There used to be such certainties in life: England were always contenders for a World Cup, you'd marvel at the oratory of the titans of Labour inspiring the crowd at rallies addressing global issues of the day and you could turn up at Portland in early September easterlies and see Ortolans and Tawny Pipits so readily that you hardly gave them a thought as you sought rarer fare; these days England need own goals to scrape past minnows in World Cup qualifiers, the snakes of New Labour throw pensioners in jail for protesting genocide and at Portland the Ortolans and Tawny Pipits have faded from memory to be replaced by Glossy Ibises so numerous that they're passed off as Cormorants. Today's brisk south-easterlies brought a fair degree of anticipation for those scarcities of the past but even the most common migrant species were in the shortest of supply. In terms of grounded arrivals, around 40
Wheatears, a
Pied Flycatcher and a single
Tree Pipit were the best of the bunch at the Bill; additionally, a four figure total of hirundines, together with 55
Yellow Wagtails, 5
Grey Wagtails and 3
Swifts, were scant vismig rewards given the conditions. The stand-out highlight of the day was the flock of 14+
Glossy Ibis that headed north just off East Cliffs at the Bill; 32
Balearic Shearwaters, 2
Arctic Skuas, an
Arctic Tern and a
Sooty Shearwater were the only other sightings of note from the sea there. Elsewhere, 2
Grey Phalaropes lingered at Chesil Cove and
Ruff and
Arctic Tern were amongst the variety at Ferrybridge.
This morning's Glossy Ibis flock was exciting and frustrating in equal measure: with only eight previous island records - only one of which involved more than one bird (two together on 21st October 2021) - the sight of a large flock was very exciting indeed. However, the circumstances were hugely frustrating since the birds were so tight in to East Cliffs that they were only in view from the Obs for a few seconds as they passed through gaps between the beach huts/bushes and not only did the most stalwart seawatcher miss them altogether but nobody else even managed to get a complete count of the flock; our single snatched record photo seems to show 14 birds but the feeling was that the whole flock was about 20 strong © Martin Cade:
The Arctic Tern over Ferrybridge at sunset © Martin Cade:
News from John Lucas of a Scar Bank Gem caught overnight in his garden at Southwell - a quality rarity and think it's only the fourth Portland record. Photo courtesy of John.
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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) September 6, 2025 at 6:32 PM
