Today's mildness and sunshine was so pleasant that it wouldn't really have mattered if there was nothing about, but a few more prompt migrants capped off proceedings very nicely. With so many
Wheatears having already made it into the country our first ones seemed almost tardy by comparison but the first 3 at the Bill were very welcome nonetheless; passerine interest otherwise concerned just the odd few new presumably migrant
Robins,
Wrens and the like showing up in the Obs garden mist-nets. The sea was more rewarding on the numbers front, with the first up-Channel passage of
Kittiwakes evident off the Bill, where 280 passed by during the first couple of hours of the morning; 7
Shovelers, 4
Common Scoters, 3
Red-throated Divers and a
Curlew also passed by during the same watch - hardly a seawatch of
Dungeness proportions but we'll take it.
It really is something when Wheatear passage is already so advance by 2nd March that our first one isn't even an adult male © Jodie Henderson:
Having sensibly held off on a trip to see it in yesterday's grotty conditions, Jodie's visit today to the Radipole Red-rumped Swallow was blessed by far more appropriate cloudless skies and warm sunshine © Jodie Henderson:
Great to be back at @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social even for a very fleeting visit this morning. Enjoyed the wintering flock of Purple Sandpipers and a steady up-channel passage of Kittiwakes before a day with swans at Abbotsbury enlivened by occasional visits from a White-tailed Eagle
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— Ben Sheldon (@sheldonbirds.bsky.social) March 2, 2026 at 9:39 PM
