Portland Bird Observatory and Field Centre: 8th March

Despite the breeze freshening and backing further to the northeast than would usually be appreciated, the sea continued to entertain with some half-decent early season totals to show at both the Bill and Chesil. Six Avocets through off Chesil were the highlight, with back-up tallies that included 460 auks, 56 Common Scoter, 48 Kittiwakes, 38 Shoveler, 32 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 16 Teal, 14 Mediterranean Gulls, 10 Pintail, 8 Red-throated Divers and 2 Black-headed Gulls from the Bill and 28 Black-headed Gulls, 8 Shoveler, 8 Common Scoter, 7 Dunlin and 2 Wigeon from Chesil. A trickle of overhead arrivals provided most of the numbers from the land, including 44 Meadow Pipits, 8 Linnets, 4 Ravens, 2 alba wagtails, 2 Siskins and singles of Common Buzzard and Jackdaw through at the Bill. Grounded arrivals remained few and far between, with little more than a handful of Chiffchaffs and 2 Wheatears around the south of the island.

This morning's Avocets passing Chesil - a gripping and very infrequent sight on a Portland seawatch © Paul Harris:

Our attempt at a proper seawatch from the Bill tip was ineptly timed from the waterfowl point of view but we did have the very unexpected sight of a Common Buzzard lumbering in off the sea beyond Pulpit Rock. Common Buzzards do seem to be genuinely averse to long over-water movements and visible immigration or emigration has hardly ever featured in our log - we can still well remember the famous 'Honey Buzzard' day on 30th September 2000 when, amongst the wealth of other raptors that passed over the Bill and left out to sea, at least 25 Common Buzzards appeared overhead (up to that time there'd been fewer than 100 Common Buzzards ever recorded at the Bill) but none was actually witnessed leaving to the south © Martin Cade:

Just one migrant moth overnight at the Obs but it was a first for the year - a Pearly Underwing

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) March 8, 2025 at 8:03 AM