10th October

Cloudy and cool conditions from dawn saw another nice arrival of grounded migrants, with a distinct late autumn feel to the variety of birds present. It was clearly a good day for some of the first thrushes of the autumn to put in appearances, with Ring Ouzel, Mistle Thrush (2) and Redwing all new for the season at the Obs. Another strong showing of Chiffchaffs provided the bulk of the numbers: at least 300 passed through at the Bill and patches of cover further up-island were reported to be dripping with many more; a seemingly new Siberian Lesser Whitethroat and singles of Dartford Warbler and Bullfinch were also of note at the Bill, with a Black Redstart at Portland Harbour also of interest. Overhead, birds were streaming through, with 1400 Linnets, 375 Goldfinches, 300 Swallows, 115 'Alba' Wagtails, 105 Siskin, 36 Redpoll, 23 Chaffinches, 10 House Martins, 4 Reed Buntings and singles of Grey Wagtail and Greenfinch logged from the Obs, whilst elsewhere a Glossy Ibis headed over Portland Harbour, from where what were presumably yesterday's 2 Common Cranes were also reported. Auks continued to abound offshore, with at least 4000 off the Bill where a Balearic Shearwater also lingered and a Red-necked Grebe passed by.

Big arrival of Chiffchaffs today and tapped into plenty of them in the mist-nets - 99 out of the day's ringing total of 179 at the Bill; this total also takes us over the all-time CC year record (now on 1393 for this year, previous record 1301 in 2012)...

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) October 10, 2025 at 10:48 PM

...rare that the humble Dunnock gets a mention in our ringing summaries but its all-time record also fell today, with the 160th ringed overtaking the previous record of 159 in 2021. The first Redwing of the autumn and another Dartford Warbler also amongst the day's catch

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) October 10, 2025 at 11:02 PM

Overcast skies led to an uptick in moth numbers overnight, with singles of Toadflax Pearl catalaunalis and Golden Twin-spot the best of the migrants at the Obs; unseasonables included singles of Rosy Tabby flammealis and Small Fan-footed Wave

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) October 10, 2025 at 4:37 PM