17th May

The forecast cloud cover arrived a little late for a dawn fall but once it rolled in it persisted for a fair bit of the morning and was enough to down a succession of Spotted Flycatchers throughout the island; however, with it getting late for quantities of other common migrants the back-up cast wasn't hugely varied or numerous. A Hooded Crow that pitched up briefly at Wallsend was the day's oddity but it was the numbers of Spotted Flycatchers that stole the show, with 33 at the Bill and probably just as many more spread widely around the hinterland; a steady passage of Swallows along with fewer Swifts and House Martins, 4 Willow Warblers, 3 Reed Warblers, 3 Chiffchaffs, 2 Hobbys and singles of Sedge Warbler and Blackcap were among the other migrants logged at the Bill, with singles of Brent Goose and Grey Plover among the selection at Ferrybridge. A mini surge in Common Scoters saw 76 pass by off the Bill, but 8 Whimbrel, 5 Shelducks and a Red-throated Diver were best of the rest on the sea there.

The Hooded Crow at Wallsend © Jodie Henderson:

And talking of crows, public enemy number one the Ravens - this is the first time one of the family parties has been seen away from the immediate vicinity of their nest site - are now on station above the seabird colony where no doubt they're going to be wreaking havoc by stealing many of the Guillemot and Kittiwake eggs We appreciate that a lot of the general public have a soft spot for the Portland Ravens now that so many have become semi-tame but this is turning an uncritical blind eye to the terrible carnage they inflict on the seabirds - no doubt more on this as the season progresses. Whether today's birds came by the hedgehog they're feeding on as road-kill or ad a hapless live victim isn't known © Nick Hopper:

We're so wedded to the idea that any darter dragonfly seen on the island this early in the season is going to be a Red-veined Darter that when we stumbled upon a teneral Common Darter at Shepherd's Dinner this afternoon we so doubted our own ID abilities that we contacted Brett Spencer to confirm that it really was one. An as yet incomplete scan through our past logs has revealed that the previous earliest island record was on 13th June, although in the majority of years the first record wasn't until sometime in July...

...not far away, there were still at least two Red-veined Darters about in the vicinity of the pool in Yeolands Quarry © Martin Cade:

Always a exhilarating day when Spotted Flycatchers are migrating through @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social especially when few other migrants are,7 ringed today amongst 14 birds with 1st Whitethroat since 30th April! Broad & deep bill with rectal bristles of SFly specially suited to their capture method.

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— Peter J Morgan (@pbo61.bsky.social) May 17, 2025 at 8:31 PM