8th September

With rain an ongoing affliction - throughout the morning at least - fieldwork opportunities were constantly interrupted and no doubt the less rewarding for it. There was a fair spread of grounded migrants at the Bill but nothing at all unexpected was uncovered; the Marsh Harrier was still about there, whilst elsewhere the Teal remained at Southwell/Suckthumb and a late Little Tern and singles of Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint were at Ferrybridge. Overhead passage was a non-event during the morning but 2 more Ospreys passed through during the afternoon and a late Swift passed over at Southwell. The Balearic Shearwater tally off the Bill dwindled slightly to c200, with 58 Sandwich Terns, 43 commic terns, 11 Arctic Skuas and 3 Great Skuas also through there.

Not the sort of view you expect to get of a Teal at Portland...

...the bird that spent a while yesterday in Pete and Debby Saunders' garden at Sweethill moved a couple of hundred metres to Nick Stantiford's garden today and was also seen once at Suckthumb © Nick Stantiford:

Wader interest at Ferrybridge included Black-tailed Godwit and Curlew Sandpiper © Pete Saunders and the lingering Little Stint © Martin Cade:

After several days of only noticing juvenile Knots settled at Ferrybridge, this evening it was interesting to see a juvenile and adult-type bird together there - a parent and youngster remaining together on migration or just a coincidental hitching-up? We thought that adult Siberian-breeding Knots didn't moult out of their summer plumage until they reach Africa so were wondering if these were birds from Canada/Greenland (that moult earlier in Europe) but on looking more closely at the adult it looks to have left-over juvenile small coverts near the wing-bend so we're guessing it's actually in first summer plumage - is that right? © Martin Cade:

7th September

There was a fair selection of both scarcer and routine arrivals today but we get the feel that just at the moment we're on the wrong side of the weather for the bulk of both bird and bug migration - whether the latest batch of rain that rolled across the Channel and wrote off the afternoon will make a difference remains to be seen. A Wryneck and an Ortolan Bunting provided the best of the scarcity interest at the Bill, with another Ortolan seen earlier over Coombefield; the long-staying Marsh Harrier remained at the Bill and another left out to sea from there, whilst on the common migrant front there sounded at dawn to have been a good drop of phylloscs at the Bill but they were less apparent later when the 60 or so Wheatears logged were the most conspicuous arrivals. The richest vein of less common migrants was tapped into at Coombefield/Thumb Lane where 2 Firecrests and 2 Pied Flycatchers were of interest. The conditions remained conducive for wader arrivals, with 2 Little Stints, a Curlew Sandpiper and a Black-tailed Godwit the best at Ferrybridge and 6 Common Sandpipers, 2 Snipe and a Knot amongst others at the Bill; a Teal on a garden pond at Sweethill was an unexpected waterfowl arrival. Balearic Shearwaters again dominated off the Bill where at least 500 were offshore before the rain set in; 10 Arctic Skuas passed through or lingered there and terns featured strongly, with 50 Sandwich and 30 commics lingering and singles of Arctic and Black through offshore; another 8 Arctic Terns passed through at Ferrybridge where up to 100 Sandwich Terns were settled at times.

It was another of this sort of day - we don't know what the official rainfall total is for the last few days but from the fieldwork point of view it's suddenly got pretty grim with everywhere comprehensively muddy and dripping © Martin Cade:

Although inadvertently flushed up at point blank range the Ortolan at the Bill subsequently afforded no more than flying-away views © Martin Cade:

This Teal was an unexpected garden visitor at Sweethill...

...whilst, in the absence of yesterday's Baird's Sandpiper, the Little Stint at Ferrybridge got a lot of attention today © Pete Saunders:

Highlight from the bill this morning, a chap told me that a Convolvulous Hawk had just come in off the sea a flew right past him!! He kindly showed me where it landed!

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— Joe Stockwell (@joestockwell.bsky.social) Sep 7, 2024 at 10:07

6th September

Another nice migration day with action on all fronts - some no doubt the result of a peculiar weather situation that saw a band of heavy rain linger all day long over the near-by mainland without ever really impinging on the island. Find of the day was Portland second-ever Baird's Sandpiper that pitched up during the early evening at Ferrybridge - the only other island record was at the Bill long, long ago in November 1967; sadly, it proved to be a relatively brief in-and-out job and couldn't be re-found during the last hour or more of daylight. Further scarcities included a dawn Ortolan Bunting calling over Blacknor and a Cattle Egret passing over at the Bill; an early-doors Curlew Sandpiper at Ferrybridge and a Firecrest at the Bill were both firsts for the season and the long-staying Marsh Harrier remained at the Bill. Routine migrants were again quite well-represented with a good spread of grounded arrivals at the Bill, amongst which 25 Whitethroats and 12 Whinchats were peaks for the season to date. Overhead passage wasn't a huge feature until the afternoon when an arrival of mixed hirundines included c400 House Martins; 15 Knot, 2 late Swifts and a Greenshank were also of note overhead. The sea was again busy with at least 200 lingering Balearic Shearwaters off the Bill where 210 Kittiwakes, 6 Arctic Skuas, 2 Black Terns and an Arctic Tern also passed through.

The Baird's Sandpiper was not alone in making the briefest of stops at Ferrybridge - the Curlew Sandpiper was just as short a stayer © Debby (settled) and Pete Saunders (flying):

The Grey Plover also at Ferrybridge © Debby Saunders:

The first Firecrest of the autumn...

...and what might well be one of the last Swifts we see this year © Martin Cade:

Today's migrant and other moths of interest from the Obs; Pale Eggar a Portland rarity (<5 records); Beautiful Gothic the latest of the Portland specials to get on the wing.

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) Sep 7, 2024 at 0:10

Finally, we don't have any photos of today's Baird's Sandpiper but whilst missing it this evening we were reminded of the last one that didn't quite make it to Portland: Brett's bird at Lynch Cove, just a little way up the Fleet, in September 2017 - a good find and a really nice bird © Martin Cade:

5th September

What a shocker: rain set in only an hour or so after dawn and continued for the duration of day and well on into the night. Birding opportunities were necessarily very limited although the sea and Ferrybridge did get good coverage. The wash-out on the land was disappointing since there looked/sounded to be a good bit more about than yesterday but in the short time available nothing more than 3 Spotted Flycatchers and a Redstart in the vicinity of the Obs could be found amongst the conspicuously numerous phylloscs and Wheatears. The Ferrybridge wader tally was constantly changing, but 29 Knot, 8 Sanderling, 3 Little Stints, 2 Bar-tailed and a Black-tailed Godwit, a Whimbrel and a Redshank were there at various times amongst the routine array; Sandwich Terns reached a peak of 21 there. Balearic Shearwaters were again ever-present off the Bill where there were often 50 or more at a time and likely still well into the hundreds altogether; plenty of Manx and a single Sooty Shearwater also passed by there.

Today's rainfall radar images (this one was from 1pm) were something to make the heart sink - or if you like seeing migrating/disorientated waders they were something to get excited by:

Ferrybridge was one of the few places that was birdable today and, as so often happens in these conditions, there was a constant turn over of birds. These Black & Bar-tailed Godwits, Sanderlings and a Whimbrel were there at dawn before it rained © Pete Saunders:

...but with nightfall, the continuing heavy rain and the tide rising enough to cover the sandflats all coinciding at the end of the day there was some fantastic late movement to tap into. Three Little Stints dropped in for a few minutes...

...but the most compelling sight was the constant departure of noisy flocks of waders rising up into the leaden sky and heading away south...

...it was getting so dark by the time two successive flocks of Knot zoomed through that but for their  constant calling they were barely identifiable. Really, really exciting birding! © Martin Cade:

Today's wet weather did give us a chance to finish off a little project we were messing around with back in August. Bastard-toadflax Thesium humifusum is a rare-ish plant of good-quality calcareous grassland that grows here and there on the Slopes at the Bill; entomologists also know it as the only host-plant of two obviously equally rare-ish insects, the micro-moth Chalk Hill Ridge-back Epermenia insecurella and the Down Shieldbug Canthophorus impressus. Our particular interest has always been in the moth and as we hadn't seen that for a while we thought we'd try and get some in-situ photographs of it; this proved to be a lot more tricky than anticipated but did lead to the cobbling together of some video and stills that hopefully give a slight feel for what the plant and its bugs look like in the field. Many thanks to Erin Taylor, Mark Cutts, Martin King, Matt the Botanist and Jodie for various assistances - particularly for help with locating the plant in the first place which wasn't all that easy since most of it had already gone over for this year © Martin Cade:

4th September

For some reason we're not really getting there on the scarcity front right now: routine migration has been fair if largely unspectacular in recent days but, beyond a single Wryneck, stepping up a tier is proving beyond our capabilities - maybe now that folk are so inclined to stay at home and wait for news there simply isn't enough hard-core coverage? Today's best offerings were a Great White Egret over the Obs and an Osprey through over Verne Common; beyond those morsels of quality it was a real struggle to get past the routine: variety wasn't too bad but the likes of 40 Yellow Wagtails, 30 Grey Wagtails, 8 Tree Pipits, 7 Whinchats, 3 Pied Flycatchers, 2 Common Sandpipers, 2 Redstarts, 2 Spotted Flycatchers and singles of Marsh Harrier (the long-stayer), Greenshank and Lesser Whitethroat were far from a bumper tally for early September. The sea did continue to return worthwhile numbers, with the 450 Balearic Shearwaters their highest total to date; 300 Manx Shearwaters, 28 Sandwich Terns, 5 Arctic Skuas, 4 Great Skuas and a Yellow-legged Gull amongst others were decent additions to the offshore totals.

Old hat to many these days, for us Great White Egret's still a relatively high value bird so this one soaring way up over the Obs caused a bit of excitement © Martin Cade:

The nocturnal quest for Barn Owls continues - very successfully by the look of this photograph © Verity Hill:

Ringing still ticking over at the Bill with today's total 70 of 14 species. 18 WWs and 12 Bcaps to be expected; 12 Robins was their highest total so far this autumn; 9 Grey Wagtails took their total to 38 in the last fortnight (all at Culverwell) which exceeds the previous annual record of 36

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) Sep 5, 2024 at 0:24

Late morning South of Fancy's Farm Location what3words: testy plugged zone 1 Yellow Wagtail - over 2 Stonechat 4 Whinchat 2 Wheatear 4 Common Whitethroat

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— Port and Wey (@portandwey.bsky.social) Sep 4, 2024 at 18:01

3rd September

What with there being far thinner cloud cover and not a hint of rain, today was always going to struggle to get on a par with yesterday. Migrants were about, with 2 more departing Ospreys the pick of the bunch at the Bill, but for the most part it was a day of variety rather than numbers. Pockets of interest at the Bill saw the likes of 12 Whitethroats, 9 Whinchats, 6 Sedge Warblers, 5 Grey Herons, 4 Spotted Flycatchers, 2 Pied Flycatchers and singles of Merlin, Grasshopper Warbler, Reed Warbler, Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat logged amongst the scatter of commoner fare, with more of the same in the few other spots around the island that got a look. The sea was constantly busy through the morning, mainly with the ever-burgeoning numbers of Balearic Shearwaters lingering off the Bill - 400 was today's best guesstimate for the numbers there, with some of these also seen later off Chesil; 5 Arctic Skuas and 3 Black Terns also passed through there.

It was a day for supercilia in the Crown Estate Field, some being flaunted but others being kept under wraps - Whinchat and Sedge Warbler © Martin Cade:

A Merlin was buzzing about at the Bill from time to time © Thomas Miller...

...which reminded us to put out an ask for visitors to pay close attention to any Merlins they see settled as we're trying to get to bottom of what's going on with this individual that Jodie photographed a few days ago that seems to be bearing two rings - sadly it was always too far away to get a real handle on whether they're two metal rings, a metal ring and a colour ring or even not 'proper' scientific rings at all © Jodie Henderson:

Samey selection of migrant moths at the Obs last night incl 37 ferrugalis, 24 noctuella, 24 SY, 15 vitrealis, 8 xylostella, 8 DSGrass, 6 Delicate, 4 Scarce Bordered Straw, 2 abietella, singles Porter's Rustic & Painted Lady.

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) Sep 3, 2024 at 10:59

2nd September

The deleterious effects of rapid emergence from a comfortable bed in the small hours to rescue the nocmig recorder from potential tech meltdown brought on by an unforecast deluge that dragged on towards dawn quickly wore off once it became apparent that the rain had downed migrants aplenty. At the Bill, Wheatears were everywhere and reached a conservative tally of 250; Spotted Flycatchers might only have managed a tenth of that number but were still conspicuous, whilst among the less obtrusive arrivals 50 Willow Warblers, 25 Tree Pipits, 20 Whitethroats, 15 Whinchats. 10 Sedge Warblers, 5 Pied Flycatchers and 3 Redstarts were all worthwhile totals in the context of the relative dearth of grounded migrants so far this autumn. Amongst the also-rans there, a departing Osprey, 4 Greenshank, 2 Green Sandpipers and a Golden Plover were of note, whilst elsewhere the likes of 10 Sanderling and a tardy Little Tern dropped out of the murk at Ferrybridge. The Balearic Shearwater tally again hovered around the 200 mark off the Bill, where 350 Gannets, 70 departing Lesser Black-backed Gulls and singles of Great Northern Diver, Great Skua and Arctic Skua were also logged.

