8th November

With the wind switching back into the south-west and a steady procession of showers or longer spells of rains crossing the Channel seawatching remained the order of the day. The Bill was covered for pretty well the whole day and returned totals of 19 Common Scoter, 6 Pomarine Skuas, 4 Fulmars, 3 Great Skuas, 3 Little Auks, 2 Balearic Shearwaters and singles of Manx Shearwaters, Leach's Petrel and Arctic Skua amongst the steady procession of Gannets and Kittiwakes - each of which were moving at rates in the region of 100-200 per hour. The land did get a little attention, with 2 Short-eared Owls and a Wheatear at the Bill and a Black Redstart at Blacknor the best on offer.

Despite overnight wind and rain a few immigrants put in an appearance in the moth-traps, with 2 Silver Y and a Diamond-back Moth caught at the Obs.







Leach's Petrel, Great Skua, Kittiwake, Little Gull and Red-breasted Merganser - Portland Bill and Ferrybridge, 8th November 2014 © Keith Pritchard (Leach's Petrel), Martin Cade (Great Skua) and Pete Saunders (Kittiwake, Little Gull and Red-breasted Merganser)