21st August

At least until well into the afternoon a more heavily overcast day than expected - conditions that might have been expected to produce a good drop of migrants; sadly, today wasn't that sort of day although its blushes were more than spared by the year's first Melodious Warbler turning up in a mist-net at the Obs, the highest count to date of Balearic Shearwaters over the sea and a Honey Buzzard through overhead at the Bill. Migrant numbers left a lot to be desired, with still no more than a thin spread of Wheatears, Sedge Warblers, Whitethroats and Willow Warblers at the Bill, amongst which the likes of 15 mainly overflying Tree Pipits, 4 Grey Herons, 3 Yellow Wagtails, a Greenshank, a Blackcap and a Spotted Flycatcher were hardly the sort of variety to excite. Offshore, the surge of 61 Balearic Shearwaters was a highpoint and very welcome after their woeful showing so far this summer/autumn; Arctic Skuas continued their strong showing with 8 more through and Lesser Black-backed Gulls continued to trickle away to the south but sea movement was otherwise rather limited. Twelve Whimbrel were the pick of the day's waders at Ferrybridge.

Autumn Melodious Warblers - particularly youngsters that are the almost exclusive rule at this time of year - are often rather subdued in saturation but today's bird was having none of that and was heading towards as bright as a spring adult...


...although causing many a quandary in the field, the in-hand separation from Icterine Warbler is a lot more straightforward: wing length alone separates all but the tiniest proportion (today's bird with a wing length of 64mm was way, way short of anything possible for an Icterine Warbler) but there are always simple visible features that can be checked at a glance like the number of primary emarginations (three on this Melodious but only two on an Icterine) © Martin Cade:

20th August

 A far less productive day than hoped/expected with the quiet conditions doing almost nothing passerine-wise. Wheatear was an honourable exception reaching more than 70 at the Bill, but Sedge Warbler and Willow Warbler only just struggled into double figures there and Yellow Wagtail, Tree Pipit, Blackcap and Pied Flycatcher managed barely more than singles, Waders fared slightly better, including 311 Ringed Plovers - the highest total so far this autumn - at Ferrybridge and a lone Greenshank over the Bill. A feeding flock of 100 Gannets gathered off the Bill but 13 Balearic Shearwaters (also the autumn peak to date), 3 Little Egrets, 2 Mute Swans and an Arctic Skua were the pick of what little passage there was offshore.

19th August

With Storm Betty itself a rather brief affair confined to the hours of darkness dawn broke surprisingly brightly and with a well below gale force southwesterly blowing. Two more Cory's Shearwaters through off the Bill during the morning were a welcome result of the storm's passing but sea action was otherwise confined to not much more than 8 Manx Shearwaters, 6 Arctic Skuas, a Balearic Shearwater and a Sooty Shearwater passing the Bill and 2 Arctic Skuas and singles of Balearic Shearwater, Grey Plover, Little Gull and Arctic Tern through at Chesil Cove. A stir-up in wader situation was to have been expected but at Ferrybridge consisted of little more than increases to 120 Ringed Plover, 120 Dunlin, 16 Redshank, 13 Turnstones and 3 Common Sandpipers; 2 Mute Swans were also there. Passerines looked to have sat out the storm, with a single Pied Flycatcher the pick of a sparsely spread and not at all varied selection of grounded arrivals at the Bill.

The local breeding population of Peregrines has fared really poorly this year with several sites either unoccupied or deserted during the course of the breeding season; this independent juvenile over Ferrybridge this morning is one of the few sightings of a youngster in recent weeks and, plausibly, by this time in the autumn might not even be a locally-raised bird © Pete Saunders:

18th August

The blustery easterlies continued and in combination with constant reduced visibility made for difficult birding on land and sea. Bar a sparse spread of Wheatears precious little by way of an arrival of grounded passerines was evident, with a lingering Pied Flycatcher at the Obs the best on offer at the Bill. The sea was well watched but unproductive, with 2 Arctic Skuas and singles of Great Crested Grebe and Grey Plover the pick of what little could be mustered at the Bill. Five Sanderling, a Whimbrel and a Greenshank were amongst the wader selection at Ferrybridge.

Always an infrequent visitor to Portland, this morning's Greenshank at Ferrybridge coincided with the arrival of a record-breaking flock for this area of 27 at nearby Lodmoor © Pete Saunders:


17th August


The return of a stiff wind - this time a northeasterly rather than the southwesterlies of late - was a rude awakening at dawn although it was no doubt a factor in stirring things up enough that 2 Cory's Shearwaters passed through off the Bill - one soon after dawn and the second later in the morning. In the light of this the sea garnered plenty of attention and did give up one further reward in the form of a passing Osprey, but otherwise 280 Kittiwakes, 25 Manx Shearwaters, 23 Black-headed Gulls, 14 Common Scoter, 13 Sandwich Terns, 8 Mediterranean Gulls, 7 Arctic Skuas, 4 Sanderling, 2 Balearic Shearwaters and a Yellow-legged Gull were the more conventional movers. The strength of the wind dashed hopes of worthwhile returns from the land: there was a spread of 60 Wheatears and 30 Willow Warblers at the Bill, where 3 Yellow Wagtails and 2 Pied Flycatchers provided further interest on the ground and 180 Swallows, 60 Sand Martins, 11 Tree Pipits, a Little Egret and a Snipe were amongst the visible migrants overhead. The Ferrybridge miscellany included 8 Sandwich Terns, 3 Sanderling, 2 Knot and singles of Whimbrel, Kittiwake and Yellow Wagtail.

Although a couple of Pied Flycatchers were nice to see at the Bill...


...it was signs of Tree Pipit passage picking up that provided the best of the passerine interest at the Bill © Martin Cade:




And some of this morning's Ferrybridge action: Grey Heron, Knots and Whimbrel © Pete Saunders:



16th August

Migration-wise, today was a bit of a curiosity, with just two species - Wheatear and Willow Warbler - well-represented on the ground at the Bill but rather little by way of back-ups there; overhead passage was also short and sharp with both Swallow and Sand Martin giving every indication that they'd get going in quantity before completely fizzling out; waders were also unusually prolific there - more than 70 in total - but the majority were frustratingly distant and defied firm identification. The grounded Wheatear and Willow Warbler totals at the Bill reached 120 and 70 respectively, with 2 White Wagtails and singles of Whinchat, Garden Warbler, Pied Flycatcher and Spotted Flycatcher all of additional note there; 190 Sand Martins, 150 Swallows and 75 Swifts dominated the numbers overhead, with 11 Cormorants, 7 Ringed Plovers, 6 Tree Pipits, 2 Grey Herons and singles of Little Egret, Little Ringed Plover, Whimbrel, Snipe and Redshank among the other movers overhead. The Ferrybridge wader tally was also varied and included 4 Redshank, 3 Common Sandpipers, 2 Knot, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits and 2 Greenshank. In a gentle northeasterly and increasingly hot conditions the sea was unsurprisingly quiet, with 5 more Arctic Skuas the best on offer off the Bill. 

The four Redshanks at Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders:

15th August

Migrants made the most of the return of quiet, bright and warm conditions, with a nice little arrival all around the Bill. Early season fare still dominated, with 75 Willow Warblers, 60 Wheatears, 25 Whitethroats and 15 Sedge Warblers grounded and 100 Sand Martins through overhead, but the rapidly advancing season was also reflected in the total of 14 Tree Pipits overhead. There were no surprises amongst the back-up cast, with singles of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Redstart and Grasshopper Warbler the best on offer. Offshore, another 307 passing Kittiwakes were a surprise given the benign conditions; a continuing trickle of Lesser Black-backed Gulls also left to the south but singles of Arctic Skua and Yellow-legged Gull were the only other worthwhile sightings from the sea.

