Although the breeze remained firmly in the east it was perhaps a wee bit too clear and sunny again today (and there was a lot less coverage than at the weekend) and quality was notably lacking: the Yellow-browed Warbler tally dropped to just 5 (2 at the Obs and 3 at the Craft Centre) and only 3 Ring Ouzels were reported. There were few surprises amongst the day's routine migrants, with 75 Chiffchaffs, 40 Blackcaps, 25 Stonechats and 15 Goldcrests grounded at the Bill and the autumn's first Brambling showing up amongst the steady flow of hirundines, alba wagtails, Meadow Pipits, thrushes and finches overhead there; the first Starling movement of the autumn saw 320 heading north over Backnor. A chilly, moonlit night saw immigrant moth numbers take a tumble, with just 14 Rush Veneer, 7 Rusty-dot Pearl, 5 Delicate, 3 Dark Sword Grass, 2 Scarce Bordered Straw and singles of Diamond-back Moth, Pearly Underwing and Silver Y trapped at the Obs.
Lots about again today on a lovely bright, sunny day that lent itself to widespread coverage. Although a brief end of the afternoon Subalpine Warbler south of Inmosthay Quarry stole the show rarity-wise, the day's feature birds were Ring Ouzels and Yellow-browed Warblers that returned all-island minimum totals of 26 and 15 respectively; a candidate Siberian Lesser Whitethroat at the Obs and 2 Bearded Tits roaming about at the Bill were nice island oddities, whilst the likes of a passing Woodlark at Blacknor, 2 Mistle Thrushes around the centre of the island, 5 Short-eared Owls at the Bill and a thin scatter of Firecrests all added interest to the mix. Chiffchaffs dominated on the ground, with maybe 100 through at the Bill and plenty more elsewhere, whilst late-ish migrants included 2 Reed Warblers and singles of Tree Pipit, Redstart, Willow Warbler and SpottedFlycatcher at the Bill/Southwell.
Immigrant moth numbers remained steady, with 131 Rush Veneer, 33 Rusty-dot Pearl, 8 Silver Y, 7 Diamond-back Moth, 4 Delicate, 2 Pearly Underwing and a Red Admiral butterfly trapped overnight at the Obs; elsewhere, a Barred Sallow was a good island oddity at the Grove.
To be perfectly honest, we haven't got a clue how to pigeon hole the Lesser Whitethroat: given the date and weather conditions - and to some extent the bird's plumage - we'd guess at it being a Siberian LWT but we've seen better tail patterns than this before:
A nice lot to get amongst today even if the main rarity - the Blyth's Reed Warbler from a couple of days ago that was retrapped at the Obs after being missed yesterday - proved to be an 'in-hand only' bird. Yesterday's Common Rosefinch was also seen fleetingly at Coombefield, the likely Siberian Lesser Whitethroat showed up again at the Craft Centre and single Yellow-browed Warblers were at three sites around the centre and south of the island; less frequent migrants included an all-island total of around 30 Ring Ouzels (including 16 at West Weare) and at least 6 Short-eared Owls at the Bill. Common migrant-wise it was perhaps a tad disappointing, with less in the way of numbers than the overcast skies and frequent hints of damp in the air might have come up with; noteworthy totals from the Bill area included 100 Chiffchaffs, 80 Skylarks, 75 Blackbirds, 36 Stonechats, 30 Robins and 25 Blackcaps on the ground and 500 Linnets, 200 alba wagtails, 100 Chaffinches, 94 Wood Pigeons and 50 Starlings through overhead.
Immigrant moth totals continued to creep up, with 122 Rush Veneer, 29 Rusty-dot Pearl, 15 Silver Y, 6 Diamond-back Moth, 3 Delicate and singles of Pearly Underwing, Merveille du Jour, Scarce Bordered Straw and Red Admiral butterfly trapped overnight at the Obs.
Onthe moth front this Merveille du Jour at the Obs was the night's highlight - this is a far rarer visitor to the island than, for example, Radford's Flame Shoulder:
A better day for routine passage today under heavy cloud cover and occasional pulses of light drizzle. Scarcity-wise, the best that could be mustered were a Common Rosefinch at Coombefield Quarry and a couple of Yellow-browed Warblers in the Avalanche Road/Craft Centre area; Ring Ouzels staged a bit of an arrival with maybe as many as 20 around the centre and south of the island, whilst 4 Short-eared Owls were at the Bill. Commoner migrants trickled through all day, with Chiffchaffs totalling perhaps 150 at the Bill, where other notable counts included 100 Blackbirds, 70 Song Thrushes and 32 Stonechats; Blackcaps were conspicuous around the centre of the island, where counts included 28 at Coombefield/Avalanche. Despite the seemingly unsuitable brisk north-easterlies immigrant moth numbers surged at the Obs, where 123 Rush Veneer, 16 Rusty-dot Pearl, 13 Diamond-back Moth, 11 Silver Y, 3 Scarce Bordered Straw, 2 Delicate and singles of Convolvulus Hawk-moth and Red Admiral butterfly were trapped overnight.
It's fascinating and frustrating in equal measures to discover just how much passes over the island at night without stopping and Nick Hopper has provided us with yet more evidence from earlier this week. Monday (3rd) was the quietest day of the week for grounded migrants, but Nick's recording gear had been deployed overnight and his migrant totals were 607 Song Thrush calls (only 18 before midnight, but a big push between 1.00 - 2.30 am when most calls were logged), 162 Redwing calls, 6 Goldcrests, 3 flocks of Dunlin, 3 Robins, 3 Ring Ouzels, 2 Meadow Pipits, 1 flock and a presumed single Wigeon and singles of Grey Heron, Skylark and Blackbird.
And finally, one of today's Ring Ouzels, this one trapped and ringed at the Obs:
Today'srarity left it late to surface but was welcome nonetheless: the island's sixth Blyth's Reed Warbler popped up in a mist-net at the Obs late in the afternoon and showed from time to time after release in the Obs Quarry. The day's birding action had otherwise been something of an anticlimax, with plenty of routine fare overhead but not over much on the ground and little else in the oddity line beyond a putative Siberian Lesser Whitethroat at the Craft Centre and single Yellow-browed Warblers at Verne Common and the Bill. Visible passage was again very poorly quantified but involved a strong and prolonged movement of Meadow Pipits, hirundines and Linnets, amongst which variety included 5 Snipe, 2 each of Merlin, Lapwing and Short-eared Owl, and a single Golden Plover over the Bill and a Ring Ouzel over Blacknor. On the ground, thrushes and Robins featured in slightly better numbers than of late but Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests were all far less conspicuous than might have been expected; 4 Firecrests at Pennsylvania Castle were worth a mention but there were few if any other less regulars anywhere. The rather astonishing recent run of Radford's Flame Shoulders continued with another single caught overnight at the Obs; 24 Rush Veneer, 6 Rusty-dot Pearl, 5 Silver Y and 2 each of Diamond-back Moth and Delicate made up the rest of the immigrant moth tally there.
Blyth's Reed Warbler ID has moved on since the times when we struggled with the first two island records and it was nice to be able to take one quick look at it and know what it was without recourse to wing formula and biometrics - that said, all the latter were spot on when checked which is always reassuring! The one really tricky thing was finding the right way to photograph it to correctly capture the subtle plumage tones - these images show the pallid uniformity quite well but to our eyes perhaps only the folded wing photo captures the distinctive pale rufous edges to the flight feathers and greater coverts in the correct way.
And we're still being greedy with Radford's Flame Shoulders - this morning's was the fifth at the Obs in a week:
The most trying of days, with a blasting easterly making birding out in the open hard work and blowing out nearly all the areas of cover, quite apart from ensuring that the decent birds that did appear were devilishly difficult to get to grips with. There was certainly some quality out there, with a Subalpine Warbler and a Little Bunting making brief stops high on the West Cliffs at the Bill and single Yellow-browed Warblers dropping in at West Weare and the Obs. Visible passage was heavy but poorly covered, with hirundines in particular very well represented; 2 Hobbys and a Golden Plover were among the less regulars over the Bill. In contrast - although conditions were far from ideal for searching - it looked as though grounded arrivals weren't at all numerous; a Yellow-legged Gull at the Bill and a Ring Ouzel at Suckthumb Quarry were among the oddities on the ground. The sea came up with 2 Teal and singles of Great Northern Diver, Brent Goose and Pintail through off the Bill. Despite the atrocious conditions there was a conspicuous increase in immigrant moth numbers, with 36 Rush Veneers, 9 Rusty-dot Pearl, 5 Diamond-back Moth, 4 Silver Y, 2 Delicates and a single Convolvulus Hawk-moth trapped overnight at the Obs.
Since no call was heard today and Joe's two photographs impart rather different colour tones to the underparts we'll have to hope that the bird turns up again for the ID to be taken any further.
Birding was very hard work today in a howling easterly - conditions that afford little or no shelter anywhere on the island. In the event it was fortunate that morsels of interest did crop up, even if some were at the clutching at straws level rather than decent, easy rares. Given the conditions it was quite unexpected when 2 CommonCranes that had shown up over Weymouth yesterday made an attempt at a Channel crossing and strayed all the way out to the Bill before turning tail and heading back to the mainland; the day's other rarity interest came in the form of a putative Baltic Gull grounded briefly at the Bill and a presumed Siberian Chiffchaff that popped up in a net at the Obs. In the absence of much on the ground, migrant interest consisted largely of visible passage over the Bill: hirundines were numerous for the best part of the day, whilst the likes of 2 Lapwings, 2 Redwings and singles of Merlin, Hobby, Snipe and Short-eared Owl were of interest along with the alba wagtails and Meadow Pipits that made up the rest of the numbers overhead. Odds and ends of note on the ground included 2 Reed Warblers at the Bill and a Firecrest at Pennsylvania Castle. Some limited sea passage included 15 Common Scoter, 12 Wigeon, 6 Brent Geese and singles of Sooty Shearwater and Teal through off the Bill. There's been some evidence of Red Admiral emigration in recent days, with a sample count today coming up with 22 heading south in 20 minutes at the Bill. Immigrant moth interest dwindled, with the strength of the wind restricting the overnight catch at the Obs to just single figure totals of a few routine species.
Common Cranes in full flight are always a dramatic sight and today's duo didn't disappoint: having had a tip-off that they were on their way our first views of them were as they motored along at cliff-top height off Reap Lane:
And finally, what more is there to say about silent potential Siberian Chiffchaffs than we've said already: the gist of it seems to be that if it looks like one in the hand/field then the DNA later shows it was one (we've had none where that rule of thumb hasn't proved to be the case) so we're guessing that today's bird was OK:
Very often the best laid plans don't reach fruition and today's anticipation of some quality on the back of the arrival of freshening easterlies proved to be well wide of the mark. Visible passage continued apace, with a strong movement of House Martins in particular over the north of the island and another 1500 Meadow Pipits and 400 alba wagtails over the Bill; however, on the ground yesterday's numbers weren't sustained, with 140 Skylarks, 40 Chiffchaffs and 22 Stonechats the only worthwhile totals amongst the varied selection at the Bill. Minor quality came in the form of a Wryneck at Avalanche Road (perhaps the individual last reported from there a week or more ago?), a Ring Ouzel at Southwell and singles of Green Sandpiper and Ring Ouzel at the Bill. A little bit of sea passage included 5 Arctic Skuas and 2 Great Skuas through off the Bill, whilst 7 Common Gulls were new in at Ferrybridge. Despite it dropping pretty chilly overnight there was a slight improvement in immigrant moth numbers, amongst which yet another Radford's Flame Shoulder was a notable highlight at the Obs; 21 Rush Veneer, 4 Rusty-dot Pearl, 2 each of Pearly Underwing and Delicate, and singles of Diamond-back Moth, White-speck and Silver Y made up the rest of the tally there.
