2nd October

 A wild and windy day saw the worst of the spirally rain over by mid-morning. The frequent showers and gusting winds were enough, however, to keep most passerines sheltering through the morning. With the swell gathering and an onshore wind, the sea provided the mornings entertainment with 13 Pintail, 16 Wigeon, 6 Grey Plovers and a Curlew Sandpiper the best of the bunch off the Bill and 8 Golden Plover through over Portland Harbour. The day's highlight, however, came from one diligent watcher of Ferrybridge as a Kentish Plover materialized in amongst the Ringed Plover flock. The rest of the Ferrybridge tallies were made up by four Bar-tailed Godwits, three Grey Plovers and two fly-over Great Northern Divers. As the afternoon progressed, the wind dropped and the temperature rose to reveal a thin spread of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps, a couple of tardy Willow Warblers and a single Spotted Flycatcher; the Rosy Starling also remained in residence at Easton.

With a vicious low pressure area centred close to the Channel Islands feeding in wind and rain off the near Continent more might perhaps have been expected passerine-wise but the Kentish Plover was nice compensation © Martin Cade:

It was a real day of two halves, with the wild weather of the morning giving way to a far more clement afternoon - it was still windy enough for migrants to be hunkered down but at least it was possible to get out amongst them © Martin Cade: