A day that ticked over with low level migrant interest without ever looking like anything out of the ordinary was about to happen. The mainly clear conditions didn't favour anything in the way of numbers on the ground and the light spread of the likes of
Blackcaps,
Chiffchaffs and
Goldcrests around the south of the island harboured little more by way of quality than 3
Firecrests and a
Pied Flycatcher. Visible passage was weaker than might have been hoped, with the first multiples of
Siskins,
Chaffinches and
Reed Buntings as good as it got over the Bill. A lone
Great Skua passed through off the Bill, the
Eider was still in Portland Harbour and 2 more
Brent Geese and a
Yellow-legged Gull were at Ferrybridge.
A group of 15-20
Bottle-nosed Dolphins were off the Bill for much of the day.
Four more
Delicates were the best of the overnight immigrant moth catch at the Obs.
This afternoon's Yellow-legged Gull at Ferrybridge was an adult - a surprisingly infrequently seen age class at Portland at this time of year when the plethora of summer juveniles is petering out and the late autumn miscellany of usually sub-adults haven't started showing up © Brett Spencer:
