Quite a ripper of a day with the migration tap well and truly opening as birds streamed through into a brisk and - for the first time this autumn - really chilly headwind; not that any of this made for particularly easy birding, with a lot of overhead passage taking place at considerable height and a lot of the groundings being brief at best, with several of the day's more consequential reports still requiring scrutiny of photographs or sound recordings and remaining to be fully resolved. Rather few of the day's migrants actually dropped in in a traditional 'fall' manner, with most moving through very rapidly; conservative totals from the Bill included 10860
Wood Pigeons, 800
Jackdaws, 200 each of
Blackcap and
Chiffchaff, 190
Chaffinches, 180
Meadow Pipits and 100
alba wagtails, with 23
Redwings, 20
Siskins, 17
Bramblings, 10
Woodlarks, 5
Lapwings, 4
Golden Plovers and 2
Greylag Geese amongst the very varied list of tag-alongs, whilst odds and ends including 47
Redwings, 7
Fieldfares and singles of
Cattle Egret and
Corn Bunting popped up elsewhere. Amongst the grounded arrivals oddities included 5
Dartford Warblers, yet another
Great Spotted Woodpecker, a
Black Redstart and a late
Reed Warbler at the Bill, another
Black Redstart at Southwell and a
Ring Ouzel at Thumb Lane. The offshore wind was no help for the seawatchers but singles of
Pochard and
Little Gull were of note off the Bill.
There was so much going on today and nowhere near enough time to stop and photograph it all © Joe Stockwell and Martin Cade:
Portland Day 6 - A ripping day of migration saw birds arriving pre-sunrise and didn't really let up until the mid afternoon. More Woodlarks, constant Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Meadow Pipits and Pigeons. Redwings trickling in, with some oddities like Dartford Warbler and some forgettable Geese!
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— Joe Stockwell (@joestockwell.bsky.social) October 17, 2026 at 5:48 PM
