Another good day for the commonest migrants with the heavily overcast skies that followed a night of at times very heavy rain dropping a good arrival of
Blackcaps and
Chiffchaffs throughout the island and seeing
Meadow Pipits pass through in quantity; the sea also perked up, with
Balearic Shearwaters passing by in their highest numbers since the first week of the month.
Blackcaps and
Chiffchaffs were dominant on the ground, with around 120 of each at the Bill and plenty more everywhere else that was checked; sadly though, migrant variety remained disappointingly poor: a small flurry of late
Sedge Warblers,
Willow Warblers and
Spotted Flycatchers was evident at the Bill, but singles of
Short-eared Owl,
Grasshopper Warbler and
Firecrest were the only new arrivals of any consequence; the long-staying
Marsh Harrier and
Pied Flycatcher were also both still at the Bill. Overhead passage saw
Meadow Pipits dominant, with 1160 through along West Cliffs at the Bill and probably just as many on the move along other vectors where they weren't counted; just as was evident on the ground, variety overhead was limited and didn't include any surprises. For no obvious reason since the conditions were very benign,
Balearic Shearwaters reappeared in quantity off the Bill where 292 passed by through the morning, along with singles of
Manx and
Sooty Shearwater, and
Great and
Arctic Skua.
Stonechat passage is beginning to gather a bit of momentum - there still haven't been any high counts worth a mention but small parties of them are beginning to crop up everywhere © Pete Saunders:
Another good ringing day at PBO @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social with 147 birds of 17 species. Firecrest GrasshoperW,Greenland Wheatear,2Spotted Fly,6 each of Sedge& WW,main species 41Bcap,43 CChaff & 31 Meadow Pipits.
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— Peter J Morgan (@pbo61.bsky.social) September 24, 2024 at 8:35 PM
Surge in Balearics ongoing off the Bill: 200 so far and plenty still moving. A Maize Moth from the first moth-trap looked at - encouraging!
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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) September 24, 2024 at 8:40 AM
