16th November

If the whole morning hadn't been an unbirdable washout another waft of easterly today looked as though it might have had something of interest up its sleeve, with limited coverage during the afternoon coming with a fair spread of new arrivals. There were no particular surprises amongst what was uncovered, but a Goosander and 2 Black-tailed Godwits at Ferrybridge, a Swallow at Broadcroft and the scatter of new thrushes and Robins, 2 Blackcaps, 2 Chiffchaffs and a Brambling at the Bill all gave hope that autumn's far from over. Additionally, lingerers and/or winterers still about included 7 Purple Sandpipers, 4 Black Redstarts and a Merlin at the Bill and 3 Pale-bellied Brent Geese at Ferrybridge. Twenty Common Scoter, 6 Brent Geese and singles of Red-throated and Great Northern Divers passed by on the sea at the Bill.

The Goosander and one of the Black-tailed Godwits at Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders:


15th November

A completely dry day was a novelty even if for the most part it remained pretty windy. The clear sky tempted a few migrants aloft, with 610 Wood Pigeons and 300 Goldfinches departing to the south from the Bill where 160 Starlings arrived in off the sea; another 1610 Starlings headed north over Blacknor. Grounded arrivals hardly featured on the land, with a Blackcap the only certain newcomer at the Obs; however, presumed winterers did include a spread of several Black Redstarts. The sea continued to provide interest, with a Grey Phalarope settled at Chesil Cove (belated news suggests there have been singles there on many recent days), 2 Sandwich Terns at Ferrybridge and several Great Northern Divers in Portland Harbour.

One of the Great Northern Divers over Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders:


14th November

The favourable blip in the weather a couple of days is already seeming like a distant memory as unrelenting wind has returned to the fore. Another Leach's Petrel through at Chesil Cove was almost to be expected although there looked to be little else on the move, with a late Manx Shearwater through off the Bill the only other oddity to show from seawatch efforts; 8 Gannets making it right into Portland Harbour were also of note over the water, with 3 Great Northern Divers and a Black-necked Grebe there and a Pale-bellied Brent Goose and a Sandwich Tern at Ferrybridge providing additional interest in the vicinity. Singles of Merlin and Snipe were the best on offer from some cursory coverage of the Bill.

A Black-necked Grebe affording a flight view is a pretty rare sight anywhere © Pete Saunders:


13th November

Although we didn't feel the full force of the latest storm to roll in off the Atlantic it was far too windy for much serious birding on the land and most of the day's news was from the sea. A Leach's Petrel battling across Portland Harbour and another reported from Chesil Cove were the highlights, with an influx of Little Gulls and Sandwich Terns - seemingly as many as 13 of the former and 5 of the latter - in the same area, a Pomarine Skua through off the Bill and 6 Eider through at Ferrybridge also of note; a few storm-driven Kittiwakes also featured around the Harbour and Ferrybridge, and 2 Red-throated Divers and 2 Brent Geese passed by off the Bill. The third Pallas's Warbler in the last two days made a fleeting appearance in a private garden at Southwell, with yesterday's Avalanche Road bird also still in situ; also from the land, 2 Black Redstarts were at the Bill and 120 Dunlin, 2 Grey Plovers, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits and a Sanderling were at Ferrybridge. 

Although it remained windy all day there weren't any passing showers to drive quantities of birds closer to shore; the day's only Leach's Petrels were this one through at Portland Harbour and another reported by visitors from Chesil Cove © Pete Saunders:


This second-winter Little Gull was one of two through at Portland Harbour © Debby Saunders:



The Avalanche Road Pallas's Warbler wasn't any easier to get to grips with today: it had become more mobile than yesterday and many of its appearances were pretty fleeting but just once it did pop up slightly more favourably for us when it was below head height for a few seconds © Martin Cade:


12th November

Well, it didn't take much to get autumn going again, with a few hours of southeasterly and a dollop more overnight rain dropping first a Pallas's Warbler at the Obs and later another Pallas's Warbler and 2 Yellow-browed Warblers at Avalanche Road; a fly-by Great White Egret at the Bill - still a good bird here - was also worth a mention. Oh to have had a bit more of these conditions in recent weeks! All in all there was a decent selection of birds to show from what was a pretty negligible amount of fieldwork today, with the aforementioned scarcities arriving in tandem with a selection of commoner migrants that included 44 Redwings, 25 Song Thrushes, 6 Chiffchaffs, 5 Black Redstarts, 4 Bramblings, 4 Siskins, 3 Fieldfares, 3 Goldcrests, a Lapwing and a Blackcap at the Bill, a Firecrest at Avalanche Road and the first Black-necked Grebe of the winter at Portland Harbour; the Long-tailed Duck was also still at Ferrybridge. The sea wasn't to be outdone, with 293 Kittiwakes, 39 Common Scoter, 7 Pintail, 5 Red-throated Divers, 4 Brent Geese, 3 Great Northern Divers and singles of Black-throated Diver, Wigeon and Arctic Skua through off the Bill.

If we had even a modicum of photographic skill - and it hadn't been semi-dark for most of the day - you might have been treated to something better on the Pallas's Warblers but these'll have to do; this is the bird at the Obs...



...and this is the one at Avalanche Road © Martin Cade:


Barn Owls have been very showy at dawn and dusk in recent weeks - this one was at Sweethill this evening © Pete Saunders:


11th November

A calm day has been long overdue and was very welcome but proved to be a little less productive than had been hoped. A likely Siberian Lesser Whitethroat in Helen's Fields was a nice find and an overflying Marsh Harrier at the Bill was an oddity for mid-November but the anticipated rush of thrushes didn't materialise and the only certain new arrivals - 10 Reed Buntings, 7 Redwings, 3 Chiffchaffs and 2 Blackcaps at the Bill and a few extra Chiffchaffs, Goldcrests and the like at Wakeham - were a poor return from the ground. Five Purple Sandpipers, 2 Short-eared Owls and 2 Black Redstarts at the Bill were likely just winterers resurfacing in the benign conditions; the Long-tailed Duck also remained at Ferrybridge. It was busier overhead, with 5960 Wood Pigeons, 650 Starlings, 190 Goldfinches, 140 Chaffinches, 55 Linnets and 40 Lesser Black-backed Gulls making up the numbers at the Bill, where 20 Siskins, 6 Bramblings, 3 Redpolls and a Snipe provided a bit of quality. Ten Brent Geese, 2 Great Northern Divers and a Red-throated Diver passed through on the sea at the Bill.

Today's Lesser Whitethroat was the fourth 'eastern' bird of the autumn - the first two have been genetically confirmed as Siberian blythi birds, the third is still awaiting lab confirmation and, although not trapped and critically examined, we'd guess at today's bird being another blythi © Jodie Henderson:


Thrush passage hasn't been far off non-existent so far this autumn so a handful of Redwings were a welcome sight today; the trapped bird was only the sixth ringed at the Bill during October and November, although that seems an almost respectable total when compared with the woefully low tallies of 17 apiece for both Blackbird and Song Thrush - presumably the many thrushes that arrived further north and east back in October filtered inland where they've got ensconced having found plenty of food © Martin Cade: 


10th November

Whilst there's still plenty of time for a sting in autumn's tail today was very far from that sort of day. A buffeting northwesterly was always a disincentive for spending time in the field and the day's only worthwhile sightings from the Bill were of a Merlin still knocking about, 167 Goldfinches and 70 Linnets through overhead and 2 Great Northern Divers and an Arctic Skua through on the sea; elsewhere, the Long-tailed Duck remained at Ferrybridge.

9th November

 A day that looked to be fizzling out largely uneventfully sprung to life quite out of the blue when visiting birders tapped into a rich vein of sea movement that saw amongst others 3 Leach's Petrels, a Storm Petrel and a Grey Phalarope pass through off the Bill in quick time either side of midday. Earlier, the principal interest from the sea concerned the lingering Arctic Tern, whilst later 2 Balearic Shearwaters, a Great Skua and a Little Gull passed through; a steady day-long westbound passage of Lesser Black-backed Gulls - totalling at least 90 - was also of note. Once an early shower had cleared through some overhead passage developed at the Bill that included 575 Starlings arriving from the south and 390 Goldfinches leaving in the opposite direction; a Merlin was again in attendance and a Short-eared Owl was also overhead. Elsewhere, another Merlin was at Broadcroft, the Long-tailed Duck remained at Ferrybridge and a Black Redstart was at Chiswell.

Always a exciting thing to see during November: the majority of our late autumn Starling movements involve flocks arriving in from the south having presumably left northern France soon after dawn; invariably the flocks are a fair size and are at barely more than wave-top height over the sea - this is one of today's flocks of 200 birds that flew straight in towards the Obs, shot right past us at a rate of knots and are likely now tucked up for the night on the Somerset Levels © Martin Cade:




8th November

With some pretty wild weather having blown in during the early hours - it was chucking it down and blowing a southerly gale at dawn - seawatching was the only option and a decent little passage was tapped into off the Bill. Kittiwakes were moving strongly, with 650 through during the morning, and amongst them 4 Leach's Petrels, 3 Little Gulls, 2 Arctic Skuas, a Pomarine Skua and an Arctic Tern provided a good sprinkle of quality; 2 Little Gulls lingering offshore later on may or may not have been additional to the tally. With all the passage in a westerly direction Chesil Cove hardly featured, with no more than singles of Red-throated Diver and Arctic Skua logged there. The Long-tailed Duck remained at Ferrybridge, 2 Grey Plovers and 2 Knot  were also there and 2 Black Redstarts were at Chiswell.

Pomarine Skua and Little Gull passing the Bill once the rain had stopped © Martin Cade:



The Long-tailed Duck remained on station at Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders:


7th November

Still nothing much changing, with the Ferrybridge Long-tailed Duck the oddity of the day and another 9250 Wood Pigeons south over the Bill making up the bulk of the passage numbers. Starlings looked to be building up to a good movement but a short, sharp passage that included 1130 through at Blacknor fizzled out as quickly as it had developed; 230 Goldfinches through at the Bill was the only other worthwhile vismig total. A Merlin lingering at the Bill, singles of Grey Plover and Knot at Ferrybridge were of note on the ground and a lone Great Skua through off the Bill provided the only highlight from the sea.

This Merlin's been hanging around the East Cliff fields at the Bill for several days...


...and we noticed from a couple of our photographs of it today that it's ringed - we could do with a proficient digiscoper or long lens photographer getting the the ring number for us! © Martin Cade:



6th November

The year's first Long-tailed Duck that dropped in at Ferrybridge provided a nice highlight on what was otherwise a day of samey happenings in samey conditions. Given the clear, blustery dawn it would have been a surprise if the sky hadn't been soon filled up with departing Wood Pigeons and sure enough another 21500 left to the south over the Bill; 320 Goldfinches, 250 Chaffinches, 155 Stock Doves (again, likely to be a considerable undercount since all were mingled in with the Wood Pigeons), 115 Jackdaws, 105 Linnets and 65 Skylarks also headed south, whilst 515 Starlings arrived in off the sea. A Merlin was in frequent attendance overhead but there was little else of note beyond a few tardy Swallows amongst the overflying migrants. A steady movement offshore at the Bill included 70 Common Gulls and 50 Lesser Black-backed Gulls heading west. Land interest remained far from compelling, with 3 Tree Sparrows at Perryfields and 2 Firecrests at Pennsylvania Castle by far the best of some poor numbers and even poorer variety on the ground.

The era of a dead cert Long-tailed Duck being about during the winter months is long, long gone so any that make it into island waters these days are certainly to be appreciated © Pete Saunders:


5th November

A cool, brisk northwestly and clear skies put paid to sea interest - the only petrel reported was a lingering single way off Blacknor that was suspected to be a Leach's but couldn't be clinched for certain - and attention returned to the sky that was once again filled with a record-breaking total of 41330 departing Wood Pigeons. Plenty more was on the move besides the pigeons, with further Bill totals that included 880 Goldfinches, 400 Starlings, 128 Chaffinches, 90 Meadow Pipits and 70 Linnets. The land remained the poor relation, with little more than a handful of grounded arrivals that included nothing of particular note; the long-staying Ring Ouzel was still about at the Bill and 4 Purple Sandpipers were back on the shore there.

Just a tiny bit of this morning's record-breaking Wood Pigeon passage: today's total of 41330 comfortably exceeded the previous day-record of 37000 on 1st November 2005, whilst our autumn total to date of 126140 is already heading towards twice the previous highest autumn total of 74120 that was also logged in 2005 © Martin Cade:


Great Northern Divers have been entertaining the photographers at Portland Harbour; several are juveniles that are usually the default at this time of year © Pete Saunders...


...but at least three have been adults in various stages of moulting out of summer plumage. Adults in summer plumage are easy enough to see in these parts - pretty well all of the fly-bys at the Bill in April and May are in breeding plumage and just the other day all four that passed right overhead there were also still in breeding plumage - but to see one, let alone three, in this plumage settled in the harbour is a very rare event:

This nice male Black Redstart at Portland Castle has also been a regular crowd-pleaser © John Martin:

4th November

Whilst not in the same magnitude as the conditions faced during Storm Ciarán, today's frequent squalls of wind and rain saw to it that a far greater number of presumably already weakened, displaced seabirds became wrecked along the shore. Most of the day's seawatching activity was centered on Chesil Cove, where different observer's interpretations of events put the Leach's Petrel tally at between c20 and 56, along with 4 Great Northern Divers, 2 Little Gulls and singles of Storm Petrel and Great Shearwater. From the Bill, an additional 3 Leach's Petrels, 19 Common Scoter, 2 Arctic Skua, a Little Gull and a Sandwich Tern were logged, whilst a single Leach's Petrel and a Red-throated Diver passed through Portland Harbour, 2 Great Northern Divers were settled there and a Grey Phalarope made a brief appearance at Ferrybridge before disappearing up the Fleet. Despite the conditions, 800 more Wood Pigeons and a steady trickle of finches left to the south from the Bill; also a single Merlin passed through the Cove, a late Whinchat was at Portland Castle and the lingering Ring Ouzel was still at the Bill. 

Today's Grey Phalarope from Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders:



And a bit of Leach's Petrel action © Dave Foot:


3rd November

Overhead passage has saved the day for us rather too often just lately and, once again, it provided all of today's numbers. The clearance after yesterday's storminess saw Wood Pigeons resume moving, with 16700 leaving from the Bill through the morning; accompanying them were 625 Goldfinches, 125 Linnets, 180 Meadow Pipits, 150 Chaffinches, 140 Stock Doves, 70 Starlings, 24 Skylarks and a miscellany of lower totals of routine fare. A late Yellow Wagtail was a surprise on the ground at the Bill, where the lingering Sand Martin reappeared, the even longer-staying Ring Ouzel was still ensconced and a Short-eared Owl was about; elsewhere, a Black Redstart was at Portland Castle. An Iceland Gull was a surprise from a Bill seawatch; 9 Brent Geese, 2 Red-throated Divers, a Great Northern Diver and a late Sandwich Tern also passed by there. Seven new Pale-bellied Brent Geese dropped in at Ferrybridge where 2 Common Scoter flew over, whilst the sheltered waters of Portland Harbour hosted 4 Great Northern Divers and a good total of 68 Shags .

A November Yellow Wagtail's always worth scrutiny but, sadly for us, today's bird didn't look or sound in any way out of the ordinary. It seemed to be constantly drooping one wing that likely accounted for its tardiness © Martin Cade:



The Pale-bellied Brents and Common Scoters at Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders: 



2nd November

Although the sound of the raging wind overnight and the sight of mountainous seas at dawn suggested Storm Ciarán was throwing everything possible at us its slightly unconventional track delivered the bulk of its accompanying wrecked seabirds further east up the Channel, with Portland not living up to its usual billing as one of the country's best sites for storm-driven Leach's Petrels. That's not to say that the stalwarts braving the elements went entirely unrewarded, but 5 Leach's through at Ferrybridge, 2 at Chesil Cove and a single off the Bill represented a poorer than expected return from a 70+ mph gale in early November. In fact, displaced seabirds hardly featured, with a rather lame back-up tally of just a Storm Petrel at Chesil Cove, single Arctic Skuas at the Cove and Portland Harbour and precious few Kittiwakes anywhere. The day's only other reports were of a Merlin at the Bill, 3 Great Northern Divers in Portland Harbour and 12 Pintail through at Ferrybridge.

Bird-wise, Storm Ciarán didn't really produce the goods even if the wild seascape might have suggested otherwise © Nick Hopper:



Ferrybridge and Portland Harbour usually provide the best of the Leach's Petrel photo opportunities during wild weather and today the former obliged © Pete Saunders:





This summer-plumaged Great Northern Diver was an unexpected sight at Portland Harbour © Nick Hopper...


...where an Arctic Skua and a Kittiwake were wrecked © Joe Stockwell:




This flock of Pintail passed over at Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders:

1st November

A gradual ramping up of the wind strength ahead of the arrival of Storm Ciarán saw plenty of attention given to the sea with several sightings of perhaps as many as 4 Leach's Petrels along with a single Little Gull at Chesil Cove perhaps the vanguard of a larger seabird wreck should the forecast come to pass; routine seabird activity included the first Fulmar for a few weeks off the Bill, a Red-throated Diver through at Chesil Cove and a Great Northern Diver at Ferrybridge. Limited coverage of the land revealed just 2 Purple Sandpipers and singles of Merlin, Wheatear and Ring Ouzel at the Bill, 7 Bar-tailed Godwits at Ferrybridge and a Grey Plover and a Wheatear beside Portland Harbour.

One of the Leach's Petrels afforded a good view at Chesil Cove © John Martin:



The Grey Plover at Portland Harbour © Debby Saunders:


Chesil Cove is invariably a better bet for wrecked seabirds than the Bill so we took ourselves off there for a while following news of the Leach's Petrel. As that drew a blank we carried on to Radipole for a look at Tom Brereton's Ferruginous Duck that had relocated there from Lodmoor; our wellington boots proved woefully inadequate at coping with the flooded paths but once we'd waded to the appropriate viewpoint the duck obliged with some nice views. We're struggling to remember the last time there was a see-able Ferruginous Duck in the Weymouth area (postscript - it was November 2005 per Brett Spencer) - they were tolerably regular way back in the late 70s/early 80s but have now become genuine rarities in this part of the world © Martin Cade:

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