The Short-eared Owl present on the 12th of February © Jodie Henderson
8th-15th February
Whilst yet more unsettled weather severely interrupted time spent out in the field, there was still the distinct impression that little change had occurred in the assembly of birds present. A Short-eared Owl on the 12th was a surprise find after a winter without a single record but otherwise it was mostly the current regulars, with up to 13 Purple Sandpipers and the Grey Heron present at the Bill, 11 Black-necked Grebes and the Black-throated Diver in the Harbour plus a total of 55 Brent Geese at Ferrybridge. Clear skies on the 12th saw the year's second Red Admiral on the wing, whilst recent days have seen a large pod of Common Dolphins lingering offshore.
31st January-7th February
A very unsettled period of weather for the beginning of February saw little in the way of new arrivals, with a single Yellowhammer on the 1st and a flyover White-tailed Eagle on the 7th the only oddities to report. Among the regular winterers, up to 11 Purple Sandpipers and 3 Turnstones were present at the Bill whilst the Grey Heron continued to frequent the observatory ponds. On the sea, Red-throated Diver numbers reached a maximum of 43 on the 2nd whilst 2 Shelduck past by on the 4th. Windier conditions at the end of January saw 12 Little Gulls present at the cove, with both the Red-necked Grebe and Black-throated Diver regularly seen in the harbour. Sunny intervals on the 4th saw the first Peacock butterfly on the wing whilst belated news of the first Hummingbird Hawkmoth came from the 22nd of last month.
Recent windy conditions have provided plenty of detritus for the local Ravens to begin their necessary nest building and repairs © Jodie Henderson
Whilst both the Black Redstart and Grey Wagtail remain at Church Ope Cove © Jodie Henderson
Pretty unsatisfactory views of this morning's White-tailed Eagle as it rounded the tip of the Bill, causing plenty of chaos among the local gulls © Jodie Henderson
29th-30th January
A steady couple of days, with a Red-necked Grebe in Portland Harbour, 5 Teal through off the Bill and a Redwing at the Obs (all on 29th) the best of the not-so-regulars. The Grey Heron and 10 Purple Sandpipers continued at the Bill, as did the Black Redstart at Reap Lane and the Black-throated Diver and a customary selection of other divers and grebes in Portland Harbour.
Routine fare included Red-throated Divers and Purple Sandpipers at the Bill, and the Portland Harbour Black-throated Diver...
...whilst five Teal through off the Bill were not so expected © Pete Saunders:
28th January
Nice sunny, quiet conditions were very welcome and allowed for plenty of coverage today. Little Gulls continued to provide interest, with 1 off the Bill and 2 in Portland Harbour. A Little Grebe was also a good record from the Harbour - formerly a familiar sight both there and at Ferrybridge, this species has lately become very infrequent at both. The day's other new arrivals were a Grey Heron at the Bill, where a second Reed Bunting joined the long-term winterer. Another 14 Red-throated Divers passed by off the Bill, where 9 passing Common Scoter was a higher total than of late.
It's always good to see a nice, close Black-throated Diver like this long-stayer in Portland Harbour © Phil Cheeseman:
birds had dispersed back in the harbour today, just a couple of GND off portland castle and maybe 3 off hamm beach and a BNG too, all distantly. main novelty was the first dabchick i have seen for a while at osprey quay
— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) January 28, 2026 at 4:01 PM
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26th-27th January
Some decent numbers again during the continuing stormy conditions, including Red-throated Diver totals off the Bill of 32 on 26th and 41 on 27th, and Great Northern Divers increasing to 15 in Portland Harbour on 27th. Other odds and ends of note included single Little Gulls off the Bill on both days.
The blasting southerly wind on 27th saw Great Northern Divers and Black-necked Grebes congregate in the relative shelter along the south side of Portland Harbour © Pete Saunders:
25th January
The calm after the storm revealed a few displaced Little Gulls today, with 3 lingering at Chesil Cove and another through off the Bill. The damp, dreary conditions weren't the best for extensive fieldwork, but other sightings from the day included 4 Great Northern and a Black-throated Diver in Portland Harbour and 2 Red-throated Divers through off the Bill.
Late news for yesterday, 24th: 40 Little Gulls passed through at Chesil Cove during the afternoon.
Always a treat after winter storms, these Little Gulls were showing nicely at Chesil Cove...
...where there was the infrequent sight of one of them being in second winter plumage © Martin Cade:
24th January
Wild weather but some rewarding birding today, with aggregations of 11 Great Northern Divers and 7 Great Crested Grebes in the sheltered waters along the south side of Portland Harbour. Six Common Scoters and a Red-throated Diver passed by off the Bill where 2 Purple Sandpipers and 3 Turnstones were on the clifftop near the Lobster Pot Cafe.
Some of the Great Northern Divers and Great Crested Grebes in Portland Harbour, and the Purple Sandpipers and Turnstones at the Bill © Pete Saunders:
13th-23rd January
Since we're getting concern for welfare messages from folk worried about our wellbeing in the light of there not being any updates here for so long, we'd like to assure everyone we're fine and just getting on with a hatful of admin and maintenance jobs - bird-wise, there's just been so little going on that it hasn't been worth posting an update. The only slightly out of the ordinary event was a movement of Redwings and Fieldfares between 14th and 19th that was presumed to involve returning birds that had been displaced by the cold weather over Christmas/New Year; relatively few were seen by day but the nocmig recorder at the Obs logged as many as 152 Redwing calls on the night of 17th/18th. The only addition to the year list has been a Cetti's Warbler at the Bill on 17th that we're guessing is most likely a winterer that had remained undetected for several weeks. Most of the other routine winterers have remained in situ, with the sea coming up with a Little Gull at Chesil Cove on 22nd and a peak total of 33 Red-throated Divers through off the Bill on 17th.
A chance encounter with one of the local Barn Owls on 16th © Verity Hill:
12th January
Besides a few of the regulars there was a nice little event during the afternoon when the year's first 3 Little Gulls joined the feeding Kittiwakes off the Bill.
Some of this afternoon's Little Gull action © Martin Cade:
The Purple Sandpipers remain a popular attraction at the Bill tip © Pete Saunders:
Red-breasted Mergansers Portland Harbour
— Debra Saunders (@debbyseamist.bsky.social) January 12, 2026 at 3:39 PM
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10th-11th January
A weekend of two halves: Saturday was the nicest day of the year to date with ample opportunities to get amongst a few of the wintering passerines that have been keeping their heads down in recent weeks; Sunday was a shocker as milder but very wet and windy conditions blew in. Singles of Snipe and Redwing at the Bill on 10th were the only left-over cold weather visitors reported. Winterers putting in appearances on 10th included a Reed Bunting at the Bill, 2 Firecrests at Broadcroft and 2 Little Egrets and singles of Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Goldcrest at Penn's Weare. Routine fare included 10 Purple Sandpipers at the Bill on 11th and 10 Red-throated Divers through on the sea there on 10th.
A few of the winterers uncovered on 10th - Reed Bunting at the Bill, 2 Firecrests at Broadcroft and Blackcap and 2 Little Egrets at Penn's Weare © Martin Cade:
7th-9th January
After a quiet couple of days when the only interest concerned singles of Golden Plover and Snipe at the Bill on 7th, the 9th saw a little more of note off the back of Storm Goretti, with 50 Redwings north over Osprey Quay, 2 more Redwings settled at Portland Castle, singles of Golden Plover, Woodcock and Fieldfare at the Bill and a lone Teal settled off the Bill.
Redwings weren't exactly numerous last autumn and have been all but non-existent so far this winter so more than 50 on 9th was particularly noteworthy © Pete Saunders:
The usual divers and grebes continue on in Portland Harbour - this Great Northern Diver was off Portland Castle on 9th © Pete Saunders:
3rd-6th January
A crisp but very birdable few days saw a few more cold weather refugees pitch up around the island. There were no particular surprises but Goosanders included a new drake at Ferrybridge on 4th and a group of 5 there on 6th. Daily Golden Plovers peaked at 9 at the Bill on 5th, with 1-3 of both Lapwing and Snipe also nearly daily; a Whimbrel at Ferrybridge on 4th was presumably the individual that's been wintering a little further up the Fleet.
Full blown drake Goosanders aren't at all frequent in these parts so the Ferrybridge bird on 4th was a treat © Pete Saunders:
A few of the Golden Plovers on 5th © Verity Hill:
Wader numbers have been on the up at Ferrybridge in the last few days - perhaps as a result of the shoreline being quite frozen in places further up the Fleet © Pete Saunders:
And a couple of recordings from the the nocmig recorder that we deployed at the Obs last night for the first time in several weeks. Having been quiet - and unseen - for several weeks, Barn Owls have suddenly got really noisy in the vicinity of the Obs - the recorder logged 142 calls between 11pm and dawn (...that's the Obs Quarry Little Owl calling away in the background, with another individual joining in for good measure):
Pre-dawn Golden Plover(s) passing overhead:
1st-2nd January 2026
The year's started as uneventfully as last year ended, with a fair selection of the winter regulars on offer but little in the way of significant newcomers. The Goosander has continued to drop in from time to time at Ferrybridge, where a Pale-bellied Brent Goose on 1st and 3 Grey Plovers and 2 Shelducks on the 2nd have also been of note. A Ringed Plover was new at the Bill on 2nd, the long-staying Red-legged Partridge put in an appearance there for the first time in many weeks and a few Red-throated Divers have continued to pass by offshore. Elsewhere, a Black Redstart was at Reap Lane on 1st and a customary selection of divers and grebes have been on offer in Portland Harbour.
The Pale-bellied Brent and Grey Plovers at Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders:
The Black Redstart at Reap Lane © Alan Mayell:
With not overmuch to entertain us at the Bill we couldn't resist some more wild geese in the run up to New Year and popped up to see the group of semi-local Bean Geese at Winterbourne Monkton - great birds and we still haven't lost hope for some turning up/flying over at the Bill! © Martin Cade:
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