25th September

Another quiet start in the continuing warm sunshine kicked into gear mid-morning with a fly-over Red-throated Pipit proving to be the exciting prelude to a busy period of overhead passage that saw in excess of 2000 House Martins, together with lesser totals of Swallows and Sand Martins, descend across the Bill before continuing their journey southbound. Sadly, the Red-throated Pipit was - very typically for Portland records of this most tricky to catch up with species - a blink and you miss it event, with only a lucky few within earshot as it flew westwards over the Obs. Not that there was much time to dwell on what we missed as the almost simultaneous arrival of the House Martins saw all ringers called to action for a busy couple of hours that saw 341 new birds ringed - the highest day-total since the heady days of 1985-86 when a huge catching effort saw annual totals in excess of 1500 achieved. All of this activity helped disguise the fact that it was otherwise a quiet day for migration, with a meagre tally of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps and a Common Snipe the only other grounded migrant of note. The sea fared somewhat better, with another 2,000 auks plus 19 Balearic Shearwaters, 6 Arctic Skua and a Great Crested Grebe also logged.

Rather like the proverbial biblical plague, the swarm of House Martins descended in an instant and left just as quickly © Jodie Henderson:

Clouded Yellows continue to be a constant sight throughout the island - this helice female was showing nicely on the Slopes today © Nick Hopper:

Following on from yesterday's blogpost regarding all of the recent Lesser Emperor activity, another exciting event over the last few weeks has been the discovery of multiple Large Conehead bush-crickets holding territory around the Bill. After the first island record of a single in a moth-trap back in the middle of August, there had been no further sightings by day; however, some nocturnal wanderings during the recent calm weather uncovered three singing males in the Crown Estate Field and a further individual at Culverwell. Whilst there has been no confirmation of breeding, it seems highly likely that we will see more records in the coming years as they spread outwards with a warming climate. This is the first individual from a moth-trap back on 15th August...

...with further individuals located by song at night including a more unusual brown morph individual:

Eminent dipterist, Steven Falk, joining Jodie in a nocturnal search for the coneheads © Thomas Miller and Jodie Henderson:

24th September

Another day of lovely warmth and sunshine that, after a bright, moonlit night, did rather subdue the number of grounded migrants. Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs were again in the several dozen each at the Bill, but 20 Wheatears was the next highest total there and the other routine padders barely reached that total cumulatively, with a Cetti's Warbler at Culverwell the only newcomer of significance; elsewhere, the 2 Curlew Sandpipers were still at Ferrybridge. It was busier overhead although not really as busy as the conditions might have promised; Swallows totalled well into four figures but Meadow Pipits only just scraped past 400 and 4 Cattle Egrets, 3 Grey Herons, 2 Lapwings and a Hobby were the best of the oddities. The sea was again well worth attention, with 300 Kittiwakes and 200 Mediterranean Gulls a constant presence and 1000 auks, 31 Common Scoter, 12 Balearic Shearwaters, 12 Arctic Skuas and 5 Teal among the movers off the Bill.

It's sad to see the Swallows gathering before departing for another year but they were looking great against today's cloudless sky © Martin Cade:

Highlight of today was this early autumn juvenile Cetti’s Warbler. #culverwell @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social

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— Mark Cutts (@slashercutts.bsky.social) September 24, 2026 at 1:51 PM

Think it's probably a wee bit too early in the autumn to qualify yet as an Indian summer but we're loving it being so hot that we're back in flip-flops having an Al fresco lunch in the CEF whilst catching a steady trickle of Swallows - nice!

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) September 24, 2026 at 1:33 PM

Although avian scarcities have been pretty thin on the ground so far this autumn we've got a lot of mileage out of various interesting bugs, not the least of which have been all the Lesser Emperor dragonflies in the last couple of weeks. Since there had been a scatter of previous island records over the last few years we'd been pretty baffled as to why we weren't seeing any at the Bill; however, an apparent influx of migrant individuals has seen them logged daily in some numbers on the warm, sunny days just lately. The vast majority of them have been seen quartering the fields rather than visiting ponds and we haven't actually managed to find a single one settled - these two individuals from yesterday and today, a male and a female, were both extracted from mist-nets and subsequently posed...

ID-wise, the only other large-ish dragonflies on the wing during this period have been Migrant Hawkers that are still pretty numerous and are much more colourful than the Lesser Emperors...

...and Emperors that are still about here and there - particularly at the pond in Yeolands Quarry - and are also much more colourful and shouldn't usually pose a problem:

However, we did come a cropper during our learning stage and had to be corrected by Phil Saunders and Brett Spencer when we assumed this drab emperor settled at Culverwell was also a Lesser Emperor (we did wonder why, amongst other things, it didn't have the thin yellow band at the top of the abdomen) but it's actually a very mature Emperor; we were fooled by the isolated blue saddle and drab abdomen and overlooked, for example, the green thorax that of course should be browner if it were a Lesser Emperor.

Since pretty well all the views of the Lesser Emperors are of them whizzing about over the fields we've been trying to get some flight photos of them to convey their usual appearance in these circumstances and on a lot of these we've been surprised how apparently greenish the sides of the thorax can look at times (per Brett, on a Lesser Emperor you'd expect to see a contrast between the green eyes and brown thorax, whereas on an Emperor they're both green) - amongst many afflictions, we are slightly colour-blind so this might just be be a personal perception issue rather than a pitfall that anyone else might want to consider © Martin Cade & Jodie Henderson:

23rd September

Another lovely warm, sunny day but rather too lovely to have expected much of an arrival of grounded migrants. In the event, it really wasn't too bad with Chiffchaff and Blackcap reaching totals of 100 and 50 respectively at the Bill alone, overhead passage chipped with a fair bit of variety and the sea was much improved after yesterday's poor showing; the first 2 Pale-bellied Brent Geese of the autumn also showed up off Hamm Beach. Variety on the ground was distinctly limited, with 2 Curlew Sandpipers at Ferrybridge easily the pick of the day's new arrivals; 2 Firecrests at Church Ope Cove were the best of the rest. Hirundines were surprisingly poorly represented overhead, but the 400 or so Meadow Pipits over the Bill had the likes of 115 alba wagtails, 42 Chaffinches and a Hobby tagging along, whilst a Great White Egret looked like it was minded to leave out to sea before chickening out. Given the benign conditions, the sea was the day's surprise package, with 2000 auks, 275 Mediterranean Gulls, 180 Kittiwakes, 26 Common Scoter, 23 Balearic Shearwaters, 4 Arctic Skuas and singles of Sooty Shearwater and Great Skua amongst others through off the Bill.

The Great White Egret - with its Little cousin trailing on behind - looked rather majestic as it trundled through the dawn sky; they're still an exciting bird to see on the island - this one was only the second of the year for us © Martin Cade:

You'd think you might be free of heat haze issues by this time in the autumn but the Curlew Sandpipers were all of a shimmer in the blazing afternoon sun at Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders:

Ever present at the Bill but always nice to handle and have a good close look at - this Little Owl was a dawn catch at Culverwell and the first ringed this year © Mark Cutts:

Annie Irving @sconzani.bsky.social

· 5h

Portland this afternoon. Hamm Beach: 2 very handsome Brent geese & 2 of several Turnstones. And some of the gang at Ferrybridge: only spotted 1 Sanderling among the many Ringed plovers, & the single Knot with Ringed plover, Oystercatcher & Dunlin.

@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social

#UKBirding

22nd September

You could perhaps find fault in there not being a scarcity uncovered or the sea being very quiet but that would be being pretty churlish since today was so relatively busy with common migrants - along with being blissfully benign and summer-like - that it was a real pleasure to be out birding. Dawn itself was actually distinctly uninspiring, what with dense, low mist having developed late in the night, but this quickly burnt off and grounded migrants were soon apparent in quantity, with 200 Chiffchaffs and 100 Blackcaps topping the tally at the Bill; less frequents showing up there included yesterday's Long-tailed Tits now increased to 10, 4 Redstarts, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers and singles of Knot, Whimbrel, Caspian Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Whinchat, Grasshopper Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warbler and Pied Flycatcher, with the limited coverage elsewhere revealing amongst others singles of Great Spotted Woodpecker and Firecrest at Church Ope Cove. Quantification of overhead passage was for a while hampered by the mist and, once visibility improved, by much of the movement taking place out over the sea, but Meadow Pipits totalled up towards four figures as did the combined tally of the three common hirundines; the first Reed Bunting of the autumn was also of note, whilst another 6 Grey Herons added to their burgeoning autumn tally. It was really too balmy to expect much from the sea and apart from the now constant sight of an abundance of Bluefin Tuna a single Balearic Shearwater was the only logging of note.

Well, we enjoy looking for Caspian Gulls and unless someone comes up with any photos of anything else then you're stuck with them; this one was amongst the handful of gulls below Culverwell towards dusk this evening © Martin Cade:

A misty, murky start to the day at the Bill but plenty of migrant promise again in the mist-nets: Redstart, Whinchat, Garden Warbler and plenty of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps from the early looks

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) September 22, 2026 at 8:37 AM

The ringing day started off well at the Bill and carried on in that vein, with the final total of 316 the highest total of the year to date and all the better for being undertaken in millpond calm and t-shirt & shorts warmth - pretty perfect really! 84 each of CC and House Martin the top totals.

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) September 22, 2026 at 6:15 PM

Mothing continues to improve, with better numbers/variety of migrants overnight at the Obs. No particular surprises but a very late/second generation (first for over a month) Four-Spotted was an oddity amongst the locals.

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) September 22, 2026 at 1:58 PM

21st September

With migration ticking along at such a low ebb for the last few weeks it was great to tap into some real quantity today, with sustained passage overhead as well as the highest daily ringing total of the year to date. Whilst 150 Chiffchaffs and 100 Blackcaps made up the bulk of the day's grounded arrivals at the Bill, a varied supporting cast included 3 Spotted Flycatchers, 2 Whinchats and singles of Water Rail, Turtle Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Redstart, Grasshopper Warbler, Reed Warbler and Sedge Warbler; from a Portland perspective, a total of 8 very early Long-tailed Tits at the Obs was one of the more unusual records from the day list. Elsewhere, a Caspian Gull at Ferrybridge, another Great Spotted Woodpecker at Verne Common, a Pied Flycatcher at Coombefield and a Firecrest at Church Ope were of note. Overhead passage was for a while after dawn dominated by Meadow Pipits, with 3000 through over the Bill, but as the morning wore on hirundines begun to gather and eventually included 1000 House Martins and 750 Swallows; 68 alba wagtails, 20 Skylarks and a single Siskin were their first vismig contributions of the autumn, with 9 Grey Herons and 4 Little Egrets also of interest. Sea passage was steady again, with 295 Kittiwakes, 90 auks, 21 Sandwich Terns, 10 Balearic Shearwaters, 12 Common Scoter, 10 Bar-tailed Godwits and an Arctic Skua amongst others through off the Bill.

This spring was a bit of an outlier in providing us with quite a few good looks at Turtle Doves; ordinarily, we'd grown accustomed to being happy if our only view of one in each migration season was akin to Thomas' snatched record shots of today's bird whizzing through at the Bill © Thomas Miller:

This evening's Caspian Gull at Ferrybridge was hardly more cooperative since it took flight and headed out towards the breakwater roost within seconds of us clapping eyes on it © Martin Cade:

Lovely calm dawn at the Bill and a fair bit of migrant promise incl Water Rail, Redstart, Grasshopper Warbler and Spotted Flycatcher from the first looks at the mist-nets.

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) September 21, 2026 at 7:32 AM

It's been so relatively quiet this month that atrophied fingers have been been an issue for our visiting ringers but there's nothing like a good catch of House Martins to remedy that situation

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) September 21, 2026 at 10:09 AM

Opening at dawn means catching the migrating Water Rail. #culverwell #birdmigration @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social

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— Mark Cutts (@slashercutts.bsky.social) September 21, 2026 at 7:35 AM

After a hiatus in moth interest some small signs of movement afoot over the last couple of nights at the Obs: 2 Mugwort Pearls were nice after we missed out on their influx elsewhere in the SW earlier in the month; Heath Rustic, Horse Chestnut & the first Saltmarsh Knot-horn for a while also of note

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) September 22, 2026 at 12:50 AM

20th September

The beginnings of what's apparently going to be an extended spell of quiet weather was very welcome and prompted a good deal of fieldwork even if the rewards didn't extend much beyond the expected. The highest numbers were overhead, with more than 1300 Meadow Pipits departing from the Bill along with a steady stream of Swallows - 500 at least although likely considerably undercounted as most movement took place during the afternoon - 18 Chaffinches and lower totals of a few other expected migrants. On the ground, Wheatear, Blackcap and Chiffchaff each got into the few dozen at the Bill with plenty more elsewhere, but among the infrequents a Firecrest at Coombefield and singles of Merlin, Caspian Gull or hybrid, Snipe and Grasshopper Warbler at the Bill were the best of it. Offshore, a Grey Phalarope lingered on at Chesil Cove, with movement off the Bill that included 370 Kittiwakes, 21 Sandwich Terns, 17 Balearic Shearwaters, 7 Arctic Skuas, a Great Skua and a Little Gull.

Since Caspian Gulls in any plumage other than juvenile/first-winter are vanishingly rare at the Bill we were keen to see this second-winter that Thomas Miller spotted amongst the handful of gulls below Culverwell this morning - even if Thomas was already having doubts that it was actually a pure bird as opposed to some sort of hybrid. We'll leave it to the better informed gull folk to give final adjudication but to our eyes it was so obviously something pretty close to Caspian Gull that were very pleased to see it anyway © Martin Cade:

Portland - Grey Phalarope (Chesil Cove), Grasshopper Warbler (Culverwell), Wheatear 12 (Top fields, The Bill and East Cliffs) @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

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— Dorset Bird Tours (@dorsetbirdtours.bsky.social) September 20, 2026 at 8:10 PM

Arrived on Portland with the island bathed in sunshine and warmth Tuna frolicking in the sea below the Obs Clouded Yellows in the garden Western Conifers on the door and Martin King enjoying the sunshine Its good to be back

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— Terry Brown (@terrytwitcher.bsky.social) September 20, 2026 at 3:50 PM

19th September

Not the nicest conditions today with a constant stiff westerly blowing under really dreary skies. The sea got most of the attention, with 2 Grey Phalaropes at Chesil Cove and another through off the Bill the chief rewards. Totals of 500 Kittiwakes and 460 auks made up the bulk of the numbers off the Bill, where 37 Balearic Shearwaters, 13 Common Scoter, 7 Manx Shearwaters and 4 Arctic Skuas provided some variety. Two Yellow-legged Gulls grounded at the Bill and a Caspian Gull in Chesil Cove added to the mix, with a wrecked Manx Shearwater also featuring in Chesil Cove. The handful of passerine migrants overhead and on the ground included nothing out of the ordinary.

The Grey Phalaropes and Manx Shearwater afforded close views at Chesil Cove © Pete Saunders:

18th September

After a relatively calm start conditions gradually deteriorated as the afternoon wore on and little of note was discovered among the day's new arrivals. Whilst Meadow Pipits were well represented with 1,150 logged over the Obs, hirundines and wagtails were noticeably few whilst 3 Grey Herons marked the only other worthwhile addition to the day's visible passage. A similar story played out among the grounded migrants, with a total of 50 Blackcaps supported by reduced numbers of Willow Warblers and Chiffchaff, with just a single Grasshopper Warbler of interest. Totals at sea included 160 Kittiwakes, 195 Auks, 32 Balearic Shearwaters and 4 Arctic Skua past the Bill whilst an additional Arctic Skua and the lingering Grey Phalarope were present at Chesil Cove. 

The Chesil Cove Arctic Skua © Thomas Miller:

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17th September

Wind and rain were the order of the day at dawn but it didn't take long for the clearance to materialise and introduce sunny skies and pleasant warmth for the rest of the day. A Grey Phalarope lingering in Chesil Cove wasn't a huge surprise and proved to be by far the sea highlight; 12 Arctic Skuas through off the Bill was a respectable tally but the back-up totals there of 260 Kittiwakes, 11 Balearic Shearwaters, 11 Common Scoter, 8 Bar-tailed Godwits, 7 Manx Shearwaters, a Sooty Shearwater and an Arctic Tern were pretty paltry. On the land, a Wryneck showed up at King Barrow Quarry and once the sun came out hirundines - mostly Swallows - trickled over at a fair rate but it was otherwise quiet bar 16 new Bar-tailed Godwits at Ferrybridge, a Great Spotted Woodpecker at the Verne, 2 lingering Knot at the Bill and an exceptionally early Black Redstart there.

About as guaranteed as you can get after a bit of a blow at this time of year - Grey Phalarope close inshore at Chesil Cove © Pete Saunders:

We don't know how many times we've looked across to the Obs Quarry this autumn and remarked that if all the trainspotters standing around waiting for hours for an already known about and perfectly well documented Wryneck to come into view actually went out and looked there'd be plenty more of them to find elsewhere on the island. Sure enough, as soon as a proper fieldworker got amongst some suitable bushes at King Barrow Quarry - when was the last time anyone looked for anything there? - up pops a Wryneck © Andy Collins:

And finally, who needs a boring, buzzy little drone when you can get paid to fly a Merlin helicopter over the Bill. We're super envious of serving RN officer, Lt Megan Hanson, being in the position to take this quick photo of the Obs whilst she was at work this week; Megan's a keen birder and knows the area well as she's a frequent visitor with RNBWS groups that stay with us © Megan Hanson:

grey phalarope riding the waves

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) September 17, 2026 at 4:24 PM

was surprised how many ALT were still going at verne common, clearly through late after long hot dry summer but made it in the end!

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) September 17, 2026 at 3:39 PM