22nd August

On a day that had dawned with almost no expectations since the brisk westerly wind had barely abated and there were few grounded migrants in evidence it was quite a surprise when, not long into the morning, a Greenish Warbler showed up at the Obs; sadly it proved a tricky bird to get to grips with and ended up eluding most would-be observers. The day's migrant tally otherwise consisted of just low single figure totals of routine fare everywhere, with a couple of late Swifts over the Bill probably the only things worth a mention. Two Balearic Shearwaters and a Yellow-legged Gull through off the Bill were the best from the sea.

A Delicate was the best of the bunch amongst a modest increase in commoner immigrant moths in the Obs traps.




Greenish Warbler - Portland Bill, 22nd August 2016 © Martin Cade


...this little series of photos were as good as it got from the views perspective since they document the only occasion that the bird was actually seen settled! Initially it was in slightly better voice including giving several short snatches of quiet sub-song as well as the more expected calls. We didn't have the time/inclination to spend ages trailing about after it with a microphone so ended up resorting to last year's Bonelli's Warbler tactic of leaving the mic running in a spot where we'd heard it a couple of times; the resultant two hour recording was largely spoilt by the din of blowing leaves but did include two short bursts of calling: the first of these was only four calls long (and the calls were rather more clipped than most of those we heard) and on the second the bird is much further away; we've edited the two together in this little sequence: