9th May

Visible passage was a little stronger today, with a sample one hour count of 149 Swallows, 72 Swifts and 28 House Martins heading north along West Cliffs reflecting what had been noticeable from casual observations throughout the island; several Spotted Flycatchers, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 2 Little Egrets, 2 Hobbys and an Osprey were amongst the other overhead migrants logged at the Bill through the morning. Under the continuing almost cloudless sky it was nowhere near as rewarding on the ground, with little more than ones and twos of routine fare anywhere. The best of the day's sea passage came late, with a total of 5 Pomarine Skuas through off Chesil and the Bill during the evening; earlier, 34 commic terns, 7 Bar-tailed Godwits, 3 Arctic Skuas and a Great Northern Diver had been the best of it off the Bill.

This morning's Osprey heading up West Cliffs - a long, long way away from our viewpoint at the Obs © Martin Cade:

8th May

Just at the moment it seems a lot more likely that Kosmos 482 will plunge into the Obs garden than it does that a worthwhile migrant - or any migrants in quantity - will pitch in here; today there were high hopes that the heavy cloud cover that had rolled in overnight would do us a favour but in the event there was only the smallest improvement in the parlous migrant situation and, within a few hours of dawn, the cloud had dissipated and blazing sunshine had returned. The stalwart efforts of the six visiting ringers - we're not underhanded! - at the Obs/Crown Estate Field deserve credit and sympathy in equal measure for sticking to their task and ringing 22 new birds - the highest day-total so far this month but also a total that more than adequately demonstrated how little was about. Phylloscs made up more than half of this total and it was otherwise only Spotted Flycatchers that achieved any sort of visibility with 10 in the wider Bill area; elsewhere, there was an increase to 10 Sanderlings at Ferrybridge. The promise of some half-decent pulses of hirundines once the cloud cleared didn't build into a stronger passage even if birds did continue to trickle through well into the evening. Bearing in mind the strength of passage further up-Channel, the sea was also hugely disappointing, with little more than 50 Common Scoter and 21 Bar-tailed Godwits through off the Bill and 100 Mediterranean Gulls lingering off Chesil; news from a boat journey offshore concerned a Storm Petrel seen four miles SSW of the Bill.

An interesting little moth event in the last week has been the capture of two Blair's Mochas at the Obs - one last night and the other on 2nd May. Although this species is no longer the great rarity it once was and even appears to be colonising various spots along the South Coast, it's remained a good scarcity for us with, for example, just 16 records ever for the Obs garden. These two are our earliest ever - in fact there's never been a spring record here before - and with plenty of its food plant, Holm Oak, in the Obs garden there must be a good chance it's getting established here © Martin Cade:


7th May

Another lovely day to be out birding but, once again, far too nice to have expected any sort of arrival of grounded migrants. Swallows, and to a lesser extent Swifts and House Martins, were arriving in fair supply including 3 Swallows per minute during a sample half-hour count on West Cliffs; 3 Yellow Wagtails and a Hobby also passed through overhead, whilst several of the day's 10 Spotted Flycatchers were more or less visible migrants that shot through without stopping. Grounded arrivals otherwise consisted of little more than ones and twos of the most routine migrants for early May. The sea was scarcely better, with just 2 Arctic Skuas and a single Great Northern Diver through off the Bill.

Three Red-veined Darters were at the Crown Estate Field, with freshly emerged Scarce Blue-tailed Damselflies also present on the pond there, confirming their presence for the fourth consecutive year.

Since they're most often found far from water, anything approaching a full census of Red-veined Darters would be a hellishly difficult undertaking but it would be fascinating to know how many have reached Portland in recent days. These are two of three that were frequenting a small corner of the Crown Estate Field this morning © Martin Cade:



this immature female scarce blue tailed damselfly probably the best looking damselfly i have seen at the crown estates field pond portland.

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) May 7, 2025 at 5:24 PM

6th May

Very little changing save for the fact that by the afternoon the nagging, cold northeasterly had dropped right away. Although the recent nights have been clear it's still a puzzle as to why so few migrants are being dropped by the current stiff headwind - conditions that have delivered us bucketloads of birds on many occasions in the past. Today's offerings were again very much on the lean side: diurnal arrivals trickled though in fair numbers and included a Marsh Harrier in off the sea at the Bill, but on the ground it was still a hard slog for no more than ones and twos amongst which there was nothing at all unexpected. Singles of Great Northern Diver and Arctic Skua were the best of it on the sea at the Bill.


Now twds Southwell over top fields

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— Joe Stockwell (@joestockwell.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 7:32 AM
As often happens in early May, a small group of Whimbrel have got more or less stuck at Ferrybridge in recent days as they try to refuel sufficiently for the next stage of their journey, presumably to Iceland © Martin Cade:



@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social I found this day-flying Little Thorn on Sat 3rd May, along the coastal path below the prison. Not a species familiar to me. Could it be a good record for the island? Thanks. #teammoth #dorsetmoths

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— Will Clennell (@birdbeard.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 9:54 PM

5th May

Colder, just as breezy and very hard-won rewards today. A Turtle Dove at Portland Castle was the pick of the limited selection of grounded migrants on offer that also included single figure totals of Whimbrel, Yellow Wagtail, Tree Pipit, Wheatear, Reed Warbler, Garden Warbler, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Spotted Flycatcher; overhead passage was almost as poor, with Swallows almost outnumbered by Swifts at the Bill. With the wind still further towards the north the sea was quiet, with very little passage and 2 Yellow-legged Gulls amongst the gull flock at the Bill almost the only birds of note.

There were migrants out there but they weren't at all numerous and none were at all unexpected - Yellow Wagtail, Spotted Flycatcher and Whitethroat © Joe Stockwell:



4th May

A slight improvement today, with a brisk and suddenly very chilly northeasterly dropping a good deal more than we'd grown accustomed to in recent days. There certainly wasn't anything like a proper fall at the Bill, but Swifts and hirundines were moving in strength - including Swallows getting into four figures and both Swift and House Martin well into three figures, whilst a miscellany of grounded migrants and other diurnal movers included 15 Yellow Wagtails, 6 Spotted Flycatchers, 3 Whinchats, 3 Reed Warblers, 2 each of Hobby, Sedge Warbler and Garden Warbler and a single Pied Flycatcher; at least another 15 Spotted Flycatchers were scattered elsewhere. It seemed that the wind was a little too offshore and sea rewards were correspondingly reduced, with 3 Arctic Skuas, 2 Great Northern Divers, a Red-throated Diver and a few Manx Shearwaters, Black-headed Gulls and waders the best of it between the Bill and Chesil.

Hardly a surprise since there's been a little influx of them in recent days and a visiting moth-trapper had even caught one elsewhere on the island a couple of nights ago, but a Striped Hawkmoth was a nice overnight catch in one of the Obs garden moth-traps. We're fortunate that some of these scarcer migrants are so relatively regular for us and, thanks to the sterling services of Martin King who over the last winter digitized our hitherto very disorganised migrant moth records, we can now straight away discover that this was in fact the 77th Striped Hawk ever trapped at the Obs - thanks Martin, you've saved us an awful lot of tedious data entry! © Martin Cade:

3rd May

We'll take anything on the migration front and when the birds come up short like they did again today we're always happy to salvage the day with bugs. This wasn't to say the birds were hopeless, with a Hooded Crow at Reap Lane and a Honey Buzzard in off the sea at Chesil two quality arrivals, whilst the Little Stint remained at Ferrybridge. However, we fared poorly for the commoner migrants, with grounded arrivals very thinly spread and low on quality, and diurnal passage seemingly adversely affected by a band of hefty showers lingering out in mid-Channel; an uptick in Swifts, including 60 through at the Bill, was about the best of it on the land. The sea remained relatively quiet: 275 Black-headed Gulls through/lingering off the Bill was an exceptional total, 200 Manx Shearwaters were also lingering there and 4 Arctic Skuas passed by. 

On the insect front, the moth-traps were busy with Diamond-backs in particular but the night's highlight was the island's second ever Lunar Marbled Brown at Southwell. By day, Red Admirals and Painted Ladys were well spread and Large Whites were watched arriving in off the sea at the Bill; a Brimstone was also watched arriving in off at the Bill tip which provides our first ever evidence for the origins of the occasional Brimstones logged around the island (this species isn't known to breed here). A good arrival of migrant dragonflies included a Vagrant Emperor on East Cliffs at the Bill and multiples of Red-veined Darters at both the Bill and Yeolands Quarry.

Today's Hooded Crow at Reap Lane © Phil Cheeseman: 


The Vagrant Emperor © Jodie Henderson and one of the Red-veined Darters © Steve Mansfield at the Bill...



...and two of the Red-veined Darters at Yeolands Quarry © Martin Cade:



John Lucas' garden moth-trap at Southwell has been catching decent numbers and variety just lately - on many nights he's fared far better than we have at the Obs - and last night its star catch was a Lunar Marbled Brown; although a widespread moth on the mainland, it's an oak-feeder so is absent from Portland - there's just one previous record of a stray here that was trapped at the Obs on 12th May 1991 © Martin Cade:

2nd May

Informed wisdom suggested that by mid-morning today there wouldn't ever have been a 2nd May with so few sightings on the day sheet - and it didn't get any better after that. Our needy cause wasn't exactly helped by thick fog having rolled in overnight that demonstrably prevented overflying migrants even knowing of the island's existence and precluded any chances of seawatching saving the day; by the time the clearance came and the heat of the current scorching spell kicked in the day had largely been written off by most prospective participants. A Little Stint new in at Ferrybridge was the day's high point, with singles of Pied and Spotted Flycatchers at the Obs the best of the what few passerine migrants were about.

The Obs moth-traps didn't delivery us as many migrant moths as we might have hoped - just a handful of Diamond-backs, Rusty-dot Pearls and Dark Sword Grasses - but by day Red Admirals were quite numerous and several more Painted Ladys were logged; during the evening there were many hundreds of Diamond-back Moths at Ferrybridge.

We're frequently amused to learn that some readers of the blog are concerned for our mental wellbeing - such is the adject misery we have fun projecting. Nothing could be further from the truth: we can't odds how few migrants are about - that's just a result of the prevailing unhelpful weather and a century of more of the human race trashing the planet; we just tell it how it is and if folk as well informed as birders think that it's OK to drive 100 or more mile round trips for year ticks or a good photo then there really isn't any hope. We can assure our readers that there are far more tiresome things you could be doing than, for example, spending a rather idyllic evening hour within a few square metres at Ferrybridge where we could watch a Little Stint to one side, a Yellow Wagtail on the other and chivvy up literally dozens of Diamond-back Moths every time we moved our feet - very simple pleasures but ever so enjoyable nonetheless © Martin Cade:

Striped Hawk-moth (Hyles livornica), to light on Portland, Dorset on 1/5. A. Harmer. #teammoth @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social

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— Migrant Lepidoptera (GB & Ireland) (@migrantmothuk.bsky.social) May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM

1st May

A Night Heron has more than enough pedigree to save any lacklustre day and when the circumstances of its occurrence are as peculiar as those of the bird that showed up at the Bill today then we were even more fortunate: first seen mid-morning arriving in off the sea at the Bill tip, it proceeded to linger in full view on the rocky shore along East Cliffs until early evening when it eventually upped and departed high to the east. By most other measures the day was indeed a disappointment, with no more than the smallest arrival of grounded migrants, just a light passage of diurnal arrivals and, by yesterday's standards, the slowest of seawatches. A Pied Flycatcher and a Black Redstart were the pick of the newcomers at the Bill, where a handful of Yellow Wagtails, Whinchats, Wheatears and Willow Warblers made up the bulk of the numbers, whilst a Grey Plover and a Yellow-legged Gull were the best of the arrivals at Ferrybridge. Overhead, an Osprey through at Easton and 2 Hobbys through at the Bill compensated for the again slow pace of Swift and hirundine passage. A last gasp 3 Pomarine Skuas saved the day for the Bill seawatchers who had earlier endured long hours for little more than 3 Little Gulls, a Great Crested Grebe and a Great Skua; a few waders and more small gulls were also still moving there and off Chesil.

Butterfly immigration was again evident during the evening when several Red Admirals were watched arriving in off the sea at Chesil and a number of presumably earlier arrivals - along with a single Painted Lady - were basking in the last of the sun on the walls of the Chesil Centre.

The Night Heron put on an unexpectedly good show - on one occasion just after it made first landfall it even landed right on top of Pulpit Rock! With four records in the 14 years between 1987 and 2001 this species had looked like it might become a tolerably regular scarcity here but it's subsequently taken 24 years for another to appear; the previous records fell between extreme dates of 4th April and 24th June with two of them, like today's occurrence, involving birds actually watched coming in off the sea © Martin Cade:


Wheatears have been one of the most conspicuous migrants in recent days; there are still a few presumed British breeders passing through but big, richly-coloured Greenland/Iceland breeders are very much to the fore © Mark Williams (in field) and Martin Cade (in hand):



And from the sublime to the ridiculous: the female Mandarin surfaced again this evening when it dropped in on a garden pond at Sweethill © Nick Stantiford:


30th April

After a couple of duff springs for them we were due a bit of a Pom-fest and just that came to pass today, with the gentle northeasterly and cloudless skies being perfect for Pomarine Skuas to trundle up-Channel in quantity with the sun on their backs; Portland's tally of 20 - including flocks of 9 and 7 - might not stand comparison with points eastward but was well above average for us and provided plenty of entertainment. Sea passage was otherwise fitful at best, although 5 Arctic Skuas, a Great White Egret, a Great Northern Diver, an uptick in Black-headed and Mediterranean Gulls, and a good variety of waders spread between the Bill and Chesil were all worthwhile bonuses. The grounded migrant situation showed a slight improvement in numbers if not really in variety: Yellow Wagtail, Wheatear, Whinchat and Willow Warbler all got into double figures at the Bill, whilst gulls and waders scattered between the Bill and Ferrybridge included 50 Mediterranean Gulls, 21 Ringed Plovers, 21 Bar-tailed Godwits, 10 Turnstones and 5 Sanderling. Overhead it was still oddly quiet, with far fewer hirundines and Swifts than might have been expected.

A flurry of migrant/dispersing butterflies included a Brimstone at Blacknor and a Painted Lady at Chesil.

For reasons we don't really understand, the majority of birders present at the Bill today chose to watch the spectacle of the passing Poms from the distance of the Obs patio rather than get close to the action at the Bill tip, so rather than lovely photographs of Pom flocks here's a bit of video from our 'out of hours' Chesil watching on the last couple of evenings (featuring Shovelers, Knots, Whimbrel, Bar-tailed Godwits, Black-headed Gulls and Arctic Skuas) © Martin Cade:


Accompanying us on top of the beach was this Painted Lady that we're guessing had recently arrived in off the sea © Martin Cade:


29th April

Since all but two of the observers out and about around the island today failed to spot an enormous white and black bird flying majestically and blindingly obviously through island airspace this morning we're not sure we should take as a given that they'd have uncovered whatever songbird vagrant might have been lurking less obtrusively; the White Stork that so deftly escaped wider scrutiny progressed north from Southwell before leaving across Portland Harbour and provided the day's highpoint. Vision impairments aside, it certainly looked to remain quiet for routine migration which came as no surprise bearing in mind the unchanged conditions, with Wheatear again taking top spot amongst the grounded arrivals that included another Short-eared Owl but little else that wouldn't have been expected. Diurnal passage was also again noticeably lighter than anticipated, with a single Hobby the best of it at the Bill. In a fresher northeasterly sea passage picked up a little, with 105 Common Scoter, 4 Arctic Skuas and singles of Pomarine Skua and Red-throated and Great Northern Diver through off the Bill and 15 Turnstones, 10 Knot, 8 Shoveler and 3 Arctic Skuas through from Chesil.

It's amazing how quickly you can get benefits from the provision of decent habitat. Today saw our fields that are managed under a Countryside Stewardship deal ploughed in preparation for this year's crops to be planted and in no time at all multiples of, amongst others, Whinchat, Yellow Wagtail and White Wagtail had appeared feeding voraciously over the freshly broken ground - since none were known to be anywhere in the vicinity when the work started we can only guess that they were overflying migrants lured down opportunistically © Martin Cade:

28th April

We currently have a decent selection of secondhand optics and associated paraphernalia for sale; these are as follows:
A local Obs member is selling the camera - if you contact us at the Obs we'll put you in touch with the seller. The other items are all being held at the Obs and can be examined on request - all are in excellent condition (...the little Ultravid binoculars are lovely!); these items are all being sold by another Obs member, with part of the proceeds going to Obs funds.

The needle was firmly stuck in the groove on both the weather and bird fronts today, with it remaining gloriously sunny and warm but as a consequence also still rather uninspiring for migrants. A lone Short-eared Owl and another flurry of 50 Wheatears were new in at the Bill but there and elsewhere other arrivals were few and far between; despite the seemingly perfect conditions overhead passage everywhere was very lacklustre and included no surprises. The sea ticked along with occasional passing Manx Shearwaters, Common Scoters, Bar-tailed Godwits, Whimbrel and the like but just 3 Arctic Skuas through off the Bill was a poor skua return in a light easterly at this time of year; 3 Dark-bellied Brent Geese settled off Chesil were on the late side.

1x adonis blue, 2x cmn blue, c.12 small blue, 1x dingy skipper, 1x orange tip, wall browns, small whites, cmn whites possible distant f brimstone. at blacknor gully today

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) April 28, 2025 at 3:54 PM

27th April

Not that there was much going on anyway, but the premature arrival of high summer saw to it that there was even less today. Although the day's coverage showed that several migrants had arrived overnight on breeding territories that had been unoccupied just yesterday, anything heading further afield made the most of the conditions and carried on over without stopping. At the Bill it was only a small arrival of Wheatears that saved the cumulative total of grounded newcomers from failing to get beyond single figures, with nothing of note there beyond a likely lingering Grasshopper Warbler. Overhead passage was stronger, with another steady throughput of Swallows; 2 Little Egrets also arrived separately in from the south. Were it not for 2 each of Great Northern Diver and Arctic Skua the seawatch scorers at the Bill would hardly have been troubled.

The increasing warmth saw a flurry of butterfly first records for the year, with Small Copper, Small Blue and Dingy Skipper all on the wing at the Bill.

26th April

When it takes more than half an hour to register the first entry on the day-sheet and two hours before the first migrant's ringed at the Obs you know the portents for the day aren't great - and, with a few exceptions, so it proved. The most notable exception was a very strong passage of hirundines with the first decent pulse of Swifts tagging along - seemingly funneled in quantity along the leading edge of an almost stationary Channel-wide band of rain only a few miles to the the west of the island - whilst in view of the lack of quantity on the ground a scatter of 6 Ring Ouzels and 60 Wheatears was a surprise. Also on the ground, the year's first Spotted Flycatcher was an on-cue arrival at the Grove, with 3 Common Sandpipers, the first 2 Purple Sandpipers for several weeks and a Hobby also logged. The block of rain to the west wasn't looked on favourably by the seawatchers so their return of 30 Bar-tailed Godwits, 22 Whimbrel, 12 Dunlin, 9 Shelducks, 2 Red-throated Divers and a Pomarine Skua through off the Bill perhaps slightly exceeded expectations.

Ring Ouzel and Hobby in the Strips at the Bill this morning © Martin Cade:



Passage of the small waders hasn't really got going yet but these three Sanderling were new arrivals along the Hamm Beach shore this morning © Pete Saunders:


It's looking like a good many of the Ferrybridge Little Terns are back in the vicinity even if they're not yet firmly settled in the breeding colony...


...this Common Seal's also been about in the vicinity of the colony © John Dadds:


25th April

Call yourself a Bird Observatory? - just at the moment we're verging on incurring the scrutiny of Trading Standards for purporting to be some sort of ornithological hotspot when by just about every metric it's blindingly obvious we're falling way short of the mark. In truth - although only by dint of a lot of legwork and gawping at the sea - today did come up with fair-ish day-list even if numbers were pretty dreadful. Swallows, and to a lesser extent House Martins, were again arriving in decent supply but on the ground none of the routine migrants managed even a double figure total at the Bill where there were no surprises amongst what little could be found; elsewhere, a Black Redstart at Ferrybridge was about as good as it got. In a freshening southeasterly the sea should have provide salvation but it too was far quieter than expected, with combined Bill/Chesil totals that included 130 Bar-tailed Godwits, 100 Arctic/commic Terns, 84 Common Scoter, 80 Whimbrel, 7 Red-throated Divers, 4 Arctic Skuas, 2 Great Northern Divers and singles of Black-throated Diver, Red-breasted Merganser and Great Skua.

Six and a half minutes on the penultimate leg of the long, long flight from Mauritania to the Netherlands. Such is the longevity of waders, we're guessing that quite a few of the birds in this mixed flock of Bar-tailed Godwits and Whimbrel will have taken the short-cut over Chesil and Portland Harbour in multiple previous springs so they'd know it isn't an insurmountable barrier; however, they rarely seem to take it lightly and need a fair bit of psyching themselves up - and an awful lot of gaining height - to get the job done. Still a marvel every time we see this © Martin Cade:


It hardly seems possible but two months have passed since our first Wheatear of the spring arrived and still there are a fair few of them coming through now. We're pretty sure this male at Ferrybridge isn't actually a new arrival since there always seems to be a similar-looking bird hanging around on the edge of the grass when we're going back and forth from our evening seawatches; in fact yesterday evening he even gave a couple of bursts of song so he's maybe intending on sticking around © Martin Cade: 

24th April

After yesterday's migration debacle today saw a considerable improvement, with the waft of an easterly and clear skies no impediment to potential movers; a great many nocturnal migrants no doubt carried straight on over without stopping but there was still a decent variety of laggards that'd grounded to take a break, whilst diurnal passage - particularly of Swallows - was very strong. More than materialised might have been expected from the sea although there were hints towards nightfall of wader passage picking up. The grounded selection included most of the late April regulars even if numbers were hardly impressive; a Corn Bunting at the Bill and a Serin at Wakeham were the best of the new arrivals, with the likes of 5 Lesser Whitethroats, 4 Yellow Wagtails, 3 Reed Warblers and a Pied Flycatcher scattered amongst the commoner fare around the south of the island. A sample count of 352 Swallows, 32 House Martins, 5 Sand Martins, a Yellow Wagtail and a Tree Pipit through in an hour at Blacknor looked to be wholly representative of some strong day-long diurnal passage that was still ongoing along Chesil as dusk approached. Four Red-throated Divers, 2 Great Northern Divers, a Balearic Shearwater and an Arctic Skua were the relatively poor rewards from morning seawatching at the Bill but there was a suggestion of passage picking up during the evening, when 80 Bar-tailed Godwits and 30 Whimbrel headed over Chesil in quick time.

In a lot of ecological/land management circles the Sycamore is a maligned tree - damned for being a nasty alien - but we won't have a word against it: quite apart from being one of the few tree species that positively thrives on Portland, it provides a vital resource for all manner of migrant birds. Its autumn worth is well known, particularly late in the season when its last leaves are so often alive with Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests; less appreciated is how good it can be in spring, when its flower sprays are full of bugs that in turn attract many hungry warblers like this Willow Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat © Pete Saunders:




Some fitfully delivered song from a newly arrived Garden Warbler at the Bill © Joe Stockwell:

23rd April

Sometimes overnight rain works for us - just a couple of days ago it worked a treat - but on just as many days it kills migration dead which is just what happened today, with an overnight downpour and associated strong winds doing nothing for the land or sea. Grounded arrivals were woefully represented, with only Wheatear just managing a double figure totals at the Bill, where 3 Common Sandpipers and a Black Redstart were the only newcomers of interest; Ferrybridge fared hardly better, with 12 Whimbrel and 2 Sanderlings the only waders of note. The weather had blown through by dawn to the extent that hirundines got moving under the clearing sky but even their numbers were nothing to shout about. The sea was well watched but 2 Sanderling, 2 Arctic Skuas and a single Great Skua were the only worthwhile returns off the Bill.

22nd April

After yesterday's bumper day, today saw a return to the more pedestrian rate of migration that we've grown accustomed to of late with, Swallows excepted, both quantity and variety in short supply. Lone individuals made up the majority of new arrivals at the Bill, including singles of Grasshopper Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Tree Pipit and Yellow Wagtail. Sample counts suggested the day's Swallow tally got well into four figures on West Cliffs. Other reports included 7 Whimbrel and 4 Red-throated Divers from the sea at the Bill, 2 Common Sandpipers on the shore there, another 5 Whimbrel at Ferrybridge and the first Wall butterfly of the year in the Obs garden.

21st April

Finally - after what's seemed like an interminable wait - all the variables aligned as fair conditions over the near continent coupled with a light northwesterly and some early bands of drizzly rain over Portland to facilitate what was easily the largest and most varied fall of migrants so far this spring. Whilst the day's star bird was a Wood Warbler in the Obs garden, it was Willow Warblers that unsurprisingly made up the bulk of the numbers on the ground with 200 through at the Bill; overhead hirundines were arriving steadily everywhere. A strong back-up cast at the Bill including 40 Chiffchaffs, 30 Blackcaps, 25 Whitethroats, 20 Yellow Wagtails and 20 Wheatears, along with single figure totals of Swift, Tree Pipit, Whinchat, Redstart, Grasshopper Warbler, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat and Pied Flycatcher made for some thoroughly entertaining bank holiday birding. Fortunately, all the goings-on on the land provided plenty of distraction from what was a pretty woeful seawatch, with just singles of Arctic and Great Skuas of note off the Bill.

Ever the Rain Bird at the Obs; true to form it only took a hint of damp in the air to drop a Wood Warbler that showed remarkably well for a while until the sun broke through and prompted it to vanish as suddenly as it had appeared © Martin Cade:

 

20th April

April continues to tick along in a largely underwhelming manner, with most species turned up more or less on cue but for the most part in far lower numbers than might be hoped. Today did see a slightly stronger arrival of Willow Warblers, including 75 at the Bill, whilst variety included a handful each of the likes of Whinchat, Lesser Whitethroat and Garden Warbler together with the lingering Pied Flycatcher at Sweethill and a Black Redstart at the Verne; overhead, a steady arrival of Swallows had 6 Yellow Wagtails, a Hobby and a Swift tagging along (we also received belated news from yesterday of the first 2 Swifts of the year through over Southwell). The day's particularly miscellaneous selection of oddities included a Mandarin at Rufus Castle, a Green Sandpiper over the Bill and singles of Great White Egret and Canada Goose through on the sea there; more conventional sea passage was disappointing, with a single Arctic Skua the best of a bad job off Chesil and the Bill.

This morning's Mandarin was flushed by a dog from the swimming pool of a house at Rufus Castle; although there haven't been any reports of it in the intervening months, it's hard to believe it isn't the same bird that visited garden ponds and an ornamental wildfowl pond at Southwell last August © Gerry Hinde:


One of today's first little flurry of Garden Warblers - this one was at Sweethill © Debby Saunders (settled) and Pete Saunders (in flight):




Last night's Obs migrant moths: singles Diamond-back, Rush Veneer (first for the year) and Pearly Underwing

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) April 20, 2025 at 10:55 AM

19th April

With yesterday's rain only finally clearing through just as dawn broke and with a stiff and cold easterly still well established hopes weren't high for the land but the seawatchers were certainly expectant and, perhaps more by dint of dogged persistence than heavy passage, it was they that came up with the day's chief rewards. Chesil and the Bill were well watched and returned combined totals that included 410 Bar-tailed Godwits, 357 Little Terns, 230 Common/commic Terns, 110 Manx Shearwaters, 50 Sandwich Terns, 60 Whimbrel, 17 Arctic Skuas, 3 Red-breasted Mergansers, 2 Teal, 2 Shovelers, 2 Little Gulls and a Pomarine Skua; an associated increase in waders at Ferrybridge included 20 Bar-tailed Godwits, 6 Sanderling, 3 Whimbrel and a Grey Plover. Things were appreciably quieter on the land although it wasn't a complete write-off, with 7 Whinchats, a Common Sandpiper and a Hobby amongst others at the Bill and a Pied Flycatcher at Sweethill.

Just so typical of a Pomarine Skua: well after the mainstream morning seawatch had wound down and the light had got shockingly dazzling so the first Pom of the spring lumbered through off the Bill - fortunately there was still one die-hard on station with camera to hand © Garry Hayman:


Hopefully today won't be this spring's only Barwit day: the few that showed nicely like these at Ferrybridge were lovely but those over the sea were having to battle hard in the brisk easterly and were mostly low to the water and in small, tight parties - we didn't see anything of the big 'smoky' flocks high in the sky that are so characteristic of passage in quieter conditions © Pete Saunders:




It must be a happy time for the local Peregrines with all manner of appropriately-sized migrants about to provide some tasty pre-fattened variation from their usual staples © Debby Saunders:


Another Sweethill Pied Flycatcher © Debby Saunders:

We arrived at Ferrybridge just after dawn in the rain, the early birds there were the Grey Plover, the Redshanks and the Whimbrel, here's some low light photos

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— Debra Saunders (@debbyseamist.bsky.social) April 19, 2025 at 9:51 PM

18th April

Well, we needed some rain. On most fronts today was a write-off, with respectability just about provided by some pedestrian sea passage in between the periods of rain. In a stiff easterly Chesil provided the better returns that included 87 Little Terns, 86 Bar-tailed Godwits, 82 Common/commic terns, 75 Sandwich Terns, 18 Whimbrel, 3 Arctic Skuas, 2 Red-throated Divers and a Great Skua; mainly lower numbers of a similar selection at the Bill came with the addition of 50 Pale-bellied Brent Geese.

Despite distinctly sub-optimal conditions a small arrival of migrant moths at the Obs last night: another Blossom Underwing along with 5 Diamond-backs and a Silver Y

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) April 18, 2025 at 1:11 PM

17th April

It was far too fine a day to expect much in the way of new arrivals and apart from the literally flying visit of a Hoopoe at Weston things were quiet everywhere, with just a small increase in Blackcaps - including 30 at the Bill - a Pied Flycatcher at Sweethill and the season's first Reed Warbler at Thumb Lane the most noteworthy events amongst the thin spread of grounded migrants. Hirundines continued to trickle through overhead although in far lower numbers than might have been hoped given the conditions. It was pretty much the same story on the sea, with 140 Kittiwakes, 115 Sandwich Terns, 20 Common Scoter, 2 Arctic Skuas and singles of Manx Shearwater and Sanderling the best of it at the Bill.

For the third consecutive year - following successful breeding in both 2023 and 2024 - a male Wheatear is attempting to establish a territory at the Bill Quarry; in full song flight it makes for a rather incongruous sight above the holidaymaker-filled quarry © Nick Hopper:


Pied Flycatchers have been relatively well represented in what's otherwise been a lean week for grounded migrants - this one was at Sweethill this evening © Debby Saunders:


green winged orchid now out at verne common.

