Although the occasional mizzly outbreak cropped up from time to time today had far more positives going for it, not least the wind dropping right away. In truth, migration was hardly rip-roaring but some decent visible passage, including 780 Goldfinches, 460 Linnets, 240 Chaffinches, 180 Meadow Pipits, 114 Redpolls and 46 Siskins over the Bill, along with a nice patch of 8 Firecrests and a Woodlark at Coombefield/Thumb Lane (that made up for the almost complete absence of warblers and the like amongst the arrivals at the Bill) and 2 Great Northern Divers, 2 Arctic Skuas and a Sooty Shearwater through off the Bill provided at least some interest on all fronts. Other odds and ends worth a mention included a late Yellow Wagtail over the Bill, singles of Yellow-legged Gull and Ring Ouzel on the ground there and 500 Kittiwakes and 250 Mediterranean Gulls lingering offshore.
Although they've been in ones and twos quite widely in the last few days, today's eight Firecrests in the Coombefield area was a notable influx © Duncan Walbridge:
Welcome amelioration in the weather allowed for fuller ringing activities at the Bill today. 43 birds trapped; 17 of the new birds were Redpolls and the one control was another Redpoll that had first been ringed at Thorpe Marsh, South Yorkshire, on 26th September - nice!
— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) October 29, 2025 at 6:11 PM
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