Quite a wild end to the month with very stormy conditions having blown in overnight. With a big sea running and frequent heavy showers birding wasn't very easy, but 3 Balearic Shearwaters, 3 Common Scoter and 2 Red-throated Divers passed through off the Bill, a Little Gull lingered in Chesil Cove, 3 Long-tailed Ducks were in Portland Harbour and 4 Redwings were at Easton.
With the exception of the usual suspects it was pretty uneventful today, with all the reports coming from the Bill: 15 Red-throated Divers passed through on the sea, 2 Balearic Shearwaters were still lingering offshore and a lone Purple Sandpiper was at the Bill.
Three Bottle-nosed Dolphins were again off the Bill for much of the day.
Overnight, another single Euchromius ocellea was caught in the Obs garden moth-traps.
Most of today's interest was on the sea, with 12 Red-throated Divers, 3 Mediterranean Gulls, 2 Great Northern Divers, 2 Balearic Shearwaters, a Black-throated Diver and a Pomarine Skua passing through off the Bill. The only other reports were of 5 Purple Sandpipers and a Chiffchaff at the Bill and at least 50 Mediterranean Gulls at Ferrybridge.
Three Bottle-nosed Dolphins were off the Bill for a while around midday.
Another overnight arrival of immigrant moths saw 5 more Euchromius ocellea and a single Rush Veneer caught in the Obs garden traps.
Reed Buntings - Portland Bill, January 28th 2008 © Martin Cade
...a couple of the half a dozen or so overwintering Reed Buntings at the Bill - just one of the species that has benefited from the sacrificial crops planted there in the fields owned or rented by the Obs.
Decent birding conditions - millpond calm and overcast - allowed for plenty of coverage again today. An overflying Whimbrel was a very good mid-winter record at Portland Harbour, where there were also 8 Great Northern Divers, 4 Wigeon, 2 Black-throated Divers, 2 Red-necked Grebes and a Black-necked Grebe; nearby there were 85 Mediterranean Gulls, 2 Pale-bellied Brents, a Black Brant and a Shelduck at Ferrybridge. Seawatching at the Bill produced 27 Common Scoter, 8 Red-throated Divers, 4 Brent Geese, 2 Balearic Shearwaters, a Wigeon and a Mediterranean Gull, whilst 6 Purple Sandpipers, 6 Reed Buntings, 2 Turnstones, 2 Dartford Warblers, a Pheasant, a Chiffchaff, a Siskin and a Yellowhammer were the pick of the sightings on the land there.
Three Bottle-nosed Dolphins were again off the Bill for most of the day.
Overnight moth-trapping at the Obs produced another Euchromius ocellea along with the first Hebrew Character of the year.
Peacock - East Weare, January 27th 2008 © Emma Cockburn
One of the nicest days of the year so far, with nearly unbroken sunshine and little more than a light breeze. Large gulls aside, there were a good deal fewer seabirds on view off the Bill than in recent days: 3 Balearic Shearwaters and 2 Mediterranean Gulls lingered and 7 Red-throated Divers, 2 Pale-bellied Brent Geese and a Great Northern Diver passed by. Coverage of the land at the Bill produced 3 Dartford Warblers, 3 Reed Buntings, a Chiffchaff and a Siskin. Elsewhere there were 50 Mediterranean Gulls at Ferrybridge and the 4 Long-tailed Ducks were still in Portland Harbour along with small numbers of the usual scatter of divers and grebes.
Two Bottle-nosed Dolphins lingered all day off East Cliffs at the Bill.
Several Peacock butterflies were on the wing, whilst a tortoiseshell sp seen very briefly at East Weare was thought by the observer to be a good candidate for a Large Tortoiseshell.
More of the same so far today: 5000+ Razorbills, 300+ Kittiwakes, 9 Balearic Shearwaters, 9 Mediterranean Gulls and 3 Red-throated Divers offshore/passing through at the Bill, 9 Purple Sandpipers and a Chiffchaff on the land at the Bill and 50 Razorbills and 3 Long-tailed Ducks in Portland Harbour.
Today's Balearic Shearwater tally at the Bill reached the dozen mark and 4 Red-throated Divers, 3 Mediterranean Gulls and a Shelduck also passed through on the sea. Odds and ends on the land included a Chiffchaff at the Bill, 2 Redwings and a Blackcap at Easton and a Black Redstart at Pound Piece.
Overnight weather conditions were not at all suitable for moth-trapping and just 2 (!) moths - singles of Emmelina monodactyla and Crocidosema plebejana - were attracted to the Obs garden traps.
Euchromius ocellea - Portland Bill, January 24th 2008 © Martin Cade
The fall-out of Saharan dust that had been forecast duly occurred overnight and brought with it a small but nonetheless very welcome flurry of immigrant moths, with the Obs garden traps producing 2 Euchromius ocellea and a single Rusty-dot Pearl; Dark Chestnut, Acleris hastiana, Epiphyas postvittana and Crocidosema plebejana were the only resident species trapped.
On the bird front - in the absence of anything like an Allen's Gallinule, Striped Crake or African Crake wafted in on the winds from the far south - it was a case of no great change: at least 10 Balearic Shearwaters were still about off the Bill, where 7 Red-throated Divers, 5 Common Scoter and 4 Mediterranean Gulls also passed through on the sea and 2 Reed Buntings, a Short-eared Owl, a Dartford Warbler and a Chiffchaff were logged on the land. The Black Brant was again at Ferrybridge and 4 Long-tailed Ducks were in Portland Harbour.
Black Brant and Little Grebe - Ferrybridge and Portland Harbour, January 23rd 2008 © Duncan Walbridge (Black Brant) and Martin Cade (Little Grebe)
...Little Grebe is one of those neglected species that doesn't figure on the website very often (this is the first time we've posted a photograph of one). Small numbers - usually low double figure totals - are ever-present in the winter months at Ferrybridge and occasional wanderers stray into Portland Harbour; the species is a massive rarity at the Bill where there has only ever been two records
Ferrybridge produced the bird of the day in the form of the first sighting for several weeks of a Black Brant; 360 Dark-bellied Brents, 2 Pale-bellied Brents and 90 Mediterranean Gulls were also there. At least 5 Balearic Shearwaters were still lingering off the Bill, where 5 Red-throated Divers, 4 Common Scoter, 3 Mediterranean Gulls and a Great Northern Diver passed by and Gannets, Razorbills and Kittiwakes were still feeding offshore in very high numbers.
After such a long run of indifferent weather the major surprise of the day was that it was still, dry and clear. The calm conditions allowed for decent coverage of Portland Harbour which revealed the presence of 6 Great Northern Divers, 3 Black-necked Grebes, 3 Long-tailed Ducks, a Black-throated Diver, a Red-necked Grebe and a Kittiwake; nearby there were 2 Pale-bellied Brent Geese at Ferrybridge (from where the pagers also reported an Iceland Gull) and a Black Redstart at Portland Castle. The rest of the news came from the Bill where there were 10 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Short-eared Owls and a Reed Bunting on the land, 24 Common Scoter, 13 Red-throated Divers and 4 Velvet Scoter passed through on the sea and at least 3 Balearic Shearwaters lingered offshore.
A small party of Bottle-nosed Dolphins were off the Bill during the afternoon.
Mild and windy yet again. Quality continued to be provided by Balearic Shearwaters, at least 4 of which were lingering off the Bill throughout the morning, but otherwise the only reports were of a Red-throated Diver passing by off the Bill and 4 Purple Sandpipers and a Chiffchaff on the land there.
Fulmar, Guillemot and Goose Barnacles - Chesil Cove, January 20th 2008 © Emma Cockburn
...three all too typical mid-winter discoveries amongst the debris along the tide-line on Chesil Beach.
It remained so mild that it didn't seem inconceivable that the couple of flocks of Black-headed Gulls - totalling 22 birds - that passed up-Channel off the Bill during the morning might even have been early spring migrants (Black-headed Gulls are pretty scarce at the Bill in mid-winter and have been outnumbered by Mediterranean Gulls throughout December and January); seawatching at the Bill also produced 10 Common Scoter, 9 Balearic Shearwaters and 7 Red-throated Divers. The only other reports were of singles of Water Rail, Short-eared Owl and Chiffchaff at the Bill and a Black Redstart at Chesil Cove.
With still, sunny days becoming little more than a fading memory it wasn't a surprise that virtually all the news was of seawatching: a Little Gull was an overdue first for the year at Chesil Cove and 20000+ Razorbills, 11 Balearic Shearwaters, 4 Red-throated Divers, 4 Common Scoter and a Black-throated Diver passed through or lingered off the Bill. The only other news was of 4 Purple Sandpipers and a Chiffchaff at the Bill.
Most of the reports came from the Bill where the bird of the day was an Iceland Gull that flew south along East Cliffs during the afternoon; 4 Balearic Shearwaters were still lingering offshore there, a Red-throated Diver passed by on the sea and 3 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Turnstones and a Chiffchaff were on the land. The only other news was of a Black Redstart at Reap Lane and another Chiffchaff at Eight Kings Quarry.
Gannet - Portland Bill, January 17th © Martin Cade
Not so many seabirds passing through off the Bill today but a fair-sized feeding flock of Gannets, gulls and auks that spent much of the day off East Cliffs always contained up to 3 Balearic Shearwaters. Otherwise nothing untoward to report: 40 Linnets, 4 Purple Sandpipers and a Chiffchaff were at the Bill and 2 Pale-bellied Brent Geese were at Ferrybridge.
The first overnight moth-trapping session of the year in the Obs garden produced just a single Mottled Grey.
Balearic Shearwaters continue to steal the show, with a dozen or so lingering or passing through off the Bill; a good 20000 auks - still nearly all Razorbills - were also offshore and 12 Red-throated Divers and 2 Mediterranean Gulls passed by. Two Short-eared Owls were still at the Bill, 2 Blackcaps were at Easton and 6 Great Northern Divers, 4 Long-tailed Ducks, 2 Black-throated Divers and a Red-necked Grebe were in Portland Harbour.
A rough morning on East Cliffs and a few more shearwater photographs that won't win any awards for quality (....although we think we might be in with a shout in the Most Balearic Shearwaters in one photograph in UK waters in mid-winter category) - Portland Bill, January 15th © Martin Cade
Given the driving rain and gale force winds of dawn it goes without saying that most of the interest was again on the sea, where numbers of the commoner seabirds were much reduced but at least 7 Balearic Shearwaters were still off the Bill early in the morning before dispersing. The only other news was of 3 Short-eared Owls and a Chiffchaff still at the Bill.
The sea continued to provide all the action today with bags of birds off the Bill all morning. Auks - still virtually all Razorbills - were passing at around 10000/hour for a least a couple of hours, whilst 15 Balearic Shearwaters were also offshore (some lingering, some appearing to pass straight through); apart from good numbers of Gannets and Kittiwakes the morning's tally otherwise consisted of just 4 Red-throated Divers, a Common Scoter and a Mediterranean Gull.
some of the day's Balearic Shearwaters and a flock of Razorbills - Portland Bill, January 13th © Martin Cade
The recent relentless succession of Atlantic storms seem to be taking their toll, with an unprecedented winter movement of Balearic Shearwaters being the day's major feature. A few Balearics were lingering off the Bill from dawn but as the morning went on a steady westward passage developed that involved a minimum total in the mid-30s but looked very likely to have involved more than 50 birds. Large numbers of auks - mainly Razorbills and conservatively estimated to number more than 20000 - also passed through along with lesser numbers of Gannets and Kittiwakes, 6 Red-throated Divers, 2 Velvet Scoters, a Pomarine Skua and a large skua sp. The only other news received was of 2 Goosanders seen flying into Portland Harbour from Newton's Cove, Weymouth.
Clear skies and a reduction in the strength of the wind made for better birding conditions today although most of the reports were still from the sea: 27 Red-throated Divers, 11 Common Scoter, 2 Mediterranean Gulls and a Balearic Shearwater passed through or lingered off the Bill, 50 Common Scoter and 4 Velvet Scoter were settled off Chesil Cove and 4 Great Northern Divers and a Long-tailed Duck were in Portland Harbour. The only other news was of 4 Purple Sandpipers and 2 Short-eared Owls at the Bill.
The very unsettled weather continued and once again the only reports were from the sea/Portland Harbour: 3 Red-throated Divers, 2 Mediterranean Gulls and a Great Skua passed through off the Bill, 50 Common Scoter and 3 Velvet Scoter were still settled off Chesil Cove and 3 Great Northern Divers, 3 Black-necked Grebes and 2 Slavonian Grebes were in Portland Harbour.
a couple of lousy distant record shots of today's Balearic Shearwater - Portland Bill, January 10th © Martin Cade
...half-an-hour previously this bird made an excellent point-blank pass along the East Cliffs but at that moment the dozy photographer was seawatching from the comfort of the Obs instead of being where the action was.
The only news from another very windy and wet day was of a Balearic Shearwater lingering off East Cliffs at the Bill for an hour during the morning.
At the Bill there was still plenty of action on the sea but it was mainly a case of quantity rather than quality with the only oddities logged being 5 Red-throated Divers, 2 Velvet Scoter and 2 Mediterranean Gulls; also there the land produced 5 Purple Sandpipers, 4 Reed Buntings, a Pheasant, a Snipe and the wintering Siberian Chiffchaff. Odds and ends in Portland Harbour included 5 Great Northern Divers, 4 Long-tailed Ducks, a Slavonian Grebe and a Mute Swan.
Late news for yesterday: 7 Redwings and 3 Blackcaps were at Easton.
Windy and at times quite wet today. During the morning a Balearic Shearwater joined the throng of feeding seabirds off the Bill for a while and 2 Red-throated Divers and a Manx Shearwater also passed straight through there; elsewhere there were still 50 Common Scoter and 4 Velvet Scoter settled off Chesil Cove.
Difficult viewing conditions everywhere today with the low winter sun reducing the many seabirds off the Bill to virtual silhouettes and the strong westerly wind roughing up Portland Harbour enough to make finding divers and grebes a real challenge. A passing Balearic Shearwater was the best of the sightings off the Bill, where auks (again virtually all Razorbills) were passing by at around 100/minute for long periods and many hundreds of Gannets, Kittiwakes and large gulls were feeding offshore. The wintering scoter flock off Chesil Cove numbered 40 Commons and 4 Velvets, but 2 Black-necked Grebes, a Great Northern Diver and a Velvet Scoter were all that could be mustered from Portland Harbour. The only other reports were of 40 Mediterranean Gulls at Ferrybridge and singles of Redwing and Blackcap at Easton.
today's Iceland Gull and the Long-tailed Ducks from a couple of days ago - Portland Bill and Portland Harbour, January 6th and 4th © Martin Cade (Iceland Gull) and Pete Saunders (Long-tailed Ducks)
Two white-winged gulls were quality arrivals today: a Glaucous Gull flew straight through off the Bill during the morning and later an Iceland Gull was found settled offshore there; also at the Bill a Pomarine Skua was again lingering offshore and 17 Red-throated Divers passed through, whilst 100 Linnets, 23 Chaffinches, 17 Song Thrushes, 8 Purple Sandpipers, 6 Reed Buntings, 5 Chiffchaffs (including the Siberian Chiffchaff), 3 Dartford Warblers, 2 Short-eared Owls and a Bullfinch were logged on the land. Portland Harbour produced a list much like recent days: 6 Great Northern Divers, 4 Long-tailed Ducks, 3 Black-throated Divers, 3 Black-necked Grebes, a Slavonian Grebe, a Red-necked Grebe and a Velvet Scoter.
A 'more of the same' day. Portland Harbour produced totals of 8 Great Northern Divers, 4 Slavonian Grebes, 4 Long-tailed Ducks, 3 Black-necked Grebes, 2 Black-throated Divers, a Red-throated Diver, a Red-necked Grebe and a Velvet Scoter, whilst nearby there were still 2 Velvet Scoter off Chesil Cove. At the Bill 13 Red-throated Divers and 3 Mallards passed through on the sea and and there were 16 Redwings, 5 Reed Buntings, 4 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Dartford Warblers, a Chiffchaff and the Siberian Chiffchaff on the land.
Still pretty dreary today but much less windy and a good deal milder than the last couple of days. The pick of the morning's sightings came from Ferrybridge where a Spoonbill dropped in briefly; singles of Shoveler and Knot were also of note there, whilst nearby there were 22 Great Crested Grebes, 10 Great Northern Divers, 5 Slavonian Grebes, 3 Black-necked Grebes, 3 Long-tailed Ducks, 2 Black-throated Divers, a Red-necked Grebe and a Velvet Scoter in Portland Harbour and 40 Common Scoter and 4 Velvet Scoter off Chesil Cove. Good numbers of seabirds, including many hundreds of Razorbills (passing at 50-100/minute for some while early in the morning), 250 Kittiwakes and 100 Gannets, were still feeding off the Bill where 13 Common Scoter, 9 Red-throated Divers, 4 Velvet Scoter and 4 Mediterranean Gulls also passed through. Sightings from the land at the Bill included 17 Song Thrushes, 4 Lapwings, 4 Reed Buntings, 3 Dartford Warblers, 2 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Chiffchaffs and singles of Common Buzzard, Water Rail, Short-eared Owl and Redwing.
Lapwings - Portland Bill, January 3rd © Martin Cade
Grey and miserable again today with the biting east wind still an ever-present feature. Cold-weather refugees consisted of a couple of flocks of Lapwings, totalling 14 birds, that arrived in off the sea at the Bill and a party of a dozen unidentified grey geese that flew east off the Bill. More routine reports included 2 Red-throated Divers passing the Bill, 2 Purple Sandpipers and 2 Turnstones again at the Bill, 2 Redwings and a Siberian Chiffchaff still at Easton and 3 Long-tailed Ducks, 2 Great Northern Divers and a Red-necked Grebe still in Portland Harbour.
Pomarine Skua and gull flock - Portland Bill, January 2nd © Martin Cade
...with some decent-sized feeding flocks of gulls gathering offshore it wasn't too much of a surprise that one of the presumably over-wintering Pomarine Skuas should put in an appearance.
Yesterday's fair weather was well and truly blown away by a strong, cold south-easterly that set in overnight. Precious little attention was paid to the land, where the only reports were of single Black Redstarts at Southwell and Weston and 2 Purple Sandpipers and a Common Buzzard at the Bill, but the sea came up with 4 Shelduck, 3 Red-throated Divers, a Pomarine Skua and a Mediterranean Gull passing through or lingering off the Bill and 50 Common Scoter and 4 Velvet Scoter still settled off Chesil Cove.
British Primitive Goats - East Weare, January 1st © Emma Cockburn
...we'll happily include any interesting Portland wildlife photographs on the site but we weren't expecting our first offering of 2008 to be some goats! A small herd of British Primitive Goats - evidently the original 'unimproved' goat of the British Isles - were released onto East Weare/Penn's Weare last year to test the effectiveness of goats for controlling scrub that threatens to encroach wildlife-rich open habitats.
A nice sunny, still and mild start to the year. Portland Harbour continued to provide a good selection of divers, grebes and ducks that included 5 Great Northern, 2 Black-throated and a Red-throated Diver, 4 Black-necked and singles of Red-necked and Slavonian Grebes, 4 Velvet Scoter and 3 Long-tailed Ducks. Two more Red-throated Divers passed through off the Bill, where the land also produced 15 Song Thrushes, 5 Reed Buntings, 3 each of Purple Sandpiper, Turnstone and Dartford Warbler and singles of Chiffchaff, Siberian Chiffchaff and Brambling.
Late news for the last two days: December 30th produced a high count of 118 Mediterranean Gulls at Ferrybridge, along with singles of Merlin and Lapland Bunting at the Bill, but otherwise the bulk of the sightings were similar to those logged today.