10th July

In a summer with Bee-eaters scattered widely around the UK another 2 at Portland - these overflew Easton during the morning - probably wasn't a huge surprise, with the only downside being their vanishing into the ether just as soon as they'd shown up. New arrivals on the ground seemed to be limited to yet another Chiffchaff at the Obs and 12 Dunlin and a Redshank at Ferrybridge, with all the rest of the news coming from the sea: 2 Storm Petrels were tape-lured and ringed at the Bill during the early hours and 52 Common Scoter, 5 Black-headed Gulls, 2 Manx Shearwaters and 2 Mediterranean Gulls passed through off there during the day.

Overnight mothing was very busy but quality in the immigrant line was really just limited to singles of Small Marbled at St Peter's Church and the Obs; a Spindle Knot-horn Nephopterix angustella at the Obs was the best of an equally limited range of wanderers.



Sparrowhawk - Southwell, 10th July 2015 © Pete Saunders