Finally! A break in the horrendous gale-force westerlies and rain led to the first successful October day. One might even go as far to say it was a small autumnal fall. The constant drizzle was, for the first time in a while, a help rather than a hindrance and although there was no big rare, birding was exciting throughout the day. Highlights from a much improved selection included two
Red-
breasted Flycatchers at Avalanche Hump, the first
Yellow-
browed Warbler trapped at the obs and another at Avalanche Roiad, an eastern
Lesser Whitethroat trapped at Culverwell with a second
Lesser Whitethroat sp seen briefly at the Obs Quarry, a
Wryneck in the bramble hedge in the Crown Fields and a
Dartford Warbler up by the Higher Light; the
Black Brant was also again at Ferrybridge. Across the island the tallies of other migrants included 30+
Redwings, an impressive three-figure passage of
Chaffinches and
Goldfinches, a smattering of
Bramblings and
Siskin as well as the usual (but no less impressive) presence of plenty of
Blackcaps and
Chiffchaffs.
Quite how Portland hadn't logged a Yellow-legged Warbler so far this autumn had been a much discussed topic in recent days - now there's been one it's a fair bet there'll be plenty more...
...the Lesser Whitethroat was pretty clearly from somewhere points eastward...
...whilst Red-breasted Flycatcher and Dartford Warbler were nice list-fillers © Martin Cade:
