17th April

Just gently ticking along on all fronts today, with overhead passage perhaps the noticeable loser since Swallows and the like were far fewer than might have been expected given the clear skies of the middle hours of the day. Grounded arrivals weren't exactly plentiful, with the 30 or so each of Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler at the Bill including in their midst the year's first singles of Sedge Warbler and Lesser Redpoll, along with a late Song Thrush, a Grasshopper Warbler and a Reed Warbler. Overhead, a wandering Marsh Harrier that looked to leave out to the southwest was unexpected. The day's returns from the sea included 85 Sandwich Terns, 50 Whimbrel, 8 Arctic Skuas, 5 Red-throated Divers, 2 Pale-bellied Brents, a Great Skua and the season's first Pomarine Skua.

Another one for the freaks of nature gallery - this leucistic female Blackcap was trapped this morning in the Crown Estate Field © Martin Cade:


Strongish SSW wind with low cloud but no rain at PBO @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social restricted ringing to the garden and Culverwell. Clearing by 1000hrs mainly sunny with variable cloud 35 birds of 8 species ringed 9 each of WW, CC, Blackcp, 3 Golfch, 2 Whitethroat,1 Reed W Les.Redpoll & Song Thrush.

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— Peter J Morgan (@pbo61.bsky.social) April 17, 2026 at 10:28 PM

A very unusual visitor. This is the first Redpoll that I have ever ringed in the spring at #culverwell. Nails courtesy of @bellthebarnowl.bsky.social @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social #birdringing

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— Mark Cutts (@slashercutts.bsky.social) April 17, 2026 at 7:44 AM

early purple orchids behind the pulpit inn.

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) April 17, 2026 at 8:23 PM

16th April

With passerine migration looking like it's struggling for momentum and consistency it was the sea that provided the bulk of today's numbers. Good movements of Manx Shearwaters and Kittiwakes saw totals of 500 of each logged at the Bill, where 12 Arctic Skuas, 3 Red-throated Divers, 3 Great Skuas and a Great Northern Diver added some spice to proceedings. Despite the dearth of numbers on the ground there were morsels of quality of offer, including the season's first Whinchat and Pied Flycatcher at Southwell, a Grasshopper Warbler at the Bill and a Great White Egret at Ferrybridge.

The number of large gull hanging around off the Bill at the moment - at good 5000 today - is truly impressive...




...and today there was the added bonus of a strong day-long eastbound movement of Kittiwakes...


...however, as they usually do at this time of year, it was a few skuas that stole the show on the sea © Martin Cade:


Dawn at PBO @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social saw low cloud,dampness in the air and a stiff SSW wind which resulted in a few migrants ringed before the weather cleared late morning to reveal a sunny day and only a breeze. 18 birds all day ,8 WW, 3 CC, 5 Blackcap, 1 each of Goldfinch and Linnet.

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— Peter J Morgan (@pbo61.bsky.social) April 16, 2026 at 8:08 PM

dark edged bee fly and a wall lizard at church ope cove

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) April 16, 2026 at 8:27 PM

15th April

Not exactly fall proportions but any improvement on recent events is surely not to be sniffed at and today's results after a damp night and foggy dawn weren't too bad. Blackcaps were well accounted for among the day's totals, with just shy of 100 around the Bill, whilst the additional good spread of  Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers also had 3 Redstarts, a Ring Ouzel and the first 3 Garden Warblers and single Reed Warbler of the spring amongst them. As they have been on all but one day this season, Wheatears were conspicuous absentees, numbering in no more than low single figures, whilst hirundines and other visible migrants didn't feature in anything like the numbers that might have been hoped once the fog cleared. A strong westbound movement of 500 Gannets made up the bulk of the numbers offshore, with 82 Common Scoter, 6 Arctic Skuas, 4 Whimbrel, 2 Great Skuas, a Red-throated Diver and the year's first Great White Egret also on the move over the sea.

This Ring Ouzel was the pick of the less frequent migrants at the Bill © Martin Cade:


Foghorn all night a PBO @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social with thick mist at dawn, resulted in 29 Blackcaps, 13 WW, 1 Reed & 1 Garden W (both new for year), 1 Redstart, 2 Whitethroat 6 CC being among 57 birds ringed. Numbers low as mist and cloud cleared by 0900 then sunny,stiff S wind, rain 1315-1430.

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— Peter J Morgan (@pbo61.bsky.social) April 15, 2026 at 8:07 PM

14th April

Readers might have thought we couldn't get more downbeat in our reports but we can certainly try. Today's lamentable results on the migration front saw a brisk southerly airflow and looming dark clouds fail to drop more than the thinnest spread of common migrants around the Bill; so much so that it was almost a blessed relief when the arrival of more substantial showers in the afternoon called the day's land birding to a premature halt. Of course, many a cloud has a silver lining and today that came in the form of an incoming Serin over Chesil and some at least fair seawatching, with totals of 68 Little Terns, 64 Common Scoter, 25 Pale-bellied Brent Geese, 8 Common Tern, 2 Arctic Skua, 2 Whimbrel, a Red-throated Diver from Chesil and 46 Common Scoters, 4 Arctic Skuas and a Whimbrel from the Bill.

One of this evening's Arctic Skuas was so intent on getting its supper that it first appeared chasing gulls over the Bill Quarry before swooping right past the Obelisk at point blank range © Martin Cade:



Also during the seawatch it was nice to have the constant accompaniment of the local Wheatear quietly warbling away as it hopped around in the roped-off landscape restoration plot just behind the Obelisk © Martin Cade:



During this recent migration drought it's been pleasing to see the local breeders settling down to another spring season, with plenty of nest building now underway © Jodie Henderson



Brisk SE wind with heavy overcast and brief rain briefly at 1150hrs did not ensure an improvement in migrant numbers! Total of 6 birds ringed from 0630- 1530 curtailed due to rain was 4 CC, 1 WW & 1 Blackcap, reflecting that found elsewhere on the bill!! We will with forecast, endure to improve!

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— Peter J Morgan (@pbo61.bsky.social) April 14, 2026 at 8:32 PM

Suddenly remembered I'd seen a big flock of Pale-bellied Brent Geese last year from the Chesil. I nearly spat my tea out when I saw they were on exactly the same date! More than a coincidence perhaps?!

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— Joe Stockwell (@joestockwell.bsky.social) April 14, 2026 at 4:18 PM

Green-winged orchids and the first Yellow Rattle 12 April. Verne Common, Portland opposite (and left of) the cemetery track

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— Steve M (@steveweynature.bsky.social) April 14, 2026 at 7:18 PM

13th April

Unless this spring starts bucking its ideas up it's going to go down the pan just like last spring did - or maybe it's just that there just aren't that many migrants left in the world. Today was painful and there was no weather excuse that we were able to fall back on: hours of mist-netting and diligent fieldwork in lovely conditions returned the leanest of rewards, with the year's first Corn Bunting at the Bill the pick of some pretty woeful numbers and variety of grounded migrants for this date; a decent passage of hirundines did develop through the day - an event that the optimistic took as an indication that nocturnal migrants had been on the move but just hadn't dropped in. The sea fared almost as poorly as the land, with 4 Arctic Skuas and a single Red-throated Diver the best on offer off the Bill. A positive from the day was the continuing rise in Little Tern numbers at Ferrybridge, with a minimum of 56 already present - it's another sign of the rapidly changing times that there's many a year in the past when the first Little Tern of the season wouldn't even have been logged by this date.

Westerly overnight with rain showers, only produced a trickle of migrants, 23 birds ringed incl. 10 WW, 6 CC, 2 Blcap and a male Whitethroat,new to many for the year. Wind S from 0900 produced a small Swallow and House Martin passage with a female Swallow caught. Sexed by length of tail feathers.

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— Peter J Morgan (@pbo61.bsky.social) April 13, 2026 at 8:40 PM

12th April

That we're in a bit of lull in migratory activity shouldn't really be any surprise given the continuing blasting westerly, with the day's rewards pretty well what might have been expected. The spring's first Little Ringed Plover at Ferrybridge was easily the pick of a very lean selection of grounded arrivals, with singles of Great and Arctic Skua the best that could be mustered from the sea.

Never a regular sight on the island, today's Little Ringed Plover showed nicely at Ferrybridge © Martin Cade:



With a stiff westerly wind with sun not even PBO @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social could come up with more than birds ringed all day, 4 WW, 3 CC, 2 Blackcap and 1 Goldfinch. However fantastic to be back at the Mecca I first ringed migrants 65 years ago. Hopefully more to come!

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— Peter J Morgan (@pbo61.bsky.social) April 12, 2026 at 10:06 PM

11th April

A brisk westerly that freshened through the day and was touching gale force by the evening made for testing conditions for the migrant seekers and a lot of what was uncovered came by virtue of the Obs garden mist-nets that revealed a steady trickle of passing Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers through the morning. The only other reports came from the sea, with totals of 300 Manx Shearwaters and 70 Sandwich Terns logged through the day at the Bill.

A bit of Manx Shearwater action off the Bill this evening © Martin Cade:

10th April

Sadly, the daily migrant tallies have been on the slide and that pattern continued today, with poor numbers on the land and sea; overhead passage slightly redeemed things with Swallows as conspicuous they've been so far this spring and totalling well past 500 at the Bill alone. A good 40 Blackcaps was easily the best of the individual grounded totals at the Bill where 2 Common Sandpipers and a lone Redstart were the best of the less frequents; elsewhere, a Hoopoe was again in a private garden at Fortuneswell and a Bar-tailed Godwit at Ferrybridge was the first there this spring. Two singles Ospreys at either end of the day - the first over Easton and the other over Portland Harbour - were the best of the overhead migrants. Well into four figures of Manx Shearwaters passed or lingered off the Bill, with 2 Red-throated Divers and a Great Skua there and an Arctic Skua off Chesil providing the migrant highlights from the sea.

A female Redstart brightening up an otherwise dull migration day at the Obs © Martin Cade:

Extremely duff on the migrant moth front: tally at the Obs dropped to just a Small Mottled Willow and 2 each of Diamond-back, DSGrass & SY. Interesting addition for y'day: what looks like a Golden-rod Pug from our garden at the Grove - only the second Portland record and rather few other Dorset recs

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) April 10, 2026 at 8:39 AM

And back to yesterday for a few photos/videos we couldn't upload last evening due to a computer glitch. One of the day's best sightings at the Bill involved the Red-necked Grebes settled way off Pulpit Rock - there were only a few very distant record phone-scoped shots of them but the fact that these were terrible completely misses the point of them actually being really quite gripping since Red-necked Grebes are pretty rare at the Bill and have hardly ever been photographed there before...come to think of it, we're struggling to remember any photo of one from there © Kim Milsom:


Having never seen one in the spring before we were extremely keen to follow up the initial reports of a putative Caspian Gull at Ferrybridge. Oli's photographs actually turned out to be enough to confirm it but a few others from us taken in semi-darkness following a rapid dash after sunset maybe give some extra details on the upper and underwing pattern. Who'd have even thought to drop in at Ferrybridge really late in the evening in a blasting northwesterly at this time of year? - however, it just goes to show that you never can tell when there's a really good find in the offing © Martin Cade:

A 1w Caspian Gull at Ferrybridge was a very nice bonus this evening! The first one I've seen in April. Thanks to Thomas Miller and Dave Chown for helping to confirm ID @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social #ukbirding #dorsetbirds

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— Oli Mockridge (@yeovilbirder.bsky.social) April 9, 2026 at 9:17 PM



And talking of gulls, we really enjoyed a rapid return trip over to Lynch Cove on the Fleet to see our second Bonaparte's Gull in two days - a good spot of the second individual by Charlie Richards © Martin Cade:

9th April

Another day that slightly flattered to deceive, with a decent enough list of relatively brief oddities and suggestions from the mist-nets at least that there were migrant about but an overall feel from most fieldworks that rewards were hard to come by. The right old miscellany of oddities included 2 Red-necked Grebes settled off the Bill, 9 Greylag Geese and an Egyptian Goose through on the sea, a Marsh Harrier overhead at the Bill and, right at sunset, a Caspian Gull settled at Ferrybridge. Grounded common migrant totals from the Bill included 90 Willow Warblers and 60 Chiffchaffs but among the less frequents there and elsewhere 3 Redstarts and singles of Common Sandpiper, Tree Pipit, Black Redstart and Grasshopper Warbler were about all that could be mustered. There was a feel that visible passage was poorly tapped into, with no serious quantification of what looked at times to be pretty steady passage of hirundines in particular. The sea was well-watched but for no more than mediocre returns, with 6 Red-throated Divers and an Arctic Skua the best off the Bill where Manx Shearwaters and Sandwich Terns remained present in fair supply.

The migratory wave of Diamond-back Moths and Small Mottled Willows reached us last night with 65 and 39 respectively from the Obs moth-traps; also 5 Dark Sword Grass, 4 Silver Y and 1 Rush Veneer. Oddest catch a single Shaded Pug - dorsetmoths.co.uk shows only one previous (later) April record

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) April 9, 2026 at 11:10 AM

My 1st decent migrant moth night with 7 Diamond-back moth, a Rusty-dot Pearl and 2 Pale Mottled Willow

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— Debra Saunders (@debbyseamist.bsky.social) April 9, 2026 at 10:58 AM

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:

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