April b"l"ows out

Sunny, 14°, strong E.

Another blustery day on the Isle of Portland with not a lot seen on land or sea. 22 Whimbrel and 65 Bar-tailed Godwit, sometimes in mixed flock and 16 Common Scoter.

A single Swift, 5 Swallow, Little Owl, 3 Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, 3 Wheatear, Stonechat, 2 Chiffchaff, 3 Common Whitethroat and 1 Lesser Whitethroat.

Butterflies: Large White, Red Admiral and Speckled Wood.

Another windy one

Sunny, 14°, strong NE.

Probably the worst wind for vizmig at Portland.

However, a reasonable scattering of birds. On the sea, 2 Pomarine Skua, 2 Arctic Skua, a Red-throated Diver, 10 Black Tern, a few Sandwich Tern and 50+ Manx Shearwater, a Fulmar plus the Auks, Gannet etc.,

Over land, a Whimbrel, Hobby, 6 Swift, 60+ Swallow, 2 House Martin, a Sand Martin, 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Willow Warbler, 2 Common Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Spotted Flycatcher, 7 Wheatear, a Stonechat, 2 Yellow Wagtail, a White Wagtail and several Meadow Pipit. Missed a few good ones but there is always tomorrow.

Dragonflies: Broad-bodied Chaser.

Butterflies: Large White, Red Admiral and Speckled Wood.

Wind! No problem

Mainly sunny with a cloudy spell, 14°, fresh NE.

Not much hope at first light, a fresh north‑easterly cutting across the bill, but as the hours passed the birds had other ideas. What began as a seemingly empty day slowly filled with movement and surprise proving migration doesn’t stop with a bit of wind.

The sea was relatively quiet although good numbers of Manx Shearwater passed through. In addition, a single Arctic Skua, 2 Great Northern Diver and 4 Common Scoter seen by me. I probably missed what some others had noted.

The land offered up the better. A Hobby, a Peregrine, 2 Whimbrel, 2 Wheatear, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Common Whitethroat, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Blackcap, 2 Sedge Warbler, a Garden Warbler, 3 Chiffchaff, 2 *Willow Warbler, c30 Swallow and 6 Swift.

Butterflies: Large White, Red Admiral and Wall Brown.

*Around 18:00 I saw this slightly larger looking Willow Warbler in the Obs garden. Cold toned grey/brown upper, whitish under side, whitish supercilium, palish legs, long primary projection. Seen for approx. 10 seconds before disappearing. poss Acredula ssp???

A slow start

Sunny, 14°, light SW.

A slow day if truth be told but a few decent sightings.

12 Common Scoter, 4 Shelduck, several Manx Shearwater, Gannet, Cormorant and Shag, 20+ Whimbrel, c25 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Oystercatcher, Guillemot, Razorbill and a single Puffin, several Sandwich Tern, 5 species of Gull, c30 Swallow, 2 House Martin, a Common Redstart, a Whinchat, 2 Blackcap, 2 Garden Warbler, a Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff and 2 Peregrine Falcon.

Dragonflies: Large Red Damselfly and Broad-bodied Chaser.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Holly Blue, Peacock, Red Admiral, Painted Lady and Speckled Wood.

A few Cholsey sightings

Sunny intervals, 18°, light N.

A few bits from Cholsey today:

Tony W saw a female Marsh Harrier over Cholsey Marsh and found our first Club-tailed Dragonfly of the year.

c30 Corn Bunting still coming to roost at the marsh as of last week.

James Beaumont reported a Cuckoo, 3 House Martin and 3 Swift in the same area, plus a Large Red Damselfly.

 

Portland

Cloudy, 12°, light ENE.

Arrived at Portland bird obs around mid-afternoon and by the time we unpacked and got some shopping in there was not much time for birding.

After an evening meal went out for a walk in the crown field and obs quarry area.

Plenty of House Sparrow and Linnet but no migrants other than 3 Swallow and a Whimbrel.

Later, a pod of what we believe were Common Dolphin seen “bow riding” a ship moving out of Weymouth bay.

A few Manx Shearwater moving early evening and after dark several Little Owl heard calling and a Barn Owl call.

Lets see what tomorrow brings.

 

 

Saturday snippets

Sunny, 18°, light SSE.

3 Swift and several Swallow and House Martin over Church Road.

Several Swift have been seen over Cholsey Meadows since 23rd. Per James Beaumont.

Blackcap and Chiffchaff singing near garden.

"I am pretty sure I have seen a White-tailed Eagle over Cholsey Oxon today and yesterday 25th and 26th April 2026. Not far from shops in village centre." Per Jack Badstock via Birdguides.

Still a little quiet

 Sunny, 18°, light E.

Still pretty quiet along the Bunk and gravel pit with a lot of human activity at the pit.

A Little Ringed Plover noted along with 2 Egyptian Geese and a few Lapwing.

4 Common Whitethroat along the Bunk, several Chiffchaff and Blackcap, a Yellow Wagtail and a few Swallow and House Martin.

2 Swallow over garden & a Sparrowhawk over being mobbed by several House Martin.

 Yesterday, a Common Sandpiper on the gravel pit from Wallingford road. Per Michael Pocock.

Butterflies: very much the same.

A Canary and a few other bits

Sunny, 18°, light E.

2 Raven over Allotments and a Swallow over Cholsey Hill.

3 local House Martin back on Church Road.

A brown morph, female Cuckoo on Cholsey Marsh. Per Brian Wyatt.

A Canary (escapee) found and videoed by Richard James in his garden.

Videos courtesy Richard James

A bit quiet-ish

Sunny, 17°, fresh E.

Well, there was bugger all on the gravel pit today. a bulldozer was busy bulldozing the banks and obviously drove off any birds either on the water or anywhere nearby.

Elsewhere along the Bunk line: 5 Chiffchaff, 6 Common Whitethroat, 4 Blackcap, a Kingfisher flashed by and 5 Swallow and 8 House Martin over.

A Grasshopper Warbler has been heard regularly at Cholsey Marsh recently and a Cuckoo intermittently. (several observers).

Butterflies: Brimstone, Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Speckled Wood.

Saturday snippets

Mainly sunny, 15°, light WNW.

Grasshopper Warbler, Cholsey Marsh. Common Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Sedge Warbler and Cetti's Warbler. Per Phil Dyson. The GW also noted by an anonymous observer on Birdtrak on Thursday 16th.

Swallow over Westfield Road.

A bit quieter

Sunny periods, 17°, Breezy SSE.

A check on the gravel pit today: 12 Tufted Duck, a Little Ringed Plover, 6 Lapwing, I could hear Oystercatcher calling but not see them, overhead, 2 Swallow, 14 House Martin and 10 Sand Martin.

Nearby, 3 Common Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat, several Blackcap and Chiffchaff and 3 Yellowhammer.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Speckled Wood.

Bunk, Gravel pit and a Cuckoo

Sunny spells, 16°, light to breezy SSE.

Bunk and Gravel pit:

A Greenshank appeared briefly and called, only to fly and disappear into one of the pits with no view of it.

In fact most of the birds were doing this today as the viewable pit was being worked and very little on it.

A Mute Swan, 2 Shelduck, 2 Oystercatcher, a Common Sandpiper, 6 Lapwing, a Little Grebe, a Raven over and an ever-dwindling number of Gulls.

A Willow Warbler, 7 Chiffchaff, 5 Blackcap, 2 Common Whitethroat, 5 Swallow and 3 Yellowhammer.

Geoff Wyatt had a pair of Peregrine above Ilges Lane today repeatedly making the “ee-chup” call, a pair bonding call. They were circling and tangling frequently.

James Beaumont found our first Cuckoo of the year on Cholsey Marsh, towards the 4-Arches railway bridge, plus Reed Warbler, Swallow and Kingfisher.  

Mammals: Roe Deer.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Peacock and Speckled Wood.

Spring still giving

Cloudy, 12°, breezy S.

Bunk line and Gravel pit:

75+ Hirundines feeding low over CSW, mainly House Martin and a fair number of Swallow and a Yellow Wagtail present.

GP hosted 2 Shelduck, a Great-crested Grebe, a Common Sandpiper, 2 Oystercatcher, 8 Lapwing and 4 Tufted Duck. 3 House Martin, 2 Swallow and a Sand Martin feeding overhead.

Several Chiffchaff and Blackcap on walk.

On Sunday spent some time in the garden and had an unusual garden tick. An Oystercatcher flew over then 5 minutes later a Kingfisher (5th garden record) flew downstream over the brook.

Butterflies: a few Peacock and a Speckled Wood.

A lot of Hawthorn Fly (Bibio marci) around today.

Unidentified Duck sp found along footpath

Saturday snippets

Mainly cloudy, 10°, breezy SW.

A couple more summer arrivals, new for the year:

Lesser Whitethroat Bunk line. Per Brian Wyatt.

Yellow Wagtail Cholsey Hill. Per Richard Broughton.

A pair of Mallard on a neighbours pond.