Notbefore time there was a really good push of migrants making the most of clear skies both overnight and through the day. The Bill area got the lion's share of the coverage and returned totals that included 1500 Meadow Pipits, 100 Chiffchaffs, 80 Skylarks, 45 Wheatears, 40 each of Stonechat and Blackcap, and 25 Dunnocks on the ground and 1000 Swallows, 300 alba wagtails, 25 Chaffinches and 21 Siskins overhead, with the back-up cast including lower numbers of most of the other expected early October migrants. The long-staying Wryneck remained at the Obs Quarry but decent rarities remained stubbornly absent. On a rather cool night it was a surprise to catch another Radford's Flame Shoulder at the Obs; 4 Rush Veneers, 3 Pearly Underwings, 2 Silver Y and a single Rusty-dot Pearl were the only other immigrant moths caught there.
Radford's Flame Shoulders are coming along a bit like buses at the moment - this one's the third in five nights at the Obs:
And also on the lepidoptera front, thanks to Ken Dolbear for a couple of photos from his garden at Easton today - Hummingbird Hawk-moth and Peacock (the latter seem to be really conspicuous at the moment, with much higher than usual numbers wherever we've been on the island in recent days):
The arrival of a new month wasn't marked by any upturn in the quality of the birding - if anything the arrival of noticeably cooler air saw interest dwindle still further. The Wryneck continued to linger on at the Obs Quarry but the evidence from the Obs garden mist-nets that produced just one summer migrant - a Blackcap - all day was a more than adequate reflection on the dearth of new arrivals everywhere. Wheatears just about topped 25 at the Bill where a Firecrest was the only other migrant on the ground worth a mention. The increasingly blustery westerly ensured the sea was well-watched but the 7 Common Scoter, 2 Common Terns and singles of Brent Goose, Whimbrel, Arctic Skua and Sandwich Tern (+ singles of Sooty Shearwater and Manx Shearwater reported by visitors) making up the tally at the Bill were hardly an impressive reward. Immigrant moth numbers improved a little, with singles of Vestal, Delicate, White-speck and Scarce Bordered Straw of note amongst small numbers of common species at the Obs.
A post-dawn shower was a very brief blip in otherwise clear, sunny skies that were again busy with visible passage: a 50 minute sample count of 450 Meadow Pipits, 380 Goldfinches, 160 Linnets and 90 Swallows through at the Bill was representative of a strong movement that continued for several hours there. Grounded arrivals were still very much the poor relation, with 30 Wheatears and 15 Chiffchaffs making up the bulk of what little there was by way of numbers at the Bill; the ever-present Wryneck, together with singles of Merlin, Turtle Dove and Firecrest provided the only quality there. Portland Harbour came up with an unlikely seawatch highlight in the form of a Sabine's Gull heading though rapidly during the morning; a lone Pomarine Skua was the best on offer at the Bill. Immigrant moth interest dropped right away on a windy night, with 13 Rush Veneers and a single Silver Y the only captures at the Obs.
Although conditions were far from ideal, with a murky night giving way to drizzly rain for a while after dawn, there were still remarkably few migrants about. Visible passage did get going to an extent, with Swallows, Meadow Pipits and a variety of finches - together with an attendant Merlin - departing in some quantity even in the rain, but numbers on the ground were pitiful for late September; both the Wryneck and Rosy Starling lingered on, as did a Firecrest at the Obs, but Wheatear was the only summer migrant that managed a double figure total at the Bill. At Ferrybridge the Dark-bellied Brent Goose total topped three figures for the first time this autumn but there was little change in wader numbers. The strength of the wind spoilt overnight mothing, with immigrant numbers at the Obs dropping back to 18 Rush Veneer, 10 Rusty-dot Pearl and singles of Hummingbird Hawk-moth, Convolvulus Hawk-moth, Dark Sword Grass, Pearly Underwing, Delicate, Clancy's Rustic and Silver Y.
A huge improvement in the weather saw mainly sunny skies filled with Meadow Pipits and Swallows on the move but it remained disappointingly quiet on the ground. Both Meadow Pipit and Swallow topped four figure totals per hour at the Bill for a while during the morning, with the likes of Pied Wagtails, Linnets and Goldfinches also beginning to register decent totals overhead where singles of Merlin and Golden Plover added further variety. By contrast, the situation on the ground hardly changed: the Obs Quarry Wryneck and Haylands Rosy Starling attracted plenty of attention but new arrivals were startlingly few and far between and included nothing in any way untoward.
In promisingly warm albeit still breezy conditions overnight mothing was quite rewarding, particularly at the Obs, where 2 Radford's Flame Shoulders were a very unexpected highlight; 56 Rush Veneers, 6 Rusty-dot Pearl, 5 Convolvulus Hawk-moths, 2 Silver Y and singles of Hummingbird Hawk-moth, Pearly Underwing and Delicate made up the rest of the immigrant tally there.
We can't imagine there's a more popular or more showy Wryneck about in Britain at the moment than the Obs Quarry bird; in contrast, the Rosy Starling can be more tricky to catch up with - although that's as much because it seems to spend three quarters of its day lurking under a solar panel:
On the mothing front there was a real surprise in the form of the overnight capture of two Radford's Flame Shoulders at the Obs. These were a very welcome sight after our crass mistake in attempting to string one out of a late Flame Shoulder last autumn - we should of course have done much better in that case since, although there are still only 35 or so British records of Radford's, we'd been fortunate enough to catch three in the past! The oddest thing about last night's occurrence is how early they are: the previous Portland records - also all at the Obs - were on 12th November (twice) and 1st December.
Heavily overcast skies and a spell of light rain around dawn looked to have halted passage instead of dropped new arrivals and it was again very quiet everywhere today. The Obs Quarry Wryneck continued to draw in a steady stream of watchers and the Haylands Rosy Starling was reported from time to time but, save for an arrival of several new Dunnocks at the Bill and an increase in Dark-bellied Brent Geese at Ferrybridge, one of yesterday's Firecrests lingering on at the Obs was about as good as it got for other migrants. Despite the temperature creeping up it was too windy overnight to have expected much reward from the moth-traps and the immigrant totals at the Obs consisted of just 22 Rush Veneer, 10 Rusty-dot Pearl, 2 Silver Y and singles of Convolvulus Hawk-moth, Dark Sword Grass and Pearly Underwing.
Thanks to the efforts of Tim Ridgers-Steer and his friends who were trying their hand at some ringing away from the Obs we got to have a close look at this very nice juvenile Common Sandpiper today (it was caught during attempts to catch Rock Pipits along East Cliffs); probably not surprisingly, this is only the seventh Common Sand ever ringed by PBO:
Not a very memorable day, with rain spoiling the best part of the morning and seemingly not much in the way of new arrivals in evidence during what dry spells there were. The Wryneck was still about at the Obs Quarry and 2 Firecrests were certainly new arrivals at the Obs, but there was no more than the thinnest scatter of routine migrants anywhere. Lingering waders included the Knot at the Bill and 22 Bar-tailed Godwits and a Grey Plover at Ferrybridge.
The immigrant moth tally wasn't too bad considering the strength of the wind, with 47 Rush Veneer, 9 Rusty-dot Pearl, 5 Diamond-back Moth, 2 Dark Sword Grass and singles of Waste Grass-veneerPediasia contaminella, Convolvulus Hawk-moth, Delicate, White-speck and Silver Y trapped overnight at the Obs.
The moth-traps have been turning up a few oddball, out of season species just recently, with a Waste Grass-veneer - a far as we can see, the latest island record of this scarce immigrant - an unexpected capture at the Obs:
Kent Black Arches is another mid-summer species that seems to be increasingly often churning out a small second brood at this time of year - this one was also caught overnight at the Obs:
Also on the moth front, our Death's-head Hawk-moth (from the caterpillar found at Culverwell on 16th August) finally emerged over the weekend:
