27th May

Very pleasingly we seem to have found ourselves getting into something of a mini purple patch, with yesterday's two oddities being followed today by a party of 4 Bee-eaters that arrived in off the sea over the Obs early in the afternoon and settled briefly at Culverwell; they were quickly located again roaming widely over the middle of the island before seemingly departing northward over Verne Common. Earlier a Common Rosefinch (presumably most likely yesterday's bird, although a new arrival couldn't be ruled out) had been heard very briefly in song in the beach hut fields at the Bill, whilst later one observer on the hunt for the Bee-eaters also noted the coincidental appearance over Reap Lane of a Red-footed Falcon, but sadly that couldn't be found again. Before all the excitement in the sky there had been a small arrival of grounded migrants at the Bill, where 8 Whitethroats, 4 Chiffchaffs, 3 Reed Warblers, 2 Spotted Flycatchers and singles of Turtle Dove and Willow Warbler had shown up through the morning; elsewhere a Hobby was overhead at Avalanche Road. The sea was very quiet, with nothing more than 30 Common Scoter and a single Manx Shearwater through off the Bill.

Immigrant moths caught overnight at the Obs: 19 Diamond-back Moths and 1 Silver Y.





Bee-eaters - Portland Bill and Southwell, 27th May 2014 © Joe Stockwell Yet another birding blog  (settled birds and upper single in flight), Debby Saunders (lower single in flight) and Pete Saunders (two in flight)
 
...and a short video clip of three of the birds settled at Culverwell:
 


...and thanks to Joe for a short recording of the birds calling at Culverwell: