23rd September

Just for a moment - as some more post-dawn rain cleared through - it seemed like passage was really kicking into gear again: the beach hut fields were positively leaping with migrants, the Bill tip was carpeted in Wheatears and pulses of House Martins and Meadow Pipits raced through overhead; however, just as quickly as the action looked to be starting so it fizzled out rather anti-climactically. The only really worthwhile totals from the Bill area ended up being 470 Meadow Pipits and 70 Wheatears, with nothing of particular note unearthed amongst the more varied than of late tally of also-rans. There was precious little passage on the sea but a feeding flock off the Bill attracted up to 17 Sandwich Terns and 2 Arctic Terns.

We're rather conscious that just at the moment the bird news in the area is almost entirely one-way traffic from Weymouth toward Portland; our day will eventually come but in the meanwhile we made another evening trip to Lodmoor to have a look at the Lesser Yellowlegs that had first been spotted over-flying Abbotsbury this morning before later pitching in on the same now-flooded pool at Lodmoor that had held the Spotted Crake a couple of days ago © Martin Cade: