Portland Bird Observatory and Field Centre: 4th May

Whilst it wasn't a surprise after another chilly, clear night to find the island relatively devoid of grounded migrants, it was trickier to explain why in almost perfect conditions the sea remained so quiet; we could also take issue with there being not a sniff of an overshooting rarity, but perhaps that would be being greedy. There really weren't any numbers or even variety of consequence on the land, where a tardy Goldcrest was just about the most interesting arrival at the Bill and 4 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Grey Plover and a Sanderling were among the commoner waders at Ferrybridge. A resurgence in Common Scoter passage - 250 at the Bill and 175 off Chesil - was the main feature of the day's seawatching; 50 commic terns, 7 Red-throated Divers, 5 Whimbrel, 4 Arctic Skuas, 2 Shoveler, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, a Bar-tailed Godwit and a Little Gull also passed through off the Bill, with mainly lower numbers of the same array off Chesil; a single Great Skua also passed over at Ferrybridge.