December 2008

31st December

Dreary and feeling really raw today. Singles of Lapwing, Short-eared Owl and Firecrest were at the Bill, a Black Redstart was at Chesil Cove and 12 Mediterranean Gulls, 2 Black-headed Gulls and a Little Egret passed through on the sea at the Bill.

Late news for yesterday: a Black Redstart was at Reap Lane.

 

As 2008 draws to a close it's worth having a quick recap of the highlights of the birding year at Portland. The year total of 218 included no less than four additions to the Portland list - Great White Egret, Glossy Ibis, Hooded Merganser and Grey-cheeked Thrush - whilst the decent list of lesser rarities included the island's second Thrush Nightingale and third Eastern Olivaceous Warbler. There were record counts/totals of Manx Shearwater, Whooper Swan, Brent Goose, Hobby, Whimbrel and commic terns, along with notable influxes of, amongst others, mid-winter Balearic Shearwaters, Honey Buzzards, Long-tailed Tits and Crossbills. It wasn't a particularly vintage year for commoner migrants although there were welcome increases in numbers of, in particular, Turtle Dove and Goldcrest

 

...and finally, if you still have Christmas money burning a hole in your pocket - it's pretty pointless putting it in a bank at the moment so you may as well spend it - there's an In Focus field event at the Obs between 10am and 4pm tomorrow (New Year's Day).

 

 

30th December

A little less wind and a little more sunshine than in recent days but not much change in the birding. A Great Skua was a welcome addition to the seawatch list at the Bill as it allowed a couple of regular watchers to complete their 'A skua in every month of the year' tally for 2008; 5 Mediterranean Gulls, 3 Common Scoter and a Brent Goose also passed through there and 30 Common Scoter and 5 Pale-bellied Brents were settled off Chesil Cove. A Lapwing and a Short-eared Owl were at the Bill and 148 Mediterranean Gulls and 22 Pale-bellied Brents were at Ferrybridge. 

29th December

Today's reports in the continuing chilly weather consisted of a Mediterranean Gull off the Bill, 3 Short-eared Owls at the Bill, 2 Blackcaps in a garden at Easton, a Lapwing on Chesil Beach and 130 Mediterranean Gulls, 25 Pale-bellied Brent Geese and one of the Black Brants at Ferrybridge.

 

   

 Iceland Gull - Portland Bill, 28th December 2008 © Martin Cade

  28th December

Another day of stiff, cold easterlies. An Iceland Gull that showed up along East Cliffs at the Bill for a little while during the morning was the pick of another fair list of sightings that otherwise included 4 Common Scoter, 3 Brent Geese, 2 Teal, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers and a Mediterranean Gull through on the sea at the Bill, a Lapwing overhead there, 2 Great Northern Divers and a Red-necked Grebe in Portland Harbour and 30 Pale-bellied Brents and the 2 Black Brants at Ferrybridge. 

27th December

A brisk easterly wind remained the main feature of the weather and the birding was much as in recent days: 9 Black-headed Gulls, 7 Mediterranean Gulls, a Red-throated Diver and a Great Northern Diver passed through off the Bill, 2 new Lapwings were grounded at the Bill and at least 2 Short-eared Owls remained there and 15 Pale-bellied Brents and both Black Brants were amongst the brent flock at Ferrybridge during the morning.

 

   

  

   Kestrel attempting to rob Short-eared Owl of its prey - Portland Bill, 26th December 2008 © Martin Cade

  26th December

The lovely sunny conditions were tempered by a keen easterly wind that blew all day. A strong movement of Gannets, gulls and auks past the Bill early in the morning included 28 Mediterranean Gulls and a Little Gull. The only other reports were of 2 Redwings and a Blackcap at Easton and at least 1 Short-eared Owl still at the Bill.

Late news for recent days: yesterday a Lapwing passed through at the Bill and a Blackcap was at Easton, whilst on 23rd December Portland Harbour produced 23 Great Crested Grebes, 2 Great Northern Divers, 2 Slavonian Grebes and a Red-necked Grebe.

25th December

The only reports were of 2 Common Buzzards at Southwell and a Short-eared Owl at the Bill.

24th December

Hardly anybody birding today. The only reports were of 2 Short-eared Owls, a Common Buzzard and a Firecrest at the Bill and another Common Buzzard over Weston.

Overnight moth-trapping in the Obs garden produced just standard mid-winter fare, with the only additions to yesterday's list being Scobipalpa costella, Crocidosema plebejana and Dark Chestnut.

 

   

      Acleris hastiana - Portland Bill, 23rd December 2008 © Martin Cade

  23rd December

Still very dreary and mild until a marked improvement saw the sun appear for quite a bit of the afternoon. The Bill area came up with decent list of sightings: 20 Linnets, 4 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Golden Plovers, 3 Short-eared Owls, 2 Black Redstarts and singles of  Chiffchaff and Firecrest on the land and 5 Common Scoter, 2 Red-throated Divers and a diver sp through on the sea.

A few Winter Moths were again settled on the lit windows of the Obs after dark yesterday evening, whilst the overnight catch in the Obs garden moth-traps included several Light Brown Apple Moths, 2 Acleris hastiana, a Rusty-dot Pearl and a late Brick.

22nd December

Dreary and mild today. The only reports have been of a Common Buzzard and a Firecrest at the Bill and 3 Red-throated Divers and 2 Common Scoter passing through on the sea there.

21st December

Apologies for poor service over the weekend but the compiler of these notes has been laid low by a miserable lurgy. In the event there wasn't a great deal of change on the birding front: a fly-over Glaucous Gull reported from Ferrybridge today was easily the highlight; otherwise the best on offer were up to 3 Purple Sandpipers and at least 3 Short-eared Owls at the Bill and a few Red-throated Divers passing through on the sea there (3 yesterday and a single today).

19th December

Pleasant conditions saw a fair little list of sightings accumulated for the Bill area this morning: 3 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Turnstones, 2 Short-eared Owls and singles of Common Buzzard, Black Redstart, Redwing, Fieldfare and Firecrest on the land and 5 Velvet Scoter and a Common Scoter through on the sea.

 

A note from the bookshop:  we have a few back-numbers of the Handbook of the Birds of the World available @ £110 each; these are Volumes 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 10 & 11. Ring Nick Wright on 01305 777991 to reserve.  First come - first served. Lynx Edicions have also announced the forthcoming publication of an 8-volume series Handbook of the Mammals of the World to accompany the acclaimed Handbook of the Birds of the World; volume 1 - "Carnivores" is due in April. RRP per volume will be £135 but Observatory members who wish to sign-up for all eight volumes through the bookshop can do so at the special price of £90 per volume. Please book soonest in writing to Nick Wright at the bookshop.

18th December

Just a couple of snippets of news from the Bill today, where singles of Red-throated Diver and Red-breasted Merganser passed through on the sea.

17th December

Diver movements off the Bill have been less conspicuous than usual this winter so 14 Red-throated Divers passing by this morning was a minor highlight, otherwise it was more of the same as in recent days there: 6 Mediterranean Gulls also passed by on the sea and 3 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Short-eared Owls and a Chiffchaff were logged on the land.

16th December

Just a routine list from the Bill today: 3 Short-eared Owls and singles of Pheasant, Redwing, Blackcap and Firecrest on the land and 5 Eider and 2 Red-throated Divers through on the sea. The only news from elsewhere was of another Short-eared Owl at Reap Lane.

15th December

We've been surprised many times in the past with how late Blackcap passage goes on for and today provided another case in point with 2 new birds turning up in the Obs garden and another individual showing up in a garden at the Grove; presumably the Obs garden individuals at least are newly arrived central European birds en route to a winter destination elsewhere in Britain although it would be good sometime soon to get a ringing recovery to actually prove that. The only other reports were of 3 Short-eared Owls at the Bill and a Pochard passing through on the sea there.

14th December

Not much seems to be changing at the moment: 7 Purple Sandpipers and 4 Short-eared Owls were at the Bill, 8 Black-headed Gulls, 7 Mediterranean Gulls and a Red-throated Diver passed through off the Bill, 50 Mediterranean Gulls, 5 Pale-bellied Brents and a Black Brant were at Ferrybridge and 2 Great Northern Divers, 2 Slavonian Grebes and a Black-throated Diver were in Portland Harbour.

After dark yesterday evening the first Winter Moth of the the season was settled on a lit window at the Obs.

13th December

After a night of howling wind and driving rain the morning was much calmer but still very overcast. A Redwing and a Firecrest were at the Obs, 5 Short-eared owls were still at the Bill and 6 Mediterranean Gulls, 6 Black-headed Gulls, 5 Common Scoter, 2 Red-throated Divers and 2 Red-necked Grebes passed through on the sea at the Bill. The only other reports were of 4 Common Scoter and 2 Red-throated Divers at Chesil Cove.

12th December

Spending most of the day trying to get rid of a Bengal Eagle Owl that nobody seems to want isn't conducive to getting much birding done and the only news was of 9 Common Scoter off the Bill and a Firecrest in the Obs garden.

 

   

  

  

      Bengal Eagle Owl - Easton and Portland Bill, 11th December 2008 © Martin Cade

...we thought the bird looked very small in the field; in the hand it turned out to be way below the range of a 'normal' Eagle Owl (wing length ca380mm and weight ca1100gm; in European Eagle Owl these figures ought to be in the region of 440-500mm and 1500+gm) and further information has revealed that the bird is a Bengal Eagle Owl.

  11th December

There was a very unexpected start to the day when we received a call from a member of the public reporting an owl - claimed to be a Short-eared Owl - that had been seen standing on parked cars and a garden wall at Easton; on going to investigate we discovered that the bird was a very tame eagle owl that we were able to pick up and bring back to the Obs. In lovely, fine conditions the only other reports were of 35 Chaffinches, 20 Song Thrushes, 2 Short-eared Owls, a Water Rail, a Mistle Thrush, a Firecrest and a Reed Bunting at the Bill and a Goldcrest at Southwell.

 

   

  

  

   Short-eared Owl - Portland Bill, 10th December 2008 © Martin Cade

...the wintering Short-eared Owls have become a good deal more mobile in recent days but they are still being seen quite regularly beside the Bill Road early and late in the day. Yesterday's photograph was a fluky shot taken at a few yards range from a slowly moving car - poking the camera out of the window in the general direction of the bird and hoping for the best! - whilst today's little series gives an example of the eyeball-to-eyeball views that passing motorists have sometimes been getting.

  10th December

Not much birding was possible today and the only reports were of 2 Short-eared Owls, a Golden Plover and a Redwing at the Bill and another Short-eared Owl at Reap Lane.

 

   

   Short-eared Owl - Portland Bill, 9th December 2008 © Martin Cade

  9th December

A slightly better tally at the Bill today, where singles of Mistle Thrush and Blackcap were new arrivals, winterers including 3 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Turnstones and 2 Short-eared Owls were still present and 2 Red-throated Divers, 2 Common Scoter and a Black-throated Diver passed by on the sea. Elsewhere, the same or another Mistle Thrush was at Southwell and a Black Redstart at Reap Lane was the first at that location for some time.

8th December

Far fewer birders about today and not too much to report: single Short-eared Owls were at the Bill and Reap Lane, a lone Purple Sandpiper was at the Bill and 7 Red-throated Divers passed through off the Bill. 

7th December

Today's list from the Bill included a fair selection of typical sightings for the prevailing anticyclonic conditions: 11 Common Scoter, 6 Red-throated Divers, a Black-throated Diver, a Great Northern Diver and a Shelduck passed though on the sea, another 25 Common Scoter were settled offshore, 8 Starlings arrived in off the sea from the south, 3 Bramblings, a Ringed Plover and a Redwing were new arrivals on the land and winterers still around included 3 Short-eared Owls, 2 Purple Sandpipers, a Chiffchaff and a Firecrest

6th December

A lovely still, sunny and quite mild mid-winter day. Odds and ends on the land included 25 Chaffinches, 15 Song Thrushes, 5 Redwings, 2 Water Rails, a Snipe, a Short-eared Owl and a Firecrest at the Bill and another Short-eared Owl at Reap Lane, whilst seawatching at the Bill produced 4 Red-throated Divers, 2 Great Northern Divers and 2 Common Scoter.

Late news for yesterday: a Barn Owl flew across the road near Cheyne House in the evening.

 

   

  

  

  

  

   and yet more Greenfinch detail from last week - Portland Bill, 28th November 2008 © Martin Cade

...carrying on where we left off a few days ago, we mentioned that Greenfinches can be particularly troublesome and don't always do what they're supposed to do. The individual in the top two photos is a pretty straightforward first year male: it looks much like an adult at first glance but on close inspection in the hand or in the field unmoulted juvenile feathers such as the outer two greater coverts, the primaries, the primary coverts, the alula and the tail are relatively easy to spot. The other three photos are of another male caught on the same day: this bird has moulted all its greater coverts so these are all of an adult-like pattern which isn't very helpful, but the presence of two generations of feathers in both the primaries and tail (note the darker, fresher, broader 'new' primary 5 and the four 'new' tail feathers) are examples of an eccentric moult that is a well-known and seemingly increasing frequently observed feature of post-juvenile moult in many Greenfinches, so ordinarily this bird ought to be a first winter. The odd features of this individual though are the primary coverts and alula: the former are more rounded at the tips than usual but since they certainly don't have the extensive grey edges and tips of an adult then that isn't really a problem; with the exception of the rather pointed shape of the individual feathers, the alula however is strikingly adult-like (the middle feather is mainly yellow and the longest feather has an extensive ash-grey tip). We can't remember having caught a certain first winter bird with an alula as 'advanced' as this but with all the other evidence pointing towards the bird being a first winter clearly it can happen at times. As so often with moult and ageing it pays not to jump to a snap decision based on a single detail but to have a good look at as many features as possible

  5th December

A really lousy list today, with the only reports being of a Chiffchaff at Southwell and singles of Common Scoter and Mediterranean Gull on the sea at the Bill.

On the insect front another Western Conifer Seed Bug was found at the Obs.

4th December

After a rough night there was a mini exodus of Red-throated Divers out of Lyme Bay, with 10 leaving to the east past the Bill through the morning, but the only other reports were of 4 Common Scoter, 3 Eider and 2 Mediterranean Gulls passing the Bill and singles of Redwing and Fieldfare on the land there.

3rd December

In better conditions it was a case of more of the same at the Bill: 35 'new' Wood Pigeons, 2 Short-eared Owls, 2 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Turnstones, 2 Redwings, 2 Reed Buntings, a Water Rail, a Fieldfare, a Blackcap, a Chiffchaff, a Firecrest and a Redpoll overhead/on the land and singles of Red-throated Diver and Mediterranean Gull on the sea. Further singles of Short-eared Owl were at Reap Lane and Barleycrates Lane.

2nd December

The fair weather didn't last and it was back to grey skies and sporadic showers today. The only reports were from the Bill: 3 Short-eared Owls, a Water Rail, a Snipe and a Firecrest on the land and 10 Common Scoter, 10 Mediterranean Gulls, 3 Red-throated Divers and an Eider on the sea.

 

   

   Whooper Swans - Portland Bill, 1st December 2008 © Martin Cade

...the East Shambles Buoy which is visible towards the bottom of this photograph is something like 5 miles from the Obs so the swans were enormously distant when we spotted them; fortunately another birder had seen them rounding the Bill a little earlier where they were much closer and could even be heard calling.

  1st December

The return of clear skies and sunshine was extremely welcome, as was the flock of 12 Whooper Swans that flew east off the Bill during the morning (they then headed into Weymouth Bay and were seen distantly from Ferrybridge and later from near Lodmoor, from where they headed away to the north-west). The rest of the day's list consisted of relatively routine fare at the Bill: 50 Chaffinches, 15 Song Thrushes, 4 Short-eared Owls, 3 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Turnstones, 3 Blackcaps, 2 Fieldfares, a Ringed Plover, a Redwing and a Firecrest on the land, a big increase in auk numbers offshore and at least 6 Mediterranean Gulls lingering offshore.

November 2008

30th November

An extremely grim end to the month: constant light rain, a raw north-easterly and daylight at a premium. On the bird front the only real change was in numbers, with 2110 Dark-bellied Brents, 150 Dunlin, 30 Mediterranean Gulls, 28 Pale-bellied Brents and a Black Brant at Ferrybridge, 30 Blackbirds, 25 Chaffinches, 2 Lapwings, a Snipe, a Mistle Thrush, a Blackcap and a Chiffchaff overhead/grounded at the Bill and 19 Mediterranean Gull, 4 Common Scoter and an Eider on the sea there.

Late news for yesterday: a few overflying wildfowl at Ferrybridge included 5 Pintail, a Teal and a Pochard.

 

     

  

  

  

  

   a bit of Greenfinch detail - Portland Bill, 28th November 2008 © Martin Cade

...we've spent so much time lately finishing last year's bird report that we haven't been able to indulge in things like ageing and sexing photos. Considering that it's the staple ever-present bird at PBO it's rather odd that we haven't featured a single photograph of Greenfinch on the website - they certainly are taken for granted! We'll start by having a look at the two extremes: an adult male and a first year female. Sexing is pretty straightforward with, for example, the extent of yellow on the primaries and tail feathers being features that can be used at any age from nestling upwards. What we ought to have done at the start of this series is to give a general overview/introduction to moult and ageing so we wouldn't have to keep repeating ourselves but until we sort that one out just take a look at the obvious differences between these two birds. The adult male is uniformly fresh as the feathers are all from the same generation and, being an adult, individual feathers tend to be broad, rounded and of decent quality. The first year female looks altogether more ragged, with individual feathers tending to be less broad, more pointed at the tips and, since they're of poorer quality, already getting very worn at the tips. Importantly, two generations of feathers are visible in, for example, the greater coverts where the outer two feathers are of the pale tipped juvenile generation and the rest of the tract are adult-like feathers that were grown during the post-juvenile moult. And just as you were getting complacent and thinking that this moult and ageing lark is a doddle....think again: it quite often isn't and, in particular,  there's nothing like a Greenfinch to throw a spanner in the works....

  29th November

On a bitterly cold day there were just a few snippets of news: 16 Pale-bellied Brents and a Black Brant again at Ferrybridge, 280 Starlings, 4 Bramblings, 3 Fieldfares and 3 Redwings passing overhead at the Bill, a Chiffchaff and a Firecrest still in the Obs garden and 15 Common Scoter and a Mediterranean Gull offshore at the Bill.

 

   

   Blackcap - Portland Bill, 28th November 2008 © Martin Cade

  28th November

Ferrybridge produced the numbers today (the tide is presently just right for early morning goose watching there) with a record count of 2300 Dark-bellied Brent Geese; 16 Pale-bellied Brents and both the Black Brants were also there, whilst nearby a flock of 10 Mallards flying over the Beach Road was a good mid-winter record and there were 2 Great Northern Divers in Portland Harbour. With calm conditions having returned there was also decent coverage of the Bill area, which revealed a dozen Linnets, 10 Song Thrushes, 4 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Turnstones, 2 Blackcaps, 2 Goldcrests, 2 Firecrests, a Short-eared Owl and a Chiffchaff on the land, a couple of Mediterranean Gulls lingering offshore and a Red-breasted Merganser through on the sea.

Late news for yesterday: 40 Common Scoter and a Great Skua were at Chesil Cove in the afternoon.

 

   

   December Moth - Portland Bill, 27th November 2008 © Martin Cade

  27th November

A couple of passing heavy showers spoilt what was otherwise a pleasant albeit increasingly windy day. The only reports were from the Bill: a Blackcap remained in the Obs garden and 3 Red-throated Divers, 2 Common Scoter and a lone Great Skua passed though offshore.

In nice still and mild conditions overnight the Obs garden moth-traps were unexpectedly busy: the pick of the catch was a December Moth (a common enough species 'inland' but only the third Portland record and the first here for 10 years), whilst 12 Rusty-dot Pearl and a White-speck made up the immigrant list; resident species on the wing included Light Brown Apple Moth, Crocidosema plebejana, Double-striped Pug, Large Yellow Underwing, Beaded Chestnut, Lunar Underwing, Red-line Quaker, Satellite, Brick, Angle Shades and Feathered Ranunculus.

 

A note for Obs members: we've posted out our autumn newsletter and 2007 annual report today. After each of our last couple of mailings we've had a number of items returned with 'no longer at this address' notes attached to them; if you're a paid-up Obs member and haven't informed us of a change of address or for some other reason this mailing doesn't reach you then do please let us know.

 

   

   Firecrest - Portland Bill, 26th November 2008 © Martin Cade

  26th November

Much duller and drabber today but new arrivals were still trickling in. Most of the reports were from the Bill area where 60 Starlings arrived in off the sea, new Blackbirds and Chaffinches were dropping in in small numbers and 10 Redwings, 5 Fieldfares, 3 Firecrests, 3 Bramblings, 2 Water Rails, 2 Lapwings, 2 Blackcaps, a Short-eared Owl, a Chiffchaff and a Goldcrest made up the rest of the numbers; 16 Common Scoter were settled offshore and 2 Eider also passed through on the sea. The only other news was of 2 Short-eared Owls at Barleycrates Lane.

 

   

   Lapwing - Portland Bill, 25th November 2008 © Martin Cade

  25th November

Clear blue skies and sunshine today although a keen north wind was a constant feature. The strength and direction of the wind proved to be helpful from the birding point of view as the first few hours of the morning saw a constant trickle of birds arriving in off the sea, with the Bill area producing 27 Redwings, 26 Lapwings, 19 Fieldfares, 4 Siskins, a Golden Plover, a Snipe, a Woodcock and a Mistle Thrush; quite a few new Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and Chaffinches were also in evidence along with long-stayers such as 4 Purple Sandpipers, 4 Short-eared Owls and a Blackcap. The only report from the sea was of 3 Shelduck passing the Bill.

 

   

   Long-tailed Tit - Southwell, 23rd November 2008 © Pete Saunders

...Long-tailed Tits are still present around the island in much higher numbers than usual; 27 have been trapped and ringed at the Obs in the last month (the record total is 31 ringed in 1974) and since we haven't received any reports of ringed birds being seen elsewhere on the island it may be that most of these were wandering here from further afield.

  24th November

A surprisingly pleasant start to the day gave way to a freshening and chilly north-easterly. Most of what few reports there were came from the Bill: 5 Song Thrushes, 2 Siskins and singles of Short-eared Owl, Redwing, Blackcap and Chiffchaff on the land and 2 diver spp and a Mediterranean Gull through on the sea; another unidentified diver passed high overhead at Southwell.

23rd November

A very wild day with a spell of gale force south-westerlies and heavy rain early in the morning followed by clearer but still very blustery conditions for the rest of the day. A Redwing and a Blackcap were at the Bill but all the rest of the interest was on the sea, with 400 auks, 6 Teal, 5 Fulmars, 4 Great Skuas, 2 Red-throated Divers, 2 Black-throated Divers, a Sooty Shearwater, a Golden Plover and a Red-breasted Merganser passing through off the Bill.

22nd November

Heavily overcast skies and occasionally drizzly spells dropped a few more late migrants today. All the reports were again from the Bill where there were 12 Fieldfares, 5 Redwings, 3 Blackcaps, 2 Short-eared Owls, 2 Bramblings, a Water Rail, a Goldcrest and a Firecrest on the land and 6 Common Scoter and a Red-throated Diver passed through on the sea.

21st November

Just another very minor flurry of late migrants along with a few established winterers today. All the reports were from the Bill where there were 3 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Redwings, 2 Turnstones, 2 Blackcaps and singles of Short-eared Owl, Fieldfare, Chiffchaff, Firecrest, Siskin and Brambling on the land and a lone Red-throated Diver through on the sea.

 

   

   Scarce Umber - Portland Bill, 20th November 2008 © Martin Cade

  20th November

What a difference a day makes....yesterday provided late migrants in plenty but today was not far short of a dead loss. At the Bill the few birds that were fresh in or on the move overhead included a handful of Chaffinches, 2 Blackcaps, 2 Fieldfares, 2 Redwings, a Little Egret, a Golden Plover and a Bullfinch; singles of Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Firecrest were also still lingering on there from recent days. The only other reports were of 11 Common Scoter, 5 Black-headed Gulls and a Mediterranean Gull passing through off the Bill.

We sometimes wonder why we don't just leave the Obs garden moth-traps on 365 nights a year and last night proved to be a case in point: having been poorly rewarded in recent nights and bearing in mind the time of year and the pretty unpromising weather forecast we didn't bother to switch the traps on at dusk; just after midnight we potted an unfamiliar moth from the outside of the Obs kitchen window and on examination it turned out to be a Scarce Umber - a new species for Portland. With the traps not lit we'll never know quite how many other wanderers from inland made landfall at the Bill last night!

 

   

  

Hen Harrier - Portland Bill, 19th November 2008 © Martin Cade

  19th November

Not a particularly long list today but on the plus side pretty well everything logged at the Bill was a new arrival; a passing Hen Harrier was the highlight, whilst the supporting cast included 100 Chaffinches, 75 Blackbirds, 48 Redwings, 20 Fieldfares, 20 Song Thrushes, 6 Bramblings, 2 Swallows and singles of Dartford Warbler, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Firecrest and Reed Bunting.

Several Red Admirals were still on the wing today.

The immigrant moth tally continued to dwindle at the Obs where the traps produced just 3 Rusty-dot Pearl and a White-speck.

18th November

The only reports so far have been of a few late migrants at the Bill: a handful of new Blackbirds and Song Thrushes at dawn, a trickle of Chaffinches overhead throughout the day, and 16 Redwings, 8 Fieldfares, 5 Swallows and singles of Golden Plover, Blackcap, Firecrest and Reed Bunting.

Immigrants in the Obs garden moth-traps this morning: 4 Rusty-dot Pearl, 2 White-speck and 1 Silver Y.

 

   

   

Blackbird bearing a Swedish ring controlled at the Obs today - Portland Bill, 17th November 2008 © Martin Cade

...rather surprisingly this is the first Swedish-ringed Blackbird controlled at Portland (although there is a recovery in the opposite direction of a Portland-ringed autumn bird that was controlled in a subsequent spring at Ottenby). While we're on the subject of ringing recoveries we heard back today on one of yesterday's Brent Geese at Ferrybridge (enlarged photo below © Richard Cawley); evidently the bird was ringed as a moulting adult female on 31st July at the Pyasina Delta in the Taimyr Peninsula, Russia (which is the core breeding area of Dark-bellied Brent Geese in the central Russian Arctic and is something like 4600 km from Ferrybridge!)

  

  17th November

A damp, drizzly dawn saw a nice flurry of late migrants including one of the better arrivals of thrushes of the autumn. The Bill area produced totals that included 750 Starlings, 260 Redwings, 35 Fieldfares, 11 Lapwings, 4 Goldcrests, 3 Black Redstarts, 2 Blackcaps, 2 Siskins, a Snipe, a Purple Sandpiper, a Short-eared Owl and a Firecrest, whilst elsewhere the Yellow-browed Warbler remained at Wakeham, 2 Black Redstarts and a Firecrest were at Church Ope Cove, another Firecrest was at Avalanche Church and another Black Redstart was at Reap Lane. Seawatching at the Bill produced 11 Common Scoter, 8 Teal, 4 Mediterranean Gulls, a Red-throated Diver and a Balearic Shearwater.

Another small catch of immigrants in the Obs garden moth-traps included 12 Rusty-dot Pearl, 4 Silver Y, 2 Turnip Moth and a Diamond-back Moth.

 

   

  

Clouded Yellow and a colour-ringed Brent Goose - Portland Bill and Ferrybridge, 16th November 2008 © Martin Cade (Clouded Yellow) and Richard Cawley (Brent Goose)

...the Brent was one of at least two colour-ringed birds at Ferrybridge today - ringing details to follow when we receive them.

  16th November

A few more breaks in the cloud today but still very little by way of new arrivals. The wide ranging Yellow-browed Warbler in the Pennsylvania Castle area and one of the Black Brants at Ferrybridge were again the highlights, with the best of the rest being 132 Mediterranean Gulls and 8 Pale-bellied Brent Geese at Ferrybridge, 2 Firecrests and a Black Redstart at Church Ope Cove, 6 Bramblings, 3 Purple Sandpipers, a Black Redstart and a Firecrest at the Bill and 2 Red-throated Divers and a Velvet Scoter passing through off the Bill. There was little change from recent days in the supporting cast of commoner migrants/winterers.

A Clouded Yellow was again on the wing at the Bill.

The overnight mothing at the Obs also showed little change, with 3 Rusty-dot Pearl, 2 White-speck and a Silver Y the only immigrants and Brick the only commoner species to add to the list of residents still on the wing.

15th November

Rather quiet, dreary conditions again today, with the pick of the sightings being of a Yellow-browed Warbler at Pennsylvania Castle and a Black Brant at Ferrybridge. Among the commoner species there was a mixture of late autumn migrants and winterers that included 70 Mediterranean Gulls and a Sanderling at Ferrybridge, 3 Great Northern Divers, a Red-necked Grebe and a Slavonian Grebe in Portland Harbour and 150 Goldfinches, 100 Chaffinches, 50 Starlings,  5 Swallows, 3 Redwings, 2 Firecrests, 2 Bramblings, 2 Siskins, a Water Rail, a Black Redstart, a Chiffchaff, a Redpoll and a Reed Bunting overhead or on the ground the Bill and 7 Common Scoter and a Mediterranean Gull off the Bill.

Red Admiral and Clouded Yellow were both still on the wing at the Bill.

There was no improvement in overnight mothing at the Obs: the only immigrants were 6 Rusty-dot Pearl, 2 Silver Y and 1 White-speck, whilst Dark Chestnut, Yellow-line Quaker, Blair's Shoulder-knot and a late Cabbage Moth were the only additions to yesterday's list of resident  species still on the wing.

 

   

a Black Brant photo from yesterday showing the second of the two birds - Ferrybridge, 13th November 2008 © Pete Saunders

  14th November

Mild and dry but very overcast and drab today. At the Bill overhead passage was almost non-existent, but a few thrushes - including 7 Fieldfares, 5 Redwings and a Mistle Thrush - did drop in, another 5 Long-tailed Tits were new arrivals and 4 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Short-eared Owls, 2 Firecrests, a Water Rail, a Black Redstart, a Chiffchaff and a Goldcrest were still present. The only other reports were of a few birds offshore at the Bill: 3 Mediterranean Gulls and the first returning Fulmar lingering offshore and 18 Common Scoter and singles of Red-throated Diver, Black-throated Diver and Little Egret passing by. Elsewhere there were 2 Great Northern Divers and a Black-necked Grebe in Portland Harbour.

With the overnight conditions looking vaguely interesting we put out a few extra moth-traps at the Obs but were poorly rewarded: the only immigrants caught were 9 Rusty-dot Pearl, 3 Silver Y and 2 White-speck; resident species still on the wing included Anthophila fabriciana, Scrobipalpa costella, Light Brown Apple Moth, Crocidosema plebejana, Emmelina monodactyla, Large Yellow Underwing, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Beaded Chestnut, Lunar Underwing, Red-line Quaker, Black Rustic, Angle Shades and Feathered Ranunculus.

13th November

Dreary at dawn and wet before lunchtime. Despite the overcast skies there were a fair number of birds - including 250 Starlings, 200 Goldfinches, 100 Chaffinches, 7 Bramblings, 3 Fieldfares, 3 Redwings, 3 Redpolls, 2 Swallows, 2 Reed Buntings and a Grey Wagtail - on the move overhead at the Bill during the first couple of hours of the morning. Small numbers of new Blackbirds dropped in at the Bill where there were also 2 Firecrests and singles of Black Redstart, Chiffchaff and Goldcrest; another Black Redstart was at Weston. The Brent Goose flock at Ferrybridge totalled 1500 Dark-bellied, 19 Pale-bellied and 2 Black Brants, a Great Northern Diver and a Red-necked Grebe were in Portland Harbour and seawatching at the Bill produced 20 Common Scoter, 6 Mediterranean Gulls, 4 Red-breasted Mergansers, 3 Red-throated Divers and a Curlew.

A small improvement in overnight mothing saw the Obs garden immigrant total increase to 4 Rusty-dot Pearl, 2 White-speck, a Pearly Underwing and a Delicate.

 

   

  

Black Brant and Pale-bellied Brent Goose - Ferrybridge, 12th November 2008 © Pete Saunders

  12th November

A really pleasant sunny day with the strong wind of recent days having dropped right away. There wasn't too much by way of new arrivals on the ground but the trickle overhead included 225 Wood Pigeons, 13 Bramblings, 11 Redwings, 5 Siskins, 3 Reed Buntings, 2 Swallows and 2 Redpolls at the Bill. Most of what was seen on the ground looked to be lingering on from previous days, with 3 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Firecrests, a Water Rail and a Short-eared Owl being the best on offer at the Bill, whilst elsewhere there were another 2 Firecrests at Church Ope Cove and 12 Pale-bellied Brents and a Black Brant were again at Ferrybridge. Two Mediterranean Gulls and a Black-throated Diver passed through on the sea at the Bill.

Red Admiral and Clouded Yellow were both still on the wing today.

Three Rusty-dot Pearl and a Silver Y were the only immigrants in the Obs garden moth-traps this morning.

 

   

  

  

Kestrel, Short-eared Owl and Wigeon - Church Ope Cove, Portland Bill and Ferrybridge, 11th November 2008 © Martin Cade (Kestrel and SEO) and Pete Saunders (Wigeon)

  11th November

Still very blustery but otherwise much finer today. There seemed to be very few new arrivals on the ground but a light southbound passage of finches - mainly Chaffinches and Goldfinches - at the Bill included 4 Bramblings; 2 late Swallows were also overhead there and a Redshank passed over at Southwell. Left-overs on the ground included at least 3 Firecrests at the Bill and another at Pennsylvania Castle and at least 1 Short-eared Owl still at the Bill. Two Bar-tailed Godwits and a Wigeon were at Ferrybridge where the Brent Goose flock topped 1400 Dark-bellied and 26 Pale-bellied. Sewatching produced just 1 Red-throated Diver off the Bill.

Two Rusty-dot Pearl were the only immigrants in the Obs garden moth-traps this morning.

10th November

A truly miserable day of constant rain and strong winds. One of the Black Brants that has returned to winter on the Fleet was at Ferrybridge, along with at least 14 Pale-bellied Brents, this morning and at least 2 Firecrests were still in the Obs garden.

 

The next In Focus field event at the Obs takes place between 10am and 4pm tomorrow, Tuesday 11th November.

  9th November

Another rough day that produced precious little on the sea: 12 Common Scoter, 3 Shelduck, 3 Eider and 3 Little Gulls at Chesil Cove and 230 Kittiwakes, 17 Common Scoter, 3 Shelduck and a Mediterranean Gull off the Bill. Three Purple Sandpipers and 2 Firecrests at the Bill and 2 Ring Ouzels at Penn's Weare were the pick of the reports from the land.

Five Rusty-dot Pearl were the only immigrants in the Obs garden moth-traps this morning.

8th November

After a wet and windy night the day's highlight - a Grey Phalarope at Chesil Cove - wasn't all together surprising; 12 Common Scoter, a Great Northern Diver, a Manx Shearwater, a Shelduck and a Little Gull were also there, a late Sandwich Tern passed through at Ferrybridge and a couple of hundred storm-driven Kittiwakes were lingering off the Bill. On the land the sheltered spots received quite a bit of attention but returned nothing much more than a late Garden Warbler at Easton, 4 Firecrests at the Obs and another single Firecrest at Pennsylvania Castle; passage overhead was restricted to 2 Redpolls and a Siskin amongst small numbers of commoner finches over the Bill. The only other news was of 12 Pale-bellied Brents amongst 576 Dark-bellied Brent Geese at Ferrybridge.

7th November

At this time of year there's nothing like a brisk westerly to knock the birding on the head and sure enough today's tally was pretty dismal. The Yellow-browed Warbler remained at Easton, where a Great Spotted Woodpecker also showed up, but the best that the Bill could muster was 4 Firecrests and singles of Water Rail, Grey Wagtail and Brambling; another Firecrest was at the Grove. The only news from the sea was of 20 Common Scoter and a Mediterranean Gull passing the Bill.

Two late Speckled Wood butterflies were still on the wing at the Obs.

Another small haul of immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps included 18 Rusty-dot Pearl, 3 Silver Y and a Pearly Underwing.

 

   

Yellow-browed Warbler - Easton, 6th November 2008 © Martin Cade

  6th November

Far fewer new arrivals today. Overhead passage was restricted to little more than a few dozen thrushes and finches although 400 new Wood Pigeons over Southwell did perhaps hint at what might have been moving if it hadn't been quite so heavily overcast. The pick of the day's list for the Bill area included 9 Reed Buntings, 5 Bramblings, 3 Fieldfares, 3 Blackcaps, 3 Firecrests, 2 Siskins, a Merlin, a Water Rail, a Snipe, a Short-eared Owl, a Black Redstart, a Ring Ouzel and a Redpoll, whilst reports from elsewhere included a Yellow-browed Warbler in the vicarage garden at All Saints Church, Easton, a Tree Pipit at Easton, a Woodcock at Weston and 2 Ring Ouzels at both Barleycrates Lane and Penn's Weare.

Immigrant moths lingering on included 40 Rusty-dot Pearl, 7 Silver Y and a Dark Sword Grass trapped overnight at the Obs.

 

   

      

  

Typical scenes from a good thrush day: Blackbirds scooting through the Obs garden at close range....many of them just clearing the mist-nets....others simply passing straight through over the open fields - Portland Bill, 5th November 2008 © Martin Cade

  5th November

...and still the thrushes and finches keep coming. Today saw plenty more late passage with the usual trio of Blackbird, Redwing and Chaffinch all reaching the 200+ mark at the Bill; Song Thrushes and Starlings were a little less numerous there, whilst making up the variety there were 25 Bramblings, 20 Fieldfares, 16 Long-tailed Tits, 10 Blackcaps, 7 Swallows, 6 Goldcrests, 5 Chiffchaffs, 4 Woodcock, 4 Mistle Thrushes, 2 Redpoll, a Golden Plover, a Purple Sandpiper, a Snipe, a Black Redstart and a Firecrest. Elsewhere there were 2 more Woodcock at Avalanche Road.

In milder and less windy conditions overnight 22 Rusty-dot Pearl, 6 Silver Y and a White-speck provided some immigrant interest in the Obs garden moth-traps.

 

   

  

  

  Redwing lifting off into the dawn sky, Woodcock and a bit of Woodcock detail: surely the ultimate woodland camouflage - Portland Bill, 4th November 2008 © Martin Cade

  4th November

A nice selection to report again today with more thrushes, finches and other typical late autumn fare trickling through all day. A Pink-footed Goose flying over Ferrybridge was a decent highlight, but most of the action was at the Bill where another 550 Starlings arrived in off the sea, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Redwing and Chaffinch all reached the 100-200 level and among the lesser counts there were 23 Bramblings, 16 Long-tailed Tits, 10 Goldcrests, 6 Fieldfares, 6 Blackcaps, 6 Redpolls, 5 Short-eared Owls, 4 Black Redstarts, 3 Lapwings, 3 Woodcock, 3 Swallows, 3 Firecrests, a Merlin, a Wheatear, a Dartford Warbler and a Tree Sparrow. Interest on the sea consisted of just 2 Red-throated Divers, 2 Brent Geese and a Great Northern Diver passing the Bill.

 

   

  

  Blackbird and Pale-bellied Brent Goose - Portland Bill and Ferrybridge, 3rd November 2008 © Martin Cade (Blackbird) and Pete Saunders (Pale-bellied Brent)

  3rd November

Busier again today with more breaks in the heavy cloud cover seemingly tempting the thrushes and finches back into the air. The morning's totals at the Bill included 400 each of Redwing and Blackbird, 270 Starlings, 250 Chaffinches, 100 Song Thrushes, 50 Skylarks, 34 Lapwings, 15 Fieldfares, 3 Woodcock, 2 Golden Plover, 2 Snipe, 2 Black Redstarts, 2 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Bramblings, a Short-eared Owl, a House Martin, a Wheatear, a Ring Ouzel, a Dartford Warbler and a Crossbill; a good deal more of the same elsewhere included 2 Swallows at Southwell. The sea wasn't as productive as over the weekend but odds and ends passing the Bill did still include 53 Common Scoter, 4 Teal, 3 Brent Geese, 3 Wigeon, 2 Red-throated Divers, 2 Eider, a Shelduck and a Great Skua.

Also of interest, and thanks to the efforts of Willy Raitière, we have managed to circumvent the usual procedure and have learnt that the French-ringed Blackbird we controlled on 28th October had been ringed in Nord Pas-de-Calais (at the far end of the English Channel) on 18th October.

A few moths were on the wing in slightly milder conditions overnight, with the Obs garden traps producing 2 Rusty-dot Pearl, 2 Silver Y and a White-speck by way of immigrants.

And finally, we've been very remiss in not keeping up with adding details of several Obs member's websites/blogs to our links page; those that we can remember straight away are: 

Birds, Birding, and me....

Dave Gove Photography

Firecrest wildlife photography

FungalPunkNature

...we've probably lost details of some other sites on scraps of paper in the office so if we've forgotten you do please remind us.

 

   

  Ring Ouzel - Portland Bill, 2nd November 2008 © Martin Cade

  2nd November

Rather inexplicably it was much quieter overhead today with precious little of the decent passage of thrushes and finches seen over the last couple of days. The best of what was around at the Bill included 7 Long-tailed Tits (all newcomers and so additional to the 8 trapped and ringed over the last three days), 4 Firecrests (including 2 new arrivals), 2 Lapwings, 2 Black Redstarts, a Snipe, a Woodcock, a Short-eared Owl and a Ring Ouzel; another Firecrest was at Avalanche Road and 91 Mediterranean Gulls, 12 Pale-bellied Brent Geese and another Short-eared Owl were at Ferrybridge. The sea came up with plenty more of interest although, as so often happens with fly-by wildfowl in dodgy light and at great distance, the unidentified category had plenty of entries; the best of the day's totals at the Bill were 47 Common Scoter, 18 Wigeon, 9 Teal, 4 Shoveler, 3 Gadwall, 2 Red-throated Divers, a Black-throated Diver, a Brent Goose, a Pintail and a Little Auk.

 

   

  Fieldfare - Southwell, 1st November 2008 © Pete Saunders

  1st November

A dismal start to November with a dreary, very chilly morning giving way to an afternoon of non-stop rain but at least the birding wasn't too bad. The Bill area got most of the coverage and, like yesterday, most of what was logged was heading straight through into a stiff north-easterly; the morning's totals there included 500 Chaffinches, 150 Blackbirds, 45 Redwings, 40 Song Thrushes, 19 Bramblings, 15 Fieldfares, 10 Goldcrests, 6 Lapwings, 4 Sparrowhawks (all giving the impression of being migrants on the move), 4 Long-tailed Tits, 4 Redpolls, 4 Reed Buntings, 3 Snipe, 3 Grey Wagtails, 3 Siskins, a House Martin, a Black Redstart and a Wheatear. There was more of the same elsewhere, with a new Yellow-browed Warbler providing additional interest at Southwell. The sea was also worth a look, with 56 Common Scoter, 4 Pintail, 3 Wigeon, a Great Northern Diver, a Brent Goose and a Scaup the best of the miscellany passing the Bill.