30th August

The continuing westerlies looked to have done no good on the land, where numbers on the ground were dreadful and passage overhead was hardly a spectacle, so it was a welcome surprise when the second Melodious Warbler of the month popped up out of the blue in Top Fields; routine fare included a reasonable total of 50 Yellow Wagtails at the Bill but precious little else in an quantity and certainly nothing else at all out of the ordinary. Yesterday's flurry of Balearic Shearwaters was maintained, with another 49 passing through off the Bill; 10 Manx Shearwaters and the autumn's first 2 Sooty Shearwaters were also logged there.

The results from overnight moth-trapping were best forgotten, with 2 Diamond-back Moth the only immigrants amongst a pitifully small catch of routine species at the Obs.



Eupeodes bucculatus and Volucella inanis - Portland Bill, August 2014 © Ken Dolbear
 
...Ken informs us that these two hoverflies photographed recently in the Obs garden are both new for Portland (identification and status details courtesy of David Levy)