2nd October

Despite promising-looking conditions - lots of cloud and a fresh north-easterly - dawn was disappointingly quiet for migrants but the day proved to be a late-starter with a good arrival both on the ground and overhead ahead of the threat of rain towards mid-morning. The first Yellow-browed Warbler of the season put in an appearance at Thumb Lane and patches of cover everywhere overflowed with Chiffchaffs; at the same time a strong passage of Swallows and House Martins developed that, sadly, wasn't particularly well covered. Beyond the expected, variety on the ground was limited but did include singles of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Tree Pipit, Reed Warbler and Firecrest at the Bill, with a Hobby lingering for a while over Bill Hill. Some waterfowl passage at sea saw 44 Common Scoter, 19 Brent Geese, 15 Cormorants and a Teal - along with 20 Balearic Shearwaters - pass through off the Bill.

The juvenile Hobby lingered over Bill Hill and permitted unusually excellent views © Pete Saunders:

NE gusty wind with showers at midday resulted in 146 birds of 15 species ringed at 3 sites of @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social Chiffchaffs at 72 ,Blackcap at 28 and Meadow Pipits 18 were again dominant A Tree Pipit (pic),female Firecrest& Reed Warbler were the main interest to birders on the patio.

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— Peter J Morgan (@pbo61.bsky.social) October 2, 2024 at 8:23 PM

1st October

Quite why there wasn't a Yellow-browed Warbler on the island today rather defied belief - the trees further up-island are still far too leafy and hard to work but we're not deaf - but that didn't deflect from it being a decent enough day for routine migration. Chiffchaffs were everywhere in good quantity, with evidence from the mist-nets suggesting Blackcaps were probably equally numerous if mostly audible rather than visible for the fieldworkers; other grounded arrivals weren't really a feature although good-sized groups of Stonechats and the like had aggregated in places, whilst oddities included 12 Bar-tailed Godwits dropping in at the Bill. Overhead passage was strong for a while after dawn but fizzled out quite quickly, with a sample count on West Cliffs coming up with 1535 Meadow Pipits, 510 Linnets, 175 Skylarks and lower totals of a good variety of other expected fare; a lone Cattle Egret also passed over at the Bill. In the fresh offshore breeze the sea offered limited rewards: Kittiwakes and auks were both got beyond 150 but 7 Balearic Shearwaters and 4 Arctic Skuas provided the only quality.

Dawn from CEField at dawn with NW wind later provided majority of birds ringed at PBO @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social today. 82 of 13 species incl.Snipe only 17th ever and 2nd this century,2 Sedge W & 5 Stonechat with 24 Meadow P, 11 CC, 17 B'cap being again the predominant species. Still awaiting YBW

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— Peter J Morgan (@pbo61.bsky.social) October 1, 2024 at 8:23 PM