30th September 2021

 Light SW overcast with rain shower mid morning. Wind strengthening by late morning.

Meadow Pipit was the species of the day with a steady southerly passage for most on the morning with around 1,420 being recorded. However not much else was moving overhead apart from nine alba Wagtails, one Grey Wagtail,  one Reed Bunting, 170 Swallows and 40 House Martins. 

47 Chiffchaffs were noted including around 20 at Hope Point. Other warblers included five Blackcaps and a single Lesser Whitethroat. A Grey Plover was probably the most unusual sighting in Bockhill  terms.

A short hour long sea-watch from the bay between 12 and 1.00 produced 2 Sooty Shearwaters, seven Sandwich Terns, 35 Brent Geese, three red-throated Divers single Arctic Skua, razorbill and Guillemot and 33 Med gulls.

Brendan

Record shots of Arctic Skua going down channel (BR)

28th September 2021

 Another blustery day with strong southerly winds and the occasional shower.

Again coverage of the area was limited, (Paddock, Freedown and Farm Wood) producing 26 Chiffchaffs, three Blackcaps and not a lot else. Overhead meadow Pipits were again on the move with at least 140 and there was a steady trickle of Swallows along with a couple of House Martins and a single Sand Martin. 

An hours sea watching late morning produced six Balearic Shearwaters, one Sooty Shearwater, a Bonxie, 34 Med Gulls, two Red-throated Divers, two Shags, two Common Scoter  and 40 Gannets

Brendan

Chiffchaff numbers have declined over the last couple of days (BR)

27th September 2021

 Heavy rain and strong Southerly winds limited birding in the morning. Clearing in the afternoon

With only limited coverage of the area it was difficult to drawn any conclusions about warbler numbers although there seemed to be a general decline.

The sea which has been very quiet all autumn had plenty of birds, mainly Gannets and Kittiwakes. A short sea watch late afternoon produced a single Balearic Shearwater, 220 Kittiwakes, a Shag, 55 Med Gulls, four Common Terns and eight Sanderlings.

Brendan & Nigel 

26th September 2021

Sunny with strong SSW breeze becoming overcast by 09:30.

As usual migrants were mainly in the Paddock and around the Oldstairs to Hope Point area where warblers again predominated, We had seven Blackcaps, three Lesser Whitethroats, three Whitethroats and 103 Chiffchaffs.  Other grounded birds included a Spotted Flycatcher, a Wheatear, and to proove that autmn birding had really arrived, 12 Stonechats and two Reed Buntings. 

Overhead moving SW were 11 Alba, one Grey and one yellow Wagtail, 57 Meadow Pipits, six Skylarks and a steady movement of hirundines that included four Sand Martins, 65 Swallows and 358 House Martins.

Brendan, Nigel, Richard, Jack

(NJ)

25th September

 Light SSW strengthening during the morning. Fog first thing.

Not too much change to report with lots of Chiffchaffs (130), one Willow Warbler, three Whitethroats, three Lesser Whitethroats, 18 Blackcaps, five Stonechats and one Spotted Flycatcher.

Overhead there was a steady trickle of Meadow Pipits throughout the morning (140) plus 73 Swallows, six House Martins and a Sand Martin.

Undeterred we will no doubt try again tomorrow.

Jack, Nigel and Brendan

Spotted Flycatcher - Paddock (BR)

24th September 2021

 SW brisk breeze.

As usual most grounded birds were warblers and found in the Paddock although a small number are now being seen in and around the Farm. The totals were 11 Blackcaps, one Whitethroat and 71 Chiffchaffs. Other notable species included two Spotted Flycatchers, two Stonechats and two Great Spotted Woodpeckers/

Feeding overhead were probably  c.1000 hirundines of which 700 were Swallows and the rest House Martins. 

Jack

22nd September 2021

 Light WSW, clear and sunny

Chiffchaffs again dominated today's proceedings with at least 187 recorded again mostly in the Paddock. The other main feature of the day was a heavy northerly movement of House Martins. A rough estimate was of around 4,500 birds although in the light of counts from Sandwich Bay this is almost certainly a gross under estimate.

Other birds of note today included two Spotted Flycatchers, one Willow Warbler, 62 Blackcaps, Three Whitethroats, five Lesser Whitethroats, five Stonechats, one Wheatear, two Yellow Wagtails, two Grey Wagtails and four Reed Buntings

Brendan

Chiffchaff

Chiffchaff

Willow Warbler

21st September 2021

 A light westerly wind becoming NW during the morning. Clear, sunny and warm.

A fairly busy sky this morning with around 2,650 Swallows moving NW up the coast and a steady stream of Meadow Pipits (240) coming in and moving NW.  Also overhead seven Skylarks in off, two Reed Buntings, three Tree pipits, three Yellow Wagtails and four Grey Wagtails.

Good numbers of warblers on the deck including 92 Chiffchaffs, one Willow Warbler, 39 Blackcaps, one Whitethroat, 10 Lesser Whitethroats. Again the Paddock was the warbler hot spot but there were 25 Chiffchaffs in the Farm Wood, another sign of and advancing autumn. 

Other birds of note included a Spotted Flycatcher on the Leas, four Stonechats and a single Goldcrest. 

Brendan

Spotted Flycatcher - Leas

Chiffchaff- Paddock 

20th September 2021

A wander around the Paddock and Farm this afternoon produced very little apart from two Whitethroats, a Blackcap and 11 Chiffchaffs. Birds were outnumbered by Red Admiral and Peacock Butterflies.

Jack 

19th September 2021

 Very calm today, even the flag on the old Coastguard lookout post was not moving.

Today grounded birds included a Spotted Flycatcher, a Stonechat and, as usual with warblers predominating, 19 Blackcaps, three Lesser Whitethroats, six Whitethroats and 44 Chiffchaffs.

Other birds of note were a flock of 28 Great Black-Backed Gulls flying upchannel, three Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Swift and two Ravens being bullied by the local Jackdaws.

Many Peacock Butterflies and a Clouded Yellow in the Paddock.

John, Nigel, Richard, Simon, Jack.

18th September 2021

With seven of us out it was disappointing that there were very few birds today, warblers were again mainly in the Paddock with seven Blackcaps, one Lesser Whitethroat, three Whitethroats, two Willow Warblers and 35 Chiffchaffs. Grounded elsewhere there were two Stonechats and a Wheatear. 

Overhead moving SW were 40 Meadow Pipits and singles of Grey and Yellow Wagtails.

Brendan, Gerald, Julian, Nigel, Phil, Steve, Jack. 

17th September 2021

 Light SW, mostly sunny

Early morning saw some good overhead movement for a change with 2,310 House Martins moving south along the clifftop and 110 Meadow Pipits, three Yellow Wagtails,  four Grey Wagtails and a Golden Plover over. 

It was apparent that there had been a significant arrival of Chiffchaffs with at least 50 in the Paddock and a total of 62 for the whole area. Other Warblers included a single Willow Warbler, 24 Blackcaps, six Whitethroats and seven Lesser Whitethroats. The only other birds of note were two Wheatears and a single Stonechat

Nigel had a Tree Pipit over his garden in Kingdown early morning and Richard had a Pied Flycatcher in Oldstairs in the evening. 

Brendan, Jack and John Cantelo

Chiffchaff

Wheatear

16th September 2021

In the light SW breeze there were very few warblers apart from four Blackcaps, three Whitethroats, two Lesser Whitethroats and 20 Chiffchaffs in the Paddock and on the Leas. There was a Redstart at the Farm and a Stonechat at the Freedown.

Whilst standing at the Monument there was a small movement NE of 25 Swallows, five House Martins, a Sand Martin and amongst them a  Red-rumped Swallow.

John C.

15th September

 A brisk NNW breeze, with overcast skies.

A change in wind direction produced three Firecrests but not a lot else of note. Common migrants remain very low with 19 Chiffchaffs, one Willow Warbler, 10 Blackcaps, two Lesser Whitethroat, three Common Whitethroat and single Redstart and Stonechat. Overhead there were four Grey Wagtails, one Yellow Wagtail, a Rock Pipit and single Snipe and Golden Plover

Brendan

Firecrest -Paddock 

Stonechat-Clifftop

14th September

 Light E wind becoming SE later. Overcast with rain by midday

Conditions looked promising this morning but yet again there was not too much to get excited about.

Chiffchaffs (25) are now the dominant warbler species with numbers of Willow Warblers (2) falling away sharply. Other warblers today included a Grasshopper Warbler in the Paddock at McSwiggan's, nine Common Whitethroats, six Lesser Whitethroats and seven Blackcaps. 

Single Whinchat and Wheatear were seen along with the first Stonechat of the autumn at the Gun Emplacement.

Overhead there were four Grey Wagtails, four Yellow Wagtails, a Tree Pipit, 12 House Martins, six Swallows and two Golden Plovers. A group of three Pintail flew south but there was nothing else moving over the sea.

Jack and Brendan

First Stonechat of the autumn

12th September 2021

A light SW breeze brought many more birds today and our total of warblers reached 215, We had two Sedge Warblers, 57 Blackcaps, 24 Lesser Whitethroats, 26 Whitethroats, 97 Chiffchaffs and nine Willow Warblers. Other notables were nine Wheatears, our first Firecrest for Autumn and three Grey Wagtails.

There also appeared to be a small movement of raptors overhead with a Hobby, Marsh Harrier and at least 14 Common Buzzards.

At about 11-00 we had a White Stork  come in from the NE, briefly fly around the Monument, and then move off W.  

John, Gerald, Nigel, Richard, Simon, Jack.  

11th September 2021

Although overcast with a brisk WSW breeze today was quite pleasantly warm and, with four of us out, the area was well covered. Warblers, that totalled 57, were eight Blackcaps, six Lesser Whitethroats, 22 Whitethroats, 10 Chiffchaffs and 11 Willow Warblers. Other grounded migrants were nine Wheatears

Notable flyovers moving W were singles of Golden Plover, Curlew, Greenshank, two Swifts, six Sand Martins, 20 Swallows, 100 House Martins and two Grey and one Yellow Wagtail. 

Also seven Ravens flew N over the big field and in the farm field, amongst a flock of mixed gulls, were two Mediterranean and one Yellow-legged Gull.

Also of note was a Red-tailed Bumblebee on the Autumn Lady's-tresses by the monument and a fine Privet Hawk-moth larva at Hope Point.

Brendan, Nigel, Phil, Jack.

Ravens

  

 

10th September

There was a moderate SSW breeze this morning with heavy overcast skies. Sadly this did nothing to enhance the number of birds present, indeed it proved to be a very quiet and uneventful morning. 

For this first time this autumn, Chiffchaffs (11) outnumbered Willow Warblers (9) marking a transition into a new phase of autumn. Lesser Whitethroats, which had been reasonably numerous in the last week were down to just a single bird, while Common Whitethroats numbered nine with 12 Blackcaps. 

The only other  birds of note were two Wheatears, 180 House Martins and three Grey Wagtails. Things can only get better. 

Brendan and Jack

Chiffchaff 

8th September 2021

The weather hadn't changed much, light easterlies, clear skies and hot and unsurprisingly neither had the birds.

The Paddock near McSwiggans remained the hot spot with good numbers of warblers feeding in the umbillifers. Final totals were 12 Willow Warblers, five Chiffchaffs,  two Reed Warblers, 15 Blackcaps, 11Whitethroats and eight Lesser Whitethroats. 

Other birds of note included two Redstarts, single Wheatear and Whinchat, while overhead there were 6 Grey Wagtails and two Yellow Wagtails

7th September 2021

On a warm sunny morning birds were not particularly plentiful but we had quite a number of different species. Richard had a Grey Wagtail, Wheatear and Redstart around Oldstairs whilst Sam had a Whinchat, Yellow and Grey Wagtail and 200 Mediterranean Gulls on Kingsdown Beach. In the Paddock and Gun Emplacement Brendan and I had two Yellow Wagtails, a Redstart, Pied Flycatcher, three Spotted Flycatchers, nine Blackcaps, 12 Lesser Whitethroats, eight Whitethroats, two Reed Warblers, 13 Willow Warblers and two Chiffchaffs. Visitors Keith and Dick from Ashford had Whinchat and Wheatear plus 11 Buzzards and a Honey Buzzard fly S out to sea.

6th September 2021

 Light NE wind increasing slightly and becoming SE by midday. Clear sunny skies. Hot!

Still not great conditions for grounded migrants but a few birds continue to trickle through. Yesterday's Pied Flycatcher was still in the Paddock along with a Spotted Flycatcher and two Redstarts (plus a third Redstart elsewhere).  A single Whinchat, Black Redstart and four Wheatears were on the Clifftop & Empty Wood area. 

On the warbler front there were 14 Willow Warblers, three Chiffchaffs, nine Whitethroats, nine Lesser Whitethroats, 14 Blackcaps and two Reed Warblers.

Overhead activity increased with 14 Yellow Wagtails, eight Grey Wagtails including a group of five and three Tree Pipits. there was also a trickle of hirundines through with 200 Swallows and 65 House Martins.  other birds of note included another Teal, two Whimbrels, single Curlew and Snipe and around 40 Med Gulls hawking insects over Hope Point. 

Brendan and Sam

Lesser Whitethroat- Paddock 

Willow Warbler- Paddock 

5th September 2021

Clear overhead conditions, with a continuing northerly wind didn't hold out too much promise for today and so it proved to be inspite a good turn out from local birders. Around 12 Willow Warblers were recorded mostly feeding in umbellifers in the Paddock. Other Warblers included 16 Lesser Whitethroats, 11 Whitethroats, 13 Blackcaps two Sedge Warblers and a single Reed Warbler. Three Wheatears were near the Empty Wood, plus another on the Undercliff and a Pied Flycatcher was seen in the Paddock. Overhead there was a single Swift, seven Yellow Wagtails, five Grey Wagtails, 16 Sand Martins, six House Martins, 55 Swallows and three Sparrowhawks. The oddest record of the day was two Teal on the beach at Kingsdown early morning, seen by Nigel. Phil checked out Pond lane where there were 15 Wheatears, and single Whinchat, Tree Pipit and Golden Plover Jack, Richard, Phil, Simon, Brendan, Nigel, Sam Perfect,

4th September 2021

Today we had an increase of warblers mainly in the Paddock and Granville area where there were 13 Blackcaps, 10 Whitethroats, six Lesser Whitethroats, seven Chiffchaffs and 12 Willow Warblers. Other notable birds were three Pied Flycatchers also in the Granville area, 65 Swallows feeding across the big field, a flock of Goldfinches that has been buiding up recently to 75 plus, a Tree Pipit, a Lapwing which is now a rarity for us and a flyover Whimbrel at Kingsdown.

We finished at the Freedown with a Redstart, Wheatear and two Whinchats.

Nigel, Phil, Richard, Jack.

1st September 2021

On a wander around the Paddock past the Freedown and back along the cliffs John C saw 10 Swallows, three Whitethroats, two Lesser Whitethroats, a blackcap, six Willow Warblers and a Whinchat. Overhead were two Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk.