15th July

Hardly a cloud in the sky for the best part of today. Return passage of Common Scoters is beginning to feature, with 170 through off the Bill during the morning, but otherwise the migrant tally was much as in recent days, with 9 Cormorants south at the Bill, a Yellow Wagtail overhead there and 3 Common Sandpipers, a Dunlin and a Turnstone on the ground. Mediterranean Gulls increased to 132 at Ferrybridge, where 23 Ringed Plovers, 8 Dunlin and 4 Redshank made up the wader totals.

A Red-tipped Clearwing found at Easton was a very unexpected addition to the Portland moth-list today. A European Corn-borer at the Grove was the best of the night immigrant moths; a True Lover's Knot was an infrequent stray at the Obs, where a lone Diamond-back Moth was the only immigrant caught overnight.


Red-tipped Clearwing - Easton, 15th July 2014 © Ken Tucker

...first discovered by Ken's neighbour, Michael Crabb, this species would seem on the face of it to be a most unlikely addition to the Portland fauna: the species is usually associated with willows/sallows growing in damp situations - hardly characteristic habitat in and around Easton! Perhaps it might be worth a look at Culverwell...