An unexpectedly lovely day that didn't really deliver on the migrant front. A small flurry of new arrivals at the Bill included 8 Wheatears and a Sand Martin that were certainly new, along with several Goldcrests and singles of Black Redstart, Blackcap and Firecrest that were likely or confirmed lingerers; elsewhere, 3 Blackcaps were at Sweethill and a Black Redstart at Reap Lane. Three Red-throated Divers and a single Great Northern Diver were about all that could be mustered from the sea at the Bill.
In the absence of many birds it was the perfect afternoon for a fruitless scour of Church Ope Cove/Pennsylvania Castle for Large Tortoiseshells...
...and for the first ice cream of the year © Martin Cade and Jodie Henderson:
Having failed to muster much from Portland we took ourselves over to Lodmoor after sunset as it looked like the sort of evening that a Bittern might depart from the reserve. Duly, at 7pm one did indeed appear overhead where it was nicely audible if not visible in the gathering darkness as it headed away to the northeast © Martin Cade:
