14th June

Mid-June came up with the goods again today when a Long-tailed Skua headed up-Channel past the Bill early in the morning; the Hooded Crow also showed up again and wandered widely between the Bill and the Grove pig farm, whilst a dispersing juvenile Treecreeper trapped at the Obs was an unexpected surprise. With more cloud in the sky conditions had perhaps looked favourable for dropping the odd tardy migrant; a passing Hobby on West Cliffs was of note, but aside from a couple of new Chiffchaffs at the Obs and a Grey Plover at Ferrybridge, precious little else materialised. Additional to the skua, seawatching at the Bill came up with 18 Common Scoter, 3 unseasonable Eider, the first Mediterranean Gull for a while and a handful of Manx Shearwaters, commic terns and Sandwich Terns.

Migrant lepidoptera included a scatter of Hummingbird Hawk-moths everywhere, a Clouded Yellow at the Bill, and 18 Rusty-dot Pearl, 4 Silver Y, a Diamond-back Moth and a Brown China-mark caught overnight in the Obs garden moth-traps.

 
Treecreeper - Portland Bill, 14th June 2014 © Martin Cade

...and two more of Portland's marquee lepidoptera that are now of the wing. The first cretaceus Silver-studded Blues were out today at Broadcroft BC (photo © Ken Dolbear):


...whilst as we mentioned a couple of days ago, Portland Ribbon Waves are now out (photo from the Grove © Martin Cade):