Finally - after what's seemed like an interminable wait - all the variables aligned as fair conditions over the near continent coupled with a light northwesterly and some early bands of drizzly rain over Portland to facilitate what was easily the largest and most varied fall of migrants so far this spring. Whilst the day's star bird was a Wood Warbler in the Obs garden, it was Willow Warblers that unsurprisingly made up the bulk of the numbers on the ground with 200 through at the Bill; overhead hirundines were arriving steadily everywhere. A strong back-up cast at the Bill including 40 Chiffchaffs, 30 Blackcaps, 25 Whitethroats, 20 Yellow Wagtails and 20 Wheatears, along with single figure totals of Swift, Tree Pipit, Whinchat, Redstart, Grasshopper Warbler, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat and Pied Flycatcher made for some thoroughly entertaining bank holiday birding. Fortunately, all the goings-on on the land provided plenty of distraction from what was a pretty woeful seawatch, with just singles of Arctic and Great Skuas of note off the Bill.
Ever the Rain Bird at the Obs; true to form it only took a hint of damp in the air to drop a Wood Warbler that showed remarkably well for a while until the sun broke through and prompted it to vanish as suddenly as it had appeared © Martin Cade:
