18th June

Quite how Portland managed to miss heavy rainfall for the best part of the day when a constant downpour was visible just to the north of the island was one of those quirks of meteorology that went a long way toward explaining why the island is consistently by far the driest part of Dorset; however, an evening pivot in the rain band eventually saw it make landfall and linger on into the hours of darkness. Under the veil of cloud singles of Hobby, Chiffchaff and Spotted Flycatcher were new in at the Bill but the day's only other interest concerned odds and ends of routine terns and gulls periodically joining the mass of Herring Gulls feeding offshore.