18th January

An at times mightily unpleasant day: rain for several hours either side of dawn, a raw south-easterly and constant dreary skies. In the circumstances it was a surprise that there were any sightings of note, let alone the good mid-winter highlight that came in the form of a seemingly poorly Puffin settled close inshore at the Bill; more routine reports from the sea there included 7 Common Scoter and 4 Red-throated Divers through. On the land the first Linnets of the year - a flock of 11 - were at the Bill and the 2 Firecrests and single Blackcap remained at the Obs.




Puffin - Portland Bill, 18th January 2016 © Martin Cade

...healthy Puffins are pretty well unknown off Portland in mid-winter, with most of what few records there are of the species at this time of year relating to patently ailing individuals or tideline corpses on Chesil.

And some more photos from recent days: Peter Moore petermooreblog kindly sent through two from yesterday of the Chesil Cove Black Redstarts:


 
...whilst Emma Cockburn passed us one of a Bloxworth Snout that just lately has been inside her house at Fortuneswell: