8th April

A relatively low-key day although that didn't matter a jot because the weather was so gloriously warm and sunny that it was a pleasure just being out whether there were any birds or not. The northeasterly breeze was so light that it proved little impediment to migrants that likely passed on overhead during the hours of darkness without pausing; certainly, what flurry of arrivals there was, including 60 each of Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff at the Bill, came early and moved on quickly. In tandem with them several Whitethroats and a single Lesser Whitethroat arrived straight on to their breeding territories, Little Terns increased to 18 at Ferrybridge and 6 Redstarts and a Yellow Wagtail were uncovered by the fieldworkers. The sea was worth attention even if yesterday's numbers were not repeated, with 86 Common Scoter, 12 Red-throated Divers, 6 Arctic Skuas, 5 Shovelers and 2 Greylag Geese among the loggings at the Bill where there was the additional frustration of inadequate views of what looked highly likely to be a Caspian Tern passing by in the far distance.

Rather impressively the majority of the day's Whitethroats were males that had arrived overnight straight onto their breeding territories rather than being random migrants just passing through; shortly after this photo was taken in the Crown Estate Field the bird found its way into a nearby mist-net and was revealed to be an individual first ringed there as a juvenile in 2021 © Martin Cade:


With the conditions rather too benign for an evening seawatch we took ourselves off after tea to have a look at Brett's Bonaparte's Gull a little way up the Fleet at Lynch Cove - a nice evening and a nice bird © Martin Cade:

7th April

It was another blink and you'll miss it kind of day on the birding front, with the majority of new arrivals shooting straight on past making the land feel rather devoid in comparison. A particularly prompt Common Swift and the first 3 Yellow Wagtails of the spring were the highlights of the overhead passage, with a 2-hour stint along the West Cliffs seeing 113 Linnets, 107 Swallows, 71 Meadow Pipits, 35 Goldfinches, and 3 House Martins logged. A roaming Lapwing was an unseasonable record at the Bill where 2 Common Redstarts, a Greenfinch and single figures of Chiffchaffs were the only other reports. Additionally, news from a local Facebook group revealed that the year's first Hoopoe had made a visit to a private garden on the island. The sea was far more reliable for both numbers and variety today, with 456 Common Scoters, 215 Sandwich Terns, 16 Knot, 10 Teal, 4 Arctic Terns, 2 Eiders and singles of Velvet Scoter, Arctic Skua and Great Skua through off the Bill. Lesser totals of Common Scoter were also seen off the Chesil where 13 Little Terns and a Whimbrel were firsts for the season and a single Grey Plover was also logged; another 2 Whimbrel along with 14 Dunlin and a Sanderling were at Ferrybridge. 

Two incoming Painted Lady butterflies along the West Cliffs and a Red Admiral in the Obs garden were hopefully a positive sign for more favourable lepidopteran migration in the moth-traps over the next few nights.

Common Scoters and Sandwich Terns made up all the numbers during this morning's seawatch at the Bill...


...whilst the camera picked up just enough detail on this distant, tight flock of anonymous-looking winter-plumaged waders scorching through off the Bill to confirm them as the year's first Knots:


A small passage of full adult Mediterranean Gulls was unexpected today at a time when most of them have long headed off to their breeding places - three went through off the Bill this morning and another eight dropped in briefly at Ferrybridge this evening:


Whimbrel have been a little late this spring so it was nice this evening to see and hear the first of the season arriving high over Chesil; this one seemed to have such a wackily pale underwing as it approached that we were leaning toward it being a runty Curlew but fortunately it started calling loudly as it got nearer:


Skokholm and Skomer it certainly isn't but we'll take it; we keep remarking that one of these years we won't get a Puffin back in attendance at the auk colony at the Bill but as long as even a single turns up as has been the case so far this month we'll milk that fact for all it's worth!:



The loneliness of the solitary vismigger high up on West Cliffs with only the hirundines, pipits, wagtails and finches as fleeting company - we can think of plenty of worse ways to spend a day at the office © Martin Cade:




Even an ancient phone can get a more than adequate record photo of a Hoopoe © Catherine Bennett:

6th April

The infrequency of southeasterlies during spring here meant that today's forecast had already generated some pretty lofty expectations that despite falling slightly short of the mark still ended up producing a nice scattering of both common and scarce migrants. The year ticks came in thick and fast with Common Redstart, Grasshopper Warbler and Tree Pipit all on-cue new arrivals, whilst another flyover Serin, Ring Ouzel and Cetti's Warbler rounded off the day's chief interest. An obvious arrival of Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps during the first few hours after dawn became conspicuously quieter as the day drew on, whilst an uptick in Wheatears exceeded 50 at the Bill. Overhead passage was fairly light and included 46 Linnets, 2 Siskin and a House Martin alongside another pulse of Swallows and Sand Martins throughout the afternoon. Away from the Bill, additional Redstarts were seen at Suckthumb and France Quarry, with a second Ring Ouzel present at Reap Lane. The sea was very much the poor relation, with 51 Common Scoters, 20 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Red-throated Divers, 2 Mallards, a Great Northern Diver and Puffin logged at the Bill and 4 certain Arctic Terns amongst a small movement of commic terns off Chesil..

Not before time but nice nonetheless: the first Redstart of the spring from the Crown Estate Field mist-nets just now. Also news of a male Ring Ouzel at Reap Lane per Sean Davies and Graham Bright

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) April 6, 2026 at 9:30 AM

The Crown Estate Field mist-nets being bountiful on the year-tick front this morning - now the spring's first Grasshopper Warbler

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) April 6, 2026 at 11:03 AM

Another nice arrival popped up in the nets: a Cetti's Warbler in the Obs garden - ta to Phil Chapman for the photo. Also in the meanwhile a fly-by Serin at the Obs.

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) April 6, 2026 at 12:32 PM

 

After I reported it at 1313 it flew East across the middle track from the daisy field to the field that is above Culverwell..no sign after that..sorry just got home.

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— CourtauxBird (@courtauxbird.bsky.social) April 6, 2026 at 3:28 PM

After the customary wader hiatus during late March and early April it was nice to see some evidence of passage getting going today, with the first flock of Bar-tailed Godwits through off the Bill this morning and a couple of Dunlin arriving in over Chesil and this Sanderling settled at Ferrybridge this evening; small beginnings...© Martin Cade:


5th April

It is perhaps rather telling that the bird of the day was in fact belated news from yesterday of a Woodchat Shrike found during the evening along Penn's Weare that, despite a fair bit of searching, could sadly not be relocated today. This morning's blasting westerly didn't inspire much hope, with 5 Arctic Skua all heading west plus a trickle of Common Scoter and Sandwich Terns the best on offer out to sea. With the wind dropping right away the afternoon faired a tad better, with double figures of Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcap filtering through as well as the year's first Wall Brown butterfly basking in the Obs garden.

Not very hot news: a Woodchat Shrike photographed by Doug Orton at 6pm yesterday evening on Penn's Weare - the undercliff just north of Church Ope Cove; ta to Geoff Orton for passing on the news @rarebirder.bsky.social

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) April 5, 2026 at 2:37 PM

4th April

With the peak of the turbulent weather not arriving until well into the evening, today passed by in a similar fashion to yesterday, with a busy if not particularly varied passage of seabirds encountered throughout the day. Common Scoters were once again on the up, with 278 logged past the Bill, with 17 Red-throated Divers and singles of Canada Goose, Black-throated Diver, Arctic Skua, Puffin and Sooty Shearwater also through. Six Arctic Terns reported from the Bill Tip marked the first records of the year, whilst the 1000s of auks streaming west likely included a significant proportion of non-local birds. Further scrutiny of the land uncovered a bit more variety with 2 Reed Buntings, 2 White Wagtails, a Firecrest and the first Common Whitethroat of the spring in addition to the steady trickle of Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps encountered through the Obs garden. Over the course of the day's seawatch, several groups of Meadow Pipits could be seen arriving in-off the sea totalling up to 100, whilst Swallows and Sand Martins once again just about made double figures.

Sandwich Terns, Red-throated and Black-throated Diver passing the Bill this morning © Pete Saunders




3rd April

The first influences of Storm Dave could be felt on the island today, with a fresh southwesterly concentrating most of the day's efforts out to sea. A significant uptick in Common Scoter numbers saw 90 logged past the Bill, with a varied selection of 19 Red-throated Divers, 7 Shelduck, 2 Dark-bellied Brent Geese and singles of Curlew, Great Northern Diver and Sooty Shearwater also past. The large numbers of Manx Shearwater currently being seen off the Bill reached its peak today, with a minimum of 1000 logged, with many feeding distantly offshore this evening when a strong eastbound movement also developed. The shelter of the Obs garden revealed a small arrival of grounded migrants, with double figures of both Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff as well as 4 Blackcaps and the lingering Goldcrest also logged. Overhead, birds also continued to trickle through, with 56 Meadow Pipits, 15 Linnets, 2 Sand Martins and 2 Swallows heading northwards. 

Some of the day's sea passage, including Red-throated Divers and Shelduck. The weather proved no deterrent to the male Wheatear's fervent attempts to attract a female © Pete Saunders




2nd April

Today's migration happenings played out in a similar fashion to yesterday, albeit at a much small magnitude, with a trickle of common migrants dropping in throughout the day without any real suprises among them. Around the Bill, Willow Warblers were once again the most numerous of the new arrivals with 75 logged, as well as 50 Blackcaps and just 15 Chiffchaffs, whilst clearer skies saw overhead passage increase to 682 Meadow Pipits, 142 Linnets, 19 alba wagtails and a trickle of hirundines that included only the second House Martin of the spring. From an entirely local perspective, a pair of Mallards flying close in along the East Cliffs provided high excitement value, whilst the rest of the day's sea passage was all very routine with the likes of 9 Red-throated Divers, 2 Great Northern Divers, an Arctic Skua and a single Puffin logged. The day's sunshine proved ideal for encouraging butterflies on the wing, with both Small Tortoiseshell and Orange-tip recorded new for the year.

Manx Shearwater from a couple of days ago, Portland Bill

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— Debra Saunders (@debbyseamist.bsky.social) April 2, 2026 at 4:49 PM

3 Blackcaps in the garden today. Down from the 9 a few days ago, we think these are new in

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— Debra Saunders (@debbyseamist.bsky.social) April 2, 2026 at 4:54 PM

1st April

With the island right on the cusp of a profound change in conditions at sunrise - a clear moonlit night and cloudless dawn was quickly followed by a blanket of heavy cloud rolling in from the north - it was touch and go whether today would be boom or bust on the migrant front. Fortunately, a good drop of birds was soon evident and it seemed that new arrivals continued to trickle in throughout the day, with plenty of new catches in the Obs mist-nets right up until early evening. Variety was extremely limited but that was made up for by respectable totals of what there was, including 300 Willow Warblers, 100 Chiffchaffs and 30 Blackcaps at the Bill alone. Considering the numbers on the ground, overhead arrivals were surprisingly few with no more than 124 Meadow Pipits heading north along West Cliffs early doors before the passage fizzled completely. The sea ticked over with the currently customary numbers of lingering Manx Shearwaters, Sandwich Terns and the like but 'proper' up-Channel passage was fairly limited and included nothing better than 15 Red-throated Divers and a Great Skua.

Today was all about Willow Warblers that made up two-thirds of the day's migrant catch at the Obs/Crown Estate Field © Martin Cade:


It being Portland where much that's routine elsewhere is a novelty for us, there was momentary excitement when these three Canada Geese flew over the Bill - likely one of the few chances in the year to get this undesirable alien on a Bill patch list © Martin Cade:


A mini spring milestone: the first 100 ringing day of the season - Willow Warblers strongly to the fore, making up three-quarters of the day's tally

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) April 1, 2026 at 1:36 PM

I had low expectations for last night’s moth trap, expecting a few Common Quakers. Then they I saw this Small Eggar, new for garden, no. 371 macro moth

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— Debra Saunders (@debbyseamist.bsky.social) April 1, 2026 at 2:13 PM

31st March

There were plenty of positive signs to see out the end of March, with thick cloud cover in the morning precipitating the first proper arrival of migrants both on the land and overhead for well over a week - it was very much an incremental improvement but we were very happy to take it. Among the grounded migrants, Willow Warblers made up the bulk of the numbers for the first time this spring, with 50 recorded around the Bill, as well as 30 Blackcaps, 15 Chiffchaffs and 10 Wheatears, whilst a brief Serin supplied the day's quality for the second time this month. Along the West Cliffs, a busier morning for overhead passage saw 524 Meadow Pipits, 121 Linnets, 3 Greenfinches and singles of Snipe and Red-throated Diver logged, whilst the arrival of some blue sky and sunshine in the afternoon saw numbers of Swallows and Sand Martins increase to a steady trickle. Passage on the sea was rather subdued, with just 29 Common Scoters, 8 Red-throated Divers and the Sooty Shearwater logged, plus a minimum of 100 Manx Shearwaters and 61 Sandwich Terns loosely associating with the gull flock off the Bill.

30th March

Despite improved conditions - for birding if not for migration - there was scarcely any improvement in migrant numbers today. The Wheatear tally did just scrape into double figures at the Bill but singles of Black Redstart and Willow Warbler were the only other certain new arrivals on the ground there. Numbers overhead were a little higher although the likes of 163 Meadow Pipits north along West Cliffs during a sterling three and a half hour sample watch was hardly something to shout about. The Sooty Shearwater remained off the Bill, where totals of c700 Manx Shearwaters, c80 Sandwich Terns, 4 Canada Geese and 2 Red-throated Divers also made the log.

29th March

The migrant drought continued, at least on the ground, with no more than low single figure totals of a few routines at the Bill, where the still-present wintering Firecrest provided the best of the interest. Fortunately, it was a little busier overhead with a Ring Ouzel the pick of passage along West Cliffs where Meadow Pipits and Linnets also trickled through all morning. The sea provided the day's highest numbers, with upwards of 500 Manx Shearwaters joining the large feeding flock of gulls off the Bill; a lingering Sooty Shearwater and the year's first Great Skua provided the best of the quality there, with 34 Sandwich Terns, 30 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 16 Red-throated Divers, 10 Common Scoter and a Puffin among the day's other loggings.

Red sky in the morning and all that: the rather lovely first sunrise of British Summer Time certainly belied what was to come, as by the afternoon it was decidedly miserable in an ever-strengthening and really cold westerly © Martin Cade:

Time will tell whether it lingers on but it was hard to escape the thought that today's Sooty Shearwater was last year's long-term spring lingerer returning for another season in the wrong end of the Atlantic:

Sooty Shearwater again with the gull flock off Portland Bill 15:15 #ukbirding #dorsetbirds

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— Oli Mockridge (@yeovilbirder.bsky.social) March 29, 2026 at 3:29 PM

One of the Purple Sandpipers doing its thing at the Bill tip this morning © Nick Hopper:

28th March

Migration remained at the lowest of ebbs, with a single Redwing one of the very few new arrivals on the ground at the Bill; visible passage was barely any better, consisting of just a handful of Meadow Pipits and Linnets. In contrast, for a while after dawn the sea was extremely busy with an arrival of 2000 auks and 750 Manx Shearwaters off the Bill - many feeding close inshore amongst the now daily large aggregation of gulls, Gannets and Sandwich Terns; offshore passage consisted of just 8 Red-throated Divers and a lone Shelduck.

One of six Blackcaps in a garden at Sweethill; what few summer migrants there were at the Bill today looked to be all lingerers that had been around for a while and these Blackcaps may well be more of the same, particularly as they've reverted to feeding on apples rather than gleaning for insects in the emerging blackthorn blossom © Debby Saunders:

27th March

With the forecast showing the wind dropping right away combined with some scattered showers throughout the night, expectations were raised for the possibility of a steady fall of new arrivals; however, it was soon clear from the first checks of the garden mist-nets that such hopes had fallen rather short of the mark. Around the Bill, the grounded migrant tally failed to get beyond just a handful of Chiffchaffs plus singles of Wheatear, Blackcap and Snipe, with visible migration fairing slightly better with 124 Meadow Pipits, 43 Linnets and a trickle of Swallows throughout the morning. At sea, another pulse of Red-throated Divers included 25 heading eastwards, with singles of Great Northern Diver and Curlew the only other records of note.

26th March

A pretty slow day with migration hardly picking up at all after yesterday's northwesterly blow. Conditions were altogether more favourable for getting out looking but the rewards on the migrant front were scant, with no more than the lightest scatter of single Wheatears, Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers here and there around the Bill and Southwell; long-term lingers still about included 2 each of Black Redstart and Firecrest. A little more overhead included 176 Meadow Pipits and 64 Linnets north along West Cliffs during a more than four hour vismig watch there; a lone Curlew also arrived in off the sea at the Bill. Up-Channel sea passage was limited to a few Red-throated Divers and Common Scoter through off the Bill. Also of local interest, scrutiny of the waterfowl menagerie behind the pumping station at Southwell revealed that there are now 11 Black Swans there along with the long-staying female Mandarin - we'd venture to suggest that anyone still entertaining thoughts that the latter might be a 'countable for Portland' stray from mainland is being very optimistic!

This second calendar year Peregrine bombing around at the Bill tip this morning had all the look of a newly arrived migrant © Pete Saunders:


In the absence of much sea passage the Purple Sandpipers at the Bill got more attention than usual © Pete Saunders:

Underbarn Walk this morning produced 2 Black-throated Diver, Sandwich Tern, Swallow, 6 Gorse Shieldbug and a Speckled Wood. @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social

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— Paul Harris (@paulupwey.bsky.social) March 26, 2026 at 12:48 PM

25th March

It was always going to be hard work detecting any migrant activity in today's battering northwesterly, but all attempts at fieldwork suggested it was genuinely a quiet day for new arrivals. On the ground, just 3 Chiffchaffs, 2 Wheatears and a new Firecrest were logged, whilst visible migration overhead included a Grey Heron at the Bill and a Merlin over Chesil Cove. At sea, a noticeable increase in Sandwich Terns included 25 heading through off the Bill, where 4 Red-throated Divers and a trickle of Manx Shearwaters were also logged.

Of all the birds we ring at Portland one of the easiest to catch is the Meadow Pipit - migrant youngsters in particular respond readily to a sound-lure and we catch several hundred each September and October; amongst these we occasionally 'control' already ringed birds so have knowledge of, for example, connections to a breeding site in mid-Wales and to several other migration stop-offs in southern England. However, once these migrants depart the country we have pretty well no knowledge through ring recoveries of where they spend the winter or return to during subsequent breeding seasons. Interestingly, we do know a lot more about our local breeding population which it seems are pretty well resident as we have plenty of subsequent recatches of locally-raised youngsters during all seasons of the year. With all this in mind we've been very excited to receive news of one of our autumn-ringed migrants being discovered earlier this week in Northumberland - it had been ringed here on 22nd September last year and the ring was read in the field on 22nd March by Chris Redfern whilst he was checking out a population of colour-ringed Rock Pipits that he studies on Low Newton beach...


