24th March

A cooler day than yesterday but the birding was distinctly hotter, at least in terms of quality if not quite quantity. Any day that starts with a shout for 'Hoopoe!' flying past the Obs patio is bound to be a memorable one regardless, but the combined spectacle of hoards of thrushes plummeting out of the sky made for some really exciting post dawn birding there that was topped off when a Treecreeper made its way into a mist-net (the first island record for four years and the first ringed since 2019). Whilst totals for Redwing and Fieldfare reached over 300 and 50 respectively, it seemed other species were, in general, less well represented, with vismig totals from the West Cliffs of 61 Meadow Pipits, 34 Goldfinch, 11 Linnet, 6 'Alba' Wagtails, a Redpoll and a Yellow Wagtail, and grounded totals at the Bill that included 50 Chiffchaffs, 5 Black Redstarts, 5 Willow Warblers, 4 Blackcaps, 2 Firecrests and a Goldcrest. Up-island, a further 3 Black Redstarts were present at Reap Lane alongside 2 Blue-headed Wagtails and 10 White Wagtails, a Ring Ouzel was at St. Georges and the season's first Redstart was at Easton.

Although the scarcities stole the show - Hoopoe and Treecreeper © Martin Cade and Blue-headed Wagtail © Pete Saunders...

...it was really the thrushes that provided today's spectacle, with a continual succession of Fieldfares and Redwings dropping from the heavily overcast sky, often settling briefly in treetops for a break before rising back up into the murk to continue their journey © Debby Saunders (Fieldfare) and © Martin Cade (Redwings):

Very much in keeping with the trend evident in recent days, today's first Redstart of the spring was extremely early - in this case not quite the earliest ever although there are only three previous years with records earlier than this; the earliest ever is one at the Bill on 15th March 2002:

23rd March

That's more like it: a taste of the Portland spring we're used to and not the wholly inadequate offerings visitors have had to put up with hitherto this month, with a combination of overnight rain and a northerly breeze facilitating the first decent fall of migrants so far this season. A heavy bank of cloud hovering a little to the north of the island dropped a steady trickle of northbound arrivals from dawn until well into the afternoon, with totals from the Bill that included 150 Chiffchaffs, 75 Redwings, 50 Chaffinches, 15 Blackcaps, 14 Wheatear, 10 Willow Warblers, 6 Black Redstarts, 4 Bullfinches and singles of Brambling and Redpoll. A wide scatter of more of the same further up island included singles of Merlin, Ring Ouzel and Bullfinch over Blacknor, 6 White Wagtails at Reap Lane and a Ring Ouzel and a Mistle Thrush at the Verne. In the offshore breeze sea passage was noticeably subdued compared to recent days, with 25 Brent Geese, 12 Red-throated Diver, 8 Common Scoter, 4 Manx Shearwater (a belated first for the year) and a Little Gull through off the Bill. The 2 long-staying Long-tailed Ducks that hadn't been reported for a while were again in Portland Harbour, along with 3 Black-necked Grebes and 2 Great Northern Divers.

Two Blossom Underwings overnight from the Obs moth-traps - an indication of some movement from somewhere going on even if there weren't any conventional migrants in the traps

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) March 23, 2025 at 7:55 AM

Magic day at PBO @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social the morning after a positive and productive Trustees' meeting on redevelopment plans. My favourite and harbinger of spring ,Willow warbler arrived and ringed,(photo Martin Cade). Also mixture of autumn/winter with Redwings, lots Chichaffs, 3 Blackcaps.

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— Peter J Morgan (@pbo61.bsky.social) March 23, 2025 at 9:33 PM

22nd March

What a really strange period of migration this is: quite how we can be tapping into so many record-breakingly early arrivals during a period when the majority of grounded common migrants are so abysmally represented defies logic but it happened again today, as the island's earliest ever Sedge Warbler arrived in tandem with grounded totals at the Bill of, for example, no more than single figure totals of the likes of Wheatear and Chiffchaff. The unforecast clear-ish sky and brightness did see diurnal migrants get moving in fair supply, with totals of 881 Meadow Pipits, 22 Linnets, 10 'Alba' Wagtails, 9 Sand Martin, 5 Swallow, 3 House Martin and a Grey Wagtail through during the sample four and a half watch on West Cliffs, where a Ring Ouzel also briefly pitched in. Also on the ground, a new Firecrest joined a linger at the Obs and multiples of White Wagtail and Black Redstart, and a single Redwing were around the centre of the island. The highlight from the morning's Bill seawatch was a Black-throated Diver, with an additional 127 Common Scoter, 17 Red-throated Divers and 3 Sandwich Terns also heading up-Channel. A more varied selection from the Chesil included 22 Brent Geese, 4 Dunlin and a Sanderling.

Today's Sedge Warbler at the Bill was a full week earlier than the previous earliest arrival there on 29th March 1998 © Jodie Henderson:

2x black redstart reap lane barns to cliff, wheatear in adjacent ploughed field, white wagtail still. redwing hunkered down at barleycrates. 1/2 dozen swallows in. song thrush old hill and barn owl still at nest hole. less than hoped for in decent weather.

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) March 22, 2025 at 2:49 PM

21st March

Whilst this morning's cold and grey start didn't really proffer much hope on the migration front, a scattering of new arrivals just about kept momentum going even if numbers of common migrants continue to fall way below par. Of particular note were Portland's earliest ever Pied Flycatcher at Verne Common and second earliest ever Yellow Wagtails at Barleycrates Lane; interestingly, one of the two Yellow Wagtails was of continental origin - a Blue-headed or something similar. Elsewhere, a new Firecrest was present in the Obs garden alongside the first Goldcrest of the spring, 7 White Wagtails pitched in at Barleycrates and a total of 4 new Black Redstarts were dotted around the island. Several large blocks of rain further to our south and west seemed to restrict both overhead passage and sea movement, with 154 Meadow Pipits, 16 Linnet, 14 Goldfinch and 8 'Alba' Wagtails the sum from the morning's vismig watch on West Cliffs, whilst just 65 Common Scoter, 18 Red-throated Divers, 3 Little Gulls, 5 Sandwich Terns and singles of Arctic and Great Skua - both also firsts for the year - passed by off the Bill; 3 Garganey were pick of  a slightly more varied sea selection off Chesil.

The current migrant happenings are peculiar to say the least: our first Goldcrests of the spring usually show up in the first days of March so to get this individual as a first for the year on the 21st of the month represents the tardiest of appearances and falls very much in line with the pitiful numbers of, for example, Wheatears and Chiffchaffs logged so far this month; contrast that with two of today's other new arrivals - the Pied Flycatcher was the earliest ever by a clear 10 days, whilst the only earlier Yellow Wagtail than today's two birds was a freakishly-prompt bird on 15th March 1975 - before today, the next earliest arrival was on 27th March 2019 © Martin Cade:

The Garganey off Chesil were popular - seawatch Garganey here do settle on the water surprisingly often but they still rarely linger as long as these birds that were twitchable for listers from many miles away © Phil Cheeseman:

Crisply marked male - and female for that matter - White Wagtails such as these birds at Barleycrates are super-smart...

...but we do still struggle with the occasional first-summer birds - this very weakly-marked individual was with the males at Barleycrates and is presumably a first-summer ?female but, save for having a slightly pearlier-grey mantle and noticeably paler flanks, it looked remarkably like an equally weaked-marked immature Pied Wagtail in an adjacent field © Martin Cade:

None of the conventional migrant moths have come our way over the last couple of nights but it was good to find a Red Sword Grass in one of the Obs garden moth-traps this morning; this used to a fabulously rare visitor here but latterly has increased in frequency to become pretty well annual if still never at all numerous - a smart moth! © Martin Cade

mucked up photos but blue headed wagtail as far as i can see, was pretty brief and even more brief an unsnapped yellow wagtail with it for a few seconds.

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) March 21, 2025 at 1:11 PM

Chesil: Excuse the Garganey photos, but the were taken on a sea watch after all! They were so close on occasion, they went out of view below the beach (photo 1). Otherwise, 38 Scoter, 26 Sandwich Tern, 6 Red-throats, 12 Dunlin, 2 Brent, Peregrine @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social

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— Paul Harris (@paulupwey.bsky.social) March 21, 2025 at 1:26 P

20th March

The variety of migration on offer today was perfectly in keeping for the first day of astronomical spring, with birds continuing to make the most of the current clear and bright conditions. Meadow Pipits were once again the main feature, with 2070 through on West Cliffs this morning, in addition to 39 Linnets,  20 'Alba' Wagtails, 17 Goldfinch, 3 each of Sand Martin and Swallow, and a Bullfinch. A gradual easing in the strength of the easterly wind seemed to hamper sea passage somewhat, although a total of 235 Common Scoter, 18 Brent Geese, 18 Red-throated Diver, 10 Shoveler, 4 Avocet, 4 Little Gull and a single Sandwich Tern provided plenty of interest at the Bill; a further 12 Shoveler and 2 Teal were logged from Chesil. On the land, the first 3 Ring Ouzels of the spring were on cue arrivals at the Verne Citadel, with 2 Yellowhammers and 2 additional Black Redstarts also present at the Bill. Wheatears just about managed double figures with Chiffchaffs trailing behind on even fewer. 

The Ring Ouzels above the Verne Moat were putting on a good show © Pete Saunders:

With so many thousands of Brent Geese passing the watchpoints at the far end of the Channel you wouldn't think Portland could get so few as it does and that's always been the case here - presumably those that do pass this part of the world mostly do so over Chesil before gathering up at staging points in the harbours and estuaries to our east. This is a spectacle we'd love to see more of but we doubt we'll ever do much better than the odd flock such as these that passed the Bill this morning © Geoff Orton:

A few new for the year butterflies put in appearances in today's lovely sunshine - this Comma was in the Obs garden this morning, whilst Small White and Brimstone were logged at spots around the middle of the island © Martin Cade:

Beautiful weather today at @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social - Reasonable sea-passage with ~200 Common Scoter, 15 RT Diver, 4 Avocets & Sandwich Tern east, and lots of northbound Meadow Pipits and the first two Ring Ouzels of the year made up for somewhat meagre numbers of migrants on the ground

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— Ben Sheldon (@sheldonbirds.bsky.social) March 20, 2025 at 6:16 PM

More photos of the 3 Ringed Ouzels at the Verne, Portland today

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— Debra Saunders (@debbyseamist.bsky.social) March 20, 2025 at 9:39 PM

19th March

Today saw another exciting pulse of early spring migration, although this would have been hard to appreciate from a walk around the Bill where grounded migrants continued to be almost completely absent. The sea provided the best return for both variety and numbers, with totals from the Bill including 891 Common Scoter, 25 Red-throated Diver, 12 Oystercatcher, 11 Brent Geese, 10 Garganey, 5 Teal, 4 Shoveler, 4 Velvet Scoter and the first 6 Sandwich Terns of the year. Meadow Pipits once again made up the bulk of the overhead passage with 534 from the morning spot counts at Wallsend, where the supporting cast included 38 Linnets, 19 Wood Pigeon, 11 alba wagtails, 10 Goldfinches and 2 Swallows; 12 Sand Martins were also a belated addition to the island year-list, although the lone House Martin was distinctly on the early side - there are only four earlier records of House Martin at the Bill (in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2014). Elsewhere, there was a White Wagtail at Reap Lane and 2 Mute Swans at Ferrybridge.

Both Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell were on the wing at the Bill today.

Today was certainly a Common Scoter day although whether it'll be the Common Scoter day of the spring remains to be seen ...

...even in slow motion they don't half bomb past © Martin Cade:

It's always a pleasure to spend time at the Bill tip but just lately that's been made even more enjoyable by the presence of so many Razorbills in attendance at the auk colony - counts of well into three figures have been the rule so far this spring and on many days they're outnumbering Guillemots which certainly isn't usually the way of things here...

...whilst for several months there's been a really good-sized group of Common Dolphins in residence offshore © Martin Cade:

18th March

First off, a Happy Birthday to ourselves - we're almost up to OAP vintage: today's the 64th anniversary of the official opening of PBO at its current base at the Old Lower Lighthouse...

...fortunately, not a great deal ever changes here and the Peter Scott painting is still in situ today more or less right where it was when the great man packed his brushes away:

Back to the present and the Meadow Pipit avalanche continued unabated: today's bright sunshine and very stiff easterly were perfect conditions for passage along West Cliffs, where sample counts included an early/mid-morning total of 400 in an hour at Reap Lane and a later morning total of 785 in two hours at Wallsend; with plenty of birds on the move at other times the day total must have been well in excess of 2000. The year's first Swallow also passed through at Reap Lane, whilst other movers included a trickle of Wood Pigeons, alba wagtails (including a few certain Whites), Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Linnets. Nocturnal migrants either passed straight through without stopping or weren't moving in the first place, since the likes of Wheatears and Chiffchaffs were still only really thinly spread on the ground; a few of the diurnal movers that dropped in included 2 White Wagtails at Reap Lane. The sea was still very quiet, with no more than 22 Common Scoter and a lone Red-throated Diver through off the Bill.

One of the grounded White Wagtails at Reap Lane © Pete Saunders:

There are a lot worse ways of whiling away a couple of hours than vismigging in the sunshine high up on West Cliffs with Meadow Pipits streaming past just metres away at eye level or below © Martin Cade:

17th March

It was heartening to be woken by a Rain Alarm alert today and to look out and find that heavy cloud cover had rolled in overnight. Whilst the damp didn't really materialise the cloud was more than enough to drop to visible height the first substantial Meadow Pipit movement of the spring: a steady flow was evident throughout the Bill area, with a 90 minute sample count of 590 heading along West Cliffs suggesting that the day's full total would have been way into four figures; a few alba wagtails and Goldfinches were tagging along but to all intents and purposes the passage was a bit of a monoculture. The cloud had almost no effect on the ongoing parlous state of affairs on the ground, with 1 Chiffchaff the sum total of arrivals at the Bill where, rather unexpectedly, one of last week's Bullfinches also came out of the woodwork after going missing for several days. The increased cloud cover arrived in tandem with a freshening of the northeasterly that in turn saw the sea come up with 3 Velvet Scoters and a Greylag Goose, along with another dozen passing Red-throated Divers.

Through the scope the presumably migrant Greylag Goose powering up-Channel into the teeth of a stiff and cold northeasterly looked pretty impressive but you need a substantial dollop of imagination to pick up on that from our two mile range record snap of it battling through the Race © Martin Cade:

Our last two Bullfinches of last week's mini arrival were a brace of nice males - one an adult and the other one of last year's youngsters (the latter was the bird that popped up out of the blue again today). We often find spring Bullfinches pretty tricky to age on a field view - unlike, for example, Goldfinches or Greenfinches in which the adults are usually much more vividly coloured than youngsters and lack any trace of discontinuity in the greater coverts, both age classes of Bullfinch usually look pretty much the same in terms of the intensity of their plumage colouration. Fortunately, in the hand they're almost always a doddle to age because pretty well all youngsters retain the juvenile carpal covert (the rather forlorn-looking little feather tagged on the outside end of the greater coverts - arrowed in our photos below - that's hardly ever visible on a field view of a Bullfinch) - on an adult this feather has a nice crisply marked greyish-white edge/tip, whereas on a youngster it has a diffuse rusty-toned rim. Our youngster does have three retained juvenile outer greater coverts that are less glossy and with smaller, more diffuse pale tips than the corresponding feathers on the adult, but to our eyes there's enough of a blue gloss on these feathers that once they're bunched up on the closed wing as they would be on a field view the difference isn't at all obvious ©  Martin Cade:

16th March

By way of 'proper' migrants, the fact that a lone Snipe at the Bill was the day's show-stealer just about said it all today; single Black Redstarts at Southwell and Blacknor also made the list but amongst commoner fare Chiffchaff and Wheatear chipped in with totals of one and zero respectively! For those that follow the fortunes of releases and the like there was excitement in the form of singles of White-tailed Eagle and Red Kite over the middle of the island at various times during the morning.

And if you're minded to have a go at releases...

We're going to get complaints from the guests about the din from our Little Owls before long: one of them has taken to using the Obs garage roof as its main calling perch and it just doesn't stop - it's currently been calling for nearly an hour and is still going strong!

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) March 16, 2025 at 12:04 AM

15th March

Same weather, same migrants, slightly different numbers. Being a nice bright weekend day there was an increase in coverage but, sadly, more eyes didn't mean more birds, with a good perusal of the centre and south of the island coming up with a common migrant tally of just 11 Wheatears and 8 Chiffchaffs; beyond the usual half dozen Purple Sandpipers and both the recent Firecrests still about, singles of White Wagtail and Mistle Thrush provided the only other interest on the land there. Sea passage didn't pick up at all, with just 10 Common Scoter and a Red-throated Diver through off the Bill.

14th March

A lovely albeit still chilly day but one with few noteworthy migrant happenings. A Short-eared Owl was new at the Bill where 7 Wheatears, 4 Chiffchaffs, a Blackcap, a Bullfinch and a trickle of arriving Meadow Pipit were also logged; a few more Wheatears and Chiffchaffs were also thinly spread elsewhere, along with 5 Redwings at the Verne Moat. Five more Red-throated Divers passed by off the Bill.

13th March

IN FOCUS SOUTH WEST Optics day this Sunday 16th March @PortlandBirdObs 10 till 4 @DorsetWildlife 07307 698798 @DorsetBirdClub @opticronuk @SwarovskiOptik @ZEISSBirding @hawkeoptics and more pic.twitter.com/TmlEnk7yvs

— IN FOCUS SOUTH WEST (@MortimerKe93304) March 13, 2025

A clear, cold night didn't look likely to have been much help in dropping new arrivals and 5 Wheatears, 3 Chiffchaffs, 3 more Bullfinches and the spring's first Blackcap were all that could be mustered from the Bill area; yesterday's new Firecrest was still about there as was the wintering Black Redstart, whilst a couple more Wheatears and another Blackcap were found further up-island. Rewards from overhead and from the sea were so few as to not be worth a mention.

The cloudless dawn sky enticed some more Bullfinches into getting moving © Martin Cade:

Great Northern Diver over Ferrybridge this morning © Pete Saunders:

Another first for the spring: Blackcap trapped at the Obs. Also 3 new Bullfinches there this morning.

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) March 13, 2025 at 8:54 AM

12th March

Much quieter conditions were a lot more favourable for tapping into migrants today, with a fair little selection around the Bill that included Chiffchaffs just about getting into double figures, the first 2 Fieldfares of the year, 2 Redwings, 2 Bullfinches, a Lapwing, a Firecrest (with the winterer also still present), a new Great Tit and the first 4 Long-tailed Tits making it out as far as the Obs so far this year; visible passage there including 30 Meadow Pipits, 11 Carrion Crows, 7 alba wagtails, 3 Ravens and 2 Jackdaws arriving in/off. Wheatears were again conspicuous absentees at the Bill, with only one found elsewhere up-island; also elsewhere, a Black Redstart was at Reap Lane and 1 Pale-bellied Brent Goose was again at Ferrybridge. Offshore, 76 Kittiwakes, 68 Common Scoter, 27 Red-throated Divers and 7 Mediterranean Gulls through at the Bill provided some passage interest. 

On the back of the first double figure ringing totals of the year we thought we ought to get the ringing totals spreadsheet back up and running - as usual, there'll be a link to it on the main sightings page on the blog

ringing spreadsheet 2025

A lurky Redwing trying its best to look scarce and interesting at the Obs...

...where the best of the properly scarce and interestings were 2 Bullfinches and a new Firecrest © Martin Cade:

Barn Owls continue to entertain in the evenings - two were at Southwell today © Pete Saunders...

...and, despite two being found dead there in recent weeks, there are still birds showing from time to time at the Bill © Martin Cade:

11th March

Lean times still on the migrant front although a small arrival of Wheatears did see the logging of their first double figure total of the season, with 8 scattered around Barleycrates/Reap, together with further singles at the Bill and Ferrybridge; a few extra Stonechats, a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls arriving in/off and the odd few Chiffchaffs here and there were not only the best of the rest but all of the rest. Three Red-throated Divers passed by off the Bill, whilst winter fare still on offer included 37 Dark-bellied and 2 Pale-bellied Brent Geese at Ferrybridge.

This morning's Pale-bellied Brents at Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders:

10th March

We blame Spain - or at least the current weather over Spain. There didn't seem to be any other logical reason than blocking weather conditions further south for today's really promising mildness and veil of cloud not dropping a decent arrival of migrants - 4 Chiffchaffs in the whole Bill area is barely worth mentioning, let alone qualifying as a decent arrival. Not only was there precious little by day but the evidence from the nocmig recorder was that there nothing moving at night either: singles of Lapwing and Moorhen calling over the Obs were nice oddities but not a single logging of a thrush or Robin represented a dreadful return given the cloud cover and odd spit of damp in the air. A very minor trickle of visible arrivals did get going after daybreak, when 37 Meadow Pipits, 4 alba wagtails and a Starling arrived in/off at the Bill and grounded Stonechats had noticeably increased by the afternoon. The sea was almost as grim as the land, with 138 Gannets, 10 Red-throated Divers and a handful of migrant gulls easily the best of it off the Bill.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth on the patio Rosemary this morning

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— Debra Saunders (@debbyseamist.bsky.social) March 10, 2025 at 3:31 PM

9th March

Despite conditions remaining more or less the same sea interest dwindled right away today, with little more than a measly 5 Red-throated Divers through off the Bill. Numbers weren't a lot better on the land although quality was higher, with a Red Kite overhead at the Bill, single White Wagtails new in at Barleycrates Lane and Blacknor, a Redwing also at Barleycrates and a new Black Redstart at Southwell; Chiffchaffs were only very thinly spread and overhead Meadow Pipits arrived in/off at no more than a tiny trickle.

The Red Kite at the Bill © Martin Cade:

8th March

Despite the breeze freshening and backing further to the northeast than would usually be appreciated, the sea continued to entertain with some half-decent early season totals to show at both the Bill and Chesil. Six Avocets through off Chesil were the highlight, with back-up tallies that included 460 auks, 56 Common Scoter, 48 Kittiwakes, 38 Shoveler, 32 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 16 Teal, 14 Mediterranean Gulls, 10 Pintail, 8 Red-throated Divers and 2 Black-headed Gulls from the Bill and 28 Black-headed Gulls, 8 Shoveler, 8 Common Scoter, 7 Dunlin and 2 Wigeon from Chesil. A trickle of overhead arrivals provided most of the numbers from the land, including 44 Meadow Pipits, 8 Linnets, 4 Ravens, 2 alba wagtails, 2 Siskins and singles of Common Buzzard and Jackdaw through at the Bill. Grounded arrivals remained few and far between, with little more than a handful of Chiffchaffs and 2 Wheatears around the south of the island.

This morning's Avocets passing Chesil - a gripping and very infrequent sight on a Portland seawatch © Paul Harris:

Our attempt at a proper seawatch from the Bill tip was ineptly timed from the waterfowl point of view but we did have the very unexpected sight of a Common Buzzard lumbering in off the sea beyond Pulpit Rock. Common Buzzards do seem to be genuinely averse to long over-water movements and visible immigration or emigration has hardly ever featured in our log - we can still well remember the famous 'Honey Buzzard' day on 30th September 2000 when, amongst the wealth of other raptors that passed over the Bill and left out to sea, at least 25 Common Buzzards appeared overhead (up to that time there'd been fewer than 100 Common Buzzards ever recorded at the Bill) but none was actually witnessed leaving to the south © Martin Cade:

Hummingbird Hawkmoth on the wing today at Pennsylvania Way © Mark Williams:

Just one migrant moth overnight at the Obs but it was a first for the year - a Pearly Underwing

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) March 8, 2025 at 8:03 AM

7th March

Another disappointing day on the land - just 4 Chiffchaffs constituted the migrant tally at the Bill - was compensated for by noticeably more action at sea today. Totals of 16 Pintail and 11 Shoveler (...Dungeness it wasn't!) provided some seasonable quality, whilst far more conspicuous was the strong passage of c1800 auks; other numbers included 104 Kittiwakes, 54 Common Gulls, 33 Mediterranean Gulls, 28 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 26 Common Scoter, 13 Red-throated Divers, a Black-headed Gull and the year's first Puffin. At Ferrybridge, an exodus of Brent Geese saw just 4 remain, with 2 Shelducks also there.

Strong up-Channel passages of non-local auks aren't too unusual at this time of year and birds in non-breeding plumage pretty well always predominate. Our local breeding auks are in full 'summer' plumage as soon as they return and start prospecting at the colony in October/November - presumably they've already squeezed a complete post-breeding moult into 'winter' plumage and then a partial pre-breeding moult into 'summer' plumage into the three and a bit months between leaving the colony in July and returning in October (since most of this happens way out to sea and so out of scrutiny you do wonder whether some of them even bother with the winter plumage stage and just skip straight from breeding plumage into the next breeding plumage). With birds in winter/non-breeding plumage usually making up the bulk of the spring auk movements - today's ratio was somewhere in the region of 70:30 to 80:20 in their favour - can we assume that they're immatures that aren't going to get into breeding plumage this summer or is there also a component of adults that are just really late getting going with their pre-breeding moult? © Martin Cade:

Lesser Black-backed Gulls often pose plenty of questions, what with all their different races, migration strategies and plumages, but today's birds weren't particularly troublesome since pretty well all of them were nice adult graellsii in crisp breeding plumage © Martin Cade:

There's plenty of variation amongst the last few Brent Geese remaining at Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders:

Three single migrant moths overnight at the Obs: Silver Y new for the year + Rusty-dot Pearl & DSGrass. On the bird front it's not Dungeness or Selsey but a few ducks moving for the first time this spring: 11 Shoveler, 2 Pintail and few more too distant to do

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) March 7, 2025 at 9:42 AM

6th March

Well, what a load of rubbish: there might have been some expectation for the arrival of milder air doing us a favour but all it did was prompt yesterday's fog to linger throughout the hours of darkness and render Portland invisible to any overflying migrants. A paltry tally of singles of Wheatear and Chiffchaff was all that could be mustered at the Bill, with a Black Redstart at Kingbarrow the only other possible new arrival. The fog lingered on well after dawn and likely scuppered what hopes there were for the sea, with 9 Common Scoter, 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a lone Red-throated Diver the sum from the Bill.

5th March

All rather uneventful today with a Short-eared Owl over New Ground easily the highlight. Meaningful birding was curtailed by thick fog that rolled in towards midday but there'd been ample time beforehand to establish that the day's arrivals on the ground at the Bill consisted of little more than the thinnest spread of Chiffchaffs; a handful of Meadow Pipits and alba wagtails also arrived in/off there but the only other reports were of a few of the regulation winterers. Elsewhere, a Black Redstart at High Angle Battery may or may not have been new in. Sea passage off the Bill didn't amount to more than 17 Common Scoter and 3 Red-throated Divers.

The first Hummingbird Hawkmoth of the year was on the wing at the Grove.

4th March

The only possible gripe about the ongoing glorious conditions is that they're not the best for dropping early arrivals. In the light of that, today's early starters were slightly surprised to happen upon a couple of Wheatears and a spread of Chiffchaffs dotted about the Bill; in truth, migrants rewards didn't exactly come thick and fast after that, but an overhead Brambling was a first for the year and the Chiffchaff tally reached well into double figures for the first time. Despite the promise offered by a waft of southeasterly the sea was quiet, with 5 Red-throated Divers as good as it got off the Bill. Elsewhere, the 2 Long-tailed Ducks remained in Portland Harbour.

More extensive coverage might well have come up with a pretty decent tally of Chiffchaffs for this early in the season - along with the fair spread at the Bill, half a dozen passed through just one private garden at Southwell © Martin Cade:

Portland & Harbour - Highlights from the Isle; Long Tailed Duck 2 & BN Grebe 3 (Harbour), Wheatear (Culverwell), Black Redstart & Purple Sandpiper 5 (8) (The Bill), 🦉🌎🦜@dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

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— Dorset Bird Tours (@dorsetbirdtours.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 3:33 PM

3rd March

The continuing settled weather was a massive boon from the enjoyable fieldwork point of view and by dint of plenty of effort there were eventually a few rewards to show. A Bullfinch through at the Obs and a Marsh Harrier seemingly in/off over the Bill before progressing onward up the island were both firsts for the year, whilst a light inbound passage of Meadow Pipits and alba wagtails together with a more unexpected 15 Siskins also through overhead provided further welcome signs of passage gathering a little bit of momentum; 2 Chiffchaffs, a Little Egret, a Reed Bunting and the wintering Firecrest also made the log at the Bill, the 2 Long-tailed Ducks remained in Portland Harbour and a selection of routine winterers were scattered everywhere. Over the sea, 2 Velvet Scoters were amongst the 14 Common Scoter, 8 Red-throated Divers and single Great Northern Diver though off the Bill.

The first Small Tortoiseshell of the year was on the wing at Fortuneswell.

The Marsh Harrier over the Bill © Martin Cade:

2x long tailed ducks way way out as were 2x black necked grebes

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 3:49 PM

chiffchaff, pale bellied brent and someone with a nice meal

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 4:00 PM

not sure i saw a small tort on portland last year, this one in the kids play area at victoria gardens so decided not to venture in!

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— andylportland.bsky.social (@andylportland.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 3:53 PM

26th February - 2nd March

Lovely weather but all rather eventful for a few days. An Avocet that dropped in at Portland Harbour on 27th February was easily the highlight and was the only addition to the year tally; 2 Long-tailed Ducks were also new arrivals in the harbour (1st-2nd March), whilst around and about the odd few new alba wagtails, Meadow Pipits, Stonechats, Chiffchaffs and Linnets showed up but, overall, migration was the slowest of burners.