17th September

Wind and rain were the order of the day at dawn but it didn't take long for the clearance to materialise and introduce sunny skies and pleasant warmth for the rest of the day. A Grey Phalarope lingering in Chesil Cove wasn't a huge surprise and proved to be by far the sea highlight; 12 Arctic Skuas through off the Bill was a respectable tally but the back-up totals there of 260 Kittiwakes, 11 Balearic Shearwaters, 11 Common Scoter, 8 Bar-tailed Godwits, 7 Manx Shearwaters, a Sooty Shearwater and an Arctic Tern were pretty paltry. On the land, a Wryneck showed up at King Barrow Quarry and once the sun came out hirundines - mostly Swallows - trickled over at a fair rate but it was otherwise quiet bar 16 new Bar-tailed Godwits at Ferrybridge, a Great Spotted Woodpecker at the Verne, 2 lingering Knot at the Bill and an exceptionally early Black Redstart there.

About as guaranteed as you can get after a bit of a blow at this time of year - Grey Phalarope close inshore at Chesil Cove © Pete Saunders:

We don't know how many times we've looked across to the Obs Quarry this autumn and remarked that if all the trainspotters standing around waiting for hours for an already known about and perfectly well documented Wryneck to come into view actually went out and looked there'd be plenty more of them to find elsewhere on the island. Sure enough, as soon as a proper fieldworker got amongst some suitable bushes at King Barrow Quarry - when was the last time anyone looked for anything there? - up pops a Wryneck © Andy Collins:

And finally, who needs a boring, buzzy little drone when you can get paid to fly a Merlin helicopter over the Bill. We're super envious of serving RN officer, Lt Megan Hanson, being in the position to take this quick photo of the Obs whilst she was at work this week; Megan's a keen birder and knows the area well as she's a frequent visitor with RNBWS groups that stay with us © Megan Hanson:

grey phalarope riding the waves

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) September 17, 2026 at 4:24 PM

was surprised how many ALT were still going at verne common, clearly through late after long hot dry summer but made it in the end!

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) September 17, 2026 at 3:39 PM