The huge headland of Dungeness in Kent is one of the largest expanses of coastal shingle in Europe and is of international conservation importance for its geomorphology and fauna and flora. With numerous conservation designations, the peninsular and nearby marshes harbour an astonishing 600 plant species and is one of Britain’s premier invertebrate locations. Both moth and bumblebee diversity is difficult to equal anywhere else in the country and is often where newly colonising species from adjacent Europe first appear.
We shall meet at the Dungeness Bird Observatory and, from here, we will head a little inland to the Gravel Pits, where more sheltered flower-rich habitat is attractive to a good variety of bumblebees and other invertebrates. The Brown-banded Carderbee Bombus humilis is fairly frequent, but the other specialities of the site can be elusive these days notably Large Garden Bumblebee B. ruderatus and Shrill Carderbee B. sylvarum. We will do our very best to find them; and we can also search the wet margins of the gravel pits for Groundhoppers Tetrix, with all three British species occurring here.
After an early evening meal in the pub and after the sun has set we shall set out to search for the recently discovered colonising crickets Large Conehead Ruspolia nitidula, Sickle-bearing Bush-Cricket Phaneroptera falcata and Italian Tree Cricket Oecanthus pellucens. All three are now frequent in parts of Dungeness, but take a bit of finding in the dark so homing into their ultrasonic calls with a bat detector will much increase our chances.
After our cricket-hunt, we will head our respective ways to bed, and will reconvene at Dungeness Bird Observatory the following morning where, if the overnight weather has been kind to us, we will find some treasures in the Bird Observatory moth trap. After examining the catch we shall explore the nearby shingle in search of Grey Bush Cricket Platycleis albopunctata, and the larvae of Coleophora galbulipennella on Nottingham Catchfly Silene nutans and Toadflax Brocade Calophasia lunula on Common Toadflax Linaria vulgaris. With a bit of luck we might also encounter Mediterranean Stick Insect Bacillus rossius near the Bird Observatory.
Please note - as this itinerary involves a late post-dinner excursion, and a fairly early morning start, rather than compress this into one very long day, we think it's kinder and easier for all concerned to offer this as a 'day-trip' that spans two days. Overnight accommodation is not included in the price of the day - there are many bed & breakfast providers in the near vicinity of Dungeness and a little further afield along the coast to Hythe that guests can use to organise accommodation. We recommend guests 'make a weekend of it' and enjoy the other natural history and cultural opportunities of this unique corner of Britain.