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) April 17, 2025 at 6:48 PM

16th April

With last night's blasting southwesterlies - the official peak windspeed was evidently up towards 60mph - taking most of the morning to subside, it took a fair amount of trudging around in less than ideal conditions before the day's highlight of a Cattle Egret was uncovered along the East Cliffs. With other grounded migrants either tucked well away or more likely absent altogether, the day's only other migrant happenings concerned a steady trickle of Swallows that carried on well into the evening and a lone Sanderling joining the few waders at Ferrybridge. The onshore wind failed to liven up the seawatching, with just 9 Manx Shearwaters, 2 Whimbrels and singles of Arctic Skua and Bonxie logged past the Bill and 60 Sandwich Terns and 20 Bar-tailed Godwits through off Chesil.

Still a decent quality bird at Portland even if it's now a routine sight in so many parts of southern England, this afternoon's Cattle Egret at the Bill was exhibiting all manner of breeding season finery © Martin Cade:


The early few Sanderlings in the last fortnight have still been in pretty well full winter plumage © Pete Saunders:


Sandwich Terns have been featuring in good numbers for the last week of more, with a constant presence off the Bill and strong passage off Chesil including at least 60 in quick time this evening © Pete Saunders:

15th April

Another day with plenty of potential that sadly fell short of the mark, with any improvement in the grounded migrant situation being right at the low end of incremental. A series of drizzly showers advancing from the south delivered around 50 Willow Warblers at the Bill and there was a steady trickle of arriving Swallows overhead, but 2 Hobbys in-off, 2 Whinchats at Barleycrates, a Great Spotted Woodpecker at Southwell and a Pied Flycatcher at the Obs were the only reports of particular note from around the island. Likely blocked by more substantial rain just to the west, the seawatching was a bit of a non-event, with 30 lingering Sandwich Terns, 5 Red-throated Divers, 5 Arctic Skuas and a Whimbrel logged at the Bill. 


Iconic spring birds from the Obs today - Swallow and Pied Flycatcher © Martin Cade:



Little Terns have been featuring really well in recent days, with suspicions that a lot of today's birds at Ferrybridge were migrants that departed as quickly as they'd arrived © Pete Saunders:


Sparrowhawks are being seen around the south of the island with much greater regularity than is usually the case at this time of year and there have been signs of possible breeding activity in one spot that would be a wholly new site for them © Pete Saunders:

14th April

A day of painful inadequacies on all front: a fresh southerly in mid-April might have been construed to offer the possibilities of a fall of migrants, overshoots galore and an epic seawatch but in the event an Obs garden ringing tally that didn't even manage double figures, the only scarcity a Turtle Dove that eluded widespread attention and a seawatch that was only really memorable for an exceptional tally of Little Terns was not the stuff of dreams. The grounded migrant situation was dismal, with no more than single figure totals of the usually commonest fare, and 3 Whinchats at the Bill the only one of the less regulars to feature. It was a little busier overhead: the Turtle Dove through at the Obs was the highlight, but incoming Swallows featured at a slightly steadier rate than in recent days, whilst odds and ends including 2 Merlins and 2 Yellow Wagtails provided further interest. Numerically, the day's chief rewards came from the sea: 126 Little Terns through off Chesil was a spectacularly high count of passage birds (there have been totals in the past of up to 250 at Ferrybridge/Portland Harbour but we're not sure there's been a seawatch total of as many as 126 before today); 33 Pale-bellied Brent Geese also over Chesil was another good total, whilst Chesil/the Bill combined also came up with the likes of 91 Common Scoter, 17 Whimbrel, 8 Red-throated Divers, 5 Arctic Skuas, an Eider and a Great Skua.

Always a surprisingly missable bird at this time of year - Pale-bellied Brents are pretty well always heading west in the spring and for that reason are often not spotted until they're going away from watchers at both Chesil and the Bill © Joe Stockwell:


We've said it before and will say it again: Eiders aren't half fast when they're in full blown migration mode! © Martin Cade:


Mute Swans and Common Sandpiper at Ferrybridge this morning © Pete Saunders:



First bike ride of the year to Portland Bill was productive on the sea if not the land - Puffin (not pictured), Red-throated Diver, Kittiwake and my first Dorset Bonxie since 2022 all added to the yearlist. Common Scoter also pictured @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social

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— Peter Moore (@moorebirdsbybike.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 10:51 PM
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