February 2007

 

             

  Sparrowhawk - Easton, February 28th 2007 © Ken Dolbear

  February 28th

A quiet end to the month in very rough weather. The only news was of 2 Red-throated Divers and a Curlew passing through off the Bill and 24 Great Crested Grebes, 5 Slavonian Grebes and the Velvet Scoter in Portland Harbour.

 

    

 

 

  today's Hebrew Character along with Purple Sandpiper and Shag from the last few days - Portland Bill and Portland Harbour, February 27th 2007 © Martin Cade (Hebrew Character), Joe Cockram (Purple Sand) and Reg Bell (Shag)

  February 27th

The return of wet and windy conditions saw the quality of the bird list decline to a late winter low-point: the only sighting reported was of a single Goldcrest at Easton.

Moth-trapping at the Obs has been uniformly lousy in the last couple of weeks (Scobipalpa costella and Epiphyas postvittana have been the only species caught on the nights any traps have been run) so the capture last night of the first Hebrew Character of the spring was one very minor snippet of interest.

Late news for yesterday: the first White Wagtail of the spring was at East Weare where 2 Blackcaps were also still present.

February 26th

A distinctly chilly and breezy dawn gave way to really pleasant warm sunshine as the day went on. The odd passing Woodlark is to be expected at this time of year but the sight and sound of one in song at Verne Common during the morning was quite unexpected. A pair of Common Buzzards were displaying in the Grove area but the only other hints of spring were provided by 16 Black-headed Gulls passing through off the Bill and 3 wandering Rooks that showed up at the Bill. The rest of the day's list consisted of 4 Red-throated Divers passing through off the Bill, 5 Pale-bellied Brent Geese with 120 Dark-bellied Brents at Ferrybridge, 225 Red-breasted Mergansers, 29 Great Crested Grebes, 25 Razorbills, 10 Great Northern Divers, 4 Slavonian Grebes, a Black-throated Diver and single Common and Velvet Scoters in Portland Harbour and 10 Mediterranean Gulls in the harbour/Ferrybridge area.

February 25th

Today provided a brief highlight when a Glaucous Gull was spotted settled distantly off East Cliffs at the Bill; unfortunately the bird soon headed off westwards and further searches for it drew a blank. The day's tally was otherwise pretty typical for the time of year: 8 Purple Sandpipers, 4 Rooks and 2 Redwings at the Bill, 4 Red-throated Divers and a Mediterranean Gull passing through off the Bill, 74 Brent Geese at Ferrybridge and the Velvet Scoter still in Portland Harbour.

February 24th

The promise of earlier in the week seems to have evaporated in increasingly unsettled conditions. Today produced virtually nothing in the way of new arrivals, with the best on offer being 5 Purple Sandpipers at the Bill, 3 Grey Herons and a single Common Scoter passing through on the sea at the Bill, several Mediterranean Gulls and the Sandwich Tern at Ferrybridge and 3 Great Northern Divers, a Black-throated Diver and the Velvet Scoter still in Portland Harbour.

February 23rd

Breezy, showery and pretty quiet today. The few new arrivals  included single Chiffchaffs at the Bill and Avalanche Road, a Redwing at the Bill and a Snipe at Barleycrates Lane; the only other news was of 5 Purple Sandpipers still at the Bill and 2 Slavonian Grebes and the Velvet Scoter still in Portland Harbour..

February 22nd

Birding was well and truly rained off all morning and the only reports in fairer weather later on were of the 5 Pale-bellied Brents at Ferrybridge and 22 Great Crested Grebes, 5 Great Northern Divers, 2 Slavonian Grebes, a Black-throated Diver and single Common and Velvet Scoters in Portland Harbour.

The 3 resident Roe Deer were reported for the first time in many weeks in the Perryfields area.

Late news for yesterday: the Sandwich Tern was still in Portland Harbour and a Black Redstart was at Smallmouth.

 

     

  Velvet Scoter - Portland Harbour, February 21st 2007 © Pete Saunders

  February 21st

The gloomy skies of recent days cleared and there were fewer new arrivals. Chiffchaffs included a single at the Bill and 2 at East Weare, a trickle of alba wagtails and Meadow Pipits arrived in off the sea and there was a light passage of Black-headed and Common Gulls off the Bill but the rest of the reports were of relatively standard fare: 8 Purple Sandpipers at the Bill, 5 Red-throated Divers passing through off the Bill, 2  Blackcaps (presumably wintering birds although none have been reported from there this year) at East Weare, 4 Slavonian Grebes, 3 Great Northern Divers, a Black-throated Diver, a Black-necked Grebe and the Velvet Scoter in Portland Harbour and 5 Pale-bellied Brents and plenty of Mediterranean Gulls at Ferrybridge.

 

 

  Sandwich Tern - Portland Harbour, February 20th 2007 © Paul Gay

  February 20th

Stonechat remained bird of the moment with 35 in the Bill area this morning. The year's first Sandwich Tern showed up in Portland Harbour but new arrivals otherwise consisted of little more than a trickle of alba wagtails and Meadow Pipits arriving in off the sea at the Bill. Odds and ends also on the list for the day included 8 Purple Sandpipers at the Bill, the Great Northern Diver still settled off the Bill, 7 Red-throated Divers, 3 Oystercatchers and a Mediterranean Gull passing through on the sea at the Bill, 9 Pintail settled off Chesil, at least 20 Mediterranean Gulls at Ferrybridge and 8 Great Northern Divers, 2 Slavonian Grebes, a Black-throated Diver and the Velvet Scoter still in Portland Harbour.

February 19th

There was another decent arrival of Stonechats, including 46 in the Bill area alone, but variety was otherwise not quite as good as yesterday with the pick of the other newcomers being the first Reed Bunting of the spring at the Bill, where there were also 6 Purple Sandpipers, another lone Stock Dove in off the sea and fair numbers of new Meadow Pipits grounded or passing overhead. The sea again produced a trickle of early passage including 205 Black-headed Gulls, 9 Red-throated Divers, 6 Curlew, 2 Mediterranean Gulls and a Red-breasted Merganser passing Chesil and 3 Curlew, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, a Red-throated Diver and a Great Skua passing the Bill. Two Slavonian Grebes were still settled off Chesil, whilst long-stayers still on view included the Great Northern Diver settled off the Bill, a Black Redstart at Portland Castle and the Velvet Scoter in Portland Harbour.

Apologies for the late notice but we'd forgotten to mention that there is an In Focus field event at the Obs from 10am to 4pm tomorrow (Tuesday 20th). February 18th

Plenty of really encouraging signs of spring movement on land and sea today. Stonechats were particularly conspicuous and totalled at least 35 between the Bill and Barleycrates Lane where at least 14 Redwings also passed through. The first spring Chiffchaff was another new arrival at the Bill where several flocks of Meadow Pipits arrived in off the sea along with 5 Skylarks, a Fieldfare and a Carrion Crow. The sea came up with 67 Black-headed Gulls, 6 Common Scoter, 3 Red-throated Divers and a Mediterranean Gull passing the Bill and 23 Black-headed Gulls, 6 Common Scoter, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, a Red-throated Diver and a Great Crested Grebe passing through off Chesil. Other reports included 3 Slavonian Grebes settled off Chesil, 28 Mediterranean Gulls and 5 Pale-bellied Brents at Ferrybridge, a Black Redstart at Weston and a Common Buzzard at Cheyne.

February 17th

A little bit of sea passage today but otherwise a fairly routine list of sightings: 9 Red-breasted Mergansers, 7 Common Scoter, 3 Shelduck, 2 Curlew, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, a diver sp and a Tufted Duck passed through off Chesil (where there were also 2 settled Slavonian Grebes), 200 Brent Geese, 4 Red-throated Divers and a Mediterranean Gull passed through off the Bill, a lone Stock Dove arrived in off the sea at the Bill, 120 Red-breasted Mergansers, 7 Great Northern Divers, a Black-throated Diver, a Slavonian Grebe and the Velvet Scoter were in Portland Harbour and 200 Brent Geese, 65 Red-breasted Mergansers, 25 Mediterranean Gulls, 8 Little Grebes, 7 Goldeneye, 4 Mute Swans, a Great Northern Diver and a Yellow-legged Gull were at Ferrybridge.

Despite the apparently promising-looking conditions no immigrant moths were caught overnight in the Obs garden moth-traps.

 

 

    another photograph of yesterday's Red-breasted Goose - Ferrybridge, February 15th 2007 © Pete Saunders

With regard to the question posed yesterday as to whether the goose was the November bird returning or a new individual it's worth having a closer look at a couple of enlarged photographs. The two images below (which look to be representative of a series of photographs of each bird) seem to show some significant differences: the white flank patch is complete on the November bird but broken on the February bird, the white loral patch is squared off in front of the eye on the November bird but distinctly rounded on the February bird and there are several apparent differences in the pattern of the rear-flank barring, the width of the median covert wing-bar and the width of the white chest band between the two birds. Some of these differences might be related to changes in posture or the position of feather tracts but taken together they appear to provide strong evidence that two individuals were involved in these records.

  February 16th

There was no sign of the Red-breasted Goose at Ferrybridge although 200 Brent Geese were still present there along with 109 Dunlin, 5 Goldeneye, 5 Mediterranean Gulls, 2 Little Grebes, 2 Mallard and a Great Northern Diver. Seven Red-throated Divers, 8 Common Scoter and 3 Pintail passed through on the sea at the Bill, 4 Great Northern Divers, 2 Slavonian Grebes and a Velvet Scoter were in Portland Harbour and there was a Black Redstart at Portland Castle.

Three Bottle-nosed Dolphins lingered off the Bill during the morning.

Late news for yesterday: a count of 8 Stonechats in the weedy field near the Obs represented a marked increase on the ones and twos recorded there previously this winter.

 

 

 

 

  

  Red-breasted Goose and Velvet Scoter - Ferrybridge and Portland Harbour, February 15th 2007 © Martin Cade (Red-breasted Goose) and Colin McEntee (Velvet Scoter)

  February 15th

Quality if not quantity today with the surprise of the day being the discovery in the morning of a Red-breasted Goose with a small flock of Brents at Ferrybridge (...last November's bird returning or a new individual?). The only other news was of the Velvet Scoter back in Portland Harbour, a single Purple Sandpiper at the Bill and a lone Mute Swan just about venturing into Portland waters between Ferrybridge and the Bridging Camp.

Late news for yesterday: 2 Black Redstarts were at Portland Castle and 3 Great Northern Divers were still in Portland Harbour.

 

 

 

  Great Crested and Slavonian Grebes - Portland Harbour, February 14th 2007 © Colin McEntee

  February 14th

Unfortunately the mild and sunny conditions didn't tempt many birders into the field and the only reports were of 2 Slavonian Grebes in Portland Harbour, a Great Northern Diver settled off the Bill and a single Red-throated Diver passing through on the sea at the Bill.

February 13th

A steady westward passage of Common Gulls off the Bill (sample counts suggested that upwards of 500 birds passed through during the morning) was a little unexpected but otherwise the only reports were pretty routine: 3 Purple Sandpipers at the Bill, a Great Northern Diver passing through off the Bill, 3 Goldcrests and a Chiffchaff at Easton and 6 Great Northern Divers and a Slavonian Grebe in Portland Harbour.

Very belated news for a couple of weeks ago: the Ferrybridge Mediterranean Gull tally peaked at 60 in late January - yet another record count for the island.

February 12th

Hardly surprisingly bearing in mind the gale force westerlies and frequent heavy showers there was precious little enthusiasm for birding today. The only news was of a Great Northern Diver settled off the Bill, 4 Shelducks at Ferrybridge and 2 Great Northern Divers and a Slavonian Grebe in Portland Harbour.

February 11th

The only reports so far today have been from Portland Harbour where there were 3 Great Northern Divers, 2 each of Slavonian and Black-necked Grebe and singles of Little Grebe and Velvet Scoter.

February 10th

The pick of today's reports came during the afternoon when a Ring-billed Gull flew through Chesil Cove and disappeared off over Fortuneswell. In much improved conditions earlier in the day the best of the new arrivals were a couple of Black Redstarts at the Bill (where the only other record during the winter was of a single on one date). Four Purple Sandpipers were still at the Bill, a Great Northern Diver passed through on the sea there, 163 Red-breasted Mergansers, 7 Great Northern Divers, 3 Slavonian Grebes, 2 Wigeon and a Velvet Scoter were in Portland Harbour, 2 Red-throated Divers and 2 Red-breasted Mergansers passed through off Chesil and several Mediterranean Gulls were scattered in the Chesil/Ferrybridge area.

February 9th

Dire weather and dire birding today: a dozen Mediterranean Gulls at Ferrybridge was the only sighting of any note.

February 8th

The recent spell of relatively quiet weather ended abruptly with a strong south-easterly and heavy rain overnight and frequent squally showers continuing to pass through all day. There was a marked increase in Kittiwake numbers off the Bill where more than 300 were lingering throughout the morning but the only other reports were of a Firecrest at Old Hill and 14 Mediterranean Gulls and 6 Pale-bellied Brent Geese at Ferrybridge.

 

 

  Gorse Shieldbug (a surprisingly numerous inhabitant of the few isolated gorse bushes beside the Obs patio) - Portland Bill, February 5th 2007 © Ken Dolbear

  February 7th

The only reports received today were of 11 Common Scoter settled off the Bill, a lone Mediterranean Gull amongst the melee of feeding gulls offshore there, a Black Redstart at Weston and 2 Goldcrests at Easton.

 

 

  Mediterranean Gulls - Ferrybridge, February 6th 2007 © Colin McEntee

  February 6th

The tiny trickle of early movement continued today with a few more Black-headed Gulls passing through off the Bill and two single Pied Wagtails arriving in off the sea there during the afternoon. Otherwise the only reports were of 3 Red-throated Divers and a Goldeneye passing through off the Bill, a Black Redstart at Southwell and plenty of Mediterranean Gulls still at Ferrybridge.

February 5th

Another pleasant day but precious little news to report. The Bill area produced a couple of Redwings on the land and 3 Red-throated Divers and a Red-breasted Merganser passing through on the sea, whilst elsewhere there were 12 Great Crested Grebes, 3 Great Northern Divers and a Slavonian Grebe in Portland Harbour and at least 30 Mediterranean Gulls in the harbour/Ferrybridge area.

 

 

 

 

 

  Large Tortoiseshell and Slavonian Grebe - Portland Bill and Portland Harbour, February 4th 2007 © Martin Cade (Large Tortoiseshell) and Colin McEntee (Slavonian Grebe)

  February 4th

Easily the most gripping news was of the recent discovery of a Large Tortoiseshell butterfly on the island. Evidently the rather ragged specimen was first discovered flying very weakly in Top Fields last weekend; it was easily captured but after being kept alive for most of the week it was found to have died yesterday and was brought to the Obs today. It would appear that this is the fourth record for the island following singles on 30th July 1875 and 2nd October 1980 and three on 10th August 1977. On the bird front the recent theme of early movement continued with the first singles of Meadow Pipit and Rook arriving in off the sea at the Bill and another few Black-headed Gulls trickling up-Channel off Chesil and the Bill. The rest of the sightings were more mundane: 9 Purple Sandpipers and 2 Turnstones at the Bill, 5 Red-throated Divers and a Mediterranean Gull passing through off the Bill, 40 Mediterranean Gulls, 7 Pale-bellied Brents and the Black Brant at Ferrybridge, a Slavonian Grebe in Portland Harbour and 45 Brent Geese, 6 Shelduck and a single Red-throated Diver passing through off Chesil.

 

 

  Sunrise at the Bill - Portland Bill, February 3rd 2007 © Chris Courtaux

  February 3rd

Still nice and sunny but feeling a lot chillier in a fresh easterly wind. The only reports received so far have been of 4 Red-throated Divers and a Brent Goose past the Bill, an Eider settled offshore there, 8 Purple Sandpipers at the Bill, a Pheasant found dead at Southwell and 48 Mediterranean Gulls, 7 Pale-bellied Brent Geese and the Black Brant at Ferrybridge.

 

  

 

  Early Grey and Tawny Pinion - Portland Bill, February 2nd 2007 © Martin Cade

  February 2nd

Another really pleasant day with the promised sunshine arriving much earlier in the morning than forecast. On the bird front the first spring movement of gulls - a total of 104 Black-headed Gulls and 2 Mediterranean Gulls trickled east off the Bill during the morning - was the highlight, whilst other odds and ends included 13 Common Scoter and 3 Red-throated Divers passing the Bill, a Great Northern Diver still settled offshore there, another 3 Great Northerns and a Yellow-legged Gull in Portland Harbour and 600 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 7 Pale-bellied Brents and a Black Brant at Ferrybridge.

At least 1 Bottle-nosed Dolphin was off the Bill during the afternoon.

A Red Admiral was on the wing at the Obs .

Overnight moth-trapping at the Obs produced singles of Pearly Underwing and Silver Y, along with a small selection of resident species that included the first Tawny Pinion and Early Grey of the year.

February 1st

It felt mild enough to almost imagine there being a chance of some early passage but in the event the only slightly out of the ordinary sightings were of single Goldcrests in 'new' locations at Weston and Pound Piece. Otherwise the best on offer were 2 Redwings and a Black Redstart at Easton, 8 Purple Sandpipers and 2 Turnstones at the Bill, a Great Northern Diver settled off the Bill and 8 Common Scoter, 2 Red-throated Divers, a Great Northern Diver and a Wigeon passing through on the sea at the Bill.