6th March

Nice quiet conditions offered more promise and, even if visible passage didn't amount to much, there was a better selection of migrants on the ground today. Chiffchaffs staged their first double figure arrival of the new season with 10 scattered at the Bill, where further variety included 20 Stonechats, 2 Redwings and a White Wagtail, with the Obs mist-nets also hinting at an otherwise undetected arrival of the likes of tits and Robins; an overcast morning wasn't so favourable for overhead passage and little more than a trickle of incoming alba wagtails and Meadow Pipits developed. Collared Dove and Rook - 2 of each - were also seasonable firsts for the year at the Bill, where 14 Purple Sandpipers and a Firecrest were still about; 3 more Firecrests also lingered on at Pennsylvania Castle. The only reports from the sea 4 Red-throated Divers, 4 Shelduck, 2 Common Scoter and a Mediterranean Gull through off the Bill, whilst Portland Harbour still held a few winterers including 7 Common Scoter, 6 Black-necked Grebes, a Great Northern Diver and an Eider.

The first Small Tortoiseshell of the year was on the wing at Church Ope Cove.