30th July
Today dawned pretty soggy with light precipitation continuing until just after lunch, bouts of mist and fog hampered visibility throughout the morning which finally abated at around 1:30. This seemingly sparked a little bit of movement on the sea (although Judging by some of Devon's counts today we're a seriously poor relation) 12 Balearic Shearwater, 16 Manx Shearwater, 3 Oystercatcher and singles of Great Skua, Dunlin, Sanderling, Whimbrel and Turnstone, Past in a few hours before the mist rolled back in! The only migrant to note from the bill was a lowly Sedge Warbler. Ferrybridge again was the place to be locally for numbers of common waders with 250 Dunlin, 16 Sanderling, 9 Turnstone, 3 of Redshank and Curlew and a single Greenshank.
29th July
Judging by the faces of our hardy fieldworkers this morning it was less than rewarding to be out, 4 Sedge Warbler, 2 Yellow-legged Gull, and the semi-resident Cuckoo and Wheatear by mid afternoon was all they had to show. With the onset of some rather brisk south-westerlies in the last few days the sea was given even more attention, the first Sooty Shearwater of the year was logged late morning, a personal highlight for myself as it was a Portland tick, by 8pm 35 Manx Shearwater, 20 Balearic Shearwater, 9 Common Scoter, 2 Turnstone and singles of Ringed Plover, Mallard, Little Egret and Med Gull flew past, most species going west, except for the Mallard which shouldn't have been here in the first place... Ferrybridge wader numbers continue to build with 217 Dunlin, 36 Ringed Plover, 20 Sanderling, 7 Turnstone and 5 Sandwich Tern.
28th July
Though starting off rather bright and sunny the cries of gardeners everywhere now seem to have been well and truly heard, by mid afternoon some rather feisty showers were arriving in off the sea, the first catching us out leading to an impromptu mopping of the communal lounge! Birding as always with this time of year was largely confined to the bill area where 12 Sedge Warbler, 6 Grasshopper Warbler, 5 Yellow-legged Gull, 2 each of Long-tailed Tit and Willow Warbler were noted. With what seemed like quite an enormous throng of visiting birders for July this morning, it was hardly any surprise that with each giving the sea a cursory glance here and there a reasonable tally was logged; 48 Common Scoter, 36 Manx Shearwater, 4 Balearic Shearwater, 3 Black-headed Gull, 2 Dunlin and singles of Redshank, Great Skua and Arctic Skua, the latter flew straight over the obs! At Ferrybridge this morning were 175 Dunlin, 28 Ringed Plover, 11 Sanderling, 8 Sandwich Tern and a Yellow-legged Gull.
27th July
With the way things have been going recently it came somewhat as a surprise when only one new bird was trapped this morning, admittedly it was a rather half-hearted effort but there were just far fewer birds present in the crop this morning. A little bit of coverage on the land returned 4 Willow Warblers in Culverwell this afternoon, and singles of Cuckoo and Sedge Warbler at the bill. The sea was given quite a bit of attention throughout the morning and early afternoon, although quiet at first things did pick up and returned totals of 55 Common Scoter, 52 Manx Shearwater, 13 Black-headed Gull, 5 Dunlin, 5 Balearic Shearwater, and 2 each of Med Gull, Yellow-legged Gull and Sandwich Tern. A Kestrel was also seen to fly out to sea.
26th July
With the fog that was
lingering just offshore for most of the day being kept largely at bay
by the warmth and the strength of the sun, conditions weren't too bad
to make the most of the first small fall of warblers of the autumn;
numbers weren't anything to shout about but the Bill area did manage
to come up with 20 Sedge Warblers, 4 Willow Warblers, 3 Grasshopper
Warblers and, quite unexpectedly, a Dartford Warbler. The
long-staying Cuckoo was also still at the Bill, where other
newcomers included 2 Yellow-legged Gulls, a Grey Heron
and a Curlew overhead and a single Sanderling through on
the sea. Ferrybridge was still relatively busy, with 160 Mediterranean
Gulls, 150 Dunlin and 15 Sanderling making up the
bulk of the numbers.
25th
July
Something of nothing today
with the chances of new arrivals showing up overnight being hampered
by thick fog and frequent rain showers. The day itself did eventually
turn out quite warm and sunny but the only reports worth a mention
were of 150 Mediterranean Gulls, 100 Dunlin, 7 Sanderling
and 2 Knot at Ferrybridge, a Cuckoo lingering on at the
Bill where an unseasonable Siskin passed over and a Yellow-legged
Gull was grounded, and 16 Common Scoter, 3 Sanderling,
2 Turnstones, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, a Manx
Shearwater and a Whimbrel through on the sea there.
Sanderling
- Ferrybridge, 24th July 2013 © Pete Saunders
Despite there being a half
decent species list to show for the day's activities it remained
disappointingly quiet for some of the migrant warblers in particular
that probably ought to be getting a bit more numerous by this stage of
the autumn. The numbers were all again at Ferrybridge, where up to 105
Dunlin, 70 Mediterranean Gulls, 14 Sanderling, 4 Redshanks
and 2 Knot were present at times. The Bill area chipped in with
44 Common Scoter, 2 Sanderling, 2 Common Gulls
and a Great Skua through on the sea and 3 Whimbrel and
singles of Common Sandpiper, Turnstone, Wheatear,
Sedge Warbler, Blackcap and Willow Warbler
on the land.
23rd
July
Although there were a few
migrants about it looked as though the fog that had been a feature all
night and lingered on and off for much of the day probably put the
block on many potential new arrivals. Fieldwork at the Bill came up
with 2 each of Yellow-legged Gull, Reed Warbler and Sedge
Warbler, and a lone Willow Warbler, whilst at Ferrybridge
the list included 80 Dunlin, 4 Sanderling, 3 fly-by Teal,
2 Knot, a Whimbrel and a Bar-tailed Godwit.
Brown-tail,
Gatekeeper and Lulworth Skipper - Portland Bill, 22nd
July 2013 © Ken Dolbear
After last night's
short-lived thunderstorm today was very muggy and at times quite foggy
but remained dry throughout. The scatter of new arrivals (or in some
cases probably lingerers) included 30 Sand Martins, 2 Yellow-legged
Gulls, 2 Sedge Warblers, 2 Willow Warblers and a Cuckoo
at the Bill, another Yellow-legged Gull at Penn's Weare, 3 Common
Sandpipers at Blacknor and 122 Dunlin and 2 Knot at
Ferrybridge. Mediterranean Gulls were again a virtual constant
off the Bill, where 102 Common Scoter, a Balearic Shearwater
and an Arctic Skua also passed by.
Little
Ringed Plover - Ferrybridge, 21st July 2013 © Pete Saunders
Still very warm, but a
thundery downpour that rolled in from the south soon after dusk
provided noisy evidence that there's a change in the weather in the
offing. The morning had seen welcome signs of autumn passage gathering
momentum on all fronts, with the first records for the season of both Grasshopper
Warbler and Sedge Warbler at the Bill, where singles of Cuckoo
and Crossbill were also of particular note, whilst the
Ferrybridge wader tally increased and included 110 Dunlin, 6 Sanderlings,
2 Knot and singles of Little Ringed Plover, Greenshank
and Whimbrel. Also of note were decent numbers of Sand
Martins, including 60 through over Ferrybridge, and 39 Common
Scoter, 20 Mediterranean Gulls and 3 Balearic
Shearwaters through or lingering off the Bill.
Knot
and Turnstone - Ferrybridge, 20th July 2013 © Pete
Saunders (Knot) and Debby Saunders (Turnstone)
...also from today,
thanks to Ken Dolbear for some interesting Ringlet photos from Church
Ope Cove; this is a typical individual:
...and this appears to
an example of the abberation arete, which lacks the black and
ochre surrounds to the underside spots:
With a fresh
north-easterly still a feature it was again Ferrybridge and the sea
that came up with the numbers and variety; the land was the poor
relation and, a few more passing Sand Martins and a Yellow-legged
Gull at Barleycrates Lane aside, produced precious little of note.
A conspicuous increase in waders at Ferrybridge included 82 Dunlin,
8 Sanderling, 7 Curlews and a Knot, whilst
seawatching at the Bill turned up 38 Mediterranean Gulls, 27 Common
Scoter, 26 Black-headed Gulls, 11 Manx Shearwaters,
8 migrant Cormorants, 6 Sandwich Terns, a Yellow-legged
Gull and a Whimbrel.
Chalkhill
Blues - Church Ope Cove, 19th July 2013 © Ken Dolbear
An at times quite brisk
north-easterly had sprung up overnight and there was a little bit on
the move today. The sea came up with all the numbers, with 51 Manx
Shearwaters, 44 Common Scoter, 22 Balearic Shearwaters,
10 Black-headed Gulls, 9 Dunlin, 5 Sandwich Terns,
4 Mediterranean Gulls and 3 Sanderling through off the
Bill. Also at the Bill 15 Cormorants left to the south, a Little
Egret arrived in off the sea, another trickle of Swifts and
Sand Martins were moving through into the wind and 2 Turnstones
and singles of Yellow-legged Gull, Cuckoo and Wheatear
were about on the land. Ferrybridge came up with 52 Dunlin, a Grey
Plover, a Knot and a Whimbrel on the ground and 15 Cormorants
and a Greenshank passing over.
18th
July
Still oppressively hot for
a good part of the day. In the absence of much serious legwork on the
land beyond logging the trickle of Sand Martins on the move
overhead and noting a passing Grey Heron over the Bill it was
left to the Obs garden mist-nets to reveal that southbound passage of
warblers and the like still hadn't got underway. Yesterday's flush of
Balearic Shearwaters ensured that the sea got a good deal of
attention, with watches at the Bill coming up with 127 Common
Scoter, 29 Manx Shearwaters, 22 Balearic Shearwaters,
5 commic terns, 4 Mediterranean Gulls, 3 Gadwall
and a Whimbrel.
17th
July
On another very hot day Balearic
Shearwaters appeared off the Bill in some numbers for the first
time this summer, with 18 heading west during the first few hours of
the morning; the day's Manx Shearwaters - 67 in total - all
passed in the opposite direction. A Cuckoo was a new arrival on
East Cliffs, but events were otherwise much as in recent days, with a
trickle of Sand Martins, 3 Mediterranean Gulls and a Redshank
the best of the rest at the Bill.
Skylark -
Portland Bill, 16th July 2013 © David Rashley
...and thanks also to
Emma Cockburn for a nice series of photos from this last weekend of
Six-spot Burnets on the East Cliffs:
Disappointingly uneventful
today with a full morning's mist-netting at the Obs revealing by way
of migrants amongst the local youngsters just a single dispersing Blackcap;
in the continuing heat there was limited enthusiasm for prolonged
fieldwork further afield and the only other noteworthy reports from
the Bill area were of 15 Common Scoter and 8 Manx
Shearwaters through on the sea.
Little Tern,
Sanderling and Whimbrel - Ferrybridge, 15th July 2013 ©
Will Bown (Little Tern) and Pete Saunders (Sanderling and Whimbrel)
On another very hot day
there were continuing signs of autumn passage getting going.
Ferrybridge figured well, with all-round increases that included 35 Dunlin,
11 Shelducks, 2 Whimbrel, 2 Sanderling and a Little
Ringed Plover, whilst at the Bill 65 Common Scoter, 12 commic
terns, 7 Mediterranean Gulls, 2 Balearic Shearwaters,
2 Little Egrets and a Redshank passed by on the sea and
small numbers of Sand Martins dribbled through overhead. The
day's only other report was of a Yellow-legged Gull through off
Penn's Weare.
Shelducks -
Ferrybridge, 14th July 2013 © Pete Saunders
Precious little change in
the weather or the birding today. The numbers were off the Bill, where
185 Common Scoter, 11 Manx Shearwaters, 3 Mediterranean
Gulls, a Great Crested Grebe and a Yellow-legged Gull
passed by; most of the reports from the land at the Bill were of
passage overhead that included 40 Sand Martins, 3 Black-headed
Gulls, a Grey Heron and a Yellow Wagtail. Seven Little
Egret through over Penn's Weare were presumed migrants, whilst
Ferrybridge came up with 9 Shelducks, 10 Dunlin, 9 Sandwich
Terns, 3 Whimbrel and a Common Sandpiper.
13th
July
The very warm spell
continued unabated and, for the most part, there seemed to be limited
enthusiam for prolonged fieldwork. At the Bill there was another
steady trickle of Sand Martin on the move, but 3 Little
Egrets also overhead, a new Wheatear on the ground and 81 Common
Scoter, 3 Mediterranean Gulls and a Yellow-legged Gull
passing on the sea were the only other reports of note. Elsewhere a Cuckoo
was at Suckthumb Quarry and 13 Sandwich Terns, 2 Shelduck,
2 Bar-tailed Godwits and a Whimbrel were at Ferrybridge;
also at the latter 3 Little Egrets overhead seem likely to be
the individuals seen shortly before at the Bill.
12th
July
The island's beginning to
take on a quite parched look with today's early cloud cover quickly
dispersing without issuing forth even a hint of dampness. Bird-wise,
the day's highlight was a very unseasonable Black Guillemot
seen passing the Bill early in the morning; hitherto there had been no
island records for either July or August so this was as unexpected as
the Brent Geese and Short-eared Owl also logged in the last couple of
weeks. The rest of the day's tally was altogether more mundane:
Ferrybridge came up with 53 Mediterranean Gulls, 3 Shelduck,
3 Dunlin and a Whimbrel, singles of Cuckoo and Redshank
were grounded at Cheyne Weare and the Bill respectively and 48 Manx
Shearwaters, 34 Common Scoter, 3 Whimbrel, 2 Balearic
Shearwaters and a Curlew passed through on the sea at the
Bill.
11th
July
A weak weather front that
passed through during the hours of darkness introduced much fresher
air and, at least until late morning, plenty of cloud cover. The day's
sightings list was rather predictable and included 18 Common Scoter,
2 Yellow-legged Gulls, 2 Willow Warblers, a Whimbrel
and an Arctic Skua at the Bill and 44 Mediterranean Gulls,
6 Dunlin and 2 Shelducks at Ferrybridge.
Kestrel
and Little Ringed Plover - Portland Bill and Ferrybridge,
10th July 2013 © Will Bown (Kestrel) and Pete Saunders (LRP)
More lovely weather and
some more passage afoot on land and sea. Black-headed Gulls, Swifts
and Sand Martins were conspicuous through the morning with, for
example, 102 Sand Martins, 50 Black-headed Gulls and 40 Swifts
through over the Bill during the first few hours of the morning; also
there 80 Common Scoter and a Teal passed by on the sea.
Elsewhere the Little Ringed Plover remained at Ferrybridge,
where there were also 2 Yellow Wagtails.
Also today we received the
sad news of the death this morning of David Peart. David was
particularly fond of Portland and all aspects of its natural history
and visited us from his home in Wilton, Wiltshire, as often as
possible; he was a stalwart supporter of PBO who gave many years
service as a committee member, most recently as vice-chairman between
1983 and 1996. We extend our sincere condolences to David's wife,
Jackie, and to the rest of his family.
Dark-bellied
Brent Geese - Ferrybridge, 9th July 2013 © Pete Saunders
The glorious conditions
remained firmly established which made the oddest sighting of the day
- of 3 Dark-bellied Brent Geese at Ferrybridge - all the more
incongruous; Ferrybridge also came up with 6 Dunlin, a Little
Ringed Plover and a Whimbrel. At the Bill gulls featured
conspicuously through the morning, with 17 Black-headed Gulls
and 14 Mediterranean Gulls trickling through either overhead or
over the sea; 9 Manx Shearwaters, 5 commic terns, 4 Common
Scoter, 3 Balearic Shearwaters and 2 Whimbrel also
passed by on the sea and 25 Swifts, 18 Sand Martins and
a Lapwing passed overhead into the easterly breeze.
Sparrowhawk
- Southwell, 8th July 2013 © Pete Saunders
Another fabulous day for
sun-lovers although, with a conspicuous easterly breeze a feature for
a good part of the day, not quite as stiflingly hot as yesterday. Odds
and ends of passage/dispersal at the Bill included singles of Lapwing,
Whimbrel, Yellow Wagtail and Willow Warbler on
the land and 83 Common Scoter, 17 Manx Shearwaters, 17 Black-headed
Gulls, 4 Mediterranean Gulls and 3 Balearic Shearwaters
through on the sea. Elsewhere there were 5 Dunlin and 4 Redshank
at Ferrybridge.
7th
July
Surely one of the hottest
days at Portland for some years. Fortunately there was decent
coverage, at least of the Bill area, in the first few hours of the
morning before it really got too hot to flog around birding. Signs of
passage are beginning to get more varied: a Reed Warbler in
song at Southwell was perhaps most likely a late spring arrival,
singles of Yellow Wagtail at the Bill and Willow Warbler
at Southwell were unexpected in mid-summer, whilst it's anyone's guess
quite what the Red-breasted Merganser that passed through off
the Bill was up to. More conventional early autumn fare at the Bill
included 60 Sand Martins, 2 Yellow-legged Gulls and
singles of Grey Heron, Curlew, Whimbrel and Cuckoo
on the land and 162 Common Scoter, 112 Manx Shearwaters,
5 Mediterranean Gulls, 4 Black-headed Gulls and 2 Balearic
Shearwaters through on the sea.
Silver-studded
Blue - Easton, 6th July 2013 © Ken Dolbear
...late emerging this
year but evidently now on the wing in good numbers.
Intermittently foggy
during the morning but blazingly hot and sunny through the afternoon.
At the Bill the first juvenile Yellow-legged Gull of the summer
was a more or less on cue new arrival but a Redstart, also in
full juvenile plumage, was an altogether more unexpected newcomer; the
only other report was of up to 100 Sand Martins gathering over
the fields
Little
Tern, Common Sandpiper and Oystercatcher -
Ferrybridge, 5th July 2013 © Pete Saunders (Little Tern) and Will
Bown (Common Sand and Oystercatcher)
The arrival of much
anticipated anticyclonic conditions saw wall-to-wall sunshine and
warmth set in and certainly got things going on land and sea. Sand
Martins were on the move overhead, with 70 at the Bill, where 3 Black-headed
Gulls, a Ringed Plover and a Crossbill also passed
over. Seawatching there came up with 134 Common Scoter, 29 Manx
Shearwaters, 7 Mediterranean Gulls, a Balearic
Shearwater and a Yellow-legged Gull, whilst another 17 Mediterranean
Gulls and a Common Sandpiper were at Ferrybridge.
4th
July
A reminder for PBO
members that they are invited to attend this year's AGM
which will be held at the Obs at 7pm tomorrow, 6th July; light
refreshments will be available after the meeting.
On a day of mixed
conditions - one minute blanketed in fog and the next bathed in hot
sunshine - the only reports were from the sea at the Bill where 23 Common
Scoter, 5 Manx Shearwaters and a Balearic Shearwater
passed through.
Skylark
- Portland Bill, June 2013 © Will Bown
A fresher breeze saw to it
that most of the day's action took place on the sea, with watches at
the Bill coming up with 138 Common Scoter, 18 Manx
Shearwaters, 5 Oystercatchers, 3 Black-headed Gulls,
2 Great Skuas, 2 Arctic Skuas and a Whimbrel. The
only other reports came from Ferrybridge, where the Mediterranean
Gull tally increased to 10; 2 Shelducks and 2 Sandwich
Terns were also there.
2nd
July
A decent blanket of cloud
cover - which preceded the arrival of a fair bit of rain from late
afternoon onwards - looked promising but the rewards by way of
newcomers were limited to 2 Grey Herons and a Spotted
Flycatcher at the Bill, a Mistle Thrush at Blacknor and 8 Mediterranean
Gulls, 2 Whimbrel and a Redshank at Ferrybridge. The
seawatchers fared slightly better, with 96 Common Scoter, 19 Manx
Shearwaters, 2 Arctic Skuas and singles of Balearic
Shearwater and Great Skua through off the Bill.
Mediterranean
Gull - Ferrybridge, 1st July 2013 © Pete Saunders
Quiet today with the only
signs of passage being 20 Common Scoter through off the Bill
and 3 Mediterranean Gulls at Ferrybridge; the Short-eared
Owl was also still present at the Bill.
