 

An excellent sea watch today would have been even better had I not left to get some breakfast, thereby missing the undoubted bird of the day the Great Shearwater. Seen by Peter Eerlands soon after I left.

Juvenile Glaucous Gull

A Herring Gull that stood out from the crowd this morning at the fishing boats

One of two Great Northern Divers past the fishing boats today

Black-necked Grebe on Burrowes as the sun came out late afternoon

23/11/2024

In the storm today sea watching was really the only thing to do. 

From the hide this morning and the fishing boats this afternoon1,000+ Gannets and 100s of Kittiwakes and Cormorants dominated the sea, highlights for me were Sooty Shearwater and Velvet Scoter, a couple of Bonxies and frustrating view of skua that I believe was probably a juvenile Pomarine Skua, also several Fulmars, Red-breasted Mergansers and Red-throated Divers but I managed to miss all the Sabines Gulls old age catching up with me.

Velvet Scoter passing the fishing boats this afternoon

Sooty Shearwater passing the fishing boats this afternoon

One of the many Kittiwakes seen today

1 of 3 Sandwich Terns this afternoon

Whooper swans at the southern end of the ARC today

 

21/11/2024

Just shy of 500 Kittiwakes went East as we were watching today

3 of the 4 Sandwich terns feeding off the fishing boats this afternoon

A bitterly cold day around the Peninsula, the sea watch showed promise but the rain moved in.

It was probably just a coincidence that while we were sea watching from the hide this morning, a small duck with a pale belly caught my eye fairly close in, I tried to adjust myself to get a better view but alas it had already gone past, I said to Owen and Richard that I think a Long-tailed Duck has gone through then forgot about it, until and hour later where Graham found a Juvenile Long-tailed Duck on Burrowes, unfortunately the bird had gone by the time arrived, but he showed me his image which reinforced my belief it was the same bird that went past the hide. 

07.50-10.10 & 14.00-15.00 with RW & OL

Brent Goose: 18W      3E
Mallard: 1 in off

Shoveler: 1W
Wigeon: 8W
Teal: 28W
Eider: 1W  (drake)
Common Scoter: 49W    4E
Great-crested Grebe: 12E    3 present
Oystercatcher: 6E       8 present
Sandwich Tern: 5 present
Kittiwake: 494E
Black-headed Gull:  present n/c 
Mediterranean Gull: 42E
Common Gull:  present n/c
Herring Gull: present n/c
Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c
Guillemot: 1E    1W
Razorbill: 2E
Auk: 165E      15W  
Red-throated Diver: 46E    16W        5on    
Gannet: 374E    17W
Cormorant: present n/c
Raven: 1 present
Harbour Porpoise: 3
Common Seal: 2
Grey Seal: 3

Sandwich Tern

                                                   Slavonian and 2 Black-necked Grebes on Burrowes

Slavonian and Black-necked Grebe

Black-necked Grebe

1w Caspian gull on Burrowes, 1 of 5 Caspian Gull present there today

A Ring-tail Hen Harrier disappearing towards the Hay fields

20/11/2024

1˚ in NW wind this morning, so not surprising the watch was poor.  

08.00-09.00 from the Hide with RW 

Brent Goose: 15W

Shelduck: 5W

Common Scoter: 15W

Great-crested Grebe: 3E    2 present

Dunlin: 3W

Kittiwake: 3W.  38E

Black-headed Gull:  present n/c 

Common Gull:  present n/c

Herring Gull: present n/c

Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c

Guillemot: 1W

Auk: 7W.  8E   

Red-throated Diver: 1W    10E    2 on      

Gannet: 38W        9E

Cormorant:  383W         62E

Starling: 40W

Common Seal: 1

Grey Seal: 1

A very quiet days birding around the area, on the reserve the Grebes and and the Egrets still present, the only addition was a female Common Scoter on Denge Marsh.

Female Pochard from Hanson this morning, very little else of note there.

The local Little Owls were enjoying being out of the wind and in the sunshine

Polish ringed Black-headed Gull TJVV still at the fishing boats this afternoon in its 5th winter here.