Dungeness has been basked in glorious sunshine over the last few weeks, bringing out all sorts of exciting and wonderful wildlife. Bees, butterflies, damselflies and dragonflies have all been whizzing about. Crickets are chirping in the long grass, flowers are blooming and baby animals from tufted ducks to rabbits have been spotted everywhere!

We were lucky enough to have a bee eater visit our reserve last Saturday and…

Thinking of buying binoculars or a telescope? 

Whether you know a bit or don't know where to start, come to the RSPB Dungeness Visitor Centre on Friday 22^nd July (10.30am to 12.30pm) or Saturday 23^rd and Sunday 24^th July 2016 between 10am and 4pm and get some hands on advice from our friendly, knowledgeable team and have the chance to try the products out.

We stock the RSPB range of binoculars and telescopes, including…

It's the 1^st July and the weather can only get better – surely? Look down on the ground at Dungeness though and you will spot an array of brightly coloured wildlife. Wildflowers are blooming with lots of different types and colours of vetch out in the fields, buttercups, Nottingham catchfly and dodder bathe the trails in summer colours. Viper’s bugloss, a favourite plant among many here, is starting to bloom in force…

Have you tried our HD range of binoculars?

They have recently been reviewed in Birdwatch magazine:

http://www.birdwatch.co.uk/channel/reviewitem.asp?c=11&review=2942

The HD range of binoculars, along with other RSPB binoculars and telescopes and a limited range of other branded products (Swarovski, Zeiss, Kowa) are available in store at RSPB Dungeness.

You can pop in any day and try them out or you can come…

Work has been undertaken at Lade Pits this week, cutting back the bramble to create clearer pathways for our visitors. We are taking a much more active approach to the management of the site to enhance the reserve for visitors and wildlife. We ask you kindly not to fish, boat or swim at the lakes in Lade Pits to protect the habitat for the wildlife particularly through the breeding season. Signs have been put around the…

Just a quick update on recent happenings on the reserve! It's nice to see the sunshine here at Dungeness and the wildlife are enjoying it too! There are so many insects out in the sun including crickets, beetles and many different species of bees and butterflies.

Today's bird sightings include: a pair of pintail, 2 dunlin and whitethroat on Burrowes pit, little egret, 2 hobbies and 10 bearded tits at Denge Marsh…

Thinking of buying binoculars or a telescope? Is your scope in need of an update?

Are you looking to purchase your first pair of binoculars or upgrade your binoculars?

Then this is the event for you....

Whether you know a bit or don't know where to start, come to the RSPB Dungeness Visitor Centre between 10am and 4pm on Saturday 11^th and Sunday 12^th June 2016 and get some hands on advice from our friendly…

Can you believe it's June?! Summer has hidden from us this week and we’ve had very gloomy grey weather on the reserve. This hasn’t put too much of our wildlife off though as we have had hundreds of swifts flying over Burrowes pit catching all the insects in the air.

Cuckoos can still be heard all around the reserve and hobbies and a peregrine falcon have been seen daily too. Whitethroats seem to have…

What a busy week on the reserve!

It’s been gull mania here with a glaucous gull seen today on Burrowes pit by Makepeace hide and a laughing gull seen there yesterday too! Another sea bird highlight this week was the gull-billed tern, spotted over Burrowes on Sunday.  

Other bird highlights this week include: garganey, hobbies, peregrines, willow warblers and spotted flycatchers.

Today, over 30 short-haired bu…

The RSPB has teamed up with Weird Fish to update your wardrobe for summer. Drop in to the RSPB Dungeness store to get kitted out.

Darth Wader holds his light sabre aloft as the battle rages behind him. The design is featured fully on the reverse and in miniature on the front.

Available in charcoal or blue. Price: £20.

British clothing company Weird Fish share our love of the outdoors. Their clothes are tough…

The reserve is alive with the sights, sounds and smells of summer! All we need now is the hot, cloudless days to go with it.

Swifts, swallows, sand martins and hobbies all race through the air above our heads as we walk the trail. Our gorgeous yellow flag iris is out now attracting a variety of bees and butterflies.

The wildlife garden is teeming with creatures. Just standing out there for 10 minutes allowed me to…

20% off 12.75kg sacks of bird food at the RSPB Dungeness shop until 30^th May 2016

The visitor centre at RSPB Dungeness is open everyday from 10am to 5pm

What a gorgeous day today, finally the warm weather is here and it’s looking like it will stay for the weekend!

