7th August

A foggy start to the morning that looked like it had potential for a few new migrants. After only a few hours of fieldwork it there was evidently little happening. At the Bill there was 7 Willow Warbler, 10 sedge Warbler, 30 Sand Martin and a single Black Redstart. Highlights from the sea were 7 Balearic Shearwater, 16 Manx Shearwater, 28 Common Scoter and a single Mediterranean Gull. Waders at Ferrybridge included 7 Sanderling and 4 Redshank.

Green-veined Whites, Common Blues and Painted Lady - Bottomcombe and Portland Bill, 7th August 2016 © Ken Dolbear

Last night's moth interest was sufficiently minimal that we may as well dwell for a moment on some of last week's highlights. We're very grateful to Sean Foote who looked after the Obs moth-traps in our absence, whilst elsewhere Anthony persevered with trapping at Culverwell; it certainly wasn't a vintage week for immigrants but there were actually some really quite nice captures to show for their efforts. These days, we hesitate to trumpet some records as new for the island because we've got such a huge backlog of set specimens from recent years that some species might already have occurred but await identification/confirmation; that said, we don't have any previous published records of Heather Tortrix Argyrotaenia ljungiana (this one was caught by Sean at the Obs on 31st July; thanks to Glen Maddison for the photo):

...or of Maple Pug (this one was caught by Anthony at Culverwell on 1st August; photo MC):

Anthony's trapping at Culverwell has been quite a revelation: we have to admit to being rather sniffy about the merits of Heath traps over 'proper' mercury vapour traps but we clearly shouldn't be so scornful as the two traps that we've had kicking around for ages and hardly ever used have proved to be extremely effective when deployed at Culverwell. Quite apart from the pug, Anthony's captures there have included multiple Dingy Shears (indicating the species is likely to be established there having hitherto been considered to be just a vagrant) and this Olive a couple of nights ago (the fourth island record; photo MC):

6th August

A much warmer day at the bill today with a drop in the lingering westerly wind although we are still waiting for the birds to hot up. Highlights at the Bill today were 5 Wheatear, 40 Willow Warbler, 10 Sedge Warbler, 100 Swallow, 2 Swift, 52 Sand Martin, 5 House Martin, 3 Rook and singles of Redshank, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chiffchaff and Yellow Wagtail. Very little interest in the sea with the best being a single Arctic Skua, also 5 Mediterranean Gull, 3 Black-headed Gull and 9 Common Scoter. At Ferrybridge today there was 3 Wheatear, 2 Redshank, 12 Sanderling , 35 Ringed Plover, 25 Dunlin and singles of Whimbrel and Sandwich Tern.

The moth interest was well up in comparison to the last week although overall still pretty poor for the time of year. At the Bill was 2 of each Silver Y and Diamond-back Moth Whilst there were singles of Fen Wainscot, Gold Spot, Four-spotted Footman, Corn Borer, Dark Sword-grass.

Common Buzzard - 6th August 2016 © Pete Saunders

5th August

As so often happens in autumn, in terms of migrant numbers Portland was well and truly seen off by the mainland coast, some of which experienced a really good flurry of birds making the most of improving conditions; the Bill's totals of 75 Willow Warblers, 25 Sedge Warblers and 18 Sand Martins - together with singles of Dunlin, Redshank, Curlew, Yellow Wagtail and Chaffinch - were paltry in comparison even if they were very welcome after the recent hiatus. Additionally, an overflying Serin was an very unusual early autumn record there. Ferrybridge totals during the morning included 74 Ringed Plover, 66 Dunlin, 17 Common Terns and 6 Sanderling. Although it remained breezy sea interest dwindled, with just 9 Common Scoter, 2 Manx Shearwaters and a Great Skua through of the Bill.

Immigrant moth numbers didn't pick up at all, with just 1 Diamond-back Moth caught overnight at the Obs; nearby, an Olive - off hand, we can't remember the island total but it's less than 10 - was a nice reward from trapping at Culverwell.

Sanderling - Ferrybridge, 5th August 2016 © Pete Saunders

And we've got behind with Pete's Ferrybridge photos over the last couple of days; these two Shelducks were there yesterday (4th):

 ...and this Knot and the Little Tern flock were from the day before (3rd):

4th August

Plenty of attention on the sea today with the highlights being 4 European Storm Petrel, 2 Yellow-legged Gull, 150 Manx Shearwater, 4 Balearic Shearwater, 9 Common Tern, 3 Black-headed Gull, 3 Mediterranean Gull and 3 Common Scoter. Quiet on the land again with 10 Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 3 Sand Martin, 4 Rook and singles of Sedge Warbler, Stock Dove and Swift. Meanwhile at Ferrybridge today there was 77 Common Tern, 33 Little Tern, 3 Sandwich Tern, 10 Sanderling, 4 Shelduck, 342 Mediterranean Gull and a single Whimbrel.

3rd August

A westerly wind all day showed little potential for land migrants, hopefully the calming weather over the next few days might entice more birds to head south for the winter and hopefully pay a visit to our crop fields. The best bird of the day was a late evening Storm Petrel rather surprisingly this is the first of the year seen on a sea watch (We've trapped and ringed some during the summer.) Other birds on the sea included 37 Manx Shearwater, 7 Balearic Shearwater , 2 Common Scoter, 2 Mediterranean Gull and singles of Little Egret, Black-headed Gull and Sooty Shearwater. On the land were 13 Willow Warbler, 2 Sedge Warbler and 2 Chiffchaff. At Ferrybridge the Mediterranean Gull numbers are slowly building up with there being 260 birds now, also 7 Sandwich Tern, 54 Dunlin, 33 Ringed Plover, 3 Sanderling, 34 Little Tern and singles of Turnstone and Knot.

Migrant moths at the Obs included 2 Rusty Dot-Pearl, 2 Diamond-back Moth and one of each Silver Y and Dark Sword-grass.

2nd August

With wind and rain overnight that continued up to lunchtime there wasn't a great deal of coverage at the Bill today. The sea proved most interesting today with the best being a single Sooty Shearwater Other things of interest included 7 Common Scoter, 5 Whimbrel, 200 Manx Shearwater, 3 Balearic Shearwater, 2 Arctic Skua and singles of  Great Skua  and Yellow-legged Gull. Of note on the land was a single Sedge Warbler, 10 Willow Warbler and 9 Rook. At Ferrybridge this morning there was 65 Dunlin, 5 Whimbrel, 2 Turnstone, 25 Ringed Plover, 16 Common Tern and singles of Yellow-legged Gull, Sanderling and a windswept Kittiwake. This evening there were 16 Mediterranean Gulls Feeding close inshore.

A blanket of fog covering the higher island - Chesil Beach 2nd August 2016 © Anthony Bentley

And thanks to Pete and Debby Saunders for a selection of photos from Ferrybridge today; some
 Whimbrel and a Black-headed Gull from Debby:

...and another of the Whimbrels, a new ringed Mediterranean Gull and a Common Tern from Pete:

1st August

August started of poorly with the afternoon being a complete washout with strong winds and constant rain, although some coverage was managed in the morning. At the Bill there was 11 Willow Warbler, 6 Sedge Warbler, 7 Swift, 4 Little Egret and singles of Cuckoo, Grasshopper Warbler, and Reed Warbler. A strong early morning passage of Manx Shearwater leaving lime bay totalled 800 with just a single Balearic Shearwater with them. There was also 16 Common Scoter and 3 Mediterranean Gull.

With Strong winds overnight the traps at the Obs were much poorer the only immigrants being 14 Silver Y, 5 Diamond-back Moth, 3 Rusty Dot-pearl and singles of Four-spotted Footman, Cream-bordered Green Pea and Limnaecia phragmitella.

Peregrine - Ferrybridge, 1st August 2016 © Pete Saunders

...this bird has breakfasted on hapless Dunlin two days on the trot. Also from Pete's Ferrybridge visit, a coloured-ringed Sanderling - some details to follow later on this one:

...and a gull for the aficionados to chew over:

31st July

A warm day at the Bill with a turn in weather to come hopefully might shake things up a little and drop some more birds in. On the sea today was 200 Manx Shearwater, 2 Balearic Shearwater, 65 Common Scoter, 4 Shelduck, 2 Yellow-legged Gull, 3 Teal, 14 Mediterranean Gull  and a Great Skua. On the land at the Bill there was an increase of Willow Warbler's with 70 around, also 5 Sedge Warbler, 4 Rook, 2 Grey Heron, 8 Sand Martin and singles of Wheatear, Garden Warbler, Yellow Wagtail and Stock Dove. At Ferrybridge there was 170 Mediterranean Gull, 2 Sandwich Tern, 150 Dunlin, 23 Oystercatcher, 3 Sanderling and singles of Little Ringed Plover and Whimbrel.

On the moth front at the Bill the highlight was a Devonshire Wainscot. Other immigrants included 32 Silver Y, 12 Diamond-back Moth, 6 Dark Sword-grass, 2 Rusty Dot-pearl, 2 Buff Footman and singles of Oak Hook-tip and Jersey Tiger.

