Dungeness Bird Observatory

A light passage of Gulls, Gannets and Auks west past the Fishing Boats this morning with the highlights being singles of Sooty and Balearic Shearwater. There was plenty of gulls on the beach however with five Caspian (4 juvs and a 3cy) and four Yellow-legged. #kentbirding

Red-breasted Flycatcher - Dungeness

Dave Bunney has just found a Red-breasted Flycatcher in his garden(South View), Dungeness lunchtime

View from track/NessCafe trailer

Feeding in base of conifers

#kentbirding
#UKrarebirds

A juvenile Pallid Harrier was mobbed over the Trapping Area by a few Carrion Crows for a minute or so, it then departed low to the north and no further sign since. #kentbirding

Wryneck at the south end of the Teasel Bank #kentbirding

13000 Swallows, 500 House Martins 2780 Meadow Pipits, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 50 Skylarks, 100 Siskins and 30 Reed Buntings moving south-east out to sea this morning. Passage still on going. #kentbirdmigrationday

Another good visible migration morning with 1800 Meadow Pipits, 1450 Swallows and 150 Siskins all heading south-east out to sea. Two Glossy Ibis came in off the sea and went north-west at c11am. Good sprinkling of common migrants on the land also. #kentbirding

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A good morning in the recording area with an increase in Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, couple of Firecrests and a few Song Thrushes. Lots of overhead migration too with 7000 Swallows, 570 Siskin and an Osprey (at 08:20hrs) heading out to sea in a E/SE direction the highlights. #kentbirding

A superb all day seawatch with twelve hours of coverage at the Fishing Boats. The Sooty Shearwater count is the second highest for the Observatory. #kentbirding

An amazing 82 Sooty Shearwaters have flown west past the Fishing Boats by 9am, mostly very distant. Also two Balearic and a Manx Shearwater. #kentbirding

Juvenile Turtle Dove flushed out of the Trapping Area, flew once around the Point before going back north #kentbirding

The red lined bird was originally ringed at Flint, on the 8th August and just six days later on the 14th was caught at Dungeness, travelling 382km SE. The most recent control is the yellow lined bird, ringed at Esslemont, Aberdeenshire on 29th July, travelling 742km SSE to Dunge.

The blue and green lined birds were caught on the same net round at Dungeness on 18th July. The green bird was ringed at Seaton Wetlands, Devon on the 22nd June as a nestling and the blue bird was ringed at Nosterfield, North Yorkshire as a juvenile on 29th June, travelling 405km SSE.

We have ringed hundreds of Sand Martins this autumn and have caught four with rings on from elsewhere. Three of our birds were caught at Icklesham the night after their capture at Dungeness.

Each coloured line shows a Sand Martin, and the details of the controls are as follows:

Another good day again with 14 Glossy Ibis out to sea SE at c09:20hrs (plus another eight on the RSPB reserve), Wryneck still in the Desert, seven Whinchats, two Redstarts and a Pied Flycatcher amongst a small fall of passerines and over 3500 Swallows through the Point going SE/S #kentbirding

Some brilliant visible migration of hirdundines today resulted in 15550 Swallows, 6270 Sand Martins (plus another 800 roosted) and 78 House Martins flying S/SE out to sea. One flock of a thousand Swallows was spectacular early in the morning. #kentbirding

A fantastic morning in the recording area with 94 Arctic Skuas, 61 Balearic, four Sooty and a Manx Shearwater, a Leach's Petrel and 13 Black Terns all heading west. A few raptors going out-east included Osprey, a Hobby and a flock of seven Honey Buzzards at 11:45hrs. #kentbirding

Some more exciting seawatching today, with plenty more Terns on the move and this brings the month's total of Sandwich Terns to over ten thousand west! #kentbirding

So far past the Fishing Boats this morning: 31 Black Tern, 7 Balearic, two Manx and 10 Sooty Shearwaters all west. #kentbirding

Some fantastic seawatching today with all day passage, the highlight being a constant stream of Sandwich Terns heading west with over 6500 recorded but also Curlew Sandpiper, 299 Little Terns, 24 Black Terns, 60+ Arctic Skuas, a Sooty Shearwater and 52 Balearic Shearwaters. #kentbirding

Osprey south over the Observatory and out over the sea at 11:12hrs #kentbirding

This morning's seawatch is now on @trektellen.bsky.social. There was a very good passage of Terns, Arctic Skuas and Balearic Shearwaters as well as the highest count of Bar-tailed Godwit for the autumn so far.

A good day in the recording area, with a break in the weather resulting in four Grasshopper Warblers and a Pied Flycatcher ringed amongst a small arrival of warblers and other passerines. Over the sea, four Balearic Shearwaters flew west. #kentbirding

1450 Sand Martins and 1150 Swallows out to sea south-east this morning, and the first Firecrest of the autumn is on the Point amongst a small arrival of grounded migrants. #vismig

Three Pied Flycatchers on the Point so far this morning (one at the Old Lighthouse and another two in a private garden) #kentbirding

It's been a decent afternoon with an Icterine Warbler and a Pied Flycatcher showing well in the Moat, although both haven't been seen for about an hour now #kentbirding

Well that was a decent prediction! This mornings Zitting Cisticola (Fan-tailed Warbler) at Galloways being the first record for the wider Dungeness area.

There's a ZITTING CISTICOLA at Galloway's, Lydd Ranges by the large X Post. It's been showing well in flight, singing when it does but has generally spent a long time hidden away in the vegetation. Still showing at 10:15hrs.

A busier day in the recording area yesterday with an increase in common migrants in the area, most of which being warblers, while on the Butterfly front a minimum of eight Clouded Yellows were seen. Blog now updated: dungenessbirdobs.org.uk

Yesterday's sightings are now on the blog. There was a scattering of migrants both grounded and flying over including a Grasshopper Warbler and Cuckoo: www.dungenessbirdobs.org.uk