26th November

In much quieter conditions there was a rather wintery feel to the birding, with little evidence of late passage beyond singles of Redshank and Redwing at the Bill. An almost flat calm Portland Harbour got a good look which revealed a newly arrived Velvet Scoter; 6 Black-necked Grebes, 5 Great Northern Divers, the Black Guillemot and singles of Eider, Common Scoter were also still about there, whilst singles of Mallard and Redshank were of note at Ferrybridge. The land came up with 8 Black Redstarts (4 at the Bill and 2 each at Blacknor and Portland Castle), 3 Blackcaps (2 at the Bill and 1 at Portland Castle), a scatter of Chiffchaffs everywhere and 4 Purple Sandpipers and a Short-eared Owl at the Bill; a high count of 36 Rock Pipits around the tip of the Bill was also of interest.

Not surprisingly, 2 Diamond-back Moth were the only immigrant moths caught overnight at the Obs.