Whimbrel and Oystercatchers - Ferrybridge, 31st July 2016 © Pete Saunders

And thanks to Ken Dolbear for a photo from earlier in the week of mating Chalkhill Blues:

30th July

A near calm wind overnight and light shower in the early hours of the morning had some potential for a small fall of birds today and we weren't let down. At the Bill there was 50 Willow Warbler, 10 Sedge Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 5 Rook, 15 Oystercatcher, 2 Ringed Plover, 2 Dunlin and singles of Grasshopper Warbler, Siskin, Snipe and Stock Dove. In the afternoon Hirundines started to trickle through with 164 Swallow, 21 Sand Martin and 4 House Martin. Interest in the sea came in the form of 4 Balearic Shearwater, 2 Great Skua, 4 Yellow-legged Gulls, 400 Manx Shearwater, 60 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 2 Black-headed Gull and 34 Common Scoter. At Ferrybridge there was 211 Mediterranean Gulls, 42 Common Tern, 42 Ringed Plover, 134 Dunlin, 4 Sanderling and singles of Yellow-legged Gull, Black-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Turnstone and Sandwich Tern.

Immigrant moths at the Obs consisted of 6 Silver Y, 4 Rusty-dot Pearl, 5 Dark Sword Grass, 6 Diamond-back Moth and singles of  Jersey Tiger, Four-spotted Footman and  Buff Footman

Rook and Willow Warbler, Portland Bill, 30th July 2016 © Anthony Bentley

And thanks to Pete and Debby Saunders for a selection of photos of some of the action at Ferrybridge over the last couple of days; three from Pete:

...and two from Debby:

29th July

A strong westerly overnight that lingered around in the day is not what you'd call ideal conditions. Still there some birds around although not as many as in previous days. Around at the bill were 3 Balearic Shearwater, 17 Manx Shearwater, 6 Common Scoter, 9 Willow Warbler, 4 Sedge Warbler, 3 Swift and a Whimbrel. At Ferrybridge there was 130 Dunlin, 40 Ringed Plover, 5 Turnstone, 4 Sanderling, 120 Common Tern and a single Sandwich Tern.

28th July

Autumn migration feels like its starting to gather up a bit of momentum, with today being the best day for migration for some time. The highlight of today was a Cuckoo seen in top fields, elsewhere at the bill there were 14 Sedge Warbler, 12 Willow Warbler, 37 Swallow, 7 Sand Martin, 6  Swift, 11 Dunlin, 3 Common Sandpiper and singles of Grasshopper Warbler, Grey Wagtail, Wheatear, House Martin and Turnstone. A pretty standard affair on the sea with 250 Manx Shearwater, 10 Common Scoter And singles of Great Skua, Yellow-legged Gull and Black-headed Gull. Meanwhile at Ferrybridge wader numbers continue to increase with 110 Dunlin, 25 Ringed Plover, 3 Sanderling and a lonesome Redshank; a single Arctic Tern was also dropped in there.

A rather pitiful selection of immigrant moths at the Obs amounted to no more than 3 Silver Y, a Rusty-dot Pearl and a Dark Sword Grass; elsewhere, the island's second Leopard Moth was the pick of the catch at the Grove.

Little Tern, Leopard Moth and Beech-green Carpet - Ferrybridge and the Grove, 28th July 2016 © Pete Saunders (Little Tern) and Martin Cade (the moths)

...assuming Leopard Moth isn't a hitherto undetected resident somewhere off the beaten track - the only other Portland record is from Ferrybridge so today's specimen is the first recorded from the 'island' itself - this battered individual certainly pulled out all the stops and rubbed itself bare of most scales to get here.

Beech-green Carpet is one of the odder island inhabitants: a predominantly northern species, Portland remains its only Dorset site; although quite common in places on the undercliffs and quarried edges of the island we have yet to record the species in umpteen years of trapping at the Obs and today's specimen is the first from nearly four years of trapping at the Grove.

27th July

A windy start to the day had several hundred Gannets of all ages off the Bill. Also on the sea were 200 Manx Shearwater, 18 Common Scoter and singles of Balearic Shearwater, Great Skua, Artic Skua, Mediterranean and Black-headed Gull. Highlights on the land were 7 of each Sedge and Willow Warbler also the First Garden Warbler of the Autumn. At Ferrybridge there were 69 Dunlin and 3 Sanderling.

26th July

The highlight of the day was a Short-eared Owl at the Bill. On the sea were 63 Manx Shearwater, 3 Mediterranean Gulls and a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull. There was a little more action on the land today with 9 Sedge Warblers, 7 Willow Warblers, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Collard Dove  and singles of Blackcap and Common Sandpiper. Waders at Ferrybridge included 66 Dunlin and 4 Sanderling.

Immigrant moth interest at the Obs consisted of just 19 Diamond-back Moth, 3 each of Rusty-dot Pearl and Silver Y, and a single European Corn-borer; oddities from other sites included a Vestal at the Grove.

25th July

Manx Shearwaters seem to be spending most of the day feeding off the bill with 400 seen in an hour this evening. Other interest in the sea was 26 Mediterranean Gulls, 7 Black-headed Gull, 1 Yellow-legged Gull and a Balearic Shearwater. Very little on the land with 5 Sedge Warbler, 2 Stock Dove singles of Yellow wagtail and Reed Warbler. Elsewhere on the island there were 5 Sanderling, 6 Dunlin, 23 Ringed Plover and a Turnstone at Ferrybridge. In Southwell Gardens there was also the first autumn Pied Flycatcher.

On a fresher night moth numbers fell away a little although there were a few morsels of local interest, most notably a Dingy Shears at Culverwell and a Satin Beauty at Reap Lane and (the fourth and fifth island records respectively).Immigrant numbers included 28 Diamond-back Moth, 5 Silver Y, 4 Rusty-dot Pearl, 2 European Corn-borer and singles of Dog's Tooth and Cream-bordered Green Pea at the Obs; additionally, a single Vagrant Piercer was found indoors at the Obs.

Vagrant Piercer, Dingy Shears and Satin Beauty - Portland Bill and Reap Lane, 25th July 2016 © Martin Cade

...many thanks to Anthony Bentley and John Lucas for passing us the Dingy Shears and Satin Beauty respectively.

24th July

Just a quick update to give some blog credit where it's due: we're very pleased to have fobbed off (...it's not quite like that but we're going to be away on family holiday before long so somebody's got to do it!) some of the blog updates on our assistant warden, Anthony Bentley; Anthony has taken over most of the bird updates for the time being which won't go amiss as hopefully it'll give another perspective on happenings around the island. Whilst on the subject of news from the Obs we also keep getting suggestions that we ought to have a PBO Facebook page; we're not too bothered either way but we'd welcome further comments - for or against - from Obs members and others.

Whilst the consistent sunny weather was nice today normal British weather resumed with fog, drizzle, sun, wind and rain. At the Bill were 2 Sedge Warbler and singles of  Reed Warbler and Rook. The sea continued to engage much attention with Seawatcher's from the Bill seeing the more interesting seabirds including 3 Balearic Shearwaters, a Sooty Shearwater. c100 Manx Shearwater, 4 Yellow-legged Gulls, 60 Lesser Black-backed Gull, a Mediterranean Gull, 13 Common Scoter and singles of Great and Arctic Skua. At Ferrybridge there were 46 Dunlin, 100+  Mediterranean Gulls and a Yellow-legged Gull.

On a muggier night immigrant moth numbers increased a little, with 28 Diamond-back Moth, 15 Silver Y, 7 Rusty-dot Pearl, 4 Four-spotted Footman, 3 European Corn-borer and singles of Maiden's Blush, Vestal and Red Admiral butterfly caught in the Obs moth-traps.

Yellow-legged Gull and Herring Gull - Ferrybridge, 24th July 2016 © Martin Cade

23rd July

With fisherman off the Bill reporting a large increase in whitebait it was no surprise that more seabirds turned up today. Offshore were 2 Balearic Shearwater, c200 Manx Shearwater, c500 mixed gulls, 2 Sandwich Tern and a Skua sp. On the land were 4 Sedge Warblers, 3 Rooks and 2 Common Sandpiper.

The overnight moth catch took quite a hit after fog had rolled in during the early hours. Sample immigrant totals included 20 Diamond-back Moth, 5 Silver Y, 4 Rusty-dot Pearl, 3 European Corn-borer and singles of Bulrush Cosmet Limnaecia phragmitella, Vagrant Piercer, Four-spotted Footman, Dark Sword Grass and Cream-bordered Green Pea from the Obs traps, whilst another Vagrant Piercer was caught at the Grove.

22nd July

Migration momentum was barely maintained today with nothing much more than 50 Sand Martins, 3 Yellow-legged Gulls, 2 Common Sandpiper and singles of Dunlin, Redshank, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Yellow Wagtail, Reed Warbler and Blackcap on the ground or overhead at the Bill. A Balearic Shearwater was a welcome sight offshore there in a summer that's thus far pretty well drawn a blank for them; 10 Black-headed Gulls, 8 Common Scoter, 6 Manx Shearwaters and 6 Mediterranean Gulls also passed through on the sea, whilst another 76 Mediterranean Gulls were at Ferrybridge.

On the moth front there was a nice highlight in the form of Portland's first Marbled Grass-veneer Catoptria verellus caught overnight at the Grove. Variety by way of immigrants/strays elsewhere included 44 Diamond-back Moth, 7 Silver Y, 2 Cream-bordered Green Pea and singles of Rusty-dot Pearl, Buff Footman, Fen Wainscot, Dark Spectacle and Gold Spot at the Obs.

Marbled Grass-veneer - The Grove, 22nd July 2016 © Martin Cade

21st July

Today's most noteworthy event was a significant arrival of large gulls off the Bill - presumably attracted by shoaling fish although there wasn't actually a lot of evidence of them feeding whilst they were within sight of land; numbers were hard to get a full handle on but there were a minimum of 70 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 10 Yellow-legged Gulls, 7 Black-headed Gulls and 5 Mediterranean Gulls amongst many hundreds of Herring Gulls.  Migration-wise there was precious little change at the Bill: another 50 Sand Martins, 35 Swifts and a Dunlin passed through, singles of Reed Warbler and Sedge Warbler were new on the ground and 6 Common Scoter and 3 Manx Shearwaters headed by on the sea. Ferrybridge came up with totals of 55 Dunlin, 30 Mediterranean Gulls and singles of Black-tailed Godwit and Yellow-legged Gull.

Moth interest was much reduced, with 53 Diamond-back Moth, 7 Silver Y, 2 each of Marbled Piercer, Buff Footman and Cream-bordered Green Pea, and singles of Rusty-dot Pearl and Dark Sword Grass at the Obs.

Black-tailed Godwit, Chalkhill Blue, Gatekeepers and Small Coppers - Ferrybridge and High Angle Battery, 21st July 2016 © Pete Saunders (Blackwit) and Ken Dolbear (the butterflies)

20th July

 

A reminder that there's an In Focus field event at the Obs between 10am and 4pm this Saturday, 23rd July.

Passerine passage picked up today with 29 Swift, 30 Swallow, 8 Sand Martin, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Rooks and singles of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler and a Reed Bunting. The latter being the first ever July record for the Bill. On the sea were 3 Yellow-legged Gulls, 18 Mediterranean Gulls, 5 Black-headed Gulls, 20 Common Scoter,14 Manx Shearwater and singles of Whimbrel and Dunlin.

After yesterday's heat much had been expected of overnight moth-trapping, even if the strength of the wind remained an issue. In the event conventional immigrants remained poorly represented but a good variety of infrequently recorded species of likely Continental origin put in appearances at all the trap sites; these included 15 Marbled Piercer Cydia splendana, 5 Cream-bordered Green Pea, 3 Slender Brindle and singles of Vagrant Piercer Cydia amplana, Dark Pine Knot-horn Dioryctria abietella, Maiden's Blush, Dark Spinach, Buff Footman, Oak Nycteoline and a Green-veined White butterfly at the Obs, a Fen Wainscot at Sweethill, a Dingy Shell at Reap Lane and singles of Common Groundling Teleiodes vulgella, Warted Knot-horn Conobathra repandana and White Satin at the Grove. Sample immigrant totals included 36 Diamond-back Moth, 4 Silver Y, 3 Rusty-dot Pearl, 2 European Corn-borer and a Rush Veneer at the Obs.

Warted Knot-horn, Dark Spinach and Dingy Shell - The Grove, Portland Bill and Reap Lane, 20th July 2016 © Martin Cade

19th July

A refreshing easterly wind kept the high temperatures away making fieldwork more bearable. Again the sea created most interest with 2 Yellow-legged Gulls, 12 Common Scoter, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, 6 Black-headed Gulls, 2 Dunlin a Whimbrel and a Manx Shearwater. On the land 4 of each Sand Martin and Swift went through, a Great Spotted Woodpecker remained and a Common Sandpiper was new at the Bill. Elsewhere 2 Yellow-legged Gulls were at Ferrybridge.

Despite the high temperature overnight mothing was spoilt by a combination of the full moon and a brisk easterly, with 34 Diamond-back Moth, 2 Silver Y and a Rusty-dot Pearl the only immigrants caught at the Obs.