14th August

With the day seen in by a stiff southerly and patchy rain the sea was always favourite for attention and duly rewarded with a passing Cory's Shearwater off the Bill - an overdue first for the season during a period when points further west have been awash with them. Passage was the best that it's been there in recent weeks, with 362 Kittiwakes, 236 Manx Shearwaters, 43 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 9 Arctic Skuas, 8 Common Scoter, 7 Balearic Shearwaters, 4 Mediterranean Gulls, 3 Sandwich Terns, 2 commic terns and singles of Sooty Shearwater, Storm Petrel and Yellow-legged Gull also through before clearer conditions rolled in and the wind abated early in the afternoon. Not a great deal of attention was given to the land there but it was evident that common migrants remained in short supply, with singles of Ringed Plover and Whimbrel overhead the only worthwhile sightings. Improved wader totals at Ferrybridge included 140 Dunlin, 60 Ringed Plover, 10 Turnstone, 9 Whimbrel, 6 Sanderling and a Common Sandpiper.

With a bird-day total of 82 at the Bill since the weather took a nose-dive in early July, Arctic Skuas have been in good supply in recent weeks - whether that's a good thing for their species remains to be seen since a good many of them look to have been full adults that you'd have expected/hoped would still be nearer their breeding grounds at this juncture © Martin Cade:


Part of the group of Whimbrel that dropped in at Ferrybridge this morning © Pete Saunders:



A peculiar sight at Ferrybridge in recent days has been this extremely juvenile Little Tern that's being fed by its parents right out on the sandflats (today it was quite close to the visitor centre) - regular watchers there report that they've never seen such a young bird away from the close proximity of the colony further up on Chesil Beach © Debby Saunders:

13th August

Wheatears aside - and it's not exactly full of them - passerine migration has more of less ground to a halt so the day was again saved by a bit of sea passage. A Sooty Shearwater through off the Bill may or may not have been the first of the autumn (...does anyone have details of the reports carried by the news services during the week before last?), whilst 250 Kittiwakes, 5 Balearic Shearwaters, 4 Arctic Skuas, 3 Sanderling, 2 Manx Shearwaters and singles of Common Scoter, Whimbrel and Sandwich Tern constituted the other passers and a trickle of Lesser Black-backed Gulls headed away south. Forty Wheatears made up the vast majority of the day's grounded migrant tally at the Bill and 165 Ringed Plovers and 150 Dunlin made up almost all of the wader tally at Ferrybridge.

Autumn Ladies-tresses are now in flower in fair numbers at their usual spots at the Bill. This photograph is either taken at a very flattering angle or depicts some very statuesque examples - Portland specimens are typically pretty runty and can be surprisingly hard to spot unless you're down on your hands and knees! © Steve Mansfield:

12th August

A buffetingly windy day that saw most attention given to the sea. Kittiwakes trickled through all day, with 200 through off the Bill during a sample couple of hours during the morning; 8 more Arctic Skuas also passed by there along with 9 Manx Shearwaters and a Balearic Shearwater, whilst a Little Gull lingered offshore and at least 4 Yellow-legged Gulls were ashore - 3 at the Bill and a single at Ferrybridge. Passerine and wader numbers were nothing special, with 40 Wheatears making up the bulk of the numbers at the Bill and singles of Sanderling and Common Sandpiper the best amongst 150 Ringed Plovers and 60 Dunlin at Ferrybridge/Hamm Beach.

Three Bluefin Tuna off the Bill during the morning were the first seen there so far this autumn.

This morning's Common Sandpiper on Hamm Beach © Debby Saunders:

11th August

With almost the whole of the night and a good part of the early morning blighted by thick fog there weren't high hopes migrant-wise. However, in the event more managed to make landfall than had been expected and there was a fair spread of Wheatears, Sedge Warblers, Whitethroats and Willow Warblers at the Bill; a Lesser Whitethroat was also unearthed there, the first signs of Robin passage were detected in the mist-nets and once the fog cleared a steady trickle of passing Sand Martins eventually totalled towards 200. Although seawatching was impossible for a good part of the morning 3 Arctic Skuas were noticed taking the short cut over Ferrybridge; waders numbers there looked to have dropped a little, with singles of Knot and Common Sandpiper the best on offer.

It's been a good early autumn for Arctic Skuas but so thick was this morning's fog that these three birds sneaking through over Ferrybridge very nearly escaped being added to the tally - you wonder if they even realised that the rest of Portland existed © Pete Saunders:



It's popularly supposed that Portland Peregrines prey largely on pigeons and Starlings but Trevor Owens has been tapping into an interesting if slightly macabre event that shows their diet is a good deal more varied. Trevor works at Portland Port where a pair of Peregrines have taken to settling on a workshop roof to consume their prey; he believes that many of the victims are caught at night as the whole port area is brightly lit and, besides, several of them seem to be things that a Peregrine would be unlikely to encounter by day. Thus far Trevor's recorded the remains of the likes of Dunlin, Knot, Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Common Tern, Wheatear and Pied Flycatcher, some of which feature in this gallery of grisly finds © Trevor Owens:






10th August

Quite why there wasn't a worthwhile arrival of common migrants - let alone a Melodious Warbler or whatever else could have shown up - out of wafting southeasterlies and increasing warmth defied obvious explanation today (...as did the utter lack of new migrant moths in the moth-traps). It wasn't completely dead, with 30 Wheatears, 25 Willow Warblers, 5 Sedge Warblers and singles of Redshank, Redstart, Whinchat (the latter two both firsts of the autumn), Reed Warbler and Garden Warbler grounded at the Bill, a Pied Flycatcher at Reap Lane (another first for the season) and 142 Ringed Plovers, 62 Dunlin and 4 Sanderlings at Ferrybridge, whilst overhead an aggregation of at times more than 200 Swifts over the Bill was impressive. Offshore, the Kittiwake movement continued albeit at a slightly reduced rate, with 234 through off the Bill; 6 Arctic Skuas and a small passage of departing Lesser Black-backed Gulls were also of interest there.

Also today we received details from Tara Watson, the Chesil Little Tern Recovery Project Officer, of the outcome of not only the Ferrybridge Little Tern colony but also the other birds of interest breeding in and around the colony; these are as follows:

Little Tern

Total nests 60

Nests hatched 34

Nests failed 24 

Unknown 2

Total chick count (hatched/presumed hatched) 61-78

Minimum fledgling count 40-45

 

Oystercatcher

Total nests 3

Nests hatched 2

Nests failed 1

Total chick count (known hatched) 6

Fledgling count 2

 

Ringed Plover

Total nests 4

Nests hatched 3

Failed 2

Total chick count (hatched/presumed hatched) 5-9 

Minimum fledgling count 3-5

 

Common Tern

Total nests 1 (one egg, failed after abandonment by parents) 

9th August

Unbroken sunshine and increasing warmth saw to it that today was the nicest day for more than a month. Considering the conditions the day's passage highlight was a considerable surprise and came in the form of at least 568 Kittiwakes through off the Bill (there may well have been more but by mid-morning the heat haze and intensity of the sun precluded any more serious seawatching) - we're struggling to remember any similar early autumn movement in the past and can only guess that since the birds were mainly adults (and there were only 4 juveniles) it involved birds that had lost this year's young to avian flu and were beating a hasty retreat to winter quarters; the sea was otherwise rather quiet, with just 32 commic terns, 9 Sandwich Terns, 8 Manx Shearwaters and 3 Teal also through off the Bill. A fair spread of grounded migrants around the Bill included 70 Wheatears, 35 Willow Warblers, 25 Whitethroats, 4 Spotted Flycatchers, 2 Sedge Warblers, 2 Garden Warblers and a single Reed Warbler, whilst 170 Ringed Plovers and 82 Dunlin made up the bulk of the Ferrybridge wader total with a lone Greenshank providing some quality there.

Although it seems that conditions are far from set fair even beyond the short term, today's cloudless sky was very welcome indeed © Martin Cade:


8th August

A return to last week's weather - dreary, increasingly windy and occasionally damp - did nothing on the passerine front at the Bill, where 25 Wheatears, single figure totals of Sedge and Willow Warblers, 2 Garden Warblers and singles of Grey Wagtail and Reed Warbler made up the tally of arrivals. The conditions did favour waders, with 160 Ringed Plovers and 86 Dunlin respectable totals from Ferrybridge. Four Storm Petrels through off the Bill were the best from the sea, with 27 Common Scoter, 16 Shoveler, 12 Manx Shearwaters, 5 Arctic Skuas and 3 Balearic Shearwaters also through there.

Last night's moth-trapping did produce a couple of faintly encouraging signs of migratory activity perhaps picking up (see below). Sadly for the stalwarts manning the traps during our absence last week  migrant activity was extremely subdued but one nice find for them was this freakishly dark aberration of Scalloped Oak; we have recorded one or two similar example in the past so this peculiar form isn't entirely unknown at Portland but it's certainly super smart © Martin Cade:




7th August

Conditions overnight and at dawn - clear and moonlit throughout - favoured the birds rather than the birders today and the grounded spread was on the thin side. That said, there was plenty enough to keep occupied with 60 Wheatears and 25 Willow Warblers making up the bulk at the Bill where singles of Yellow Wagtail, Reed Warbler and Garden Warbler were of note; Ringed Plovers are to the fore at Ferrybridge now, with their tally of 170 making up more than two-thirds of the wader total there. An increasing cloud cover as the morning wore on put the block on visible passage just as things looked to be picking up and totals over the Bill didn't get much beyond 100 Swallows, 80 Sand Martins, 30 Swifts and 4 Tree Pipits; additionally, a flock of c50 egrets heading away high west over the Bill were suspected by the observer who saw them best to be Little Egrets and this fact was evidently confirmed when they later flew past West Bexington. A steady passage of 77 Common Scoter and 61 Mediterranean Gulls provided most of the interest off the Bill, where singles of Manx Shearwater, Arctic Skua and Yellow-legged Gull also passed by.

Chief in-hand interest today came in the form of the re-capture at Culverwell of the juvenile Cirl Bunting first ringed there on 19th July (and only seen very infrequently since then). It's now getting on with its post-juvenile moult, to the extent that we were confident it'll turn out to be a male - even at a glance the throat and ear-covert surrounds are looking pretty black, whilst closer examination showed that underneath the cloaking mantle feathers the scapulars are already getting richly chestnut © Martin Cade:



6th August

A week away on holiday hasn't been conducive to keeping up with daily updates but normal service should resume now we're back in circulation. Whilst the weather during our absence had been propitious for sitting on Cornish headlands it hadn't been much cop for passerine migration so today's quieter conditions were both welcome and rewarding, with the autumn's best grounded arrival to date. With no reports from other island passerine spots - is anyone watching them? - it was left to a few stalwarts to get amongst a good little drop of standard early season fare at the Bill that included 70 Wheatears, 60 Willow Warblers, 30 Sedge Warblers, 8 Garden Warblers and a Reed Warbler, with 60 Sand Martins, 50 Swallows, 3 Ringed Plovers and 3 Tree Pipits on the move overhead. Ferrybridge was also well-watched and returned totals that included 330 Mediterranean Gulls, 116 Ringed Plovers, 54 Dunlin, 26 Sandwich Terns, 5 Sanderling, a Whimbrel and a Redshank. A steady movement of 36 Sandwich Terns accounted for the bulk of the numbers off the Bill, where 12 Manx Shearwaters, 6 Dunlin, 6 commic terns, 2 Arctic Skuas, a Balearic Shearwater and a Common Scoter were amongst the miscellany also on the move.

A couple of Whimbrel and a Knot were amongst the waders forced down at Ferrybridge by yesterday's wind and rain © Pete Saunders:




5th August

 

4th August

Another small arrival of migrants overnight saw a minimum of 10 Willow Warblers in the obs garden as well as another 14 between the Crown Estate field and Culverwell in addition to 2 Sedge Warblers, 12 Common Whitethroat and 6 Wheatear. Amongst the trickle of hirundines was a single Yellow Wagtail as well as the first 4 Tree Pipits of the autumn. At sea, 38 Manx Shearwater, 6 Balearic Shearwater, 1 Arctic Skua, around 30 Common Scoter, 1 Black-tailed Godwit and 42 Sandwich terns were logged. At Ferrybridge there was 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Whimbrel, 7 Sanderling, 9 Sandwich Terns, 3 Shelduck, 30 Ringed Plover, 1 Redshank, 2 Curlew and 70 Dunlin. 

3rd August

With the wind switching round to the North-west, there was an obvious arrival of migrants overnight, with a minimum of 10 Willow Warblers, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Common Whitethroat, 3 Sedge Warblers and 1 Blackcap hopping around the garden first thing. At sea, a total of 4 Balearic Shearwater, 9 Manx Shearwater, 2 Arctic Skua, 31 Common Scoter, 4 Ringed Plover and 2 Common Redshank were logged as well as a noticeable uptick of 25 Sandwich Terns. The same was noted at Ferrybridge where 148 Sandwich Terns were seen heading west, as well as 15 Sanderling, 54 Dunlin, 35 Ringed Plover, 6 Common Redshank, 9 Turnstones and a single Whimbrel.

The overnight conditions also proved favourable for the migrant moths, with 33 Silver Y, 16 Rusty-dot Pearl, 8 Turnip, 4 Dark Sword-grass and a single Diamondback.

2nd August

With the South-Westerly winds kicking back up a notch, seawatching was always going to be the order of the day. Inbetween some rather heavy showers, a total of 5 European Storm Petrel, 2 Arctic Skua, 1 Balearic Shearwater, 23 Manx Shearwater, 2 Sanderling, 4 Ringed Plover, 33 Common Scoter and 2 Yellow-legged Gulls were logged from the Bill as well as 1 European Storm Petrel and 2 Yellow-legged Gulls reported from Chesil Cove. Elsewhere at Ferrybridge a total of 11 Turnstones, 1 Wheatear, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Curlew and 1 Common Sandpiper were logged. 

1st August

Portland Bill

Wheatear 5

European Storm Petrel 1

Balearic Shearwater 2

Arctic Skua 1

Common Scoter 8

31st July

The end of July played out in a rather similar fashion to the rest of the month with strong Westerly winds and frequent showers. Apart from a couple of Wheatears new in at the Bill, interest was again focused out at sea, with 1 European Storm Petrel, 1 Arctic Skua, 1 Balearic Shearwater and a couple of Manx Shearwater passing by. Variety at Ferrybridge continued, with 3 Common Sandpipers, 2 Knot, 13 Turnstone, 40 Dunlin, 10 Sanderling, 13 Ringed Plover, 3 Sandwich Terns and singles of Whimbrel and Common Tern. 

Following on from the record catch of Sand Martins in the last fortnight, we have heard back regarding one of the control birds: ringed as a youngster in Perth and Kinross on the 18th July, it took only 7 days to travel 654km on its Southward migration over the Bill! © Martin Cade

30th July

Apologies for the lack of blog post yesterday, but it's never a good sign when the entirety of the weekends sightings can fit onto a single page of the clipboard! Today's ever increasing South-Westerly meant the focus was almost entirely out to sea, with a total of 3 European Storm Petrels, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Balearic Shearwater, 13 Manx Shearwater and 13 Common Scoter seen off the Bill. Elsewhere, a total of 54 Dunlin, 10 Curlew, 12 Sanderling, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, and 6 Turnstones were seen at Ferrybridge. 

Today's Black-tailed Godwit from Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders  

28th July

Improved conditions saw a little spread of new arrivals drop in at the Bill, including about a dozen each of Sedge Warbler and Willow Warbler, a few Whitethroats and a couple of Wheatears; Swifts and Sand Martins also aggregated overhead from time to time but few seemed inclined to leave out to sea. The wader situation was rather static, with 52 Dunlin, 8 Sanderling, 2 Whimbrel and Common Sandpiper the best of it at Ferrybridge. The less said about the sea the better, with no more than 7 Common Scoter, 2 Yellow-legged Gulls and a lone Manx Shearwater off the Bill. These are lean times!

27th July

With long portions of the day blighted by limited visibility and a stiff westerly enthusiasm took a hit and sightings weren't up to much today. Two each of Manx and Balearic Shearwater, and a lone Arctic Skua passed through off the Bill, 2 Yellow-legged Gulls and singles of Whimbrel, Common Sandpiper, Wheatear and Willow Warbler were about on the land there and 53 Dunlin, 18 Ringed Plover, 17 Sanderling, 15 Turnstone, 4 Whimbrel, 2 Curlews and a Redshank were at Ferrybridge.

The dreary conditions ensured there was plenty of action at Ferrybridge including these two Whimbrel...


...and a lot of Little Tern activity that had all the look of them being not far off leaving © Pete Saunders:

26th July

A day of huge contrasts: a clear, quiet morning gave way to a far cloudier and increasing breezy afternoon before heavy rain swept in to comprehensively wash out the evening. The hours of darkness had been too clear to have expected much of an arrival of grounded migrants and no more than a light spread of Sedge and Willow Warblers was evident at the Bill; waders remained better represented, with 38 Dunlin, 29 Ringed Plovers, 19 Sanderling, 2 Whimbrel and a Redshank at Ferrybridge and 7 Sanderling, 4 Whimbrel and a Wood Sandpiper either overhead or settled at the Bill. It was busier overhead with some good gatherings of Swifts and Sand Martins showing up as the morning went on; 3 Little Egrets also arrived from the south at the Bill and 2 Yellow Wagtails were amongst the other miscellany overhead there. Common Scoters - 43 in total - made up nearly all the numbers passing through off the Bill where at least 7 Yellow-legged Gulls were also still offshore.

Aerial diurnal migrants are making up the bulk of the numbers right now, with Swifts, Sand Martins and Swallows either lingering overhead or departing out to sea in some quantity on all the suitable days during the last week:


Today's Little Egrets were moving in the opposite direction; they were first spotted as tiny specks several miles out to sea having presumably left France soon after dawn and it took a long time before they got close enough for their identity to be confirmed - they made a beeline for the Obs and eventually passed directly overhead © Martin Cade: 


The second Wood Sandpiper in two days was another bird that flew right over the Obs although we were dopey enough not to have had a camera at hand at that moment:

25th July

Albeit punctuated by days of inappropriate weather, autumn's got going quite nicely in the last week with today's light northerly breeze and generally fair conditions returning the best variety and numbers so far. Waders staged a good showing, with nine species including a Wood Sandpiper logged by the nocmig recorder as they passed over the Obs during the hours of darkness, whilst the daytime totals at Ferrybridge were much improved and included 71 Dunlin, 30 Sanderling, 22 Ringed Plovers, 10 Redshank, 4 Knot and 2 Whimbrel; another lone Whimbrel also passed by off the Bill. Diurnal overhead passage also picked up, with 150 Sand Martins, 100 Swallows and 43 Swifts leaving to the south from the Bill and fair quantities of each also lingering over the fields there. Grounded passerine arrivals weren't numerous but did include 15 each of Sedge and Willow Warbler at the Bill where a lone Garden Warbler was the first of the season; Whitethroats were also numerous and looked for the first time as though they included some non-locals in their midst; scarcity-wise, the Serin reappeared and was seen at both the Bill and Avalanche Road. The offshore breeze wasn't helpful for the sea, with 30 Manx Shearwaters, 17 Common Scoter, 7 Yellow-legged Gulls and 2 Balearic Shearwaters the pick of the rewards at the Bill.

There were lots of comings and goings at Ferrybridge this morning © Debby Saunders (top two) and Pete Saunders (lower two):





The Wood Sandpiper would have been a nice 'in daylight' bird but, even unseen and unheard as it headed over in darkness well after midnight, it left a digital signature to let us know it had paid a fleeting visit:

24th July

A frustrating day with nearly as many rain delays as clearer slots and concerted migrant-hunting more or less scuppered. There were suggestions of there being a bit around, with brief netting attempts revealing a few Sedge Warblers and a Grasshopper Warbler at the Bill, whilst the Ferrybridge wader tally increased as the day went on and eventually reached 56 Dunlin, 25 Sanderling, 15 Ringed Plovers and a Knot. Poor visibility frequently got in the way of meaningful seawatching, but 5 Yellow-legged Gulls, 4 Arctic Skuas, 2 Manx Shearwaters and a single Balearic Shearwater were logged at the Bill.

23rd July

Brighter and entirely dry today but always too breezy to make the most of what might have dropped in on the land. The day's oddest arrivals were single Black Redstarts at Blacknor and the Grove, a more routine selection of waders included 27 Dunlin, 15 Sanderling and a Redshank at Ferrybridge, whilst the only rewards from the sea were a handful of Yellow-legged Gulls and a single Arctic Skua through off the Bill.

22nd July

A few hours birding was possible today before the heavens opening and the best part of a gale sweeping in wrote off the afternoon and evening. The sea was well watched for precious little reward, with just 28 Manx Shearwaters, 17 Common Scoter, 4 Yellow-legged Gulls, 3 Arctic Skuas, a Whimbrel and a Puffin through off the Bill. Ferrybridge continued to tick over, with 300 Mediterranean Gulls, 25 Dunlin, 12 Sanderling, a Redshank and a Common Sandpiper the pick of the morning selection. Elsewhere on the land a Grey Heron dropped in at Sweethill.

So comprehensive was the downturn in the weather that whatever might have dropped in later in the day at Ferrybridge escaped attention; earlier, the wader selection had been routine, with Sanderlings, Dunlins and a Common Sandpiper as good as it got © Pete Saunders:



The rain and wind did dump this young Grey Heron into a garden at Sweethill © Pete Saunders:


And back to yesterday for news from Bryan Edwards of a new bee for the island. While checking the Golden Samphire on East Cliffs Bryan found plenty of Green-eyed Flower Bees Anthophora bimaculata; Brian further tells us: 'can't believe it was overlooked in the past as it is easily identified and makes a very distinctive high-pitched whine when darting between flowers. It was frequent on east cliffs from near the obelisk along to the huts, foraging from the samphire and seen entering holes in bare ground on the cliff top. It is generally a species of sandy soils and is frequent on Dorset heaths, and more local on the coast, the nearest sites being Durdle Door to the east and Cogden to the west' © Bryan Edwards:

21st July

Plenty more of the same on a very birdably pleasant sort of day. A Serin at the Bill was the day's highlight, with commoner migrant totals there that included c250 Sand Martins, 64 Swallows, 58 Swifts, 4 House Martins and singles of Grey Heron and Yellow Wagtail leaving to the south, 3 Dunlin, 3 Redshanks and singles of Whimbrel and Turnstone randomly overhead or through over the sea, and 3 Willow Warblers and a Sedge Warbler grounded. The wader tally elsewhere was also varied and included 56 Dunlin, 12 Sanderling, 6 Redshanks and a Whimbrel at Ferrybridge. The sea was also still worth attention, with 22 Common Scoters, 19 Mediterranean Gulls, 7 Yellow-legged Gulls, 3 Balearic Shearwaters, 3 Manx Shearwaters and an Arctic Skua through off the Bill.

The Serin was bombing about overhead all morning but wasn't ever seen to settle © Martin Cade...


...and a little recording of it making one of its many overflies of the Obs when the parabolic picked it up a good deal quicker than the human ear:


The moth-traps have been ticking over all week with oddities up to the level of the likes of Dark Crimson Underwing and Striped Hawkmoth but for us the week's highlight came last night in the form of a Dark Umber - the first record from the Obs traps and only the second record for the island as a whole following one trapped by Julian Clarke somewhere up towards the Grove on 4th July 1984. The larval foodplants of Dark Umber are Buckthorn and Alder Buckthorn, both of which are apparently absent from Portland so although the moth's relatively widespread albeit not at all common in the rest of Dorset it's unlikely to ever be more than a very occasional stray to the island © Martin Cade:

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