The hopefully only temporary loss of the offshore gull flock was a grievous blow to prospects today since this and what it's attracted by way of seabirds has been the mainstay of interest for several weeks;
shearwaters in particular were conspicuous absentees with no more than a handful of
Manx and 2
Balearics logged. Two
Great Crested Grebes and a
Shelduck passed through on the sea as did a flock of 16 departing
Sand Martins. Oddballs on the land included a
Dartford Warbler at Freshwater Bay and a
Bullfinch at Wakeham, whilst
Mediterranean Gulls continued to increase, reaching 200 at Ferrybridge where a
Curlew also flew over.
The flow of early returning waders has more or less dried up in recent days, with this Curlew over Ferrybridge today's only sighting © Pete Saunders:
Migrant moth numbers and variety snuck back up again even if, for most trappers, there were few surprises in their catches; the exception was Portland's overdue first Scarce Spindle Ermine irrorella for John Lucas at Southwell - a shoddy specimen but they all count!
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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) June 29, 2025 at 9:58 PM
