31st December


A rather low-key end to the year with the arrival of breezier and milder conditions restricting interest to a modest selection of the regulars. Two Great Skuas lingered off the Bill for a while where 6 Red-throated Divers and 4 Common Scoter passed through, 3 Purple Sandpipers and 2 Blackcaps remained at the Bill where better coverage of the East Cliffs resulted in a total of 4 Black Redstarts making the log, the Eider and Black Guillemot were still off Portland Castle and 16 Black-necked Grebes were again off Sandsfoot Castle.

30th December

A more of the same day, with 2 Fieldfares and a Lapwing at the Bill and another Fieldfare at Portland Castle were the only obvious signs of a response to the continuing overnight frosts. Routine list-padders at the Bill included 13 Red-throated Divers through on the sea and 4 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Blackcaps and a Chiffchaff still about on the land, 3 Chiffchaffs and a Goldcrest were at Portland Castle, whilst the day's Portland Harbour assortment included 16 Black-necked Grebes, 5 Great Northern Divers, 4 Eiders, 2 Slavonian Grebes and the Black Guillemot.

29th December

Another icy dawn gave way to a beautiful day of unbroken sunshine. A few more new arrivals put in appearances, notable amongst which were 2 Velvet Scoters in Portland Harbour; the first Chiffchaff at the Obs for several weeks, 7 Brent Geese and a Shelduck through off Chesil Cove and the Bill respectively and 2 Wigeon in Portland Harbour were all likely to be responding to the chilly conditions, as were 2 Fieldfares amongst totals of 50 each of Blackbird and Song Thrush, and 2 Redwings around the centre and south of the island. Standard mid-winter fare included at least 1 of the Blackcaps still at the Obs, 15 Red-throated Divers through off the Bill where a Great Skua lingered, a Black Redstart at Chesil Cove and the Black Guillemot and Eider off Portland Castle.

28th December

We might have lost the star attraction but there was still a good deal of interest at a more local level, with the chilliest night of the winter to date (...and probably even of the year as a whole) prompting signs of limited cold weather movement. Singles of Grey Heron, Redwing and Fieldfare headed north over the Bill, where 2 Black-headed Gulls were about the fields and 27 Wigeon, 21 Red-throated Divers, 7 Brent Geese and an Eider passed through on the sea. Long-stayers still about included 2 Blackcaps at the Obs, the Black Guillemot off Portland Castle and 12 Black-necked Grebes and 2 Slavonian Grebes off Sandsfoot Castle.

27th December

Today came up with a considerable surprise of the wrong sort, with there being no sign all day of the Barred Warbler at the Obs; 2 Blackcaps remained there, 2 Red-throated Divers and a Great Skua passed through on the sea, a Merlin flew south at Portland Castle and a Great Northern Diver, an Eider and the Black Guillemot were in Portland Harbour.

Bookshop opening times
With Christmas now out of the way our weekend volunteers will be taking a well-earned break and the bookshop will be closed on Saturdays and Sundays throughout January and February. We'll usually still be able to open the shop on request but if you're travelling any distance to buy a book we'd recommend you give us a quick ring beforehand to make sure we'll be about. Normal opening times will resume in March.

26th December

With traditional Boxing Day constitutionals necessarily curtailed from mid-morning by the onset of rain and an ever-freshening wind the only reports were of the Barred Warbler and a Blackcap at the Obs, 9 Red-throated Divers and a Great Northern Diver through off the Bill and the Black Guillemot and an Eider in Portland Harbour.


Barred Warbler - Portland Bill, 26th December 2014 © Martin Cade

25th December

Only very limited coverage today and nothing new to report: the Barred Warbler and at least 1 of the Blackcaps was at the Obs, the Chiffchaff remained at Southwell, a Black Redstart was at Portland Castle and 4 Eider, a Great Northern Diver and the Black Guillemot were still in Portland Harbour.

24th December

Today's limited observations did little more than confirm the continuing presence of a few long-stayers: 2 Blackcaps and the Barred Warbler remained at the Obs, the Pheasant and Chiffchaff were still at Southwell and the Eider and Black Guillemot was still off Portland Castle; the only extras were 4 Red-throated Divers and a Black-throated Diver through off the Bill and a Great Northern Diver at Ferrybridge.




Brent Goose and seabird feeding flock - Ferrybridge and Portland Bill, 24th December 2014 © Pete Saunders (Brent Goose) and Martin Cade (seabirds)
 
...whilst there's nothing particularly unusual about decent concentrations of feeding seabirds off the Bill, so far this winter auks have featured far less conspicuously than we've got used to: by the last third of December in most recent winters totals in excess of 20000/hour haven't been at all unusual, but this month there have been few days when the corresponding totals have got beyond the high hundreds.

23rd December

One or two unexpected happenings at the Bill today where a Merlin was a good mid-winter record and 39 Brent Geese headed up-Channel. The Barred Warbler lingered on at the Obs for another day, whilst more mundane fare included 2 Purple Sandpipers and a Blackcap at the Bill, 8 more Red-throated Divers and a Great Skua through on the sea there, the Black Guillemot and Eider still off Portland Castle, 59 Oystercatchers at Ferrybridge and singles of Red-throated Diver and Great Northern Diver through overhead there.



Eider - Portland Harbour, December 2014 © Martin Cade

22nd December

The Barred Warbler - now beginning its fourth week in residence - continued to provide the principal interest, with few signs that the prevailing Atlantic-influenced weather is going to do us any other favours in a hurry. The day's other reports consisted of 3 Purple Sandpipers and at least 1 of the Blackcaps still at the Obs, 2 Common Scoter and a Red-throated Diver through on the sea at the Bill, singles of Pheasant, Grey Wagtail and Chiffchaff still about at Southwell, the Black Guillemot still of Portland Castle and 1200 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 6 Pale-bellied Brents and a Bar-tailed Godwit at Ferrybridge.

21st December

The shortest day of the year seemed even shorter than usual in frequent drizzle and under a constantly dreary sky. The Barred Warbler and 2 Blackcaps remained at the Obs and 7 more Red-throated Divers, 4 Common Scoter and 2 Brent Geese passed through off the Bill. The only other news came from Portland Harbour/Ferrybridge where 15 Pale-bellied Brent Geese, 12 Black-necked Grebes, 2 Slavonian Grebes, the Black Guillemot and singles of Black-throated Diver and Grey Plover made the list.

http://www.at-infocus.co.uk/
A reminder that the next In Focus field event at the Obs takes place between 10am and 4pm this Tuesday, 23rd December.

20th December

Although the Barred Warbler continued to put on a good show there was no escaping the reality of rather repetitious mid-winter birding setting in. The only noticeable changes from events in recent days were an increase to 10 in the Pale-bellied Brent Goose total at Ferrybridge and signs of some Redwing passage still underway, with 10 at Portland Castle and a few on the move over the Bill after dark. Routine fare included 6 Purple Sandpipers and a Black Redstart at the Bill, 9 Red-throated Divers and 3 Common Scoter through on the sea there, 2 Black Redstarts in the Portland Castle/Osprey Quay area and the Eider and Black Guillemot still about off Portland Castle.


Purple Sandpiper - Portland Bill, 20th December 2014 © Mark Eggleton

19th December

A fresher, bright and breezy day saw a notable influx of Barred Warbler watchers but there were few new discoveries to report. Five Pale-bellied Brent Geese were at Ferrybridge for the first time for a few days, 3 Eider, 2 Common Scoter and the Black Guillemot were in Portland Harbour, 2 Purple Sandpipers, the Barred Warbler and singles of Black Redstart and Blackcap remained at the Bill and 3 Red-throated Divers passed through off the Bill.

18th December

More damp, dreary and windy conditions dented enthusiasm for fieldwork today and reports were limited to the Barred Warbler and singles of Purple Sandpiper, Redwing, Black Redstart and Blackcap at the Bill and a Red-throated Diver through offshore there.
 


Barred Warbler - Portland Bill, 18th December 2014 © Martin Cade

17th December

A mild, dreary and breezy day saw most of the now standard selection make the list. The Barred Warbler, Black Redstart, Blackcap and 3 Purple Sandpipers remained at the Bill and 12 Black-necked Grebes, 5 Great Northern Divers, 4 Eider and the Black Guillemot were still in Portland Harbour; odd one and twos of Redwings scattered about may or may not have been new arrivals. The only news from the sea concerned 2 Red-throated Divers through off the Bill.

16th December

The Barred Warbler continued to provide more than enough interest for a mid-December day but there were also encouraging signs of late migrants still trickling through, with several Blackbirds and Song Thrushes, a Robin and a Bullfinch all new in at the Obs; winterers on offer there included 5 Purple Sandpipers, a Black Redstart and a Blackcap, whilst further Black Redstarts remained on station at Blacknor, Chesil Cove (3) and Portland Castle, and singles of Pheasant, Grey Wagtail, Redwing and Chiffchaff were at Southwell. A Red-throated Diver was new at Portland Harbour, where 4 Eider, the Black Guillemot and a variety of divers and grebes were all still present. The calm, sunny conditions also produced the best offshore movement of Red-throated Divers so far this winter, with 22 through off the Bill during the morning. Finally, Portland's attraction for dodgy Great Bustards continued with 3 doing a quick tour overhead during the morning.

A Red Admiral was on the wing at the Obs.



Bullfinch and Great Bustards - Portland Bill, 16th December 2014 © Martin Cade (Bullfinch) and Keith Pritchard (Great Bustards)
 
...we dropped in at Portland Castle during the afternoon where, inevitably, the Black Guillemot was as distant as usual:



15th December

Very little change today, with just an extra Blackcap joining the Barred Warbler and Blackcap already ensconced on the skewered apples at the Obs and a new Redwing dropping in briefly there; 4 Purple Sandpipers and a Black Redstart were still at the Bill and the Black Guillemot, 4 Eider and assortment of other waterfowl still in Portland Harbour.

A Red Admiral was on the wing at Reap Lane.

14th December

On an increasingly windy and wet day the Barred Warbler successfully completed a fortnight in residence at the Obs and remained the star attraction; 3 Purple Sandpipers, a Black Redstart and a Blackcap at the Obs constituted the only other reports of note from the land. Sea interest perked up, with 15 Red-throated Divers, 3 Great Skuas and 2 Red-breasted Mergansers through off the Bill, a Yellow-legged Gull dropped in at Ferrybridge and the Black Guillemot, 4 Eiders, 2 Common Scoters and usual selection of divers and grebes remained in Portland Harbour.

 
 
 
 

Barred Warbler, Yellow-legged Gull, Red-breasted Merganser and Eider - Portland Bill, Ferrybridge and Portland Harbour, 14th December 2014 © Trevor Codlin The Barley Birder (Barred Warbler), Pete Saunders (Yellow-legged Gull) and Tony Hovell Tony Hovell's Wildlife (Red-breasted Merganser and Eider)

13th December

Lovely quiet, sunny conditions - together with it being a weekend day - saw the Barred Warbler attract a constant stream of visitors (we counted nearly 70 through the day and there were probably a few we missed). A few new arrivals were also in evidence, with 2 each of Redwing and Fieldfare and a single Siskin overhead at the Bill and 50 Wood Pigeons heading south over the Windmills; lingerers on the land included 4 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Water Rails, a Black Redstart and a Blackcap at the Bill, 2 Goldcrests at Avalanche Road, singles of Chiffchaff and Firecrest at Pennsylvania Castle and 2 Black Redstarts at Blacknor. Five Red-throated Divers and a Red-necked Grebe passed through off the Bill and Portland Harbour was largely unchanged, with the Black Guillemot, 4 Eiders and a decent spread of divers and grebes still about.


Firecrest - Pennsylvania Castle, 13th December 2014 © Mark Eggleton

12th December

Not much change today, with a passing Great Skua off the Bill the only legacy of what had been a pretty stormy night. Both the Barred Warbler and Blackcap lingered on at the Obs but 2 Black Redstarts at Chesil Cove represented the only other report of note from the land. Portland Harbour remained quite busy, with 12 Black-necked Grebes, 5 Great Northern Divers, 4 Eider, 2 Common Scoter and singles of Black-throated Diver, Slavonian Grebe and Black Guillemot still in residence; 3 Red-throated Divers and a Common Scoter passed through off the Bill.

11th December

The Barred Warbler continued its vigil around the apples at the Obs and there was another surprise unseasonable sighting today in the form of a passing Swallow at Ferrybridge. With it still more than windy enough to deter most routine coverage of the land the only other reports from there were of single Black Redstarts at Blacknor, Easton and Yeates Corner. Three Eider, 2 Common Scoter and a Great Northern Diver were in Portland Harbour, 2 Pale-bellied Brent Geese were still at Ferrybridge and 3 Great Skuas passed through off the Bill.

10th December

Although the Barred Warbler continued to steal the show it was the sheltered waters of Portland Harbour that came up with the best of the new arrivals on a very blustery day, with 2 Slavonian Grebes and a Goosander adding variety to the 12 Black-necked Grebes, 3 Eider, 2 Common Scoter and long-staying Black Guillemot already present; also on the sea, 5 Red-throated Divers passed through off the Bill, with 2 more settled at Chesil Cove and another single passing through there. Two Purple Sandpipers, a Black Redstart and a Blackcap remained at the Bill and another Black Redstart was at Westcliff Road.




Eiders, Black Redstart and Barred Warbler - Portland Harbour and Portland Bill, 10th December 2014 © Pete Saunders (Eiders) and Mark Eggleton (Black Redstart and Barred Warbler)

9th December

With the obvious exception of the Barred Warbler that continued to attract a steady stream of visitors at the Obs today's offerings were very much standard winter fare: 4 Purple Sandpipers and a Blackcap at the Bill where 9 Red-throated Divers and a Black-throated Diver also passed through on the sea, a Chiffchaff at Southwell, 6 Pale-bellied Brent Geese at Ferrybridge and 3 Eiders and 2 Great Northern Divers in Portland Harbour.


Great Northern Divers - Portland Harbour, 9th December 2014 © Debby Saunders

8th December

The continuing presence of the Barred Warbler ensured that there were far more visitors than would be usual on a day of north-westerlies in December; a bit disappointingly though, for the majority the Obs was just one stop on a merry-go-round of Dorset sub-rarities so there was actually precious little coverage of most of the island. A Redwing was new at the Obs and 11 Black-necked Grebes, 3 Eider, 2 Common Scoter, a Great Northern Diver and the Black Guillemot were in Portland Harbour.

7th December

With the Barred Warbler settling down to making regular visits to the apples in the Obs garden it attracted most of the attention today; the only 'extras' making the list came as a result of a marked freshening of the westerly wind that saw late singles of Manx Shearwater and Arctic Skua pass through at the Bill and Ferrybridge respectively. Lingerers still about included 2 Black Redstarts and a Blackcap at the Bill, a Black Redstart at Blacknor, the Black Guillemot and Eider still off Portland Castle and 2 Pale-bellied Brent Geese at Ferrybridge; additionally, 2 Red-throated Divers passed by off the Bill and a Black-throated Diver passed over at Ferrybridge.



 



 
Barred Warbler, Red-breasted Merganser and Eider - Portland Bill and Portland Harbour, 7th December 2014 © Brett Spencer Brett's Goosey Ganderings (Barred W still), Martin Cade (Barred W video) and John Wall (Eider)
 
...the Eider has been unexpectedly close to shore for a couple of days and, sadly, the reason is now apparent as it looks to have swallowed some fishing tackle (photo © John Wall):


Finally, thanks to Beryl Clafton for bringing us the remains of the Hoopoe that was found dead at Wakeham a couple of days ago:



We know absolutely nothing about ageing Hoopoes and haven't fully understood what we've attempted to glean from the literature; however, the presence of, for example, two new outer tail-feathers amongst other features seem to suggest that this one is a juvenile/first-winter.

6th December

Another lovely day produced quite a surprise in the form of the reappearance - right at dusk in the Obs garden - of the Barred Warbler that had somehow managed to escape attention for nearly four days. Newcomers were again thin on the ground, with 3 Redwings and a Blackcap the only obvious arrivals at the Bill; a Firecrest at Pennsylvania Castle, 2 Black Redstarts at Blacknor, the Black Guillemot off Portland Castle and 2 Pale-bellied Brent Geese and a Knot at Ferrybridge were about the best of the spread of long-stayers. News was also received of a Hoopoe found dead yesterday at Wakeham.

Red Admirals were on the wing at the Obs and Pennsylvania Castle.



Barred Warbler and Knot - Portland Bill and Ferrybridge, 6th December 2014 © Martin Cade (Barred Warbler) and Debby Saunders (Knot)

5th December

Whilst not entirely bereft, the island was hardly jumping with newcomers which was a shame as it was a pleasure to be out in conditions that were a vast improvement on yesterday's damp and gloom. Five Redwings, a Little Egret and a Chiffchaff were fresh in at the Bill, where a Blackcap remained and 9 Common Scoter and 2 Red-throated Divers passed by on the sea. Singles of Pheasant, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Goldcrest were at Southwell, 2 more Chiffchaffs were still at Pennsylvania Castle where the Firecrest tally increased to 3; a Black Redstart was also still at Blacknor. Finally, at least 2 new Eider joined the single already present in Portland Harbour.

If anyone's in the market for new binoculars or a camera lens we've just added some sale items to our noticeboard page




Pheasant, Chiffchaff and Eider - Southwell, Pennsylvania Castle and Portland Harbour, 5th December 2014 © Pete Saunders (Pheasant) and Mark Eggleton (Chiffchaff and Eider)

4th December

A relentlessly dreary, damp and chilly day. A handful of thrushes made landfall at the Bill, amongst which a most unexpected prize was another late Ring Ouzel that headed off north after spending a few minutes in and around the Obs garden; a Little Egret and a Lapwing were also new there, a Red-throated Diver passed by on the sea and 4 Purple Sandpipers and a Blackcap were still present; elsewhere a Pheasant at Southwell, a Lapwing at Barleycrates Lane and 2 Black Redstarts  at Blacknor were all of note.


Ring Ouzel - Portland Bill, 4th December 2014 © Martin Cade

3rd December

Despite the brisk and chilly northerly being a nagging feature all day unseasonable migrants continue to appear, with a Hoopoe at the Bill being today's offering: first found near the lighthouse during the morning it continued to roam that area and the hut fields for the rest of the day. Newcomers were otherwise few and far between, with 2 Redwings at the Bill and a Mistle Thrush at Blacknor being about the best on offer; lingerers included 2 Purple Sandpipers and singles of Black Redstart and Blackcap at the Bill, 5 Chiffchaffs, 4 Goldcrests and 2 Firecrests at Pennsylvania Castle and 3 Black Redstarts at Blacknor. Three Brent Geese and a Red-throated Diver through off the Bill were the only reports from the sea.



Hoopoe - Portland Bill, 3rd December 2014 © Martin Cade

2nd December

Suddenly feeling pretty raw today with a blasting northerly having set in during the late hours of the night. The Barred Warbler remained at the Bill - now in the hut field next to the Obs garden - as did singles of Black Redstart and Blackcap, but new arrivals there consisted of just 4 Redwings and 2 Lapwings; 10 Red-throated Divers also passed through on the sea. The only other reports were of a Snipe over the Windmills and a Pheasant in the Borstal park at the Grove.

Singles of Diamond-back Moth and Rusty-dot Pearl were the only immigrant moths caught overnight at the Obs.

Also thanks to Nick Hopper for getting in touch with some more news from his last nocturnal recording session (last Sunday morning, 30th November). The recorder had been left running until some while after dawn and right at the end of the session (at 07.55am) it logs a Snipe not only calling but - quite bizarrely - 'winnowing' as it passes over; not surprisingly, we've never heard of a Snipe winnowing/drumming at any time at Portland let alone on migration at the end of November:


1st December

If November went out in style then December came out of the blocks in much the same vein when a Barred Warbler was trapped and ringed at the Obs shortly after dawn; although there have been three previous November records of Barreds (the latest of which was on 14th) this was the first for the month of December. At a local level, the morning also came up with a potentially even bigger rarity when 4 likely Egyptian Geese passed through off the Bill; sadly though the observer wasn't completely confident on the tail-end views that Ruddy Shelduck had been satisfactorily eliminated so this Bill tick will have to be put in abeyance...at least until they're found on the Fleet tomorrow! With the clear skies of the weekend replaced by constant heavy cloud cover tardy migrants were downed at a steady rate throughout the morning. Thrushes accounted for the bulk of the numbers at the Bill, where 72 Redwings, c50 Blackbirds, 11 Fieldfares and a Mistle Thrush arrived in off the sea and trickled away northwards; 3 new Blackcaps also joined a weekend left-over there and a Curlew passed through, whilst lingerers still about included singles of Short-eared Owl, Black Redstart and Chiffchaff, with further Black Redstarts at Reap Lane (2), Blacknor and Portland Castle. Noteworthy sightings from the sea included 6 Red-throated Divers, 5 Eider, a Brent Goose and a Great Skua through off the Bill.

The moth immigrant tally remained at a samey level, with 4 Rusty-dot Pearl and 3 each of Diamond-back Moth and Silver Y caught overnight at the Obs.

Also on a bird front there are a couple of other snippets of news to report:
Nick Hopper was with us again at the weekend (Saturday night/Sunday morning) undertaking another session of nocturnal sound recording. This was quite an interesting night to try the technique as the sky remained more or less clear throughout (it was starlit and with a half moon visible well into the early hours before some low mist formed for a while) and to the unassisted ear it sounded like the volume of passage overhead was fairly slight; however, Nick reports that the dish picked up totals of 219 Redwings, 19 Song Thrushes, 12 Blackbirds, 4 Fieldfares and singles of Lapwing and Dunlin in a four hour period from 21.40 to 01.40 before - maybe surprisingly - passage dwindled once the mist had set in.
Our other news concerns the Western Bonelli's Warbler trapped and ringed at the Obs back in August. Although this bird conformed in all tangible respects to a Western as opposed to an Eastern Bonelli's, during the handling process we did happen to come by a couple of feathers which we thought we may as well submit to Dr Martin Collinson at the University of Aberdeen for mtDNA analysis. Martin has very kindly been in touch as follows: 'finished the Western Bonelli's from Portland (18/8/2014, HBV514) (our ref PBo01).......confirms it's Western, of course, novel sequence but 2-3 bp different from 3 Western Bonellis, 2-5 bp difference (/932 bp) in GenBank, at least 25 bp different from any Eastern Bonelli's, and also 25 bp different from sibilatrix'.


Barred Warbler - Portland Bill, 1st December 2014 © Martin Cade