23rd July

An improvement in wader numbers provided the bulk of migrants today, with 63 Dunlin, 8 Sanderling, 2 Turnstones and a Whimbrel at Ferrybridge and a Whimbrel through off the Bill. Passerines consisted of a handful of hirundines and a Willow Warbler at the Bill, where a Yellow-legged Gull was also about; seawatching there drew a comprehensive blank. Elsewhere, the Great Spotted Woodpecker remained at Wakeham.

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?...

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— Port and Wey (@portandwey.bsky.social) Jul 23, 2024 at 20:05