15th August

To see yesterday's rain replaced by sunny skies seemed like the highlight the day so the fact that there were a few birds as well was quite a bonus - numbers weren't up to what we'd seen last week but, as was becoming evident as the week went on, variety's on the up. The Bill got most of the passerine coverage and returned totals that included 100 Willow Warblers, 30 Wheatears, 25 Whitethroats, 20 Sedge Warblers, 10 Tree Pipits, 5 Spotted Flycatchers, 4 Pied Flycatchers, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 3 Whinchats and 2 Redstarts on the ground and a steady flow of hirundines overhead. Wader variety dropped right off at Ferrybridge, where 2 Sanderlings and a Common Sandpiper - along with 4 Teal - were the best on offer. The sea offered a steady movement of displaced birds heading back down-Channel, with 90 commic terns, 10 Balearic Shearwaters, an Arctic Skua and a Little Gull passing through off the Bill.

After yesterday's excesses overnight mothing was much quieter, with a Birch Mocha at Avalanche Road - if we remember rightly only the fourth Portland record - easily the highlight.

Birch Mocha - Avalanche Road, 15th August 2015 © Martin Cade

14th August

Yesterday's frustrations were nothing compared with those thrown at us today, with heavy rain that set in overnight really dragging its heels and not finally clearing through until teatime; this in itself mightn't have been a problem but for the fact that migrants were clearly plentiful but, waders and terns aside, almost impossible to get amongst. Overnight, waders were a real feature at the Bill, where the 9 species - including 2 Green Sandpipers - heard overhead before the onset of the rain set the tone for what was follow during the daylight hours; interest amongst the grounded birds at dawn there included 7 Whimbrel, 6 Common Sandpipers, 4 Sanderling, 3 Dunlin, 2 Ringed Plover and a Knot, whilst the falling tide at Ferrybridge later revealed a hatful of variety that included 180 Common Terns, 10 Little Terns, 3 Arctic Terns, 2 Knot and singles of Golden Plover, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Ruff, Greenshank, Snipe and Common Sandpiper. The Obs garden was again leaping with Willow Warblers but the rain thwarted all attempts at meaningful fieldwork and all but a half hour of ringing, with a lone Pied Flycatcher there the only other noteworthy report on the passerine front. Odds and ends through on the sea at the Bill included 9 Balearic Shearwaters, an Arctic Skua and a Little Gull.

Until the onset of the rain the night had looked to be near perfect for moth-trapping and there were plenty of rewards - even if soggy egg-trays and bedraggled moths had become quite an issue by the time traps came to be checked. The night's highlight were 3 Wood Grass-veneers Crambus silvella - a new species for Portland - from the Obs traps. Although immigrant numbers there showed a conspicuous increase - including 35 Silver Y, 21 Rush Veneer and 15 Dark Sword Grass - it was the unexpected wanderers that showed up that provided the best of the interest, with 4 Water Veneers and singles of Bulrush Cosmet Limnaecia phragmitella and Bulrush Veneer Calamotropha paludella being of particular note; elsewhere, 2 Gems and a Convolvulus Hawk-moth were the best of the catch at Sweethill.

Little Stint, Ruff, Snipe, Common & Little Terns, Convolvulus Hawk-moth, Wood grass-veneer and Water Veneer - Ferrybridge, Sweethill and Portland Bill, 14th August 2104 © Pete Saunders (the waders), Debby Sunders (the terns and Convolvulus Hawk) and Martin Cade (the other moths)

13th August

Variety was to the fore on a day that also had plenty of frustrations, with frequent drizzly spells and a brisk north-easterly wind putting the dampeners on coverage and putting paid to what potential there looked to be. Waders featured strongly at the Bill where there was a remarkable event in the form of a single flock of c300 Golden Plovers passing over (heading rapidly south-west) - this is an unprecedented total at migration times, with the only parallel being the occasional cold-weather movements logged in mid-winter. Amongst the other waders there settled singles of Knot and Sanderling were of particular note, whilst the season's second Curlew Sandpiper was the best of the bunch at Ferrybridge. Willow Warblers again made up the bulk of the passerine numbers, with at least 100 at the Bill/Southwell, where 10 Spotted Flycatchers, 3 Redstarts, 2 each of Tree Pipit and Whinchat, and a single Pied Flycatcher were the best of the rest. At least 4 Balearic Shearwaters were again lingering off the Bill, where 50 Black-headed Gulls and a lone Pomarine Skua also passed by.

Despite increasing humidity overnight mothing was spoilt by the strength of the wind, with a single Ni Moth at the Obs easily the pick of the night's captures.

Ringed Plover & Knot and Curlew Sandpiper - Portland Bill and Ferrybridge, 13th August 2015 © Keith Pritchard (Ringed Plover & Knot) and Pete Saunders (Curlew Sand)

12th August

A continuation of yesterday on the migrant front, with a decent drop of birds everywhere. In a season that's been almost unprecedentedly slow to get going it's probably still a wee bit early for the falls to be very varied, but this was more than made up for with the numbers of Willow Warblers: 400 was probably a conservative estimate for the Bill and there were plenty more in all the suitable spots that were visited. Further totals from the Bill/Southwell included 35 Wheatears, 30 Spotted Flycatchers, 25 Sedge Warblers, 15 Robins, 4 Garden Warblers, 3 each of Dunlin and Tree Pipit, 2 Pied Flycatchers and singles of Golden Plover, Curlew, Lesser Whitethroat, with additional variety elsewhere coming in the form of a Little Ringed Plover over the centre of the island and singles of Black-tailed Godwit and Yellow-legged Gull at Ferrybridge. The sea was poorly covered but 17 Oystercatchers, 16 Black-headed Gulls and singles of Balearic Shearwater and Yellow-legged Gull were of note off the Bill.
 
Immigrant moth interest was varied rather than spectacular, with the best of the oddities being a Barred Red and an Olive-tree Pearl at the Obs, a Vagrant Piercer Cydia amplana and a Gem at Sweethill and a Scalloped Hook-tip at St Peter's Church.

Spotted Flycatcher, Willow Warbler, Sand Martin, Black-tailed Godwit and Yellow-legged Gull - Portland Bill, Southwell and Ferrybridge, 12th August 2015 © Mike Trew (Spot Fly and Willow Warbler), Nick Stantiford (Sand Martin), Pete Saunders (Black-tailed Godwit) and Debby Saunders (Yellow-legged Gull)

 

And to end this post a bit of Obs garden soundscape from this afternoon when it seemed like wherever we went we were surrounded by Willow Warblers:

 

11th August

A cracking day, with a weather front straddled along the Channel holding up migrants and dropping a succession of new arrivals through the morning, before early afternoon saw the arrival overhead of first a Black Stork and then a Marsh Harrier. The arrival of the stork over the centre of the island - in the light of events elsewhere around the country in the last fortnight, an almost expected first occurrence for Portland - was announced by pandemonium amongst the local gulls, who shortly afterwards had a second cause for alarm when the harrier headed north over the Bill and Southwell. The Bill area was not fully censused, but gauged by numbers trapped at the Obs it looked likely there were a good 300 Willow Warblers through there during the morning; variety was otherwise quite limited but did include 30 Wheatears, 25 Sedge Warblers, 15 Robins, 4 Spotted Flycatchers, 2 Grey Herons, 2 Grasshopper Warblers and singles of Ringed Plover, Whimbrel, Yellow-legged Gull, Garden Warbler, Wood Warbler and Pied Flycatcher. Elsewhere, singles of Knot and Green Sandpiper were of note at Ferrybridge. At least 6 Balearic Shearwaters were again lingering off the Bill, where a lone Great Skua also passed by.

By and large, overnight moth-trapping was uneventful, with immigrant interest restricted to singles of Gem at Weston and Marbled Yellow Pearl and Dark Pine Knot-horn at West Grove Terrace.

Black Stork, Marsh Harrier, Knot, Willow Warbler and Wood Warbler - Weston, Southwell, Ferrybridge and Portland Bill, 11th August 2015 © Duncan Walbridge (Black Stork top), Pete Saunders (Knot) and Martin Cade (all other photos)

10th August

A frustrating day with long enough breaks between spells of drizzle or heavier rain to be tempted to open nets, go seawatching and the like, only to find these efforts promptly curtailed by the onset of another pulse of rain. Willow Warblers were certainly about in small numbers but there were few other observations of note from the land bar singles of Knot and Whimbrel amongst the waders at Ferrybridge. Poor visibility often hampered seawatching, but sightings at the Bill included 6 Balearic Shearwaters and singles of Pomarine Skua, Arctic Skua and Yellow-legged Gull.

The damp, murky conditions that set in overnight seemed to subdue moth activity and the traps were quieter than the previous couple of nights; singles of Convolvulus Hawk-moth at West Grove Terrace and Ni Moth at the Obs were the best of the immigrants, whilst a Purple Thorn at the Obs was good local highlight.

9th August

Slow on the migrant front today with no more than 20 Willow Warblers, 10 Wheatears and a Garden Warbler grounded at the Bill and 4 Redshanks the best of the seemingly few new waders at Ferrybridge. Visible passage was stronger, with several conspicuous pulses of Sand Martins and Swallows through over the Bill in particular; a Yellow Wagtail also passed over at Blacknor. The only other reports were of seawatching at the Bill that came up with 6 Common Scoter, 5 Manx Shearwaters, 3 Balearic Shearwaters and 2 Grey Herons.

There were again indications of moth immigration getting going, with several species recorded in their highest numbers so far this moth at the Obs; quality was rather limited, but did include the fourth island record of Lesser-spotted Pinion at West Grove Terrace and a Golden Pearl Anania verbascalis at the Obs.

Whitethroat and Golden Pearl - Portland Bill, 9th August 2015 © Martin Cade

 

...passerines in as heavy moult as today's Whitethroat usually steer well clear of drawing attention to themselves but the odd one blunders into a mist-net from time to time; the flight capabilities of this individual were so compromised that it struggled to make it to the nearest cover when we released it.

 

Golden Pearl is one of that long list of moth species of which we're never quite sure whether they're a scarce resident or just a stray. Until quite recently the records were sufficiently infrequent that we'd have had no doubt they referred to vagrants; however, after becoming more or less annual, last year we twice chivvied up singles from patches of the larval food-plant, Wood Sage, at Freshwater Bay and a resident status seemed more likely. Searches there this year have so far drawn a blank and last night's moth-trap single at the Obs is the first we've seen of this summer.

8th August

Another little flurry of migrants today although after a very clear night the numbers weren't up to yesterday's mark. The Bill area got most of the passerine/overhead coverage, which turned up 25 Willow Warblers, 10 Wheatears, 3 Sedge Warblers and singles of Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat on the ground and a strong but rather brief movement of hirundines and singles of Greenshank and Common Sandpiper overhead; 2 Balearic Shearwaters were also again lingering offshore there. Ferrybridge came up with the rest of the numbers, with 6 Sanderling and singles of Curlew Sandpiper, Greenshank and Common Gull amongst around 100 each of Ringed Plover, Dunlin and Mediterranean Gull.

After very quiet conditions overnight the moth-traps were busy but immigration didn't feature at anything more than a ticking-over level; a single Dark Spinach at the Obs was the best of the 'non-locals'.

Curlew Sandpiper - Ferrybridge, 8th August 2015 © Pete Saunders

 

...new arrivals on the wader front weren't too much of a surprise after a night when random 'hearings' included 3 Green Sandpipers over Ferrybridge during a moth-trapping session and a flock of Redshanks over the Obs during the compiling of last evening's blog update:

 

Also today we received a rather lovely selection of images from Will Langdon who'd been staying with us for a few days this week with friends from The Minors Facebook group; amongst these there was a cracking 'in habitat' photo of Chalkhill Blues on West Cliffs:

...a Glow Worm at Verne Common:

...and a Beech-green Carpet - at least in Dorset terms, a Portland-endemic - also at Verne Common:

7th August

A lovely fine, sunny and warm day that saw the first significant arrival of migrants of the autumn. Numbers on the ground hardly reached what would qualify as a fall but were welcome nonetheless, with 50 Willow Warblers, 30 Wheatears and 20 Whitethroats making up the bulk of the tally at the Bill; Sedge Warblers were noticeable absentees, with just a single there, whilst further variety came in the form of singles of Garden Warbler and Pied Flycatcher at the Bill and another Pied Flycatcher at Southwell. In was lively at times overhead as well, with plenty of Sand Martins and Swallows moving over Ferrybridge and the Bill, up to 200 Swifts over Southwell during the evening and singles of Grey Heron, Green Sandpiper and Greenshank over the Bill. Wader numbers also continued to increase, with 112 Ringed Plover, 105 Dunlin and 14 Sanderling at Ferrybridge by the evening. Sea interest dwindled, although there were still 3 Balearic Shearwaters lingering off the Bill for a good part of the morning.

Moth immigration either picked up a little or, perhaps more likely, there was more on the wing on a quieter night; highlights were few but did include an Olive-tree Pearl at Sweethill.

Pied Flycatcher - Southwell, 7th August 2015 © Pete Saunders

6th August

Another abject showing on the passerine front saw just 2 Willow Warblers logged at the Bill and no other grounded migrants reported anywhere. Waders clearly were on the move, with Ferrybridge totals building through the day to reach 97 Ringed Plover, 70 Dunlin, 7 Sanderling and a Whimbrel by the evening. Interest was also maintained on the sea, with 12 Balearic Shearwaters, 20 Common Scoter and a trickle of Manx Shearwaters through off the Bill.

There didn't look to be any new arrivals amongst the small numbers of immigrant moths trapped overnight.

5th August

Just odds and ends again today in cool and at times showery conditions. Bird of the day was the year's first Green Woodpecker that visited a garden at Killicks Hill during the morning. A Reed Warbler was new at the Obs where, quite extraordinarily, the Willow Warbler tally again consisted of just one solitary individual. Even the wader totals weren't up to much, with Ferrybridge coming up with no more than 40 each of Ringed Plover and Dunlin, and 4 Sanderling; a lone Yellow-legged Gull also dropped in there. The sea was quieter than yesterday, with 6 Balearic Shearwaters and an Arctic Skua providing a little variety amongst a light movement of Manx Shearwaters through off the Bill; another Balearic Shearwater passed through off Chesil Cove.

Immigrant moth interest was minimal with, for example, just 10 individuals of very routine fare from the Obs traps.

Yellow-legged Gull - Ferrybridge, 5th August 2015 © Martin Cade

...slightly pointless use of video time, but just as we were about to take some stills it decided to up and fly off:

4th August

It's a bad job at this stage in the autumn when you're reduced to doing essential maintenance jobs by lunchtime, but 6 hours of catching absolutely nothing in the Obs garden mist-nets was plenty long enough for us to conclude that passage still hadn't got going. A lone Willow Warbler was the only grounded migrant making the list from the Bill area, with 25 Dunlin, 7 Sanderling and a Common Sandpiper providing a few additions from Ferrybridge. The sea remained worth attention, with a steady movement of Manx Shearwaters off the Bill all day (around 100 were logged in the few periods during which they were actually counted); 14 Balearic Shearwaters, 4 commic terns, 2 Great Skuas and an Arctic Skua also passed through there.

Common Blue and Wall Brown - Portland Bill, 4th August 2015 © Ken Dolbear

 

And finally, the answer to the poser we posted a couple of days ago: the two youngsters photographed in conflab in the Obs lounge were Grahame Walbridge and David Fisher. Bob Ford, who was very active then, as now, recognised them both immediately but we did receive plenty of other suggestions that were considerably less accurate! Many thanks to a combination of David, Grahame and Phil Round for sending us the photograph - there must be others out there that we'd love to see and post here for posterity.

3rd August

What do we have to do to get some grounded migrants? Today's overcast dawn looked more than suitable for at least a small flurry, but the sum total of just 2 Willow Warblers discovered on the morning rounds of the Bill area provided ample indication that the birds thought otherwise. The sea was more productive there, with 30 Common Scoter, 14 Manx Shearwaters, 7 Balearic Shearwaters, 7 Shelducks, 5 Black-headed Gulls, 3 Arctic Skuas and singles of Whimbrel and Great Skua through during the morning. The day's other reports were of a Common Scoter in Portland Harbour and 7 Sanderling amongst the waders at Ferrybridge.

Overnight conditions looked to be as good as they've been for over a week for immigrant moths and there were at least some signs of activity picking up: only Silver Y (15) got into double figures at the Obs, but improved variety there included 3 Small Mottled Willows and singles of Olive-tree Pearl, Hummingbird Hawk-moth and Scarce Bordered Straw; elsewhere, another Four-spotted Footman was the best of the catch at West Grove Terrace.

Dark Green Fritillary - Weston, 24th July 2015 © Jo Caughlin

...our week away has inevitably led to a considerable backlog of jobs to catch up with now that we're back - not the least of which has been sorting through the whole host of photographs we'd been sent for the blog. Amongst these, one of the most interesting has to be this Dark Green Fritillary spotted and photographed at Weston by Jo Caughlin's parents. The sad demise of this species at Portland has been well documented, and this is the only sighting we've heard of this year; in fact on checking with local butterfly recorder, Nick Urch, it seems there have only been three reports in the last four years. We're not at all sure what the decline has been attributed to, but the days when Dark Green Frits could be found plentifully in places seem but a very distant memory.

2nd August

Still not a sniff of suitable conditions for dropping passerine migrants but, maybe not surprisingly, wader variety was a feature. Ferrybridge produced the best of the latter, with 45 Sanderling, 20 Dunlin, 3 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Redshanks and singles of Lapwing and Whimbrel at times during the morning; another 20 Sanderling also passed through off the Bill. The dire passerine situation saw just 2 Wheatears and 2 Willow Warbler logged at the Bill. A little movement offshore included 23 Common Scoter, 18 Manx Shearwaters, 7 Black-headed Gulls, 3 Balearic Shearwaters and 2 Mediterranean Gulls through off the Bill.

An overall small increase in immigrant moth numbers included 2 Small Mottled Willow at West Grove Terrace and singles of Marbled Yellow Pearl Evergestis extimalis and Four-spotted Footman at both the Obs and St Peter's Church, and a Bordered Straw at Reap Lane.

Black-tailed Godwits and Dunlin - Ferrybridge, 2nd August 2015 © Pete Saunders (Black-tailed Godwits) and Mike Trew (Dunlin)

 

And a poser from the dim and distant past: who are these two likely lads scheming over a cuppa in the Obs lounge back in the early 1970s?

 

 

1st August

August got underway just as July had ended, with precious little reason for departing migrants to drop out of a night sky so lit by the full moon that it seemed like darkness never really fell. Willow Warblers again scraped into double figures at the Bill and made up the bulk of the numbers on the ground; visible passage there was more conspicuous, with Swifts, Sand Martins and Swallows trickling through for a good part of the day. A Little Ringed Plover was new at Ferrybridge and seawatching at the Bill came up with 54 Manx Shearwaters and singles of Balearic Shearwater, Great Skua and Yellow-legged Gull.
 
Migrant lepidoptera included what looked to be a small arrival of new Painted Ladys at the Bill and singles of Small Mottled Willow and Bordered Straw amongst small numbers of regular immigrants in the Obs moth-traps.

presumed adult and juvenile Swifts - Portland Bill, 1st August 2015 © Martin Cade

...for no good reason other than they were swooping about rather enticingly over the Obs garden we spent a while attempting to photograph Swifts during the afternoon. In the still images - if not in life - it looked to be fairly easy to tell the presumed juveniles by their white-tipped underwing coverts; we were surprised though - again from examination of the images rather than noticing this in life - to see that some of the presumed adults (or at least, the ones that didn't have white-tipped coverts) gave the impression of being in moult. We'd always thought/imagined that Swifts didn't moult until arrival in their winter quarters and a quick check of the literature seems to confirm that, so now we're wondering if the apparent short secondaries that we initially took to be evidence of moult isn't just some sort of weird artefact generated by 'freezing' them in a photograph - that said though, it does appear to show up on quite a few images of several presumed different individual adults that are frozen in all manner of different postures, and a similar effect isn't apparent on any of the photographs of juveniles.

31st July

With a near full moon looming large in a crystal clear sky it didn't look likely that migrants on the move would drop in any quantity, but dawn did bring greater variety than hitherto this autumn. The Bill area came up with 45 departing Sand Martins, 25 Willow Warblers, 20 Whitethroats and singles of Grey Heron, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Green Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Yellow Wagtail, Sedge Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat and Blackcap, whilst 155 Sand Martins and 8 Shoveler passed over at Ferrybridge. Shearwaters again featured off the Bill, where 125 Manx and 6 Balearics passed by during the morning.

As a measure of just how weak autumn passage has been thus far, Peter Morgan has totted up for us the July ringing totals at the Obs (...sadly, not a very arduous task!); the measly total of just 68 new birds ringed included only 15 presumed active migrants: 12 Willow Warblers, 2 Spotted Flycatchers and 1 Sedge Warbler. It can only get better...

Despite the unpromising chilly, clear conditions there were signs of immigrant moths numbers picking up just a little, particularly at Sweethill where 2 Small Mottled Willows and a Bordered Straw provided the best of the quality.

Bordered Beauty - Sweethill, 31st July 2015 © Debby Saunders

 

...we used to consider Bordered Beauty a rare stray to Portland - it's very infrequent at the Obs and today's example was new for Debby at Sweethill - but last year came up with circumstantial evidence that it might now be established at Culverwell.

30th July

In much improved conditions the only news of any consequence was of a small arrival of Willow Warblers that included at least 10 at the Obs, and 400 Swallows and 40 Sand Martins leaving to the south at the Bill.

Although it remained far from suitable for overnight moth-trapping immigrant numbers did improve; routine fare - including 10 Silver Y - dominated at the Obs, with a Pine Hawk-moth at Weston providing some quality elsewhere.

juvenile and adult Common Buzzards - Southwell, 30th July 2015 © Pete Saunders

29th July

Another day of brisk north-westerlies. The odd few new arrivals included 10 Willow Warblers abd a Wheatear at the Bill, whilst a steady movement of Manx Shearwaters that developed during the evening off the Bill reached up to 50/minute at times.

Immigrant moths were again almost non-existent, with just 4 individuals of 3 species at the Obs.

28th July

Things remain far from what they ought to be at this juncture, with the almost astounding fact that just 4 new birds have been trapped and ringed at the Obs during the last week more than adequately reflecting the dearth of passerine passage in particular. Today's still brisk and chilly north-westerly did nothing to perk things up, with the only news worth a mention being of 60 Manx and 15 Balearic Shearwaters through off the Bill and 4 Sanderlings amongst the handful of waders at Ferrybridge.

27th July

In still wilder conditions there was a surprise highlight in the form of a Black Guillemot wrecked in Chesil Cove early in the afternoon; from a distance, we're unsure quite what the totals of more conventional seabirds were, but it seems like the best of the bunch at the Bill were at least 20 Balearic Shearwaters and a Yellow-legged Gull. Wader numbers were much reduced at Ferrybridge, where 8 Sanderling, a Little Ringed Plover and a Common Sandpiper provided the only quality.

26th July

It didn't take long for the weather to revert back to grim mode, and today's wind and at times heavy rain again restricted birding activities to seawatching at the Bill and wader/tern watching at Ferrybridge. Sea totals at the Bill included 100 commic terns, 50 Manx Shearwaters. 18 Common Scoter, 12 Balearic Shearwaters and a Yellow-legged Gull, whilst the Ferrybridge tally included 92 Dunlin, 13 Sandering, 12 'new' Little Terns and a Whimbrel.

Immigrant moth interest dwindled, with a Four-spotted Footman the best of the selection at the Obs.

25th July

We're away on family holiday in Cornwall this week - with what seems to be a pretty iffy internet connection - so updates are likely to be short and may well be late.

Much improved conditions today but very quiet on the migrant front, with 6 Sand Martins and 3 Willow Warblers the best on offer at the Bill. Waders at Ferrybridge included 120 Dunlin, 16 Sanderling, 3 Whimbel and a Redshank.

In what looked to be a very unpromising gusty northerly there was a surprise arrival of immigrant moths, with the totals of 42 Silver Y and 6 Dark Sword Grass at the Obs constituting year-peaks to date for both.

24th July

Quite a shocker of a day that went a long way toward replenishing the recent rainfall deficit. With serious coverage of the bushes out of the question the day's only reports were of waders at Ferrybridge and seawatching at the Bill. The Ferrybridge wader tally included 200 Dunlin, 50 Ringed Plover, 15 Sanderling, 12 Whimbrel, 3 Redshank and 2 Curlew, whilst 2 Balearic Shearwaters were ever-present off the Bill.
 
Despite faintly promising-looking conditions there was hardly any improvement in immigrant moth numbers, with a Tawny-barred Angle and a Four-spotted Footman at the Obs and 2 more Four-spotted Footman at the Grove the only real morsels of interest.

 Whimbrels - Ferrybridge, 24th July 2015 © Pete Saunders

23rd July

 

Just a reminder, since we're going to be away and the blog mightn't be updated, that the next In Focus field event at the Obs takes place between 10am and 4pm next Tuesday, 28th July 2015.

After a relatively slow start to autumn passerine passage there were welcome signs of action today, with a very small flurry of new arrivals. The Bill area received the only coverage, with 12 Sand Martins, 6 Willow Warblers and singles of Wheatear and Sedge Warbler making the list; wader numbers were largely unchanged at Ferrybridge, where 77 Dunlin, 4 Sanderling and a Whimbrel were logged. Elsewhere, a Great Spotted Woodpecker that's evidently been visiting a garden at Easton for several weeks was today noticed to be ringed and is most likely the bird ringed at the Obs on 23rd June. Standard fare on the sea included 49 Manx Shearwaters, 45 Common Scoter, 3 Balearic Shearwaters, 3 Shelducks, 2 Mediterranean Gulls and an Arctic Skua.

The immigrant moth situation remained pretty dire, with singles of Olive-tree Pearl and Four-spotted Footman by far the highlights from the mundane variety and poor numbers in the Obs traps.

Comma, Painted Lady, Peacock and Red Admiral - Portland Bill, 23rd July 2015 © Ken Dolbear

 

...Ken's also sent us through a couple of photographs of aberrant butterflies he encountered yesterday at Bottomcombe. This Small Copper with blue marking on the hindwings appears to conform to the known aberration, caeruleopunctata:

 

 

...but in a quick check we couldn't find any reference to a named aberration of Ringlet in which there are only four spots (instead of the usual five) on the hindwing: