Portland Bird Observatory and Field Centre: 25th July

Manx Shearwaters seem to be spending most of the day feeding off the bill with 400 seen in an hour this evening. Other interest in the sea was 26 Mediterranean Gulls, 7 Black-headed Gull, 1 Yellow-legged Gull and a Balearic Shearwater. Very little on the land with 5 Sedge Warbler, 2 Stock Dove singles of Yellow wagtail and Reed Warbler. Elsewhere on the island there were 5 Sanderling, 6 Dunlin, 23 Ringed Plover and a Turnstone at Ferrybridge. In Southwell Gardens there was also the first autumn Pied Flycatcher.

On a fresher night moth numbers fell away a little although there were a few morsels of local interest, most notably a Dingy Shears at Culverwell and a Satin Beauty at Reap Lane and (the fourth and fifth island records respectively).Immigrant numbers included 28 Diamond-back Moth, 5 Silver Y, 4 Rusty-dot Pearl, 2 European Corn-borer and singles of Dog's Tooth and Cream-bordered Green Pea at the Obs; additionally, a single Vagrant Piercer was found indoors at the Obs.

...many thanks to Anthony Bentley and John Lucas for passing us the Dingy Shears and Satin Beauty respectively.