14th September

Another wash-out dawn was very disappointing but the weather did eventually clear up and by the late afternoon it begun to feel a lot like summer had returned. With the afternoon sunshine came a surprise reappearance of the Bee-eater that remained just as mobile as it had been the day before yesterday; a selection of raptors included 2 Honey Buzzards and an Osprey, whilst Clouded Yellows surfaced/arrived in their highest numbers of the year to date, with 40 or more between the Bill and Southwell.

Portland Bill
Selected migrants Meadow Pipit 150n, Wheatear 75, Yellow Wagtail 25, Tree Pipit 3, Swift 2, Pied Flycatcher 2, Honey Buzzard 1, Greenshank 1, Green Sandpiper 1, Common Sandpiper 1, Bee-eater 1, White Wagtail 1.

North Portland 
Osprey 1s, Honey Buzzard 1s.

Ferrybridge
Sanderling 8, Knot 3, Curlew Sandpiper 2, Little Stint 1.

Moths
Selected migrants Obs: Rush Veneer 17, Rusty-dot Pearl 14, Pearly Underwing 11, Turnip 8, Dark Sword Grass 4, Convolvulus Hawkmoth 2, Scarce Bordered Straw 2, Silver Y 2, Diamond-back 1, European Corn-borer 1, Delicate 1. Grove: Convolvulus Hawkmoth 1.

This afternoon's Honey Buzzard over the Bill was rather odd since it looked to have just come in off the sea - maybe it had chickened out after leaving earlier? - and proceeded to circle enormously high overhead for a long time (it was jammily noticed while scanning around for the Bee-eater that could be heard but not seen and for most of the time was just a tiny speck that was unresolvable to the naked eye!). Although Honey was suspected, the field views at such long range were pretty inadequate and it took a series of massively blown-up photos to fully confirm the ID © Martin Cade: