September bows out..........quietly.

Mainly sunny, 18°, fresh W.

Very quiet out at Lollingdon today with just a handful of Swallow and House Martin over.

15+ Chiffchaff, 2 Common Snipe and a Grey Heron of note was just about it.

Dragonflies: close to 80 Common Darter with most frequenting a partially flooded field.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Red Admiral, Comma, Peacock, Speckled Wood and a single Meadow Brown.

With Ivy now flowering, lots of Ivy Bee around.

Comma

Red Admiral

Common Darter

A couple of record shots of the Snipe flying off.

Another Stonechat

Overcast, 17°, breezy SSW.

Lollingdon: a single Stonechat present on the hill today but little else.

9 Chiffchaff on the walk plus 6 Yellowhammer, 30+ Meadow Pipit, a Sparrowhawk and 2 Common Snipe.

A passage of 100+ Swallow and 40+ House Martin moving thru in sporadic flocks.

Alan covered the Bunk area with a Little Egret, a Blackcap, several Chiffchaff etc.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small White, Red Admiral and Peacock.

Stonechat

A few of the Swallows on the move

Meadow Pipit courtesy Alan

Stonechat

Mainly cloudy, 18°, freshening SW.

A Green Sandpiper on a flood beside Wallingford Road early morning, then flew off. Per Michael Pocock.

Bunk Line this morning: another good passage of Hirundines, mainly House Martin this time with 25% Swallow. Approx. 200 birds.

A Stonechat (same bird Alan found Monday), 9 Chiffchaff, a Kingfisher, 3 Grey Heron, 19 Skylark (one flock), 40+ Meadow Pipit, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Kestrel, 2 Raven, a Green Woodpecker and 5 species of Finch including at least 1 Siskin heard overhead.

Alan along the river: 2 Common Sandpiper flying upstream, several Chiffchaff and numbers of Swallow and House Martin.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small White, Red Admiral, Peacock & Speckled Wood.

A few different aspects of the Stonechat.

Lollingdon and the Bunk

Mainly sunshine, 20°, breezy SW.

A good passage of Hirundines today with excess of 300 birds over Lollingdon. A lot were not visible to the naked eye but regular scanning with binoculars revealed birds passing high overhead. Mainly Swallow but also good numbers of House Martin.

The hill was very quiet with only a Kestrel hunting.

Nearby, 10+ Chiffchaff, a Blackcap, 3 Yellowhammer, 2 Jay, 30+ Meadow Pipit and 8 Skylark.

Alan found a Stonechat along the Bunk Line plus several Chiffchaff, a Sparrowhawk and a passage of Swallow and House Martin passing over.

Dragonflies: a single Emperor and many Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma and Speckled Wood.

Stonechat courtesy Alan

Back to Cholsey

Sunny, rain later, 15°, light W.

2 Redstart on the hill today. Per Tony Williams. Plus a good number of Swallow and House Martin over and several Meadow Pipit present.

3 Swallow, a Mistle Thrush and several Meadow Pipit over Church Road and a Grey Wagtail and 2 Pied Wagtail in the garden.

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker & Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Red Admiral & Peacock.

Grey Wagtail

Pied Wagtail

Sea Birds

Overcast and rain showers, 18°. Fresh SW.

A very windy and sometimes very wet day to be returning home. Yet before setting off there was time for a 2.5-hour sea-watch and that proved very fruitful.

A numbers of watchers went to various spots around Portland Bill but a few (including myself) stayed and viewed from the Observatory.

A heavy sea and at times poor visibility made viewing a challenge at times but persistence paid off.

1 Great Shearwater, 2 Cory’s Shearwater, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Manx Shearwater, 100+ Balearic Shearwater, 2 Arctic Skua, 1 Great Skua, 20+ Kittiwake, 1 Fulmar, 1 Auk sp and plenty of Gannet. No photos!

The sea rules the day

Overcast, 18°, fresh SW.

The high winds put paid to any birding on the land today so a sea-watch was order of the day.

The 4 hours between 07:00 and 11:00 were the most productive with, 34 Balearic Shearwater, 2 Cory’s Shearwater, 1 Manx Shearwater, 9 Arctic Skua, 1 Great Skua, 1 Long-tailed Skua, 21+ Kittiwake and numerous Gannet. A continued watch after 11:00 turned up very little.

All I heard in the garden was 1 Chiffchaff and 1 Blackcap plus a couple of Meadow Pipit, Raven and Little Owl nearby and saw a few Swallow milling around overhead considering whether to fly south. Fortunately, they turned back inland.

Butterflies: Red Admiral & Speckled Wood.

The view from the Observatory patio today where sea-watching takes place.

Portland & Abbotsbury

Cloudy at first then sunny, 18°, fresh WSW.

A sea-watch at Portland then a visit to Abbotsbury and a stop off at Ferrybridge on the return.

A breezy night with an electric storm at around 04:00, some rain then cloudy to start.

A 2 hour sea-watch produced a good number of Shearwaters and Skuas even though I missed the pick of the bunch of a Long-tailed Skua and Sooty Shearwater but I managed a few.

1 Great Skua, 8 Arctic Skua, c35 Balearic Shearwater, 1 Manx Shearwater, 20+ Kittiwake and 3 Common Scoter.

Overhead migration was minimal and only a few Chiffchaff and Blackcap were around the Obs garden.

Abbotsbury, apart from the feral birds the following noted: Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Little Egret, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Teal, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Shelduck, Lapwing, Kingfisher, Swallow, Wheatear, Chiffchaff and Cetti’s Warbler.

As for others, a Whooper Swan, 2+ Wigeon, Bar-headed Goose, several Cinnamon Teal etc.

Ferrybridge: good numbers of Ringed Plover and Dunlin, a Bar-tailed Godwit, Little Stint, Knot and 2 Ruff.

Butterflies: Red Admiral & Speckled Wood.

Little Egret (above & below)

Kingfisher

Bar-tailed Godwit

Little Grebe

Lapwing

Fox Moth caterpillar (courtesy Loren)

Whooper Swan

Whooper Swan courtesy Loren

Whiplash Rove Beetle courtesy Loren

Disruptive weather

Thunder, heavy to light rain, 19°, breezy SSE.

A day disrupted by the weather with a lot of rain, murky conditions, poor visibility and a strong breeze.

Very little noted on the land so a sea-watch was on the cards from inside the obs.

One of the first was a single Cory’s Shearwater followed over the course of the day on and off by c30 Balearic Shearwater, 3 Common Scoter, 1 Teal and a Sandwich Tern.

Not a lot for several hours watching.

Overhead: singles of Lapwing and Grey Heron and 2 Swallow.

Land: 8 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 2 Common Whitethroat and 2 Wheatear.

Fish: Bluefin Tuna.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small White, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

Chiffchaff on the hunt

Expectations not met

Overcast with some light rain showers, 20°, breezy NNE.

After some pre-dawn rain expectations were high for a fall of migrants but it did not materialise. As grounded migrants were hard to find. The sea-watch and overhead migration was rather protracted and petered out by midday.

10+ Chiffchaff, 3 Common Whitethroat, 1 Blackcap, 1 Sedge Warbler, 3 Wheatear, 1 Stonechat and 1 Whinchat.

Overhead: 30+ Meadow Pipit, 1 Tree Pipit, 3 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Grey Wagtail, 3 Siskin, c100 Swallow, 30+ House Martin, 30+ Sand Martin and the surprise of the morning with an Osprey flying out to sea.

Sea-watch: c60 Balearic Shearwater, 2 Arctic Skua, 7 Sandwich Tern, 2 Common Scoter,  a Dunlin and a Ringed Plover.

Fish: Bluefin Tuna.

Dragonflies: 1 Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small White, Red Admiral and Speckled Wood.

Moths: 2 more Convolvulus Hawkmoth and a Channel Island Pug to name a few.

If you don't get any photos you can always guarantee the Little Owl will pose.

Sunrise this morning

Convolvulus Hawkmoth

Channel Island Pug

Back to quiet

Hazy sunshine, 20°, breezy NE.

VizMig not a patch on yesterday with depleted numbers on all fronts.

A sea-watch produced 1 Arctic Skua, 1 Balearic Shearwater, 2 Common Scoter and 1 Mediterranean Gull as well as the usual Gannet etc.

Overhead, 5 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Grey Wagtail, 1 Tree Pipit, c30 Meadow Pipit, 8 Siskin, 20+ Swallow and 2 House Martin.

Grounded migrants consisted of 1 Goldcrest, 6 Chiffchaff, 3 Common Whitethroat, 5 Blackcap, 1 Whinchat, 1 Stonechat and 4 Wheatear. Plus ,a Grey Heron that has been around for a couple of days.

A couple of Oystercatcher heard and a Ringed Plover overhead late afternoon.

Mammals: Red Fox.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

Moths: Convolvulus Hawkmoth.

Wheatear

Blackcap

Goldcrest

Convolvulus Hawkmoth (m&f)

Sunrise this morning

Barred Warbler +

Mainly sunny, 20°, light SSW.

A reasonable day starting with a short sea-watch that produced an Arctic Skua, 2 Mediterranean Gull, c20 Kittiwake and 6 Balearic Shearwater.

At around 08:20 a Barred Warbler was caught and duly ringed, photographed and released. The bird of the trip so far.

During the sea-watch and later there was an overhead movement of birds leaving. From what I noted: 27 Yellow Wagtail, 11 Grey Wagtail, 6 Tree Pipit, 100’s of Meadow Pipit, 35 Siskin, 20+ Swallow and 2 House Martin.

Other species noted: Sparrowhawk, 20+ Chiffchaff, 1 Willow Warbler, 4 Blackcap, 3 Common Whitethroat, 6 Wheatear, 5 Rock Pipit, Raven and Little Owl, etc.

(This is only my sightings and does not represent the full totals seen at Portland).

Dragonflies: Emperor, Migrant Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Small Heath. 

Moths: Convolvulus Hawkmoth and Hummingbird Hawkmoth.

Barred Warbler 

Convolvulus Hawkmoth

Cormorant

Rock Pipit

Wheatear

Common Whitethroat

Goldfinch

Sunrise this morning

Lollingdon

Lollingdon. Per Alan Dawson.

2 Stonechat, 1 Whinchat, 1 Wheatear and Meadow Pipit over.

Whinchat

Wheatear

Stonechat