May 2007

 

   

    Balearic Shearwater and Gannet - Portland Bill, May 31st 2007 © Colin McEntee 

  May 31st

A fair selection of birds on land and sea today with the promised showers missing the island on all but a couple of occasions. A decent-sized fishing flock of Gannets (numbering around 120 birds this morning) has been gathering off the Bill in recent days and the selection of other seabirds loosely associating with this flock today included 3 Arctic Skuas, a Balearic Shearwater and a Storm Petrel; 100 Manx Shearwaters, 16 Common Scoter and a Great Northern Diver also passed through off the Bill and 180 Manx and a lone Balearic Shearwater passed Chesil Cove. Sightings from the land included 5 Spotted Flycatchers, 4 Wheatears, 4 Blackcaps, 2 Reed Warblers, 2 Willow Warblers, a Yellow Wagtail, a Black Redstart, a Redstart and a Sedge Warbler at the Bill. 

Overall May has been another extremely good month for common migrants at Portland with the Obs garden ringing total for the month just getting over 1000 with a bit of last minute effort today. We haven't yet had a chance to check on the previous spring ringing totals but this year's March-May total of 3073 birds ringed in the Obs garden must be one of the highest spring totals ever recorded there.

The only interest in the Obs garden moth-traps this morning was provided by a single Scallop Shell (only the fifth Portland record).

May 30th

Another wash-out morning produced a trickle of sea passage off the Bill but the clear and blustery conditions that followed allowed decent coverage of the land that only revealed that precious little seemed to have dropped in overnight. Four Storm Petrels, 2 Arctic Skuas and a Pomarine Skua were the best of the seabirds passing the Bill, whilst the reports from the land included 5 Spotted Flycatchers, a Black Redstart and a Chiffchaff at the Bill and a Reed Warbler at Southwell.

May 29th

A Golden Oriole was heard singing for a few minutes and seen once early in the morning at Southwell but otherwise the day produced just a sparse sprinkle of new grounded migrants that included 6 Spotted Flycatchers, 5 Wheatears, 2 Chiffchaffs, 2 Willow Warblers, a Turtle Dove, a Yellow Wagtail and a Blackcap at the Bill, where 3 more Hobbys also passed through. Odds and ends on the sea included 60 Manx Shearwaters, a Great Skua, an Arctic Skua and a Sandwich Tern passing through off the Bill.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

          Honey Buzzard, Swift and Lime Hawk-moth - Portland Bill, May 28th 2007 © Kevin Lane (Honey Buzzard - top two photos) and Martin Cade (Honey Buzzard - lower two photos, Swift and Lime Hawk-moth)

  May 28th

With the weather gradually improving through the morning there was much better coverage of the south of the island. Bird of the day was a Honey Buzzard that arrived in off the sea at the Bill late in the morning, whilst as a spectacle the many hundreds of Swifts that were also arriving there provided plenty of interest. Grounded migrants included 2 Wheatears, 2 Blackcaps, 2 Spotted Flycatchers and a Reed Warbler at the Bill, a Garden Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher at Avalanche Road and a Willow Warbler at Reap Lane; a Hobby over the Bill was the best of the other arrivals overhead. Twenty Manx Shearwaters, 2 Arctic Skuas and single Great Northern Diver passed through on the sea at the Bill.

Despite some miserable conditions overnight there was a fair catch of moths in the Obs garden traps: 3 Rusty-dot Pearls, a Diamond-back Moth and the first 2 Delicates of the year provided immigrant interest and the first Lime Hawk-moth of the year was on the wing.

May 27th

A day of almost unrelenting rain kept sightings to a minimum. The only reports from the ground were of a Willow Warbler at the Bill and 25 Sanderling and a Yellow-legged Gull at Ferrybridge, whilst overhead large numbers of Swifts (certainly numbering in the hundreds but not fully counted due to the dreadful weather) were arriving in off the sea at the Bill in the late afternoon and evening. The only other news was of occasional attempts at seawatching at the Bill which produced 12 Common Scoter, 10 Manx Shearwaters, 3 Black Terns and a Dunlin.

Late news for yesterday: 2 Pomarine Skuas passed through off the Bill during the evening and a Woodchat Shrike was reported at Blacknor during the afternoon.

 

   

  

       Spotted Flycatcher and yesterday's Purple Sandpiper - Portland Bill, May 26th 2007 © Martin Cade (Spot Fly) and Paul Gay (Purple Sand)

  May 26th

The most conspicuous feature of today was a steady arrival of Spotted Flycatchers - many flying straight though into a brisk northerly wind - with upwards of 80 at the Bill, 15 at Avalanche Road/Barleycrates Lane and many more scattered elsewhere. In comparison other migrants were relatively few and far between with just 6 Willow Warblers, 5 Wheatears, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 3 Chiffchaffs, a Sedge Warbler and a Pied Flycatcher at the Bill and smaller numbers of a few of the same species elsewhere. Seawatching at the Bill produced nothing much more than 4 Manx Shearwaters, 4 Sanderling and an Arctic Skua, whilst waders at Ferrybridge included 96 Dunlin, 25 Sanderling and 2 Bar-tailed Godwits.

Overnight moth-trapping at the Obs produced precious little of note: Eyed Hawk-moth and Heart and Club were new for the year and 3 Diamond-back Moth and 2 Silver Y were the only immigrants logged.

Late news for yesterday: a late Purple Sandpiper was at the Bill.

 

   

  

  

  

  

    Muslin Moth & White Ermine, northern/eastern Chiffchaff and Golden Oriole - Portland Bill, May 25th 2007 © Martin Cade 

  May 25th

Two better quality birds today in the form of a Golden Oriole trapped and ringed at the Obs early in the afternoon after a grey and white Chiffchaff of presumably northern/eastern origin had been trapped there early in the morning. A veil of cloud overhead at dawn had looked promising and delivered another small arrival of commoner migrants with 17 Spotted Flycatchers, 4 Wheatears, 4 Willow Warblers, 3 Reed Warblers, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 2 Garden Warblers, a Hobby, a Redstart and a Sedge Warbler in the Bill area, 7 Spotted Flycatchers, 2 each of Garden Warbler, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff and a single Reed Warbler at Avalanche Road and a Hobby over Suckthumb Quarry. Two passing Arctic Skuas provided the only interest on the sea at the Bill.

The Obs garden moth-traps were distinctly quieter than in recent mornings: the only immigrants were 3 Diamond-back Moths and a Rusty-dot Pearl, whilst the only year-ticks were Brown Silver-line, Brussels Lace, Straw Dot and Snout.

 

   

    Scorched Wing - Portland Bill, May 24th 2007 © Martin Cade 

  May 24th

A scorching day for the sun-bathers but not too hot from the bird point of view with a sprinkle of late migrants around the south of the island that included 25 Wheatears, 8 Reed Warblers, 8 Spotted Flycatchers, 3 Hobbys, 3 Turtle Doves, 3 Whinchats, 2 Willow Warblers, a Ringed Plover, a Yellow Wagtail and a Blackcap. The only other news was of a good count of 33 Sanderling amongst smaller numbers of commoner waders at Ferrybridge.

The Obs garden moth-traps were again quite busy with a list of immigrants that included 12 Diamond-back Moths, 5 Rusty-dot Pearl and a Pearly Underwing along a Scorched Wing (only the fourth island record of this woodland wanderer) and first records for the year of Silver-ground Carpet, Cypress Carpet, Common Wave and Cinnabar.

May 23rd

Clear skies and warm sunshine were very pleasant but not surprisingly didn't drop much of an arrival of birds. One on cue oddity that did show up was a Golden Oriole in trees beside Reforne during the morning, whilst a Marsh Harrier over Top Fields around the same time provided a bit more quality. The common migrant selection changed little from recent days with 35 Wheatears, 15 Spotted Flycatchers, 5 Yellow Wagtails, 5 Reed Warblers, 3 Blackcaps, 2 Whinchats, 2 Garden Warblers, 2 Willow Warblers and a Turtle Dove scattered about the centre and south of the island. Two Canada Geese passed through off the Bill and 5 Sanderling and a Knot were amongst small numbers of commoner waders at Ferrybridge.

Six Diamond-back Moths, 3 Rusty-dot Pearl, 2 Pearly Underwings and a Silver Y provided the only immigrant interest in the Obs garden moth-traps this morning.

 

   

    Robin (presumably the progeny of a pair of Robins that appeared to be breeding amongst the beach huts adjacent to the Obs garden; if this proves to be the case it'll constitute the first occasion that Robins have actually fledged young from a nest site in and around the Obs garden) - Portland Bill, May 22nd 2007 © Martin Cade 

  May 22nd

A much nicer day weather-wise with another small flurry of late arrivals. A Spotted Redshank flying north along the West Cliffs was the bird of the day, whilst more routine fare included 35 Wheatears, 15 Spotted Flycatchers, 3 Willow Warblers, 2 White Wagtails, 2 Tree Pipits, 2 Reed Warblers, a Grey Heron, a Common Sandpiper, a Turtle Dove, a Yellow Wagtail and a Chiffchaff at the Bill and smaller numbers of the same species dotted about the middle of the island.

Nine Diamond-back Moths, 2 Rusty-dot Pearl and a Pearly Underwing provided some immigrant interest in the Obs garden moth-traps which also attracted the first records for the year of Satin Wave and Shaded Pug.

May 21st

Damp and dreary for much of the day and although there was a fair selection of commoner migrants nothing much was in any great quantity. Most of the coverage was of the Bill area where there were 20 Wheatears, 10 Spotted Flycatchers, 4 Willow Warblers, 3 Whimbrel, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 2 Turtle Doves, 2 Blackcaps, 2 Firecrests, a Whinchat, a Garden Warbler and a Chiffchaff; away from the Bill there were 3 more Willow Warblers, a Turtle Dove and a Spotted Flycatcher in the Suckthumb Quarry area and a Hobby flew north at Barleycrates Lane. The only reports from the sea were of 3 Great Northern Divers, a Red-throated Diver and a Pomarine Skua passing the Bill. Waders at Ferrybridge included 40 Dunlin and 5 Sanderling.

Interest in the Obs garden overnight included Small Elephant Hawk-moth and Small Waved Umber new for the year and singles of Rusty-dot Pearl, Dark Sword Grass and Silver Y by way of immigrants.

 

   

  

    Woodchat Shrike and Firecrest - Portland Bill, May 20th 2007 © Kevin Lane (Woodchat) and Emma Cockburn (Firecrest)

  May 20th

Quite a decent day today with the highlight being a Woodchat Shrike that roamed around the Bill area before settling in Top Fields. A nice late flurry of commoner migrants around the centre and south of the island included a Nightjar (in a garden at Southwell in the evening), 5 Firecrests (2 in song at both the Obs and Avalanche Road and a single at Culverwell), 60 Wheatears, 30 Spotted Flycatchers, 8 Reed Warblers, 7 Willow Warblers, 6 Yellow Wagtails, 6 Garden Warblers, 2 Turtle Doves, a Common Buzzard (which looked to have arrived in off the sea), a White Wagtail, a Grey Wagtail, a Whinchat, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Chiffchaff. The sea provided quite a few more additions to what was already a good day list with 25 Sanderling, 19 Arctic Terns, 10 Dunlin, 9 Turnstone and an Arctic Skua passing Chesil, 2 Hobbys arriving in off the sea there and singles of Great Northern Diver, Pomarine Skua and Arctic Skua passing the Bill.

The Obs garden moth-traps were slightly more productive than off late with Light Emerald, Buff Ermine, Shoulder-striped Wainscot and Dusky Brocade all new for the year and 2 Silver Y, a Rusty-dot Pearl, a Dark Sword Grass and a Pearly Underwing by way of immigrants.

 

   

    Grey Seal - Portland Bill, May 19th 2007 © Colin McEntee

  May 19th

The sea provided pretty well all the interest today with 10 Pomarine Skuas, a Great Northern Diver, an Arctic Skua and a Great Skua passing the Bill and 4 Pomarine Skuas and 2 Arctic Skuas passing Chesil Cove; the Cove also provided the rarity of the day in the form of a Coot (quite a Portland highlight!) lingering there during the morning. Tardy migrants on the land included 6 Wheatears, 5 Spotted Flycatchers, a Yellow Wagtail, a Reed Warbler, a Sedge Warbler and a Blackcap grounded at the Bill.

 

   

    Fox - Southwell, May 18th 2007 © Paul Baker

  May 18th

The sea produced most of the interest today with totals of 5 Arctic Skuas, 4 Pomarine Skuas, a Red-throated Diver and a Great Skua passing through off the Bill and 4 Arctic Skuas, 2 Red-throated Divers, a Storm Petrel, a Great Skua and a Pomarine Skua passing Chesil Cove. The land was a little better than yesterday with 15 Spotted Flycatchers, 14 Wheatears, 2 Whimbrel, a Yellow Wagtail and a Reed Warbler logged at the Bill.

It was the busiest night of the year so far in the Obs garden moth-traps although quality was lacking: Willow Beauty and Poplar Hawk-moth were year-ticks and a single Udea ferrugalis was the only immigrant recorded.

May 17th

Passage well and truly ground to a halt today with, for example, not a single bird trapped in the Obs garden in ten hours of trying....and the nets are still open at the time of writing! Odds and ends that did make it on to the day-sheet included a Wood Warbler heard singing at the Obs at dawn and 5 Whimbrel, 3 Wheatears, a Willow Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher scattered elsewhere in the Bill area. The sea was almost as deadly with 15 Manx Shearwaters and 2 Arctic Skuas the only worthwhile sightings at the Bill. 

In the Obs garden moth-traps Peppered Moth and Dark Arches were year-ticks but a single Diamond-back Moth was the only immigrant recorded.

 

   

    Wood Warbler - Portland Bill, May 16th 2007 © Martin Cade

  May 16th

Tardy spring migrants continue to trickle through whenever the weather allows and today provided another small flurry of birds at the Bill. A Wood Warbler trapped and ringed at the Obs was the pick of the bunch, with the supporting cast consisting of 30 Spotted Flycatchers, 8 Willow Warblers, 5 Whimbrel, 5 Wheatears, 4 Garden Warblers, 3 Sedge Warblers, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 2 Blackcaps, 2 Chiffchaffs, a Redstart, a Reed Warbler and a Pied Flycatcher. An unhelpful offshore breeze restricted sea passage at the Bill to little more than 4 Arctic Skuas and 3 Great Northern Divers.

 

   

  

    Fox Moth and Pebble Hook-tip - Portland Bill, May 15th 2007 © Martin Cade

  May 15th

The weather remained very changeable and the bird list was on the thin side today. The only reports were from the Bill where there were 8 Whimbrel, 5 Willow Warblers, 2 Sanderling, 2 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Sedge Warblers, a Grasshopper Warbler, a Blackcap, a Garden Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher on the land and 300 Manx Shearwaters, 6 Great Northern Divers, 2 Arctic Skuas, a Storm Petrel and a Great Skua past on the sea.

A Pebble Hook-tip was another unusual wanderer caught in the Obs garden moth-traps overnight.

May 14th

Yet another change in the weather saw brisk north-westerlies set in soon after dawn and these dropped a steady trickle of late common migrants. The Bill area produced totals that included 30 Swifts, 30 Willow Warblers, 25 Spotted Flycatchers, 8 Whimbrel, 6 Yellow Wagtails, 6 Garden Warblers, 5 Tree Pipits, 6 Sedge Warblers, 4 Wheatears, 3 Chaffinches, 2 Purple Sandpipers, a Hobby, a Dunlin and a Redstart; a sprinkle more of the same elsewhere included another 4 Spotted Flycatchers and 2 more Garden Warblers at Avalanche Road. Five passing Great Northern Divers were the pick of some otherwise uneventful seawatching at the Bill where the only other noteworthy sightings were of singles of Red-throated Diver and Arctic Skua.

 

   

    The Mocha - Portland Bill, May 13th 2007 © Martin Cade

  May 13th

Another day of extreme contrasts with a calm, drizzly dawn giving way to a couple of hours of freshening easterlies and quite torrential rain later in the morning before the arrival of clear skies and blustery westerlies during the afternoon. A fair arrival of grounded migrants at the Bill included 30 Willow Warblers, 11 Whimbrel, 11 Yellow Wagtails, 10 Wheatears, 10 Sedge Warblers, 5 Reed Warblers, 5 Garden Warblers, 2 Tree Pipits, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 2 Spotted Flycatchers, a Common Sandpiper, a Whinchat, a Redstart and a Wood Warbler; quite good numbers of hirundines and Swifts were also on the move everywhere. A miscellaneous selection on the sea included 35 Dunlin, 3 Arctic Skuas and singles of Great Northern Diver, Storm Petrel and Mediterranean Gull past the Bill, whilst waders at Ferrybridge included 340 Dunlin and 10 Sanderling.

A single Mocha was a decent quality wanderer attracted to the Obs garden moth-traps overnight.

May 12th

We continue to pay for the long settled spell earlier this spring as the blusterly, westerly weather of the last week showed no sign of ending; the only redeeming feature today was that the showers that threatened throughout the morning all slipped away without making landfall. The sea provided all the highlights with the best being a Long-tailed Skua that briefly lingered off the Bill early in the morning; the sea also produced 50 Manx Shearwaters, 4 Storm Petrels, 3 Great and 3 Arctic Skuas, single Red-throated and Great Northern Divers and the first Balearic Shearwater of the year off the Bill and 7 Arctic Skuas, 2 Great Skuas and singles of Red-throated Diver, Great Northern Diver, Whimbrel, Pomarine Skua and Arctic Tern through Chesil Cove. Interest on the land was confined to 8 Whimbrel at the Bill and 2 Spotted Flycatchers, a Redstart, a Robin, a Garden Warbler and a Willow Warbler trapped and ringed at the Obs.

May 11th

Lean times once again on the land but the sea still provided some interest in the continuing unsettled conditions. Seven Whimbrel, 6 Garden Warblers, 3 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Yellow Wagtail, a Turtle Dove and a Blackcap were the best on offer on the ground or overhead at the Bill, where seawatching produced 39 Common Scoter, 36 Dunlin, 7 Pomarine Skuas, 6 Great Northern Divers, 6 Arctic Skuas and a single Storm Petrel. The only other reports were of 100 Dunlin and 5 Sanderling at Ferrybridge.

May 10th

A drier than expected morning permitted decent coverage of the land and the sea before rain set in again early in the afternoon. Grounded migrants were conspicuously few and far between with little more than 10 Whimbrel, 4 Wheatears, 2 Purple Sandpipers, a Blue-headed Wagtail, a Whinchat, a Sedge Warbler, a Reed Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher discovered in the Bill area; despite the lack of grounded migrants there were plenty of Swallows (estimates suggesting that in excess of 8000 passed through during the day) and a few Swifts arriving in off the sea all day. Seawatching at the Bill produced 7 Arctic Skuas, 5 Pomarine Skuas, 3 Storm Petrels, 2 Great Skuas and a steady procession of Manx Shearwaters.

 

   

    Turtle Dove - Portland Bill, May 9th 2007 © Martin Cade

  May 9th

A day of some contrasts with a completely calm and rainy morning giving way to drier conditions and near gale force south-westerlies by the afternoon. In the rain it was evident that there had been a small arrival of birds on the land with 13 Whimbrel, 10 Willow Warblers, 6 Wheatears, 5 Dunlin, 5 Spotted Flycatchers, 4 Garden Warblers, 3 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Cuckoos, 2 Whinchats, 2 Sedge Warblers, 2 Blackcaps, a Common Sandpiper, a Turtle Dove, a Tree Pipit and a Redstart in the Bill area where hirundines and Swifts were also trickling in off the sea in some numbers and 2 Hobbys arrived; elsewhere there was a Wood Warbler at Verne Common and a Black Redstart at Weston. Once the wind picked up there was some movement at sea with 250 Manx Shearwaters, 5 Arctic Skuas and 4 Great Skuas passing through off the Bill and 80 Manx Shearwaters, 5 Arctic Skuas, 3 Pomarine Skuas, a Great Northern Diver, a Storm Petrel and a Great Skua through at Chesil Cove.

A Common Seal was close inshore at Church Ope Cove early in the afternoon.

May 8th

Blustery and unsettled again today. The sunnier interludes were more frequent than yesterday and allowed for better coverage of the land which only revealed there was precious little around: 15 Whimbrel, 3 Wheatears and singles of Purple Sandpiper, Reed Warbler, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff were all that could be mustered from the Bill area. The sea was slightly more productive with 100 Manx Shearwaters, 9 Common Scoter, 2 Great Northern Divers, 2 Storm Petrels and singles of Red-throated Diver, Great Skua and Arctic Skua passing through off the Bill.

May 7th

Plenty of wind and rain today - classic English bank holiday weather! Little attention was paid to the land and the only reports of any note from there were of singles of Grey Plover, Whimbrel, Purple Sandpiper and Spotted Flycatcher at the Bill. Seabirds included 300 Manx Shearwaters, 200 Gannets, 3 Arctic Skuas, a Storm Petrel, a Great Skua and a Pomarine Skua off the Bill and 200 Manx Shearwaters, 2 Great Northern Divers, 2 Great Skuas, a Storm Petrel an Arctic Skua and a Pomarine Skua off Chesil Cove. The only other news was of 14 Sanderling and a Little Gull at Ferrybridge.

A lone Pearly Underwing ensured it wasn't quite a blank return from the Obs garden moth-traps overnight.

May 6th

A complete change in the weather saw the fair, north-easterly conditions of recent weeks replaced by brisk westerlies and threatening skies. Unfortunately the change looked to be a change for the worse as from the birding point of view it was the least interesting day for some while. The very thin sprinkle of grounded migrants saw just two species - Whimbrel and Wheatear - struggle to double figure totals in the Bill area. Overhead there was a steady passage of Swallows arriving in off the sea and a single Hobby also passed through at the Bill. A little bit more movement on the sea included 100 commic terns, 30 Common Scoter, 3 Great Skuas and 2 each of Great Northern Diver and Arctic Skua passing through off the Bill.

The best of the overnight catch in the Obs garden moth traps were 2 Rusty-dot Pearl and first records for the year of Mullein Wave, Fox Moth and Light Feathered Rustic.

 

   

     Whimbrel - Portland Bill, May 5th 2007 © John & Alison Chapman

  May 5th

An early flurry of interest today produced reports of the Hoopoe, a Serin and a Dartford Warbler at the Higher Light, another Hoopoe and a Corn Bunting at Reap Lane, a singing Wood Warbler at Old Hill and 4 or more Tree Sparrows at various spots between the Obs Quarry and Suckthumb Quarry. Commoner migrants were much less numerous than yesterday although still well represented, with counts at the Bill that included 150 Willow Warblers, 50 Blackcaps, 40 Garden Warblers, 15 Whimbrel, 10 Yellow Wagtails, 6 Spotted Flycatchers, 4 Reed Warblers, 3 Hobbys, a White Wagtail and a Pied Flycatcher; the pick of the numbers elsewhere were 25 Blackcaps, 15 Whitethroats, 12 Garden Warblers and 6 Yellow Wagtails in the Avalanche Road/Suckthumb Quarry area. Odds and ends on the sea included 32 commic terns, 2 Arctic Skua, 2 Great Skuas and a Red-throated Diver passing the Bill and 4 Arctic Skuas, 2 Little Gulls, a Greenshank and a Pomarine Skua off Chesil, whilst waders at Ferrybridge included a Grey Plover and a Knot.

Three more first records for the year provided the only interest in the Obs garden moth-traps this morning: Scalloped Hazel, Cream-spot Tiger and Coronet.

Finally a request to visiting birders searching for the Hoopoe in the Higher Lighthouse area: please do not climb onto the boundary wall of the lighthouse or enter the lighthouse grounds or the fenced off/mounded off areas surrounding the lighthouse grounds all of which are private property. We have been dismayed to hear of several instances of crass behaviour on the part of certain visiting birders and photographers today which will serve only to upset the lighthouse owner (who very kindly informed us of the bird's presence in the first place). This bird is relatively mobile and is easily seen from established footpaths in the area; there is no need to enter private property to search for it during the occasional periods when it is out of view.

   Hoopoe - Portland Bill, May 4th 2007 ©  Martin Cade

  May 4th

With the clear skies of recent days replaced by heavy cloud cover at dawn there was another huge fall of migrants. A Kentish Plover at Ferrybridge and a Hoopoe at the Higher Lighthouse at the Bill were the quality finds whilst at least one of the Tree Sparrows was also still lingering on at the Bill. In terms of numbers the Obs garden ringing total reached 531 by the end of the day and thus broke the all-time record of 502 established just a fortnight ago. Provisional estimates of numbers from the Bill area included 1000 Willow Warblers and 250 each of Garden Warbler, Blackcap and Whitethroat; smaller numbers of a pretty complete list of other typical early May species there included 100 Wheatears, 60 Sedge Warblers, 50 Spotted Flycatchers, 30 Redstarts, 15 Reed Warblers, 12 Pied Flycatchers, 6 Lesser Whitethroats, 5 Grasshopper Warblers, a Merlin, a Turtle Dove and a Nightingale. The sea hardly got a look in and the only reports worth mentioning were of single Red-throated and Great Northern Divers passing through off the Bill.

Dingy Skipper was on the wing for the first time at Suckthumb Quarry.

Immigrants in the Obs garden moth-traps this morning included 3 Pearly Underwing, 2 Rusty-dot Pearl and a Diamond-back Moth, whilst Galium Carpet, Large Yellow Underwing, Shears, Grey Dagger and Mottled Rustic were all on the wing for the first time.

 

   

  

       Tree Sparrow and Whimbrel - Portland Bill and Chesil Beach, May 3rd 2007 ©  Martin Cade

  May 3rd

Another small flurry of common migrants today but precious little sea movement and, Tree Sparrows aside, not a lot in the scarcity line. Grounded or overflying migrants included 75 Willow Warblers, 25 Swifts, 20 Wheatears, 15 Whimbrel, 10 Redstarts, 10 Spotted Flycatchers, 9 Black-headed Gulls, 6 Chaffinches, 4 Sanderling, 4 Yellow Wagtails, 4 Sedge Warblers, 4 Garden Warblers, 2 Tree Pipits, 2 Whinchats, 2-3 Tree Sparrows, a Cuckoo, a Firecrest and a Pied Flycatcher at the Bill, 3 Tree Sparrows and a Spotted Flycatcher at Suckthumb Quarry, 15 Wheatears and 2 Spotted Flycatchers at Barleycrates Lane and another Spotted Flycatcher at Reap Lane. The sea was very quiet: 25 Bar-tailed Godwits, 14 commic terns and an Arctic Skua passed through off the Bill and 8 Whimbrel and 4 Bar-tailed Godwits passing over Chesil.

No immigrants in the Obs garden moth-traps overnight but Tawny Shears and Small Square-spot were both on the wing for the first time this year.

 

   

 

 

   

     Small Blue, Great Prominent, Hobby and a few pixels-worth of something that you could perhaps imagine might just be an extremely distant Red Kite - High Angle Battery, Portland Bill and The Verne, May 2nd 2007 © Bob Ford Nature Portfolio Image Library (Small Blue) and Martin Cade (other photographs)

  May 2nd

More of the same weather but less in the way of grounded migrants today. Fortunately there was quite a bit on the move overhead including a Red Kite that appeared over the Verne/Grove area before leaving to the east, 4 Hobbys and a Short-eared Owl over the Bill and fair numbers of Swifts, hirundines and Yellow Wagtails everywhere. At least one of yesterday's Tree Sparrows remained at the Bill where there were also 40 Wheatears, 12 Whinchats, 5 Redstarts, 3 Purple Sandpipers, a Merlin, a Common Sandpiper, a Turtle Dove and a White Wagtail; single Pied Flycatchers at Reap Lane and Avalanche Road were the best of the sightings elsewhere. Seawatching was hard work with limited numbers of birds on the move but highlights included 45 Bar-tailed Godwits, 36 Whimbrel, 2 Pomarine Skuas and 2 Arctic Skuas past the Bill and 3 Little Gulls, a Pomarine Skua and an Arctic Skua past Chesil. 

Small Blue, Common Blue, Orange-tip and Small Heath have all been on the wing for the first time this year during the last couple of days.

A single Great Prominent was a notable capture in the Obs garden moth-traps (the only previous Portland record was in 1962); 2 Silver Y were also caught along with the first White Ermine of the year.

Late news for yesterday: an Osprey flew north at Southwell during the evening and 2 Pomarine Skuas passed through off Chesil.

May 1st

It's becoming almost tedious to mention that it was again warm and sunny and that the brisk breeze remained firmly in the north-east. The combination of clear skies and the full moon period didn't promise much in the way of a fall so the strength of the headwind was a blessing as it certainly helped to drop more in the way of common migrants than might have been anticipated. At the Bill there were 150 Willow Warblers and 75 Wheatears along with a fair selection of other migrants that included 5 Yellow Wagtails, 5 Redstarts, 4 Whinchats, 3 Tree Pipits, a Turtle Dove, a White Wagtail, a Common Sandpiper, a Lesser Whitethroat and late singles of Merlin and Fieldfare; the only real oddities there were 2 Tree Sparrows that roamed around Top Fields during the morning. Seawatching produced 46 commic terns, 27 Whimbrel, 17 Sandwich Terns, 4 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Arctic Skuas and a Pomarine Skua from the Bill and 12 Whimbrel, 4 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Shoveler and an Arctic Skua from Chesil; 2 more Arctic Skuas passed overhead at Reap Lane. The only other news was from Ferrybridge where there were 25 Bar-tailed Godwits and the first Little Stint of the year.