Today's stiff easterly may have made for challenging conditions in the field but it was certainly no impediment for birds on the move, with a flurry of active migrants passing through the various island watchpoints that included a minimum of 700
Swallows, 60
Yellow Wagtails, 50
House Martin, 45
Swift, 40
Sand Martin, 2
Hobbies and singles of
Marsh Harrier,
Grey Heron,
Merlin,
Collared Dove and
Tree Pipit. Unsurprisingly grounded migrants remained harder to detect but did include a
Nightingale seen briefly in Helen's Fields in addition to 3
Whinchats, 2
Garden Warblers and a
Pied Flycatcher around the Bill. On the sea front, both the Bill and Chesil were well watched with waders dominating the returns that included 250
Whimbrel, 230
Bar-tailed Godwits, 21
Grey Plovers, 3
Arctic Terns, 2
Garganey, 2
Sanderling and singles of
Black-throated Diver,
Knot and
Arctic Skua.
Sensory overload at the Bill tip this morning what with there still being c8000 gulls offshore; passing seabirds poor with a single BtDiver the best for us. Lots of inbound vismig, mainly Swallows but multiples of Swift & Yellow Wagtail + single Merlin; weary Collared Dove in off.
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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) April 22, 2026 at 11:44 AM
Fun evening seawatch on Chesil but doubtless less fun for the succession of waders finding it really hard work to get over the beach/Portland Harbour into the teeth of a blasting easterly; nearly 150 each of Bar-tailed Godwit and Whimbrel + singles of Grey Plover and Knot. Great migration watching!
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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) April 22, 2026 at 11:26 PM
