Portland: Day 2

Sunny spells, 18°, fresh W.

The day dawned with limited expectations, the sea was relatively quiet and overhead passage was fairly low.

At around 07:00 we started to see a small passage of Shearwaters and then by 07:30 it really kicked off.

The following are rough totals: c700 Great Shearwater (all within 30 minutes), in excess of 500 Manx Shearwater, c15 Balearic Shearwater and 4 Sooty Shearwater.

Plus, 3 Great Skua, 8 Arctic Skua, c50 Sandwich Tern, c20 Common/Arctic Tern, 4 Mediterranean Gull, 200+ Gannet, c30 Kittiwake and c20 Auk sp.

The sea movement petered out towards midday so attention focussed on land birds.

A Marsh Harrier, 3 Raven, a Little Owl, a Short-eared Owl (in, off the sea), a couple of Oystercatcher, 14 Grey Wagtail, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 15 Swallow, 2 House Martin, 5 Sand Martin, c40 Meadow Pipit, 1 Tree Pipit, 8 Wheatear, 3 Whinchat, 1 Stonechat, 1 Blackcap, 1 Common Whitethroat, several Chiffchaff, 2 Willow Warbler and 1 Firecrest.

A small pod of Common Dolphin offshore and a couple of Blue-fin Tuna sightings.

Dragonflies: Emperor and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small White, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Speckled Wood and Small Heath.

Sunrise

Firecrest

Convolvulus Hawk Moth

Marsh Harrier

Wheatear (above & below)

Raven

Little Owl

Painted Lady

Day 6: A slow day

Mainly cloudy, 10°, N, backing WSW.

A slow day with little on the sea and land.

Sea-watch: 17 Whimbrel, 1 Arctic Skua, 1 Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 Great Northern Diver, 7 Manx Shearwater, 1 Puffin, 2 Sandwich Tern plus many Guillemot, Razorbill, Gannet etc and c2000 Gulls feeding over the race.

Land: 1 Peregrine, 1 Barn Owl, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 2 Common Whitethroat, good numbers of Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff, 1 Swift, several hundred Swallow, 30+ House Martin, 4 Sand Martin, 2 Wheatear, 2 Oystercatcher and 3-4 Purple Sandpiper.

Butterflies: Green-veined White and Orange Tip.

Purple Sandpiper 

Oystercatcher

Herring Gull

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

Portland 3rd May

Sun and Showers, 13°, fresh WSW.

Arrived on Portland around 16:30, land migrants non-existent but a small sea passage saved the day.

Razorbills and Guillemots flying backwards and forwards from their breeding cliffs to feeding areas, several Shag also around. 

Species moving comprised: 2 Great Skua, 4 Pomarine Skua, 1 Arctic Skua, 50+ Manx Shearwater, 50+ Gannet with a few Fulmar and Kittiwake.

Just prior to leaving for Dorset today there were 3 Swift feeding over the village, also 2 House Martin and several Swallow.