Today our warden team were putting out the floating raft, hoping to entice terns to nest on it. You will be able to see it from Dennis’ hide. Fingers crossed for fluffy chicks this summer. We are also putting one outside the visitor centre but it’s likely to be commandeered by the gulls who have staked…

Here's a quick list of wildlife sightings we had over the weekend:

(Tundra) Bean goose – from viewing ramp at Hookers   

Egyptian goose – at Denge Marsh

Bittern – booming at Denge Marsh   

Peregrine – over Burrowes pit   

Marsh harrier – over Denge Marsh

Buzzard – over Burrowes pit 

Honey Buzzard – over Burrowes pit   

Whimbrel – 10 by Entrance Track     

Greenshank –2…

Save 20% on selected squirrel buster feeders at RSPB Dungeness (visitor centre open every day from 10am to 5pm)

Offer ends 26/04/16

Brilliantly designed bird seed and nut feeders that do away with the need for a guardian as an internal weight-activated mechanism covers the feeding ports whenever a squirrel arrives.

To ensure the weight mechanism of this feeder can work as designed, please make sure it is positioned…

Good news, our return trail has now been opened! Although last night’s rain has made it a little bit wetter than we would of liked, it’s safe to walk down it now, with just a small diversion over a large puddle – just bring sensible footwear! The willow trail at the ARC is still closed for the time being though as it is still flooded.

Many of our sheep in the fields next to the return trail have given…

What a busy week we have had on the reserve! Most days the weather has been kind so we have been flooded with visitors over the Easter break. Our insects are starting to emerge with all of our ‘Big 7’ species of bee being spotted out and about. Peacock and tortoiseshell butterflies have emerged and our Andrena vaga bees are still buzzing around the sandy bank by the visitor centre.

Our bitterns are booming…

I hope you weren’t caught out by any April Fool bird sightings today!

The past week has been filled with the sights and sounds of spring. We’ve had queen bumblebees buzzing around the reserve looking for a place to start a nest, our colony of Andrena vaga bees or grey-backed mining bees are back, burrowing into the sandy bank just outside Dennis’ hide. These bees are a very rare sight in the UK and here at…

Thinking of buying binoculars or a telescope? Is your scope in need of an update?

Are you looking to purchase your first pair of binoculars or upgrade your binoculars?

Then this is the event for you....

Whether you know a bit or don't know where to start, come to the RSPB Dungeness Visitor Centre between 10am and 4pm on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3^rd April 2016 and get some hands on advice from our friendly team and…

Spring is officially here! Today we have had reported sightings of our first swallow, house martin and wheatear of the year! Just in time for Easter – fantastic!

Bitterns have also been heard clearing their throats and practicing small booms, they have been heard early in the morning over the past couple of days.

Image: Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)

If you want to try to see and hear these strangely beautiful…

Image: Curlew by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

I saw a curlew on the track down to the visitor centre this morning. I haven't seen one before and they are extraordinary birds with fantastic, long beaks!

Whilst speaking of the track, our warden staff and volunteers have done a fantastic job of smoothing out our entrance track which is now completely pothole free!

We've had lots of wildlife sightings this week, two…

Red is the colour theme here this week at Dungeness with a red-crested pochard drake seen on the dipping pond yesterday, a red-throated diver on Burrowes pit on the 6th, two redpolls seen today and a redshank seen by Boulderwall. 

Redshank. Image: Andy Hay rspb-images

I saw my first bumblebee of the year today! It was a buff-tailed bumblebee queen looking for a place to nest. A small tortoishell butterfly was also…

It's been a cold but beautifully sunny day here on the reserve today. The long eared owl was showing off really well today by the pond. We've had lots of geese on the reserve recently with Canadian geese, Greylag geese, Brent geese and Egyptian geese all taking up residents on our pits. Smews, pintails, goldeneyes and an impressive 250 wigeon have also been seen around Burrowes pit and Denge Marsh.

Wigeon - photo…

Thinking of buying binoculars or a telescope? 

Whether you know a bit or don't know where to start, come to the RSPB Dungeness Visitor Centre on Saturday 5^th or Sunday 6^th March 2016 between 10am and 4pm and get some hands on advice from our friendly team and have the chance to try the products out.

Our friendly and knowledgeable volunteers and staff will be available to assist you. 

We stock the RSPB range of binoculars…