25th April
24th April
23rd April
22nd April
Low cloud at dawn after 'full moon' promised at #Portlandbirdobservatory but only 66 of 16 species ringed until 1300 hrs when mizzle came. Less. W & Whitethroat & Swallow with other migrants new for this year. Great to be back at PBO for the next two weeks,expectation too high. pic.twitter.com/Avwd4FwVKs
— Peter J Morgan (@PBOprof) April 22, 2024
Plus Sedge & Grasshopper Warbler with first Reed W of the year ringed. Many species in the hand again reminds me of migration pressures and survival. PBO now farms nearly 40 acres but have to protect key areas for flora & fauna, especially from horses New signs for enforcement!! pic.twitter.com/Qfbcj6JRVN
— Peter J Morgan (@PBOprof) April 22, 2024
21st April
Brilliant morning in Portland, Dorset. A few crowd pleasers around. pic.twitter.com/pMP1XADleq
— Joanne Thomas (@jobob2000) April 21, 2024
cuckoo and lesser whitethroat, heard only from the footpath E from the rn cem, tough place to bird, completely overgrown but probably the easiest spot on the island to hear a cuckoo. apart from that just a load of wheatear on the move pic.twitter.com/TIk8zH2WIw
— andy (@andy33082645) April 21, 2024
In between wading through a mini avalanche of Willow Warblers our interest from the Obs mist-nets today concerned female Redstarts. Every once in a while we catch really bright birds like this one that have a ghosting of a black throat - if you part the throat feathers there really is a lot of black underlying the paler tips...
20th April
in and out! whinchat at barleycarates n 1+ qinetiq. fieldfare reap lane. good no's wheatear 30+ barleycrates to the strips. male redstart culverwell, holly blue southwell. nice steady stream of swallows with sand martins interspersed. pic.twitter.com/mO5knVKDXB
— andy (@andy33082645) April 20, 2024
early purple orchid, never that early on portland! pic.twitter.com/mosInbSXgZ
— andy (@andy33082645) April 20, 2024
19th April
A resurgence in the northwest wind was unwelcome but that and a heavy cloud cover at dawn that came and went throughout the morning did the trick in knocking down a decent little flurry of grounded migrants today. There were few surprises, with 120 Willow Warblers, 75 Blackcaps, 35 Wheatears and 20 Chiffchaffs making up the bulk of the tally at the Bill, where 5 Redstarts, 2 Grasshopper Warblers, a Cuckoo and a Whinchat provided some nice variety; elsewhere, singles of Garden Warbler and Pied Flycatcher were an addition to the mix at Sweethill. Visible passage didn't really get going until the sky cleared towards midday but Swallows featured conspicuously thereafter and a lone Siskin was amongst the tag-alongs. There almost worthwhile reports from the sea and Ferrybridge couldn't chip in with much more than 2 Shelducks and 2 Whimbrel.IN FOCUS SOUTH WEST Optics day this Sunday 21st April @PortlandBirdObs @DorsetWildlife for more info call Keith 01225 891352 @opticronuk @SwarovskiOptik @VortexOpticsUK @ZEISSBirding Hawke and more pic.twitter.com/kLyq1UBIof
— IN FOCUS SOUTH WEST (@MortimerKe93304) April 17, 2024
18th April
With it way too clear overnight - and far less windy than during the last couple of days - migration no doubt picked up far overhead but there was no chance a big arrival of birds on the ground. The day's oddest events concerned Subalpine Warblers: the previously lingering bird at Wallsend was apparently reported once early in the morning but couldn't be found again despite plenty of searching; of potentially much more interest though, a second individual popped up briefly in front of one observer in the Obs garden before promptly vanishing into the ether. Among the thin spread of more routine arrivals uncovered at the Bill Willow Warblers were most numerous - managing a 30 tally - but more interest came in the form of 6 Lesser Whitethroats, the first Garden Warbler of the season and the lingering likely Icelandic Redwing; diurnal migrants featured in higher numbers and included a steady arrival of hirundines, 60 Wood Pigeons, 2 Jackdaws and a Merlin. What breeze there was remained offshore and consigned the sea to less than full coverage, with 3 Red-throated Divers and a lone Puffin the pick of the Bill sightings. The day's Ferrybridge totals included 11 Shelduck and 5 Whimbrel.
On an otherwise quiet day six Lesser Whitethroats was an excellent day-total at the Bill © Verity Hill:
Broad-bodied Chaser @PortlandBirdObs today. pic.twitter.com/9hXkV53ZuF
— Hazel Atashroo (@Hazelaa) April 18, 2024
17th April
16th April
15th April
In keeping with the pattern so far this spring no sooner had it looked like migration was gaining momentum than shoddy weather rolls in to bring things to a halt. Today it was a fierce gale that had blown up overnight that scuppered our chances by seemingly grounding most Portland-bound migrants well before they got to us. The Western Subalpine Warbler lingered at Wallsend for a second day to keep the travelling listers and photographers happy but new arrivals on the common migrant front looked to be very thinly spread even if the conditions were hardly conducive for getting amongst them; the pick of what was uncovered were a Little Ringed Plover at Reap Lane, a likely Icelandic Redwing at Southwell, an early Spotted Flycatcher at Culverwell and a Yellow-legged Gull in the East Cliff fields. For a while after dawn the sea was rewarding, with 5 Arctic Skuas, 4 Red-throated Divers and 3 Great Skuas through off the Bill, whilst Ferrybridge again chipped in with some through movement including 2 Canada Geese and a Great Northern Divers.
Any port will do in a storm and this Little Ringed Plover found a nice little bolt-hole on the receding flood water at the end of Reap Lane - who's going to be the one that jams a 30 second Citrine Wagtail on this pool in the next few weeks? © Martin Cade:
14th April
That moment when you're trying to get a snap of a Redstart & it gets photo-bombed by a Hoopoe @PortlandBirdObs pic.twitter.com/orKoEu206j
— dawn erskine (aka pistols) (@dawn_mission) April 14, 2024
13th April
12th April
male Pied Flycatcher in Easton Ladymead gardens pic.twitter.com/nEAcfyvOUY
— Mark (@EastonBirder) April 12, 2024
Portland this afternoon Pied Flycatchers my first this year pic.twitter.com/pBcn3VnSVH
— phil cheeseman (@philcheeseman4) April 12, 2024
the ladymead pied fly, thanks to @EastonBirder for the find and two of the male redstarts from this morning pic.twitter.com/LyHgyaqf8C
— andy (@andy33082645) April 12, 2024
reckon i saw about 60 wheatear this morning, glad to see the auks and shags had returned to their pitches and kicked the gulls out! pic.twitter.com/x7Rch7QVhO
— andy (@andy33082645) April 12, 2024
11th April
10th April
9th April
A 60mph westerly gale really isn't what's needed in mid-April and for the most part Storm Pierrick was an ill wind bird-wise. A Hooded Crow at Reforne was a surprise new arrival but interest otherwise consisted of just a Merlin and a handful of Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs on the ground at the Bill, an Arctic Skua through on the sea there and 170 Mediterranean Gulls, 81 Sandwich Terns, a Common Tern and a Little Tern through at Portland Harbour/Ferrybridge.
Amazingly, the Hooded Crow that pitched up in private gardens at Reforne is now the third scarcity this year that's only been witnessed by interested members of the public who've taken some mobile phone record-shots © Lisa Cousins (top two photos) and Jill Bramley (bottom photo):