After a long summer of Storm Petrel and moth induced sleep deprivation the sound of long-awaited heavy rainfall at dawn was very welcome in allowing for a decent lie in. A big disappointment when the rain eventually stopped was the almost complete absence of new passerine migrants, with single
Pied Flycatchers at the Obs and the Grove the only worthwhile finds amongst a tiny handful of
Yellow Wagtails,
Wheatear and
Willow Warblers. Waders and terns fared slightly better, with 8
Black-tailed Godwit, a
Knot, 40
Sandwich Terns and 30
Common Terns downed at Ferrybridge, whilst later a
Caspian Gull was a quality arrival at the Bill amongst an increase to at least 7 grounded
Yellow-legged Gulls.
Although of virtually no interest to most birders who seem to be acute laro-phobes, we remain oddly gripped (even if we don't seem to be quite autistic enough to pick up on all the little nuances and knowledge of minutiae required to be that good at it) by the likes of Caspian Gulls and were super-excited when Brett discovered our first ever full-blown juvenile in the East Cliffs gull flock - a really fascinating bird that could go from being extremely subtle and totally overlook-able in one instant to being blindingly obvious in the next © Martin Cade:
The first substantial rainfall in several months might have been expected to have dropped more in the way of waders than just these Black-tailed Godwits at Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders:
Mothing's quietened off a little over the last couple of nights but still plenty enough migrants to get amongst - best of last night's catch at the Obs the first Mugwort Pearl sticticalis of the year and yet another good array of hawks
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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 2:54 PM
The second Pale Shoulder in five days from our garden moth-trap at the Grove last night. This little 40w actinic tucked away under trees in the corner of the garden (it has to be that way so the sun doesn't get on it as we don't get to check the contents until we come home at teatime)...
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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 8:31 PM
...has been having a great run - it was rammed again today with the catch also including Purple and Small Marbled, Ni, 2 Striped Hawks and a hatful of other routine migrants. Don't know if this summer's mothing will turn out to be a flash in the pan but we're going to miss it when it's over!
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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 8:39 PM
A few more from Freshwater Bay @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social from Sunday night: Herald, Small Marbled (15 trapped here), Blair's Mocha and Tufted Oak Knot-horn (A. tumidana):
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— alanlewiswildlife.bsky.social (@alanlewiswildlife.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 10:23 PM
