18th February

On an unexpectedly bright, sunny day after some early rain cleared through there was the tiniest glimmer of interest on the migration front: the first passerine of the year watched arriving in off the sea at the Bill was too distant to allow for a certain ID but looked very likely to have been a Meadow Pipit, whilst later in the day a Woodcock gave every indication that it too had arrived in-off as it powered through the Obs garden and headed away rapidly northward; additionally, 3 summer-plumaged Mediterranean Gull headed up-Channel past the Bill. Otherwise everything was as before: 25 Common Scoter and 2 Eider were settled off East Cliffs, 3 Red-throated Divers passed by off the Bill, the Rosy Starling was at Easton and 2 Slavonian Grebes remained amongst the divers and grebes lingering on in Portland Harbour.