28th July

A cooler, breezier day saw little change in the day's species list, however the gusts did encourage a little more movement on the sea with 13 Balearic Shearwaters, 2 Arctic Skuas and 2 Yellow-legged Gulls the best of the bunch; routine gull passage also continued with Lesser Black-backed Gulls beginning to get more conspicuous among the now ubiquitous Mediterranean Gulls. The land was windswept and quiet but a slack handful of Willow Warblers, Sedge Warblers, Blackcaps and a fly-over Yellow Wagtail made up the migrant tallies for the day. Ferrybridge continued its recent form with singles of Whimbrel and Sanderling, 14 Ringed Plovers and 24 Dunlin

With moult only just getting underway the Kestrels are looking far from their best but that clearly isn't hampering their hunting abilities © Debby Saunders


The early pioneers at Portland would have thought it utterly inconceivable that the day would come when Mediterranean Gulls were the second most numerous gull off the Bill © Martin Cade:


And a few more moth highlights from recent nights. Small Metal-mark Prochoreutis myllerana at the Obs on 27th was yet another addition to the island list...


...whilst other national or local scarcities have included a Vagrant China-mark Diasemiopsis ramburialis and Lappet at the Obs on 25th ...



...a Yellow Pearl Mecyna flavalis at the Obs on 26th...


...and a Splendid Brocade at the Grove on 27th © Martin Cade: