What with poorish weather, preparations for the Obs AGM and preparing the Obs garden and Crown Estate Field for the autumn ringing season we haven't had a lot of time for birding in the last few days. However, a nice duo of Swifts came our way in unexpected circumstances - the juvenile sadly succumbed after grounding elsewhere on the island and the adult was a serendipitous catch in a mist-net at Culverwell - and are worth having a closer look at; here are their heads, upper wings and upperparts © Martin Cade:
Wakeham Meadow this afternoon and only my second Black Mining Bee (Andrena pilipes) I have seen on Portland. This is a nationally scarce species in the UK and is probably why the last one I saw was in June 2018 at Church Ope Cove. youtu.be/uMNtHg_8jgs?...
— Port and Wey (@portandwey.bsky.social) Jul 23, 2024 at 20:05
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