Another windy day with showers through the morning produced an unexpectedly good seawatch with 24 Balearic Shearwaters and 13 Sooty Shearwaters passing through along with 405 Gannets, 15 Arctic Skuas, two Great Skuas, 103 Sandwich Terns and 146 Common Terns. There were also four Yellow-legged Gulls at the fishing boats and a Little Gull and two Black Terns at the Patch.
David Walker from DBO website
With the wind falling light overnight and with heavy, overcast conditions for most of the day there was a remarkable arrival of migrants on the land and a large movement of birds offshore.
Land migrants were actually pretty scarce but this was more than made up for by the quality. The obvious highlights were a male Subalpine Warbler which spent most of the day feeding in low broom and gorse near the Old Lighthouse, a male Melodious Warbler initially found in front of the power station before finally ending up in the Old Lighthouse Garden (where it frequently sang), a male Icterine Warbler which turned up in the afternoon in the garden of Southview Cottage and a Nightjar which spent a few minutes sat on the road in front of the power station in the morning. Other notable grounded migrants included a Hobby, a Turtle Dove, a male Redstart, a Grasshopper Warbler, four Reed Warblers, a Garden Warbler and our first three Spotted Flycatchers of the spring.
Seawatching was also very productive with seven Pomarine Skuas and ten Arctic Skuas of note along with a large movement of terns including 2500 Common Terns, 55 Little Terns and 81 Black Terns. A Common Sandpiper, a Great Skua and five Mediterranean Gulls were also seen.
David Walker from DBO website
The Dungeness Bird Observatory website has reported 2-3 Sandwich Terns on 18th and 20th February. Plus a regular Iceland Gull.
The highlight of the day was a first-winter Red-breasted Flycatcher which spent most of the day around the Old Lighthouse or railway station (having been reported by the pagers the previous night) and frequently giving excellent views.
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There was a handful of other grounded migrants including a Woodcock, 22 Blackbirds, two Dartford Warblers, two Blackcaps, four Chiffchaffs, a Firecrest and 20 Goldcrests. There was also a steady trickle of birds overhead during the morning which included a Marsh Harrier, two Rock Pipits, five Tree Sparrows, 95 Chaffinches, eight Bramblings, 30 Siskins and 65 Redpolls.
David Walker from DBO website
The bird of the day was a first-winter Red-necked Phalarope which spent an hour or so in the early afternoon flying between various patches of floating weed just offshore. This, perhaps surprisingly, appears to be the first Observatory record although there have been at least 12 records for the greater Dungeness recording area. The sea also produced a steady, if slow, trickle of birds including 176 Common Scoters, a Black-throated Diver, a Balearic Shearwater, a Manx Shearwater, a Shag, 19 Ringed Plovers, 14 Arctic Skuas, three Great Skuas and 70 Sandwich Terns. Two Mediterranean Gulls and seven Little Gulls were also feeding offshore.There was also a steady movement of birds overhead during the morning with 870 Swallows, 125 House Martins, three Rock Pipits and 300 Goldfinches but it was very quiet in the bushes. From DBO website
The highlight of the day was a very tame Lapland Bunting which spent the morning on the beach between the fishing boats and the New Lighthouse. Finches were passing through in large numbers with 330 Siskins, 570 Goldfinches and 80 Redpolls and a single Brambling. A Marsh Harrier, five Rock Pipits and two Grey Wagtails and 31 Reed Buntings were also of note. The bushes were fairly quiet but two Coal Tits were noteworthy along with nine Redwings, three Blackcaps, 15 Chiffchaffs and 20 Goldcrests. A few birds were also feeding offshore including 12 Arctic Skuas, two Mediterranean Gulls, seven Little Gulls, an adult Yellow-legged Gull and three first-winter Arctic Terns whilst a small southerly movement of wildfowl included 131 Brent Geese, nine Wigeon, 99 Common Scoters, two Red-breasted Mergansers and also six Great Skuas. From DBO website
A relatively calm and bright morning resulted in a good variety of migrants in the area. Most of the interest was overhead where the two Cranes made a couple of sorties to the Point before returning to the ARC Pit. Raptors were in excellent supply with an Osprey perched on one of the pylons near the Observatory, five Common Buzzards, 12 Marsh Harriers, 11 Sparrowhawks and a Merlin all passing through. There were also good numbers of smaller birds passing overhead with four Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 430 Sand Martins, 1000 Swallows, 11 Tree Pipits, 63 Yellow Wagtails, six Grey Wagtails and at least four Crossbills. There were also a few migrants in the bushes with a male Redstart, four Whinchats, 20 Wheatears, two Lesser Whitethroats, three Blackcaps, 15 Willow Warblers and a Pied Flycatcher of note. The sea also provided some interest with 15 Arctic Skuas, nine Little Gulls, a Black Tern and also a Grey Phalarope reported.
David Walker from DBO website.
The highlight of the day was two Ospreys which flew south during the morning. A Little Egret flew south over the area in the evening and 192 Sand Martins, 54 Yellow Wagtails and a Crossbill also passed through. 33 Willow Warblers and a Spotted Flycatcher were seen in the bushes.
David Walker from DBO website
There was a small but varied arrival of migrants on the land this morning with five Tree Pipits, 35 Yellow Wagtails, a Whinchat, three Sedge Warblers, a Garden Warbler, 30 Willow Warblers and a Spotted Flycatcher of note.
David Walker from DBO website
The sea again provided most of the interest, especially around the early evening high-tide, when two Balearic Shearwaters gave excellent views, along with two Pomarine Skuas, ten Arctic Skuas, a Great Skua, two Mediterranean Gulls and two adult Roseate Terns. It was quiet on the land again but a party of seven Crossbills flew over and three Willow Warblers were seen.
David Walker from DBO website.