20th April

That's more like it. As has so often happened in the past, migrants moving in a clearish sky but into a brisk and chilly northeasterly dropped in some quantity on reaching the coast, with the Bill the focus of an arrival of c400 Willow Warblers. The feeling is that spring here's running a week to ten days later than the recent average so variety wasn't as good as might have been expected as we enter the final third of April: Wheatear, Chiffchaff and Blackcap all managed 50ish totals at the Bill, where the back-up cast of 4 each of Tree Pipit and Redstart, 2 Pied Flycatchers and singles of Yellow Wagtail, Whinchat and Garden Warbler (the latter the first of the spring) was really pretty paltry; a few more of the same elsewhere, together with 2 Jays and a Ring Ouzel at King Barrow and the first small arrival of Dunlin at Ferrybridge, did however make for easily the most productive land birding of the spring to date. Overhead passage was either disappointingly weak in comparison with the riches on the ground or, perhaps, largely overlooked: hirundines and finches - the latter including a couple of Siskins - were certainly dribbling through but the numbers reported were far below what might have been hoped. Given the conditions nothing was expected of the sea and a lone Great Northern Diver and a handful of Manx Shearwaters and Common Scoter were all that was logged from watches at the Bill.

A nice male Bar-tailed Godwit amongst the slightly improved wader numbers at Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders:

Ageing Pied Flycatchers in spring is always something you have to be a bit cautious with since they're one of a limited tranche of passerines that have a pre-breeding season moult that can create contrasts in several plumage tracts that can easily be mistaken for similar contrasts introduced by post-juvenile moult - for the non-ringers amongst our viewers: put simply, adults usually moult their whole plumage after the breeding season so their feathers are of uniform age, whereas most youngsters moult only some of their plumage so have a mixture of young and adult-like feathers; a limited range of passerines - like Pied Flycatcher - sneak in another partial moult before the breeding season and because both adults and first-summer birds do this both age classes might have a mish-mash of old and new feathers at this time of year.

Our two Pied Flycatchers today were thankfully pretty straightforward and both were youngsters born last summer. Females are trickier than males because their plumage is that bit drabber but, even on the closed wing, you can just about make out the old brown-edged, juvenile outer greater coverts...


...more telling though was the tail: few if any of the tail feathers are renewed in the pre-breeding moult so the normal pattern for a youngster would include quite well-worn and faded outer feathers like we can see on the left side of our bird's tail; however, the outer feather on the right side is very fresh and adult-like with a conspicuous broad white rim - we're guessing this feather had been accidently lost during the winter and replaced with one with an adult-like pattern.


The male was easier to age as a youngster: quite apart from being conspicuously plastered with grey-brown plumage above...


...and having a very heavily worn tail...


...absolutely diagnostically, the faded outer greater coverts had conspicuous pale tips - had these have been adult feathers they may well (since they'd already be six or more months old) have looked a paler black than the new glossy inner feathers but they'd have only had, at the most, very inconspicuous pale rims. Also visible on the open wing is a single renewed innermost secondary - this is not an age-related feature but a quirk of pre-breeding moult in some but not all Pied Flycatchers that renew this and maybe some other inner secondaries © Martin Cade:



19th April

Another of our incremental improvements today saw both higher numbers on the ground and a stronger visible passage overhead: Turtle Dove and Lesser Whitethroat were additions to the year-list at the Bill where 150 Willow Warblers made up the bulk of a decent little dawn arrival, 2 Common Sandpipers at Hamm Beach were also new for the year whilst a good passage of hirundines developed along Chesil during the afternoon; 2 Jays at Ventnor Road were the day's only island oddities. The island-wide tally of slightly more infrequent migrants included 3 Whinchats, 2 White Wagtails, 2 Redstarts, a Yellow Wagtail and a Grasshopper Warbler, with 4 Red-throated and a lone Great Northern Diver the best of a poor return from the sea at the Bill.

Wheatear and Fulmar at the Bill this morning © Joe Stockwell and a wader selection from Ferrybridge © Debby Saunders:



18th April

Advances in our fortunes have been incremental to say the least but today's subtle shift in wind direction from northeast to northwest brought with it a small improvement in migrant numbers and variety. Single Cuckoos singing at Southwell and heading north at the Bill were the first this year, whilst single Pied Flycatchers - at Thumb Lane and Portland Castle - were popular; numbers included 50 each of Wheatear and Willow Warbler on the ground at the Bill and Swallows passing through at a rate of a few dozen per hour by the afternoon. Also worth a mention were at least one Red Kite that did a tour of the island, 3 Whinchats at the Bill, 2 Yellow Wagtails and a Tree Pipit overhead at Fancy's Farm and 4 Arctic Skuas, 2 Red-throated Divers and a single Great Skua through off the Bill.

The odd single Pied Flycatchers that have popped up here and there so far this spring have been very good at passing over the Bill and successfully finding the little patches of habitat that most match their ultimate destinations - this one was in the tiny but ever-reliable clump of trees at Thumb Lane © Duncan Walbridge:


The day's 'blink and you nearly missed it' Kite was of the Red variety © Martin Cade:

17th April

No improvement on the passerine migrant front but a Black Kite that arrived over the island after earlier passing over Weymouth provided some welcome rarity interest, even it proved pretty tricky to catch up despite spending more than half-an-hour overhead. Further island oddities came in the form of a Coal Tit at Thumb Lane (presumably another ater Continental bird but it wasn't seen for long enough to be sure of that), a Jay at Verne Common and a Greylag Goose over the Bill. After a bit of a lull, sea passage picked up with 300 each of Manx Shearwater and Gannet, 76 Common Scoter, 87 Bar-tailed Godwits, 85 Kittiwakes, 55 commic terns, 35 Whimbrel, 26 Sandwich Terns, 11 Little Terns, 8 Arctic Skuas, 5 Red-throated Divers, 3 Puffins, 2 Teal and 2 Little Gulls among the totals from long watches at Chesil and the Bill.

Black Kite has always been a notoriously difficult bird to catch up with at Portland and today's individual maintained that record despite having all the hallmarks of something that you wouldn't have thought you could have missed: there was ample warning of its approach over Portland Harbour but it then proceeded to vanish for quite a while before making a languid pass high over Weston and Easton - as can be seen from this record photo it was very distant indeed from our viewpoint at Portland Heights! © Martin Cade:


16th April

These persistent days of lame selections of migrants do sometimes lead you to ponder on whether you really are bearing witness to the end game in the oft-mentioned ecological breakdown; there's no doubt the weather's rubbish right now but for the middle of April the migrant variety and numbers were pretty shocking today. Singles of Marsh Harrier and Hobby at the Bill and Pied Flycatcher at Thumb Lane provided glimmers of interest around the south of the island where Wheatear, Blackcap and Willow Warbler were the only commoner migrants to return double figure totals. The sea was equally bereft of numbers, with 6 Gadwall off Chesil a minor local highlight. 

These three Grey Herons over Hamm Beach and the Bill were an odd sight for the time of year © Pete Saunders:

15th April

Very slim picking on a gloriously sunny and warm day when it was at least a pleasure to be out looking for what obviously wasn't there to be found. A Continental Coal Tit was the briefest of visitors to the tiny bushes beside the car park at Ferrybridge and there was a report of what would be a very early Quail seen equally briefly at the Bill. It was no surprise at all given the huge moon and crystal-clear overnight skies that the common migrant situation was hardly worth a comment: the lowest of numbers and the poorest of variety were the order of the day; perhaps slightly more surprisingly was the dearth of visible migrants although they were maybe reluctant to move what with the quantities of fog in the Channel that did eventually roll back in at the Bill towards dusk. The fog might also have been a factor in accounting for the lack of sea passage, with just 85 Common Scoter, a Red-throated Diver and an Arctic Skua through off the Bill on a day when the waft of an easterly breeze perhaps promised more.

Whitethroat territories are filling up fast and provide a good indication that, despite the lack of fall-outs this month, summer visitors are piling through on the frequent good migration nights © Mark Eggleton:


Singles of both Painted Lady and Clouded Yellow were new at the Bill today; beyond the first Turnip Moth of the year, overnight moth-trapping hadn't provided evidence of other lepidopteran arrivals so it'll be interesting to see if any more signs of immigration materialise in the next few days © Mark Eggleton:

14th April

Contrary to the weather forecast the fog that had rolled in yesterday evening proved to be considerably less all-enveloping than anticipated through the hours of darkness and, although in came and went throughout the day, it was not to the detriment of birding activities. Migrant numbers perked up quite well, with the season's first Grasshopper Warbler and Reed Warbler discovered amongst an arrival that included at the Bill 100 each of Blackcap and Willow Warbler; variety was otherwise still on the low side, with Wheatears conspicuously few and far between, Whitethroats still hardly troubling the scorers and a couple of single Redstarts barely worth a mention when they should be much more numerous. A flock of 22 Brent Geese Portland Harbour seem likely to have been Pale-bellied Brents but that fact wasn't established for certain, whilst the Red-necked Grebe was also still in the harbour. The visibility was rarely reduced enough to affect seawatching but it seemed as though murkiness elsewhere in Channel might have been putting the block on passage since little of note beyond 5 Arctic Skuas and singles of Red-throated Diver and Great Skua were logged off the Bill.

13th April

Ordinarily, Portland has a gratifyingly pre-eminent position in the early spring migration stakes but just lately a little bit of the lustre has worn off as migrants seem to be dropping in quantity on all sort of points westward, eastward and even northward whilst our fortunes have been decidedly downbeat; sadly, today made a hash of trying to put the usurpers in their place. With precious little seeming to be wrong with the conditions, migrants really weren't a feature anywhere: the odd Redstart and a single Black Redstart popped up here and there but even routine arrivals were far from numerous and included nothing else of note. The sea was more rewarding but then only by dint of many hours of watching, with 200 Kittiwakes, 150 Manx Shearwaters, 111 Common Scoter, 25 Sandwich Terns, 7 Red-throated Divers, 5 Arctic Skuas, a Great Northern Diver and a Great Skua about as good as it got at the Bill. Elsewhere, the Red-necked Grebe was seen again in Portland Harbour.

The Portland Harbour Red-necked Grebe keeps lingering on and on © Martin Cade:


From our viewpoint watching the Red-necked Grebe at Bincleaves this evening the vista presented of the island shrouded in fog was one that won't be firing the imagination with what might be in store for us tomorrow. Of course those with a long memory will remember a famously foggy day on 16th April 1988 when a fall of epic proportions dropped both a Little Bittern and a Rock Thrush at the Bill but an event like that is very much the exception and the rule in recent times is that spring fogs bring little but gloom and despondency for the birders! © Martin Cade:

12th April

A funny old day when expectations were on the high side but reality dealt a different hand. A Hoopoe that dropped into the Strips for a while was just the sort of arrival that the southerly airflow had promised but, based on reports from elsewhere, it seems that the dose of heavy rain that set in for a couple of hours after dawn likely deflected an awful lot of common migrants away from us. It wasn't entirely dead on the ground, with the season's first Whinchat the pick of a light scatter around the south of the island that also included low single figure totals of Yellow Wagtail, Redstart, Whitethroat, Pied Flycatcher and Brambling. After yesterday's excesses the sea seemed underwhelming but did eventually return perfectly respectable totals that included 200 Manx Shearwaters, 106 Common Scoter, 28 Sandwich Terns, 22 commic terns, 17 Arctic Skuas, 14 Red-throated Divers, 10 Great Skuas and 4 Arctic Terns.

In days of old when the island was swathed in bird-friendly agricultural crops the Linnet was pretty much of year-round resident, but these days the era of pony paddocks has seen them become almost entirely migratory (or maybe dispersive?). This year the local population seems to have snuck in a little under the radar and suddenly they're everywhere © Martin Cade:


Alongside them today there were some decidedly prettier flashes of red as Redstarts popped up here and there at the Bill and Southwell © Pete Saunders (top) and Martin Cade (bottom):



There still haven't been any really large incursions of Manx Shearwaters into Portland waters this spring but numbers have picked up to the extent that in recent days they're a more of less constant sight offshore © Pete Saunders:

11th April

Dungeness we may not be, at least in spring seawatch terms, but today had a lot going for it with all-day entertainment for anyone keeping an eye on the water. In the fresh easterly both watchpoints were very well covered and, inevitably, there was a certain amount of overlap but minimum totals included 406 Common Scoter, 264 Sandwich Terns, 201 Whimbrel, 83 Arctic Skuas (...when was the last time we had a spring day-total of that magnitude?), 43 Bar-tailed Godwits, 73 commic terns, 22 Arctic Terns, 16 Mediterranean Gulls, 15 Eider, 13 Grey Plover, 12 Sanderlings, 10 Velvet Scoter, 6 Shoveler, 5 Gadwall, 3 Teal, 3 Little Terns and 2 Great Skuas. With a bit better coverage the land mightn't have been the poor relation it seemed from the meagre reports received: 2 Bramblings and a Pied Flycatcher were found in the shelter of Portland Castle, 2 Yellow Wagtails were at the Bill and the constant flow of inbound migrants over the sea included singles of Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Merlin.

The Portland Castle Pied Flycatcher © Mark Eggleton:


Whimbrel have been pretty tardy in getting here this year but they made up for that today © Pete Saunders:



A little bit of the Bill action - Arctic Skua, Common & Velvet Scoters and Teal & Gadwall...





...As can be seen from the foregoing images, it wasn't really a seawatch that offered much by way of gripping photo opportunities and, in a comedy of ineptness, we even managed to guff up the chance of having a fabulously close flock of Eider at our mercy when we were distracted by following something inconsequential for too long and completely failed to see them until they were disappearing behind Pulpit Rock - inevitably they were arse-end on when they came back into view! © Martin Cade:


The conclusion of a pretty decent sea-day © Joe Stockwell:

10th April

Today's shift of the constantly freshening breeze into the east (...it was forecast to be south-easterly but when does that ever happen?) might not have provided us with the highest numbers of the season on either the ground, overhead or on the sea but the variety topped anything that's been on offer to date. The oddest event was an influx of Continental ater Coal Tits, with singles at the Bill and Ladymead (the latter only heard but in the circumstances pretty well certain to be an ater) and 2 at Blacknor. An arrival of common migrants on the ground was a short, sharp affair involving mainly phylloscs and Wheatears (including at Bill perhaps a mixed 100 of Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs, and 80 or so Wheatears) that moved off very quickly after dawn; the Ring Ouzel was still about, whilst singles of Redstart and Brambling were further bonuses. The steady flow of hirundines overhead was only really impressive when compared with the dreadful numbers logged up until today; the first Tree Pipit of the spring passed over at Easton, whilst the usual early April suspects were also on the move including a noticeable passage of finches that were leaving out to sea (...that might sound odd but it's been noted many times in the past at this time of year - are they leaving in the manner of, say, the Blackcaps of the modern era?). The sea got plenty of attention and there were decent rewards at both the Bill and Chesil including combined totals of 198 Common Scoter, 134 Kittiwakes, 54 Sandwich Terns, 23 Pale-bellied Brents, 10 Red-throated Divers, 8 Whimbrel, 5 Arctic Skuas, 3 Great Skuas, a Canada Goose and a Tufted Duck.

A flavour of the day in four photographs © Peter Moore Peter Moore's Wildlife Blog




9th April

Although hardly numerous in any one spot, such was today's quite uniform spread of the early season quartet - Wheatear, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler - that, all told, there must have been a few dozen of each scattered about the south of the island; additionally, a singing Whitethroat back on territory near Fancy's Farm was an on-cue first for the year, yesterday's Ring Ouzel and Black Redstart lingered on at the Bill and 2 Siskins and a Brambling provided minor interest amongst the constant light trickle of alba wagtails, Swallows, Meadow Pipits and other finches moving through overhead. Sea-wise, the offshore breeze remained unhelpful but 34 Common Scoter, 5 Red-throated Divers, 2 Brent Geese and an Arctic Skua did provide at least some entertainment off the Bill.

Although of no consequence to anyone else, we've always had a stupid little thing going in our mind that today's the last day of what we think of as winter: from our dawn viewpoint on the Obs patio the sun always rises from the sea throughout the 'cold months' and the last date that this happens is about the 9th April (leap years put a spanner in the works so, from one year to the next, we can never remember whether this silly milestone is going to be on the 9th or not!). Today the sun rose partly hidden behind St Aldhelm's Head but for the next few months - summer for us - it'll be rising out of the Purbecks © Martin Cade: 

8th April

The weather did us no favours again today with a nasty weather system that had slipped in to western France overnight seemingly stopping the majority of overnight passage and, on its northern periphery, giving us a dose of rain that hampered birding opportunities for the best part of the morning. Odds and ends that did get through to make landfall included a Ring Ouzel and a Black Redstart amongst a thin scatter of Wheatears, Blackcaps and the two phylloscs at the Bill. Manx Shearwaters again numbered in the low hundreds off the Bill where 20 Common Scoter, 7 Red-throated Divers and singles of Little Egret, Whimbrel and Great Skua also passed by.

The lurky Ring Ouzel in the Strips at the Bill © Martin Cade:


Some lovely Adder variation at the north of the island today © Andy Mitchell:



7th April

For the most part today's rewards were very low key although a Sooty Shearwater through off the Bill was a notable exception as it constituted only the third record for the month of April. The sea provided most of the other interest as well, with Manx Shearwaters an ever-present feature off the Bill (certainly numbering in the low hundreds even if there did look to be a degree of circulation to their movements) where 5 Red-throated Divers, 2 Tufted Duck and singles of Great and Arctic Skua were the best of the rest. The singing Black Redstart remained at Easton and 2 Ring Ouzels were new arrivals/discoveries at Nicodemus Knob but more routine migrants were few and far between.

The Southwell Barn Owls have generally been poor performers of late but did put on a good show this evening © Pete Saunders:


6th April

For the second time this week a seemingly decent little arrival of migrants was all but lost in the wind and rain that had downed them in the first place but then lingered on into the morning to spoil opportunities to make the most of them. Willow Warblers again looked to make up the bulk of the numbers, with 50 or so Bill where a sprinkle of Wheatears, Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs were also evident; elsewhere, a Black Redstart was at Easton. The strength of the wind saw to it that the sea got lots of looks: c200 Manx Shearwaters trickled through off the Bill, where 41 Common Scoter, 12 Red-throated Divers, 3 Great Skuas and an Arctic Skua also made the day-sheet; a storm-blown Kittiwake was an unusual spring sighting in Portland Harbour.

Kittiwake and Sandwich Tern seeking shelter in Portland Harbour this morning © Pete Saunders:


5th April

Really, just don't ask about day's migration experiences! With nine hours or so of mist-netting at the Obs producing just 2 new birds and many hours of seawatching (undertaken for the simple reason that there wasn't anything else to look at) being rewarded with not a lot more than 11 Red-throated and a single Great Northern Diver it's safe to say that the day was instantly forgettable. The only other odds and ends worth a mention were 8 Wheatears and 3 Redwings at the Bill, 2 single Black Redstarts in the middle of the island, 4 more Wheatears at Ferrybridge and a total of 3 Swallows through overhead.

One of just two Willow Warblers logged today at the Bill © Geoff Orton:

4th April

Today felt a lot like a lost opportunity: seemingly promising-looking conditions saw a weather front from the north arrive overhead in the later hours of darkness but, sadly, the intensity of the rain and strength of the wind at dawn scuppered chances to get amongst what looked to be a decent drop of phylloscs that rapidly melted away northward just as soon as the amelioration materialised. Willow Warblers were strongly to the fore for the first time this spring and likely numbered 100 or more around the Obs alone; 3 Little Ringed Plovers were a timely first for the season at Ferrybridge/Portland Harbour but precious little else was found on the ground bar single lingering Black Redstarts at the Bill and Church Ope Cove. The sea had a few surprises up its sleeve, notably 5 Velvet Scoters and a Red-necked Grebe through off the Bill where another 20 Red-throated Divers boosted their already impressive spring tally; another spring first - a Common Tern - also passed through at Smallmouth.

Today's Little Ringed Plover in a slightly unlikely setting amongst the cobbles beside Portland Harbour and yesterday's incongruous Canada Goose floating past the Bill © Pete Saunders:


3rd April

A largely underwhelming selection to report from a pleasantly bright, sunny day that had dawned with  one of the sharpest frosts of the year. The migrant selection on the ground included a few Black Redstarts, 2 Redwings and a Redstart amongst the light scatter of more routine arrivals; a trickle of hirundines passed through as the day wore on and singles of Great Northern Diver, Canada Goose and Red-breasted Merganser were the best on offer amongst what little passed through offshore.

Even a slow migration day has a few things that'll entertain: Purple Sandpiper, Sparrowhawk and Wheatears © Peter Moore Peter Moore's Wildlife Blog




2nd April

A steady passage of Red-throated Divers - 48 through off the Bill - hadn't looked to be on the cards in the continuing chilly northerly breeze and provided the best of today's passage interest. The clear skies overnight hadn't been at all helpful on the land migrant front and although there was a little more about than yesterday it was only a scatter of at least 8 Black Redstarts and 2 Merlins that provided interest amongst the handful of Wheatears, Blackcaps and phylloscs. Another passing Great Crested Grebe was the only non-diver of note off the Bill.

1st April

With the exception of a random Barnacle Goose that dropped into a sheep field at the Bill for a few minutes during the afternoon today's happenings weren't of the sort that'll live long in the memory. Almost constant bright sunshine did little to take the edge off the biting northerly wind and migrant arrivals were at a premium: singles of Merlin, Curlew and Brambling were certainly new at the Bill but there was the feel that most of what little else was about - including 4 Black Redstarts at the Bill - was lingering on from the last few days. The only worthwhile reports from the sea were of another 7 Red-throated Divers through off the Bill.

A couple of the Bill Black Redstarts: this one was at the Higher Light yesterday afternoon © Clare Harrison...


...whilst this one was at the Bill Quarry this morning © Pete Saunders:

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