Burrowes - warm, dry and sunny, SW2 - When news came through this morning of an adult Caspian Tern on the bird reserve (found by Gary) I was determined not to miss it; this stunning seabird is a notoriously brief-stayer here at Dunge and over the past twenty years they`ve all (probably no more than half a dozen) eluded me. But not this one which was still sat on a shingle island out from Dennis`s hide viewpoint when I arrived, being greatly appreciated by a gathering throng of local birders and visitors alike. True to form it did not tarry for long and by early afternoon was last seen heading back out to sea over the gully. Caspian Terns used to be much rarer in the past with an average of six per year across the UK when the colonies around the Baltic Sea were in decline. However, due to concerted conservation efforts on their breeding grounds numbers have steadily recovered resulting in an increase in sightings across the country as migrants transit our waters. So hopefully, we may be seeing a few more of these giant terns over the coming summers both here at Dungeness and elsewhere along the Channel coastline.
The garden moth trap continues to attract a good range of moths, although not in the numbers of last week. However, new for the site was a tatty, immigrant Small Marbled, in complete contrast to an immaculate Orache Moth trapped recently by Chris at St Mary-in-the-Marsh.
