Brambling, Iceland Gull and Bottle-nosed Dolphins - Portland
Bill and Ferrybridge, 31st March 2014 © Joe Stockwell Yet another birding blog (Brambling) and Martin Cade (the videos)
31st March
With south-easterlies well established today saw the sea come in for marathon coverage and there were decent rewards, with the Bill returning totals of 452 Common Scoter, 117 Little Gulls (the highest ever spring day total at the Bill), 68 Sandwich Terns, 22 Red-throated Divers, 6 Arctic Skuas, 5 Brent Geese, 5 Eider, 4 Shelducks, 4 Common Terns, 2 Great Crested Grebes and at least 1 lingering Iceland Gull. Another 4 Little Gulls passed through Portland Harbour, where singles of Black-throated Diver, Great Northern Diver and Red-necked Grebe remained; the long-staying Iceland Gull also continued to roam about the harbour/Ferrybridge/Chesil Cove area. The land was very much the poor relation: there were a few new arrivals but numbers, variety and quality left a lot to be desired, with a Brambling and the lingering Firecrest at the Obs, a Redwing at Barleycrates Lane and a spread of at least 3 White Wagtails being the only minor oddities on offer.