It was a pleasure to see migrants in quantity everywhere today; Wheatear © Geoff Orton and Pied and Spotted Flycatchers © Martin Cade:

An odd quirk of the day was the number of adult Spotted Flycatchers grounded. At this time of year, adults are usually far too clever/experienced to have to stop in any numbers in the suboptimal habitat on offer at the Bill but the ringers tell us that nearly half of the birds handled at the Obs today were adults. Given a half-decent view Spot Flys are relatively easy to age in the field in autumn, as evidenced by our photo above that shows a worn, slightly scruffy adult with a selection of darker, fresher, newly-moulted tertials and greater coverts; youngsters are altogether more sparkling, with a prominent wing-bar and very often a scattering of retained juvenile spots on the uppertail coverts and mantle/scapulars (we covered their ageing on the blog last autumn 26th August 2023).

The single Bar-tailed Godwit at Ferrybridge is looking a bit lonesome © Pete Saunders:

Ferrybridge 15:30 2 Sep 2024 Sandwich Tern 10 Little Tern 1 juv Common Tern 1 ad Sanderling 10 Redshank 1 Bar-tailed Godwit 1 Portland Bill busy with wheatears etc -lovely murky day. Waverley 1E

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— Steve M (@steveweynature.bsky.social) Sep 2, 2024 at 17:53

One thing that's really on the up at Portland these days is the Barn Owl - Mark and Verity trapped and ringed another two new birds at the Bill last night © Verity Hill...

...and whilst wandering around a little-watched part of the island today Duncan Walbridge stumbled across yet another breeding pair that we weren't aware of © Duncan Walbridge:

A respectable 80 birds of 14 species ringed at the three Bill ringing sites today; 27 Willow Warblers and 16 Spotted Flycatchers topping the totals, with 3 Pied Flycatchers and the first 3 Redstarts of the autumn amongst the rest. Thanks Thomas Miller for a few photos.

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) Sep 2, 2024 at 23:44

Good migrant moth influx at the Obs last night incl 55 ferrugalis, 52 SY, 23 vitrealis, 21 xylostella, 14 noctuella, 14 DSGrass, 6 Scarce Bordered Straw, 5 Corn-borers, 3 Painted Lady, 2 Red Admiral, 2 Delicate, 2 Porter's R, singles of lots of others incl amplana, extimalis & Black Arches

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) Sep 2, 2024 at 9:01

1st September

The weather complexion changed again today as thundery showers rolled across the Channel and begun to make landfall as the morning wore on, prompting a right old miscellany of movement. A Wryneck that pitched up at Wallsend was very much on cue and was rather the exception as it had grounded, whereas the bulk of the day's other movement was overhead or over the sea, with notable reports that included 2 Ospreys leaving overhead over the Bill, 3 Golden Plovers and a Green Sandpiper over the Bill and 4 Greenshank through at Ferrybridge amongst lots of wader variety, the season's first 2 Wigeon and single Great Northern Diver through off the Bill and a minimum of 200 Balearic Shearwaters a constant presence offshore there. The day's other sightings were more routine, but included the Marsh Harrier lingering for another day at the Bill, where there were plenty of Yellow Wagtails and Tree Pipits overhead and 16 Turnstones, 8 Dunlin, 4 Arctic Skuas,3 Whimbrel, 3 Redshanks, 2 Ringed Plovers and a Great Skua through on the sea.

The Wallsend Wryneck © Thomas Miller...

...and one of the Ferrybridge Greenshanks © Pete Saunders:

We were having a bit of trouble tracking down this colour-ringed Ringed Plover that was a Ferrybridge first on 29th August but also still present there yesterday and today; thanks to Graham Giddens for getting in touch to solve the mystery (photo © Pete Saunders)...

...Graham writes as follows: regarding the CR Ringed Plover YG GYY, recently reported and photographed at Ferrybridge. Thanks Pete Potts for passing this sighting on to me, thanks Pete Saunders for reporting the initial sighting and Martin for passing that on. This is a superb sighting in more ways than one, as I shall explain: it was colour-ringed at Needs Ore Reserve in SW Hampshire on 02.06.24, it was a nesting adult male. The metal ring number is NV89434; after the breeding season it was seen on the Isle of Wight at Newtown NNR on 27.08.24 by Tracey Joliffe. However that is not the full story, as when I caught the bird in June it already had a metal ring and the ring number was NW99979; this metal ring was very worn and the number was only just readable, therefore I replaced it with a new ring and sent the info off to the BTO. The BTO replied saying that the bird had been ringed as a chick at FERRYBRIDGE, CHESIL, DORSET on 19.06.2022. It appears it has now returned home!

Overnight mothing at the Obs a bit scuppered by the strength of the wind but still fair numbers of migrants incl 7 vitrealis, 2 verbascalis & singles Vestal, Convolvulus Hawk & Delicate; Portland Ribbon Wave always an infrequent catch here

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) Sep 1, 2024 at 9:48

31st August

A different feel today with a really brisk northeasterly having sprung up overnight and increasing cloud spilling in as the day went on. Visible migration was quite a spectacle for a while, with hirundines (mainly Swallows today) streaming through into the wind over anywhere that was being watched - sample counts suggested more than 2000 per hour were passing through into the wind at times during the morning. Most of the other expected late August over-flyers were well-represented, with oddities on the move that included a Marsh Harrier (additional to the lingerer that was still about) and a selection of other commoner raptors, along with the likes of a Green Sandpiper; a variety of other new waders dropped in, including 10 Knot, 2 Whimbrel, a Redshank and a Common Sandpiper at Ferrybridge. The sky might be filled but the bushes and the fields weren't: there were a handful of new Whinchats, Redstarts and Pied and Spotted Flycatchers dotted about but commoner warblers were conspicuously few and the likes of Wheatears were no more than thinly spread. Shearwaters remained a feature offshore, where upwards of 200 Balearics were ever-present off the Bill; Manx weren't quite so numerous today, whilst 75 departing Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 5 likely Black Terns, 2 Arctic Skuas and a Yellow-legged Gull were amongst the other movers there.

Yellow Wagtail and Spotted Flycatcher at the Bill today - the wagtail is colour-ringed and is evidently a bird from Salisbury Plain (the lettering on the colour-ring couldn't be made out so if anyone's about tomorrow do keep an eye out for this bird and see if you can get a decent view of it) © Steve Mansfield:

An interesting little event we've got involved with just lately has been the appearance of an unusual bug around the Obs garden. We don't 'do' bugs in any systematic way but last year we begun catching in the moth-traps specimens of something that was very distinctive but unfamiliar that we assumed would be a colonist from inland that we just hadn't had any previous experience of. This year they've continued to appear from time to time and word of their occurrence reached various bug specialists who quickly realised they were something hitherto unknown in Britain - it's also transpired that before we'd started seeing them at Portland John Gifford had caught one in a moth-trap in Weymouth in 2022; subsequently, we've caught specimens in the moth-trap in our garden at the Grove so we've no reason to suppose the bug isn't already widely established around Portland and perhaps elsewhere.

With its retrousse rear end this little bug's rather eye-catching and quite unmistakable; evidently it's a flatid planthopper of the genus Cyphopterum - this genus has a mostly Mediterranean distribution and none of the numerous species within it are known from Britain:

Leafhopper specialists, Mike Wilson and Alan Stewart, became aware of these events and travelled to the Obs this week to see if they could find the bug in the field and discover something about its habits - this they managed to do in quick time when it was found in quantity on ragwort around the Obs garden. No doubt the bug's identity will be established before long but in the meanwhile thanks to Mike, Alan, Dan Houghton and Tristan Bantock for their help in getting this far with the matter © Martin Cade:

Despite a much stiffer northeasterly a fair catch of migrant moths at the Obs last night: 2 Mugwort Pearl sticticalis first this year; 6 vitrealis, 4 Porter's Rustics, 2 amplana, 1 Convolvulus Hawk best of the rest. Local specials incl late-ish Four Spotted

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) Aug 31, 2024 at 8:59

30th August

Summer's returned with a vengeance over the few days and while the numbers of grounded migrants have been far from impressive it's at least been a pleasure to get amongst what has arrived in lovely quiet conditions and warm sunshine. Today's clear, blue sky had looked very raptor-friendly from the outset and duly produced a Honey Buzzard that looked to arrived in off the sea at the Bill before continuing northward to at least Weston; the long-staying Marsh Harrier was also enjoying the conditions and was an almost constant presence at the Bill through the morning, The other surprise, given the offshore breeze, was another really strong movement of shearwaters off the Bill, where an absolute minimum of 3000 Manx and 215 Balearics passed by in quick time. Migrant-wise, it was a day of variety rather than numbers, with 75 Yellow Wagtails, 30 Tree Pipits, 30 Wheatears, 15 Swifts and 10 Grey Wagtails the only non-hirundine double figure totals from the Bill; 3 Pied Flycatchers, 2 Redstarts, a Grasshopper Warbler and a Whinchat were the best of the less-regulars. Ferrybridge continued to tick over, with 2 Common Sandpipers the pick of the waders and flock of 30 Cormorants heading away west also of note. Shearwaters aside, the sea didn't come up with much beyond 2 Great Skuas, 2 Arctic Skuas and a Teal. 

Always a fine sight over Portland, the Honey Buzzard looked to be a adult male © Duncan Walbridge:

The Marsh Harrier was also enjoying the sunshine and was in view nearly every time we did a round of the mist-nets in the Crown Estate Field © Martin Cade:

Variety increasing on the ringing front even if numbers remain low: 44 birds of 20 species today. 10 Willow Warblers the only double figure total; 2 each of Tree Pipit & Pied Flycatcher + singles of Grey Wagtail, Whinchat &Grasshopper Warbler the best of the less regulars.

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) Aug 30, 2024 at 23:39

Not exactly a sight of great beauty but seems to be becoming the new normal: total of 8 Porter's Rustics from the Obs moth-traps overnight

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) Aug 30, 2024 at 13:42

Last night's Obs moths: apart from the Porter's Rustics, migrants incl 28 noctuella, 13 ferrugalis, 10 Silver Y, 7 vitrealis, 1 Scarce Bordered Straw, 1 Convolvulus Hawk. Plenty of nice local specials about too incl season's first Feathered Brindle + 2nd brood Samphire Knot-horn & Yellow Belle

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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) Aug 30, 2024 at 15:39

29th August

Unbroken sunshine and a westerly breeze weren't the conditions to expect an arrival on the ground but overhead passage was steady, with hirundines moving as opposed to lingering as they had been yesterday: departing Swallows numbered well up around the 500 mark and outnumbered Sand Martins by 4 to 1; oddly, House Martins hardly featured after their excesses yesterday; Tree Pipits, Grey and Yellow Wagtails were all more prominent than of late although in totals still far below what might be expected in late August. Nothing was at all numerous on the ground but the likes of the long-staying Marsh Harrier and 2 Grasshopper Warblers at the Bill, a Pied Flycatcher at Bowers Quarry and a Yellow-legged Gull at Ferrybridge provided little morsels of interest amongst the more mundane fare. Shearwaters continued to pass in some quantity, particularly early in the morning when 1350 Manx and 140 Balearics were logged at the Bill, along with 200 Mediterranean Gulls and 2 Arctic Skuas.

We haven't been able to spend a lot of time on gulls just lately but there are still a few young Yellow-legged Gulls popping up from time to time - through a combination of moult and wear they're now looking very different to how they looked when they first arrived in July; this was one of two at Ferrybridge yesterday evening:

Good numbers of Lesser Black-backs are also about - many of them are active migrants departing to the south but there are plenty like this swarthy youngster also at Ferrybridge yesterday evening just sitting about taking it easy © Martin Cade:

A moth that immediately caught our eye in this morning's moth-traps (in fact there was a second individual when we got to another of the traps) was this apparent Hoary Footman. We do have quite a few records of this species but they're mostly from quite a few years ago and, since we find the differentiation between this species and worn specimens of the commoner Scarce Footman to sometimes be really tricky, we do fret that we're overlooking a few Hoarys: 

Anyway, this specimen looked the part and a check of the hindwing - off-white as opposed to yellow - did nothing to dispel that belief. We'll likely retain one of the two so we can check for absolute sure but certainly something to look out for in island moth-traps in the next few days if there's a bit of an arrival of them afoot (there were 4 Porter's Rustics and a miscellany of other scarce-ish migrants in the traps as well so we guess the Hoarys have arrived from the continent) © Martin Cade