Portland Bird Observatory and Field Centre: December 2025

28th-31st December

A quiet end to the year with cold-weather movement limited to just a lone Lapwing at the Bill on 29th, whilst a Brambling that dropped in briefly from height at the Bill on 31st had all the look of a late migrant; the only other minor oddities were single Little Egrets overhead at the Bill on 29th and passing through on the sea there on 31st. The long-staying Goosander continued to visit Ferrybridge daily and winterers included the Purple Sandpipers at the Bill and selections of customary divers and grebes in Portland Harbour.

a couple of GND off the tourist information centre and another distantly off hamm beach as was a BNGrebe, disappointing considering how far you could see in calm bright conditions.

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) December 31, 2025 at 4:27 PM

at the third time of asking got a record shot of one of the kingfishers opposite the sailors return after missing off the tourist centre and also the sailing academy car park. unfortunately just after martin adlam left.

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) December 31, 2025 at 4:18 PM

whilst seeing martin and dawn out and about today was the best thing, fluking a bottlenose dolphin entirely way out of the water was next best, opposite the sailors return,

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) December 31, 2025 at 4:24 PM

25th-27th December

A cold and windy Christmas period produced more waterfowl through off the Bill including 20 Wigeon, 12 Red-throated Divers, 4 Shoveler and a Teal on 26th and 5 Egyptian Geese on 27th; Lesser Black-backed Gulls have also still been moving there, including 25 arriving from the south on 26th, but the only new waders have been 5 Lapwings through at Ferrybridge on 26th. Passerine-wise, 2 Blackcaps were new at Sweethill on 26th.

The stiff easterly wind of recent days has stirred up rich pickings along the Portland Harbour shore for the wintering Mediterranean Gulls...

...and the Goosander's been lingering on at Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders:

On the back of events unfolding right across England, at the Bill we've been hoping for a grounded or fly-by flock of Tundra Bean Geese but have so far only managed today's Egyptian Geese, some White-fronts and this forlorn Brent Goose in the East Cliff sheep fields...

...Our ineptness on the Tundra Bean front has even led us to do what all the other clueless types who can't find things for themselves resort to and we've tried twitching some semi-local ones: the Lodmoor birds on Christmas Eve eluded us but Simon Craft's duo on the Charminster water meadows today were much more obliging © Martin Cade:

24th December

An unexpectedly exciting day with a blasting and increasingly cold easterly the prompt for a flurry of waterfowl, wader and gull movement. Lapwings and Lesser Black-backed Gulls made up the bulk of the numbers, with Lapwings nearly topping 100 and Lesser Black-backs probably not far short of that - 50 of the latter arrived from the south in an hour at the Bill, with the movement ongoing but unquantified after this. Wildfowl included 7 Pintail, 5 Wigeon and a Teal through at Ferrybridge and 4 grey geese, 2 each of Shoveler and Wigeon, and a lone Brent Goose through off the Bill. Four Red-throated Divers also passed by off the Bill and the Grey Plover tally at Ferrybridge increased to 4.

It was exciting to see Lapwings © Pete Saunders and Lesser Black-backs © Martin Cade suddenly on the move:

With a nice selection of waterfowl as a bonus; Pintails, Wigeon and Teal © Pete Saunders...

...and Shovelers © Martin Cade:

Unfortunately, the grey geese through off the Bill were a lot more frustrating since they were miles out and in terrible light; we had suspicions there were two species involved - three big birds and one smaller one - but the photos really don't help in resolving much detail © Martin Cade:

In fact it was a frustrating day all round on the goose front since in the afternoon we popped over to Lodmoor to see if the reported Bean Geese were on view. There was no sign of them but just as we arrived we caught sight of a flock of grey geese disappearing high over the east end of the reserve; the views were again terrible - miles away and constantly tail-end on as they headed off towards the Purbecks - but the light was much better and some of the photos revealed dark bars underneath and white forehead blazes to confirm that most if not all were White-fronts © Martin Cade:

20th-23rd December

After a pleasant start to the run up to Christmas the onset of colder, easterly conditions saw interest begin to pick up on the sea. Among the regulars including the continuing Black Redstart at Church Ope, a selection of divers and grebes in Portland Harbour and all three routine divers through off the Bill, a lingering Little Gull off the Bill on 20th was the first of the winter and an apparently departing Grey Heron there on 22nd a mid-winter oddity; however, the main interest concerned waterfowl through off the Bill including nearly daily Brent Geese, 10 Pintail and 2 Velvet Scoter on 21st and 2 Wigeon on 22nd.

A nice close Great Northern Diver through off the Bill on 20th © Pete Saunders:

Painted Lady on the wing in the Obs garden just now

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) December 20, 2025 at 12:24 PM

15th-19th December

The downward spiral into very samey mid-winter birding continued this week, with one day entirely rained off and little to show beyond the regulars when conditions did allow for some fieldwork. A Black Redstart at Church Ope Cove on 19th was added to their seemingly meagre tally so far this winter, a Slavonian Grebe (also on 19th) was new in Portland Harbour, Purple Sandpipers increased to 12 at the Bill tip and a Redwing was a likely tardy migrant at the Obs on 16th. Regulars still about included the Black-throated Diver in Portland Harbour.

These days, the Purple Sandpiper flock at the Bill is only half the size it once was but this week's increase to a dozen at least brings their numbers up to what's become par in recent times © Debby Saunders (top) and Pete Saunders (bottom):

A sad sight off the Bill this week have been a few badly oiled seabirds like this Kittiwake © Pete Saunders:

felt a bit better today and my first male black redstart of the winter was a nice lift.

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) December 19, 2025 at 5:50 PM

plenty of other birds enjoying the flies off the washed in vegetation in church ope cove, 1cy grey wagtail the pick of them but stonechat, rock pipit, pied wagtail and wren were knocking about and could hear a chiffchaff in the background. surprisingly no butterflies at all.

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) December 19, 2025 at 7:42 PM

Still the odd migrant moth showing up at the Obs - last night's tally from the moth-traps singles of Rusty-dot Pearl and Pearly Underwing

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) December 15, 2025 at 11:26 AM

17th November

The majority of Obs members should now have received their copy of our latest report - the last batch was posted this morning so if you haven't received a copy by the end of the week do please let us know.

Unfortunately, we have incomplete or in some cases even no address details for a few members who we know from our bank statements are paid-up - if you spot your name on the list below do please pop us through a message so we can update our records and send you a report. Many thanks.

Des & Pat Barwell

Janice Beck

Francis Buckley

Gill Bumphrey

I Carpenter

F Cotte

J Davis

Derrick Dawson

Ian Dickie

P Gray

Julian Green

Philip Macleod Hill

Teresa James

Jeremy King

Steven Mortimer

MG Olney

G Packer

Robert Payne

Lucy Starling

Justin Tunstall

R Venables

BJ Whitfield

A & E Whittlesea Reed

R Wilson

SD Wood

11th-14th December

A few days of relatively settled conditions that allowed for better coverage. The tail end of late autumn passage was evidenced by 20 Redwing and 2 Song Thrush calls logged by the nocmig recorder at the Obs overnight on 12th/13th and some apparent new Chiffchaffs at the Bill, including 5 in the Crown Estate Field on 13th; the total of at least 11 Goldcrests scattered about between the Obs and the Grove were presumed winterers as were the singles of Water Rail and Reed Bunting at the Bill and 2 Black Redstarts at Chesil Cove. The Goosander continued from time to time at Portland Castle, with 5 Black-necked Grebes and a Black-throated Diver amongst the harbour regulars. Daily Red-throated Divers off the Bill peaked at 8 on 13th with 4 Pintail also through on that date, when 11 Common Scoter represented their peak of the month to date.

managed to dodge the black redstarts again despite hearing one, great to watch the portland castle goosander hunting and a GND there with two more off hamm beach. not sure if this one has an eel or pipefish. oddest spectacle was an early fulmar return circling over chesil cove and fortuneswell

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) December 11, 2025 at 6:14 PM

Calm night saw a mini flurry of migrant moths at the Obs: 4 Rusty-dot Pearl, a Turnip and a Silver Y + a late Radford's Flame Shoulder. This mrng a Red Admiral on the wing at the Obs (yesterday, there was another Painted Lady there).

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) December 13, 2025 at 10:43 AM

8th-10th December

Two more days of wind and rain finally gave way to welcome sunshine. A showy Goosander at Portland Castle joined the customary selection of divers and grebes in Portland Harbour; Purple Sandpipers increased to 11 at the Bill, where 3 Chiffchaffs lingered on and ones and twos of Red-throated Divers passed by on the sea; elsewhere, 7 Redwings were at Easton and 2 Black Redstarts remained at Chesil Cove.

News from Facebook of one of two Painted Lady butterflies on the wing today - the other was at the Bill:

5th-7th December

Persistent unsettled weather, including wind speeds up to 50mph and periods of lashing rain, has severely curtailed opportunities for birding of late, with very little of note from around the Bill and just the few regular winterers still in residence around Ferrybridge and the Harbour.

2 Pale-bellied Brent Geese remain among the 350 or so Dark-bellied currently at Ferrybridge...

4th December

Portland Bill: Chiffchaff 2, Sparrowhawk 1, Firecrest 1.

Ferrybridge: Shelduck 5.

3rd December

Mild and settled conditions saw little change on the birding front, with totals of 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Goldcrests and singles of Sparrowhawk, Song Thrush and Reed Bunting logged around the Bill, with 4 Purple Sandpipers still in attendance below the Obelisk. More attention looking out to sea was rewarded with 5 Red-throated Divers, 2 Common Scoter and a Black-throated Diver amongst the regular feeding flock of gulls that included over 500 Kittiwakes. Elsewhere in the harbour most of the current winterers were accounted for, with 6 Black-necked Grebes, 2 Black-throated Divers and singles of Slavonian Grebe, Great Northern Diver and Goosander.

At least the local Herring Gull is continuing to make the most of this year's harvest of apples now most of the lingering migrants have departed © Martin King:

1st-2nd December

After yesterday's wash-out, today's birding didn't exactly improve despite the more favourable conditions, with just 2 Goldcrests and a Sparrowhawk around the obs garden, plus 54 Greenfinches, 4 Bar-tailed Godwits and 2 Stonechats along Ferrybridge.