...and in case anyone doubts it's possible to be absolutely sure of a ring number read in these circumstances Chris' photos show it most certainly is - BVJ1391. Huge thanks to Chris for persevering with this spectacular in-field ring-read © Chris Redfern:

24th March

An increase in cloud cover that preceded the gradual return of turbulent conditions was enough to drop another small arrival of migrants at the Bill, where dawn saw the grounding of amongst others 50 Chiffchaffs and 20 Willow Warblers, whilst the trickle overhead included 5 Siskins and a Merlin along with a few dozen each of Meadow Pipit, Linnet and Chaffinch. Before long, coverage of the land became a losing battle against the elements but interest at sea picked up, with 100 Manx Shearwaters, 22 Red-throated Divers and 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls moving through off the Bill ahead of the gale.

Red-throated Diver, Manx Shearwater and Common Gulls passing the Bill this morning © Pete Saunders:



23rd March

Whilst not quite a wholesale change in the conditions, some much welcome hazy cloud cover saw another pulse of migrants rapidly work their way up the island today, with 75 Chiffchaffs, 10 Blackcaps, 5 Willow Warblers, 4 Black Redstarts and 3 Firecrests logged. Among the scattering of Wheatears around the Bill it was particularly pleasing to see the return of the regular singing male that holds territory there - fingers crossed he'll have more luck than last year when he looked to be paired up for a time but if there was a breeding attempt it failed. Overhead, just a trickle of Sand Martins and Swallows made up the bulk of day's visible migration, with a single Redwing also seen. The low cloud made for poor visibility out to sea, with 7 Velvet Scoters easily the best of the lot, with just 15 Red-throated Divers, 3 Manx Shearwaters and a Greylag Goose of note. 

We had a nice little event a couple of mornings ago when two 'control' Chiffchaffs were trapped literally next to each other in one of the Obs garden mist-nets. We received the ringing details on these birds today that revealed one had been ringed as a juvenile - presumably close to its breeding site - two summers ago in Cheshire, whilst the other had been ringed four years ago as an autumn migrant in north Hampshire © Martin Cade:



22nd March

A chillier start than late saw the first few rounds of the Obs garden mist-nets accompanied by crunchy frost underfoot, although this soon gave way to yet another morning of bright sunshine and balmy conditions before cloud rolled in from mid-afternoon. It's likely that this repetition in conditions was responsible for the drop-off in migrant birds present, with just 25 Chiffchaff, 15 Blackcaps and singles of Goldcrest, Song Thrush and Willow Warbler logged around the Bill, with yesterday's Ring Ouzel and the wintering Cetti's Warbler also putting in brief appearances. Movement overhead was rather negligible but did include a Marsh Harrier, single figures of Swallows, a Redwing and the year's first House Martin. At sea, another Long-tailed Duck was logged past the Bill along with the year's first Arctic Skua, in addition to 50 Common Gulls, 35 Red-throated Divers, 15 Common Scoters and 5 Sandwich Terns whilst the first Yellow-legged Gull of the year was present in the harbour.

The emerging spring tide sand-bars in Portland Harbour failed to offer up a Bonaparte's Gull for us this afternoon but there were plenty of fine specimens of Mediterranean Gulls in absolutely tip-top plumage on show there...



...sadly, the year's first Yellow-legged Gull wasn't so keen to exhibit itself and remained stubbornly distant © Martin Cade:


Our public enemy number one the local Raven is currently busy honing his skills for the upcoming breeding season when he'll no doubt decimate the auk and Kittiwake colony again; we're sure that the local folk who leave chicken eggs out for it are well meaning but it's hard to get beyond the fact that, ultimately, all this do-gooding is doing nothing other than hastening the demise of the seabirds - the Raven certainly doesn't need any looking after © Nick Hopper

21st March

A productive few hours after dawn saw another varied spread of new arrivals around the Bill that gradually tailed off in the warm sunshine and gentle northeasterly breeze. An unexpected capture of a Mistle Thrush in the Crown Estate Field marked the beginning of a festival of thrushes that included another single Ring Ouzels at the Bill and the Verne, as the first couple of Redwing since the beginning of the month. Chiffchaffs were better represented among the day's incomers with 50 logged around the Bill (including 2 already wearing rings from elsewhere), whilst totals of 30 Wheatears, 5 Blackcaps, 5 Goldcrests, 3 Firecrests and 2 Willow Warblers made up the rest of the day's numbers. Further up island saw equal numbers of Wheatears logged plus 3 White Wagtails and a single Black Redstart at Reap Lane/ Barleycrates. Overhead passage was noticeably subdued compared to recent days, with a drifting Red Kite, the year's first Swallows and singles of Greenfinch and Brambling of note. At sea, another 400 Gannets were logged passing through, as well as 23 Red-throated Divers, 58 Common Gulls, 18 Common Scoter, a Great-crested Grebe and the year's first Puffin.

The Ring Ouzel showed nicely when it first dropped into the Obs garden...


...and later there was the sort of view of it to give bird ringers' palpitations © Martin Cade:


One of the White Wagtails at Barleycrates Lane © Pete Saunders:


Many, many moons ago Mistle Thrushes were semi-resident on the island and sometimes even bred but those days are long gone and with the species no more than an increasingly erratic visitor we were excited to unexpectedly catch this one in the Crown Estate Field this morning:


Since we get to handle so few Mistle Thrushes this one was well worth a close examination and was quite straightforward to age as a youngster, hatched last year - check out the striking discontinuity in the greater coverts, with the new adult-type feathers on the inside of the tract far longer than the old juvenile feathers on the outside...


...whilst the tail was a right mish-mash of old juvenile and newer adult-pattern feathers © Martin Cade:


And what'll likely be one of the last Redwings we see this spring making up a nice trio of scarce thrushes today © Martin Cade:

20th March

There was lots of enjoyment to be had from today's migration happenings, with the continuing settled weather seeing plenty of birds arriving on all fronts across the island. On the ground, Wheatears were conspicuously abundant, with a likely very conservative minimum of 100 recorded around the Bill where multiple waves of birds raced through throughout the morning. Other grounded arrivals were more thinly spread: a Willow Warbler was an on-cue first of the year, with 25 Chiffchaffs, 3 Blackcaps and singles of Firecrest and Greenfinch also logged. Overhead, Meadow Pipits and Linnets continued to move through, with 193 and 45 logged respectively in a sample hour on West Cliffs, whilst other visible migrants included 30 Sand Martins, a Short-eared Owl, the year's first Ring Ouzel, 2 Siskin and a Reed Bunting. At sea, a Long-tailed Duck - a genuine Bill rarity these days - was the pick of a passage that also included the year's best Gannet total to date of 415, along with 141 Common Scoter, 9 Red-throated Diver and 7 Shelduck.

Back to the Mecca that is PBO @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social for a Trustees' meeting three days after it's 65th anniversary. Real bonus of 22 birds of 10 species ringed today with a Mega, 5m Greenfinch,(only 1 ringed in 2025) 1st Willow warbler of year, 7 Cc, 3 Blackcap, 2 Goldcrest and a Firecrest.

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— Peter J Morgan (@pbo61.bsky.social) March 20, 2026 at 4:55 PM

We don't really catch all that many Chaffinches so it was a surprise this morning that it should be one of them that accounted for our first ringing 'control' of the year. These days, the BTO is wonderfully efficient with reporting back with the ringing details of captures like this and by the end of the afternoon we'd already learnt that the bird had been ringed by our old friend Ian Dodd just across on the mainland at Littlesea, Weymouth. Ian had originally ringed the bird on 16th November last year - a timing that suggests it was perhaps a migrant arriving to spend the winter in Britain and we'll hazard a guess that it's been in the Weymouth/Portland area ever since and is just now departing back to its natal area on the continent © Martin Cade:

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