16th April

These persistent days of lame selections of migrants do sometimes lead you to ponder on whether you really are bearing witness to the end game in the oft-mentioned ecological breakdown; there's no doubt the weather's rubbish right now but for the middle of April the migrant variety and numbers were pretty shocking today. Singles of Marsh Harrier and Hobby at the Bill and Pied Flycatcher at Thumb Lane provided glimmers of interest around the south of the island where Wheatear, Blackcap and Willow Warbler were the only commoner migrants to return double figure totals. The sea was equally bereft of numbers, with 6 Gadwall off Chesil a minor local highlight. 

These three Grey Herons over Hamm Beach and the Bill were an odd sight for the time of year © Pete Saunders:

The very smart male Pied Flycatcher was still present and showing on and off at 12.15pm at Thumb Lane Portland today ⁦@PortlandBirdObs⁩ pic.twitter.com/D60jw91Af3

— Rob Rackliffe (@RobRackliffe) April 16, 2022

A few pics from Portland today. Aside from the Pied Flycatcher, we saw 16 Northern Wheatear, Whimbrel, 2 Little Terns, Swallow, a Speckled Wood Butterfly and finally we caught up with the elusive Whinchat! ⁦@PortlandBirdObs⁩ pic.twitter.com/kGKO7vTwW3

— Rob Rackliffe (@RobRackliffe) April 16, 2022

An enjoyable morning @ an initially quiet @PortlandBirdObs resulted in a lovely male Pied Fly' @ Thumb Ln, Whinchat, fem Ma.Harrier (N past H.Light), Whimbrel, 2 G.Heron over the Bill, & a personal total of 22 Wheatear plus a handful of Phyllosc's (& 2 Rook!) @DorsetBirdClub pic.twitter.com/tUejeO4avx

— Dr Phil Saunders 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 🌈 (@beardybirder) April 16, 2022