January 2011

31st January

Quiet conditions and relatively quiet birding to end the month. Good coverage of the land at the Bill produced 25 Song Thrushes, 10 Redwings, 3 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Snipe, 2 Black Redstarts, a Water Rail and a Blackcap, whilst 12 Common Scoter, 2 Red-throated Divers and an unidentified small skua (thought to be a Pomarine but too distant for certain identification) passed by on the sea there. Elsewhere there were 9 Little Grebes and 2 Shelduck at Ferrybridge and another Black Redstart at Watery Lane.

 

    

 Mediterranean Gulls - Portland Harbour, 30th January 2011 © Jon Mercer

  30th January

Unexpected - although very welcome - wall to wall blue skies and sunshine failed to lure many observers into the field and the day's only reports of note were of 2 Red-throated Divers through off the Bill, the Blackcap still in the Obs garden, the Black Redstart still at Chesil Cove and 280 Mediterranean Gulls, 10 Black-necked Grebes and 2 Slavonian Grebes in Portland Harbour.

29th January

The unpleasant cold was again a feature and the birding hovered only a little above the mundane. The Red-necked Grebe and Black Redstart remained at Chesil Cove and there were again 12 Black-necked Grebes, 4 Goosander and 2 Slavonian Grebes in Portland Harbour. At the Bill 2 overflying Lapwings and singles of Wigeon and Teal through on the sea hinted at some maybe precautionary movement in case it gets any colder but the only other reports from there were of 2 Red-throated Divers also through on the sea and the continuing presence of 4 Common Scoter offshore and the Blackcap in the Obs garden.

 

    

 Black Redstart - Chesil Cove, 28th January 2011 © Martin Cade

  28th January

Although the stiff easterly begun to ease away as the day went on it still felt chilly under a constantly dreary sky. A routine list from the Bill included 10 Purple Sandpipers and a Blackcap on the land and 6 Common Scoter, 3 Red-throated Divers and 2 Brent Geese through on the sea, whilst elsewhere there was a Black Redstart at Chesil Cove and a Red-necked Grebe settled offshore there.

 

 

A reminder that the next In Focus field event at the Obs takes place between 10am and 4pm tomorrow, Saturday 29th January. 

  27th January

A fresh and very chilly north-easterly that begun to feature later yesterday dominated proceedings today to the extent that excursions into the field were few and far between. Six Eider were new arrivals off Chesil Beach but there was little change at the Bill where 9 Red-throated Divers and 3 Brent Geese passed by on the sea and 10 Redwings and singles of Black Redstart, Dartford Warbler and Blackcap were still present on the land.

26th January

Two surprises today in the form of a Sooty Shearwater (presumably last week's bird reappearing) lingering off the Bill for a while during the morning and a Woodlark overhead at the Grove; otherwise things were much as in recent days: large numbers of auks (passing at around 10000/hour at times in the morning) and 8 Red-throated Divers through off the Bill, a Water Rail and a Chiffchaff at the Bill, single Blackcaps at the Bill and Southwell and a light scatter of Redwings everywhere.

 

    

    

   

    Bramblings and Blackcap - Southwell, 25th January 2011 © Pete Saunders

  25th January

More routine fare today: 6 Redwings, 3 Turnstones and singles of Water Rail, Purple Sandpiper, Blackcap and Chiffchaff at the Bill, 75 Mediterranean Gulls feeding offshore and a lone Red-throated Diver through on the sea there and 2 Bramblings and a Blackcap at Southwell.

 

    

    

    Black Redstart and Goldcrest - Fortuneswell and Easton, January 2011 © Wayne Hill (Black Redstart) and Ken Dolbear (Goldcrest)

A couple of photos from recent days that we've only just got round to posting. The Black Redstart is wintering at Fortuneswell, whilst the Goldcrest is one of at least three that have survived the severe weather and are being seen from time to time around Easton.

  24th January

Another day of quiet weather. The majority of reports came from the Bill area where 21 Common Scoter and 2 Red-throated Divers passed by on the sea and 10 Redwings, 7 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Turnstones, a Water Rail, a Black Redstart and a Blackcap were the best of the bunch on the land. Elsewhere there were 17 Black-necked Grebes and 2 Slavonian Grebes in Portland Harbour, 250 Mediterranean Gulls, 116 Brent Geese, 3 Goldeneye, a Black Brant and a Common Scoter at Ferrybridge and a Brambling at Southwell.

23rd January

With the weather remaining settled, albeit a good deal more overcast than had been the case for much of last week, the daily bird list has settling into a rather samey vein, with today's tally at the Bill consisting of little more than 17 Red-throated Divers, 6 Common Scoter and a Great Northern Diver through on the sea and 6 Purple Sandpipers and a Blackcap on the land. Redwings have now largely vacated the Bill area but remain scattered in small numbers elsewhere around the island.

22nd January

Just a few reports from the Bill today, where 8 Red-throated Divers and 4 Common Scoter passed through on the sea, 45 Mediterranean Gulls were lingering offshore and 9 Lapwings, 7 Golden Plover, 6 Purple Sandpipers and a Blackcap were logged on/overhead on the land.

 

    

    

    auks en masse - Portland Bill, 21st January 2011 © Martin Cade

...these images singularly fail to convey the spectacle of tens of thousands of auks whirring around offshore, although in the top photo you maybe get the feel for the multi-layered nature of the action with flocks on the move from mid-distance to almost as far out as the eye can see; perhaps video would be a better medium for us to have a try with?

And yesterday's Siberian Chiffchaff at Southwell (photos © Pete Saunders):

   

   

...this bird was heard calling (correctly) before its identity had been realised and was also strongly attracted by a recording of tristis.

  21st January

Plenty of auks were still present off the Bill (we didn't attempt a count but there looked to be a lot more than yesterday) but sea interest there otherwise consisted of just 4 Shelducks and a single Red-throated Diver passing by; the land came up with 5 Redwings, 3 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Lapwings and singles of Turnstone, Black Redstart, Dartford Warbler, Blackcap and Chiffchaff. Elsewhere there were 304 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 166 Mediterranean Gulls, 3 Pale-bellied Brent Geese and 3 Goldeneye at Ferrybridge.

 

    

    

   

    Grey Heron, Slavonian Grebe and Rock Pipit - Portland Harbour and Portland Bill, 20th January 2011 © Paul Baker (Grey Heron and Slavonian Grebe) and Ken Dolbear (Rock Pipit)

  20th January

Another lovely day and more of the same on the bird front. At the Bill there was a strong post-dawn movement of c15000 auks in 45 minutes leaving Lyme Bay (from roost?) and heading away to the east, whilst later another 21 Red-throated Divers also passed by; the land there came up with a fairly standard 6 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Turnstones, 2 Black Redstarts and 1 Blackcap. A Siberian Chiffchaff (photos to follow tomorrow) paid a brief visit to a garden in Southwell, a Slavonian Grebe was in Portland Harbour and 334 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 137 Mediterranean Gulls, 80 Dunlin, 8 Goosanders and 3 Pale-bellied Brent Geese were at Ferrybridge.

 

    

    

   

Brambling, Black-tailed Godwit and Little Gull - Portland Bill and Ferrybridge, 19th January 2011 © Martin Cade (Brambling) and Pete Saunders (Black-tailed Godwit and Little Gull)

  19th January

The very welcome anticyclonic conditions continued and, despite still being very squelchy underfoot after last week's heavy rainfall, it was certainly a day to enjoy being out in the field. For the most part the day's sightings were routine although there were again one or two surprises, notably singles of Black-tailed Godwit and Little Gull at Ferrybridge and 40 Common Scoter heading up-Channel off the Bill. Seawatching at the Bill also produced 10 Red-throated Divers, whilst 5 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Water Rails, 2 Snipe and singles of Black Redstart, Blackcap, Dartford Warbler, Chiffchaff and Brambling were the pick of the bunch on the land there. A good list from Ferrybridge included 222 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 62 Mediterranean Gulls (there's been a noticeable drop in their numbers since the cold weather), 7 Ravens, 5 Goldeneye, 2 Goosanders, a Mute Swan and a Black Brant, whilst elsewhere there were singles of Great Spotted Woodpecker and Siskin at the Grove.

18th January

A lovely clear, sunny day. At the Bill some slightly unexpected movement included 27 Brent Geese heading up-Channel on the sea and 43 Starlings arriving in off the sea but otherwise the day's tally was much as expected for the time of year: 18 Red-throated Divers through on the sea and 50 Chaffinches, 25 Linnets, 20 Song Thrushes, 20 Redwings, 5 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Water Rails and singles of Black Redstart, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Brambling on the land.

Hitherto this winter we'd only heard/seen single Water Rails in the Obs garden but click here to listen to a short recording of two calling simultaneously there today. Also click here to listen to a recording from earlier in the winter - also from the Obs garden - of the quite different short, sharp call that we seem to hear most often from the Rail(s) at dawn and dusk. Having discovered that there are currently two Rails in the garden we wonder if this second recording might actually also feature two individuals - do the two sexes have slightly different versions of this call?

 

    

    

Sooty Shearwater - Portland Bill, 17th January 2011 © Martin Cade

...a mile or more away so OK through a 'scope but hopeless through a camera lens.

  17th January

Some more sea interest at the Bill this morning, notably a Sooty Shearwater lingering offshore for a while and 16 Red-throated Divers passing by. The only other reports have been of 10 Redwings, 2 Bramblings, a Black Redstart, a Blackcap and a Chiffchaff at the Bill.

16th January

Lots more birds offshore this morning, with 18 Common Scoter, 10 Red-throated Divers, a Great Northern Diver and a Pomarine Skua providing some quality amongst the good numbers of Gannets, gulls and auks (the latter passing at more than 5000/hour) off the Bill; elsewhere there were 26 Great Crested Grebes, 4 Black-necked Grebes, a Red-necked Grebe and a Slavonian Grebe in Portland Harbour. The only reports from the land were of 3 Purple Sandpipers and the Blackcap at the Bill and a Barn Owl after dark at Cheyne.

15th January

Largely routine fare on a dreary, blustery day. At the Bill most attention was given to the sea, with 11 Common Scoter, 10 Red-throated Divers, 10 Brent Geese, 3 Red-breasted Mergansers and a Black-throated Diver logged through the morning; 3 Red-throated Divers and a Red-breasted Merganser also passed through off Chesil Cove and 7 Kittiwakes and 5 Goosander were in Portland Harbour. Among reports from the land there were 50 Redwings, 5 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Black Redstarts, a Snipe, a Blackcap and a Chiffchaff at the Bill and 3 Goldcrests at Easton, 

14th January

Despite a gradual improvement in the weather - the gloomy skies that brought yet more heavy rain through the morning had been replaced by pleasant sunshine by mid-afternoon - there was no improvement in the birding, with the only reports from the Bill being of 25 Redwings, 2 Fieldfares and a Blackcap on the land and 9 Common Scoter settled offshore.

13th January

A repeat of yesterday: no visibility, frequent light showers and 10 Redwings, a Fieldfare and a Blackcap the only birds to report from the Bill.

12th January

Very mild today but too foggy and/or wet to allow for any serious coverage. The only reports from the Bill were of 11 Redwings, a Fieldfare and a Blackcap on the land and 8 Common Scoter settled offshore. Elsewhere a lone Goosander was in Portland Harbour.

As a postscript to the colour-ringed Waxwing we mentioned last week, we had already been tipped-off by Lee Collins that what was presumed to have been the same bird had been seen at Dawlish, Devon, on New Year's Day (it was at Southwell on 3rd January) and Raymond Duncan Grampian Ringing Group has been in touch to confirm that the two sightings were indeed of the same individual.

11th January

Fairer albeit rather breezy conditions saw some new arrivals appear: a Waxwing spent a while in a private garden at the Grove, 7 more Waxwings dropped in at the Bill and a Merlin also showed up there. Routine fare - all from the Bill area - was much as in recent days: 7 Red-throated Divers through on the sea, 5 Common Scoter settled offshore and 4 Purple Sandpipers, a Water Rail and a Blackcap on the land.

A notice for potential bookshop customers: during January and February the shop will be open only at weekends; normal opening - to include Wednesdays as well as the weekend days - will resume on Wednesday 2nd March.

10th January

Although the promised rain still hadn't arrived by late afternoon the constantly freshening wind saw to it that birding on the land was all but a write-off after mid-morning. All the day's reports came from the Bill where 6 Red-throated Divers and 3 Mediterranean Gulls passed by on the sea, 8 Common Scoter and the Eider were settled offshore and 30 Redwings, 4 Purple Sandpipers, a Water Rail, a Black Redstart, a Blackcap and a Chiffchaff were the best on offer on the land.

Also worth a mention: followers of local blogs might be interested in one recently started by Luke Phillips, Information Officer at RSPB Weymouth Wetlands, click here to take a look.

 

    

    

Eider and Purple Sandpiper - Portland Bill, 9th January 2011 © Duncan Walbridge

  9th January

Fine and sunny throughout the day but few surprises on the bird front. At the Bill 13 Red-throated Divers, 9 Common Scoter and a Great crested Grebe passed through on the sea, the Eider was still settled offshore and 40 Redwings, 5 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Snipe, 3 Turnstones and singles of Black Redstart, Blackcap, Dartford Warbler, Chiffchaff, Siskin, Brambling and Yellowhammer were on the land. Elsewhere there were 16 Black-necked Grebes, 4 Slavonian Grebes, 2 Goosanders and a Red-necked Grebe in Portland Harbour.

8th January

Once the dull and breezy conditions of the morning had cleared through the afternoon was pleasantly fine and sunny. Waxwings continued to feature although as in recent days they remained tricky to get to grips with: at least 1 bird was again in the Weston area and a party of 15 flew south at the Grove during the afternoon. The Bill area produced 50 Brent Geese, 11 Red-throated Divers, 4 Common Scoter and 2 Bar-tailed Godwits through on the sea and 25 Redwings, 5 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Snipe and a Blackcap on the land, whilst elsewhere there were 13 Black-necked Grebes, 5 Slavonian Grebes, 4 Goosanders and a Red-necked Grebe in Portland Harbour.

7th January

Very mild today with pleasantly sunny interludes between some more quite wet spells. Two Waxwings (evidently including the colour-ringed bird from earlier in the week) were seen once in Weston during the morning but otherwise all the reports came from the Bill where 8 Red-throated Divers and 3 Brent Geese passed by on the sea, the Eider was still settled offshore and 30 Redwings, 25 Song Thrushes, 5 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Stonechats, 2 Black Redstarts and singles of Water Rail, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Snipe, Turnstone and Chiffchaff were logged on the land.

6th January

On a day that contributed in no small measure to righting the recent rainfall deficit reports from the Bill were limited to 20 Redwings, 4 Fieldfares, a Water Rail and a Lapwing on the land and a single Red-throated Diver through on the sea.

 

    

    Waxwings - Weston, 5th January 2011 © Martin Cade

...also many thanks to Southwell resident Alan Mackey for these photos of one of the birds there on Monday (3rd January) that reveal it was colour-ringed:

   

   

Raymond Duncan of the Grampian Ringing Group has kindly let us know that this bird was first ringed at Claremont Gardens, Aberdeen, on 19th November 2010; it was resighted elsewhere in Aberdeen on 21st November but there had been no further reports of it until it appeared at Southwell.

  5th January

With a very blustery morning giving way to an at times quite wet afternoon birding on the land was difficult although there were still some mobile Waxwings wandering around the centre of the island; 2 were in the Haylands area and the same or others were reported by members of the public at Weston/Easton. The only other reports from the land were of 4 Purple Sandpipers at the Bill, a Black Redstart at Haylands and a scatter of Redwings everywhere. A single Goosander remained in Portland Harbour and seawatching at the Bill produced 26 Red-throated Divers and 2 Great Skuas.

4th January

At least 4 Waxwings remained at Southwell although they seemed a lot more mobile and elusive than they'd been yesterday; otherwise the pick of the sightings was of a Lapland Bunting that appeared (or maybe reappeared after being overlooked amongst the Skylark flocks for a couple of weeks?) at the Bill. The rest of the day's reports were relatively routine: 40 Redwings, 4 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Snipe, 2 Turnstones, a Black Redstart (a new arrival), a Dartford Warbler, a Chiffchaff and a Brambling at the Bill, 7 Brent Geese, 2 Red-throated Divers and a Goosander through on the sea at the Bill, 4 Common Scoter and an Eider settled offshore there and 176 Red-breasted Mergansers in Portland Harbour.

 

    

   

Goosander and Waxwing - Ferrybridge and Southwell, 3rd January 2011 © Pete Saunders

  3rd January

Despite the unpleasant conditions - a freshening southerly, heavily overcast skies and occasional spits and spots of rain - there was a nice discovery in the form of a party of 5 Waxwings in gardens at Southwell for much of the day. Seawatching at the Bill produced 21 Red-throated Divers, 16 Common Scoter, 2 Velvet Scoter and a Great Crested Grebe, whilst 7 Snipe, a Brambling and a light scatter of Redwings were still in evidence on the land and a Barn Owl was seen settled beside the Bill Road after dark. Elsewhere a single Goosander was at Ferrybridge.

2nd January

There was no let up in the dreary conditions of recent days and it again felt pretty chilly in the brisk easterly breeze. The sea produced most of the day's interest at the Bill, where a constant eastward movement of auks - mainly Razorbills - was a feature throughout the morning, with sample counts indicating that in the region of 50000 birds passed by; 62 Red-throated Divers, 22 Common Scoter, 19 Brent Geese, 7 Velvet Scoter and a Red-necked Grebe also passed through and an Eider was still lingering offshore. Redwings were still around in small numbers at the Bill, with 7 Purple Sandpipers, a Snipe, a Black Redstart and a Chiffchaff also logged there. Two Goosanders remained in Portland Harbour, where there were also 2 Great Northern Divers and a variety of reports of small grebes that included 16 Slavonian Grebes from one observer and 11 Black-necked Grebes and 2 Slavonian Grebes from another.

Finally, thanks to Tasie Russell for some late news of a Hen Harrier fitted with a satellite transmitter that has been resident in Dorset for some weeks. Evidently on Boxing Day afternoon the bird overflew Portland having earlier been in the Abbotsbury area; it headed 5 km out to sea SSE from the Bill but then returned to roost near Buckland Ripers, north of Weymouth.

1st January

The first day of the new year was a good deal like the final couple of days of last year, with more evidence of birds relocating after the cold spell. At the Bill 14 Red-throated Divers, 10 Brent Geese, 10 Wigeon, 5 Teal and a Red-breasted Merganser passed by on the sea, 165 Skylarks passed over heading south or east and itinerant Redwings (heard plentifully overhead in the hours of darkness and 100 or more logged through the day) were a constant feature; 4 Common Scoter, 4 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Turnstones, 3 Yellowhammers, 2 Snipe and singles of Eider, Golden Plover, Knot, Barn Owl and Brambling also made the list there during the course of the day. The only reports from elsewhere were of 9 Black-necked Grebes, 2 Goosanders, a Red-necked Grebe and a Slavonian Grebe in Portland Harbour.