Tuesday 1 May 2012

Portland day 3, 1st May







Wall to wall sunshine!
Woke at 05:00 to pouring rain, in a way I thought great, can get a lie in but woke again at 05:30 to hear a Chiffchaff singing just outside the window and it had stopped raining! Out on the Obs garden patio by 06:00 with a mug of coffee and the garden and surrounding area was heaving with migrants.

Ideal conditions for a fall of migrants, rain at dawn and no wind. After about 3 hours, the migrants had mostly moved through the lower area at the bill and moved on up the island so a walk around the top fields was in order after a brief sea watch.

Still lots of birds in the top fields for most of the day then back to the Obs for a couple of brief sea watches and a few walks around the area.

The following is a selected list of species I saw/heard today.

Red-breasted Merganser – 2 flew overhead,

Red-throated Diver – 1,

Fulmar – a light passage on the sea,

Manx Shearwater – a light passage of c20,

Balearic Shearwater – 1 flew east,

Gannet – a steady flow all day,

Sparrowhawk – 1,

Ringed Plover – 1 flyover,

Black-tailed Godwit – 1 flyover,

Whimbrel – 3,

Common Snipe – 1 flyover,

Great Skua – 3,

Pomarine Skua – 3,

Arctic Skua – 14,

Little Gull – 1,

“Commic” Tern – 40+,

Turtle Dove – 3,

Swift – 100+,

House Martin – 40+,

Sand Martin – 10+,

Swallow – passage most of day, 500+,

Tree Pipit – 1,

Yellow Wagtail – 3,

Nightingale – 1 heard singing in a crop of Kale,

Redstart – 20+,

Wheatear – 100+,

Whinchat – 20+,

Garden Warbler – 10+,

Blackcap – 80+,

Whitethroat – c80,

Lesser Whitethroat – 6,

Sedge Warbler – c15,

Grasshopper Warbler – 4,

Reed Warbler – 3,

Willow Warbler – c350,

Chiffchaff – c150,

Wood Warbler – 3,

Goldcrest – 1,

Spotted Flycatcher – 1,

Pied Flycatcher – 2,

Redpoll – 1,

Serin – 1 flyover.

And so ended a really busy and fulfilling day!

More @ http://www.portlandbirdobs.org.uk/aa_latestnews.htm

                                  Whinchat

                                  Turtle Dove

                                   Chiffchaff

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