16th August




http://www.at-infocus.co.uk/ 
Just a reminder that the next In Focus field event at the Obs takes place between 10am and 4pm this Tuesday, 18th August 2015.

Nice birding conditions and another small arrival of migrants today. Willow Warblers again topped a three figure total at the Bill but the conditions were maybe too nice to have expected the variety of the last couple of days to be maintained. Another 4 Pied Flycatchers were grounded at the Bill/Southwell but the single figure totals of the likes of Yellow Wagtail and Tree Pipit there related largely to fly-overs; waders fared slightly better, with singles of Little Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Snipe, Whimbrel and Common Sandpiper (together with the season's first Kingfisher) logged at times at Ferrybridge. The seemingly now customary 6 Balearic Shearwaters were again lingering off the Bill, where an Arctic Skua also passed through.

Painted Ladys and Clouded Yellows have become a good deal more conspicuous over the weekend, with reports of small numbers of each from throughout the island.

With the temperature dropping quite sharply overnight there was little expectation of quality mothing so another first for the island - a Plain Wave at the Obs - was quite a surprise.





Willow Warbler, Tree Pipit and Plain Wave - Southwell and Portland Bill, 16th August 2105 © Debby Saunders (Willow Warbler) and Martin Cade (Tree Pipit and Plain Wave)
 
And a few more photos from recent days. These two wader photos from Pete Saunders taken during Friday's deluge - a better image of the Ruff than we'd received earlier and a seemingly different Curlew Sandpiper that dropped in late in the afternoon - were lost in the ether for a couple of days but finally came through today:
 
 

...and another aberrant butterfly from Ken Dolbear; this female Chalkhill Blue (together with a typical individual for comparison) was at Admiralty Quarry yesterday:
 

 
 And finally, a bit of video of a Common Shrew that showed unusually well yesterday on the Obs patio: