A day with some quality but still low on quantity. Seawatching produced nine Whimbrels, 66 Bar-tailed Godwits, 137 Sandwich Terns, the first six Little Terns of the year, two Great Skuas and two Arctic Skuas. Of note on the land were a Red Kite and a Short-eared Owl, 20 Swallows, a Sedge Warbler, seven Lesser Whitethroats and 13 Wheatears.
The Roe Deer was seen at the Long Pits and four Porpoises were feeding offshore.
A trickle of birds passing offshore included four Shelduck, 106 Common Scoters, a Red-breasted Merganser, 54 Bar-tailed Godwits, two Mediterranean Gulls and 108 Sandwich Terns. Very slow on the land with just a Sedge Warbler, six Blackcaps and eight Lesser Whitethroats of note.
Very quiet as the northerly wind continues. Of note from the sea were just 167 Common Scoters, six Whimbrel, 111 Bar-tailed Godwits and 61 Common Terns. The best on the land was just four Blackcaps.
Two Porpoises were feeding offshore.
The cold, brisk NW wind continues and with barely any migration on the land to be seen. Seawatching improved slightly on recent days with 76 Brent Geese, five Shelduck, three Shovelers, 171 Common Scoters, eight Whimbrel, 50 Bar-tailed Godwits and two Mediterranean Gulls of interest.
Four Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
There was a noticeable increase in Wheatear numbers with at least 56 birds across the Point along with eight Willow Warblers, nine Lesser Whitethroats and the Ring Ouzel still in the Desert. A Yellow Wagtail, a Redpoll and seven Siskins flew over.
Three Brown Hares were seen in the Desert.
The first dragonflies of the year were seen with an Azure Damselfly and three Hairy Hawkers at the Long Pits.
Another cold day but with a few migrants on the land including the first Cuckoo of the year, 19 Willow Warblers, 17 Lesser Whitethroats, a Ring Ouzel in the Desert and 24 Wheatears scattered across the Point and a Yellow Wagtail and two Siskins overhead. Seawatching continues to be slow going with just three Egyptian Geese, four Red-breasted Mergansers, eight Whimbrels, two Mediterranean Gulls and 26 Common Terns of note.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
With a cold, strong north-westerly wind blowing migration was at a virtual standstill. The only birds of any note were five Mediterranean Gulls west offshore and five Willow Warblers, ten Chiffchaffs, seven Lesser Whitethroats and two Siskins on the land.
Four Porpoises were feeding offshore and four Brown Hares were seen in the Desert.
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| Brown Hares Lepus europaeus Dungeness 16th April 2024 (Tom Wright) |
A difficult day for birding with a severe gale at times restricting most of the observations to the sea. Even here it was very poor with just 51 Oystercatchers, 30 Mediterranean Gulls, 89 Sandwich Terns, 15 Common Terns and two Manx Shearwaters of note. The first Swift of the year came in over the Point and a single Yellow Wagtail also flew over.
One Porpoise was seen offshore. Much more unusual was a Roe Deer reported from the Long Pits by fishermen.
What was presumably yesterdays Purple Heron was flushed from the Long Pits this morning and then made a couple of circuits of the Point before flying high and south-west and out to sea over the Power Station. A small arrival of migrants on the land included 13 Willow Warblers, the first Sedge Warbler of the spring, 13 Lesser Whitethroats, a Ring Ouzel at the north end of the Long Pits, three Yellow Wagtails and five Siskins. A Redshank, a Buzzard, seven Mediterranean Gulls and five Ravens also flew over the area.
Four Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.
Another very quiet day with just a Sand Martin, 13 Willow Warblers, a Yellow Wagtail and five Siskins of interest on the land and seven Garganey, three Mediterranean Gulls, 59 Sandwich Terns and seven Common Terns offshore.
A Porpoise was feeding offshore and a Brown Hare was seen in the Desert.
A Brimstone butterfly was seen on the beach in front of the power station.
Elsewhere, the Hoopoe was showing really well in the dunes at Greatstone again and a Purple Heron was reported from ARC.
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| Hoopoe Upopa epops Greatstone 13th April 2024 |