Long legs & Spoons

Misty at first then sunny spells, 20º, very light breeze.

The day started well with an Osprey flying high overhead at 06:30 (3^rd one of the week) and lots of Yellow Wagtail moving around and a trip in to Lodmoor later.

Lodmoor; 2 Spoonbill, 5 Little Egret, several Black-tailed Godwit, 10+ Dunlin, 2 Raven, 8 Bearded Tit, 6 Cetti’s Warbler, several Sedge & Reed Warbler.

Portland; 5 Grey Wagtail, 80+ Yellow Wagtail, 8 Tree Pipit, 20+ Robin, 12 Wheatear, 2 Redstart, 1 Whinchat, 20+ Common Whitethroat, 2 Sedge Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 20+ Willow Warbler, 5 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Pied Flycatcher, 3 Sparrowhawk, 1 Peregrine.

Dragonflies; Common Darter & Migrant Hawker.

Butterflies; Small White, Red Admiral, Common Blue, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper.

 Spoonbill

 Spoonbill

Spoonbill

 Little Egret

 Spoonbills & Little Egret

 Grey Heron

 Common Whitethroat

 Common Whitethroat

Willow Warbler

 Tree Pipit & Grey Wagtail in the hand

Icterine Warbler; Portland

Overcast and warm, 20º, misty, reduced visibility and no wind!

A steady day with birds turning up throughout the day. Missed a very elusive Ortolan Bunting but saw the Icterine Warbler that was trapped, ringed and released.

A  ♀ Great-spotted Woodpecker turned up briefly in the garden.

Early afternoon an impressive 1000+ Swallow had accumulated over the Bill area, maybe reluctant to leave given the visibility? They were initially feeding low over the fields (also 3 Sand Martin and 1 House Martin noted with the flock) but later they started to gain altitude and by 16:30 all had gone.

1+ Oystercatcher, 1 Whimbrel and 1 Curlew.

2 Buzzard, 4 Kestrel and 4 Sparrowhawk.

60+ Yellow Wagtail, 2 Grey Wagtail, 4 Tree Pipit, 50+ Meadow Pipit, 25+ Robin, 29 Wheatear, 4 Whinchat, 3 Redstart, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Icterine Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 7 Common Whitethroat, 1 Garden Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 28 Willow Warbler (incl a northern race bird), 2 Goldcrest, 8 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Pied Flycatcher.

Dragonflies; Common Darter.

Butterflies; Red Admiral, Small White, Common Blue.

 Icterine Warbler

 Recently fledged Goldfinch

 Adult Goldfinch

 Swallows

Whinchat

Poplar Hawk Moth Caterpillar 

Dawn 'til Dusk

Misty at first then sunny, 20º, light N to E.

A quieter day than yesterday, however, 70+ Yellow Wagtail, 3 Grey Wagtail, and a couple of “White” Wagtail, 6 Tree Pipit, 30+ Robin, 100+ Swallow, 30+ House Martin, 6 Whinchat, 40+ Wheatear, 6 Common Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, 1 Reed Warbler, 20+ Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Redstart, 3 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 2 Buzzard, 4 Kestrel, 1 Peregrine and 1 pos 2 Curlew, 1 Little Owl.

Dragonflies; Common Darter.

Butterflies; Red Admiral, Small White, Small Copper, Common Blue, Small Tortoiseshell.

 Dawn Sun

 Whinchats

 Small Copper

Wheatears

An Osprey's Tale and the rest!

Misty then sunny, 20º, light NE.

 Osprey's tale; An interesting note regarding yesterdays Osprey is that it is a radio tagged individual. It is a juvenile bird hatched at Keilder Water in Northumberland and has made its way south on its migration. On Monday night it roosted on a pylon just north of Oxford only to make its way to Portland the following day, fly out to sea, return shortly after and roost somewhere near Weymouth. The bird has now departed the UK and made it to France so today's Osprey was a different bird!

The rest;

25+ Robin (maybe 100+ between the bill and Southwell today), 15+ Yellow Wagtail, 2 Grey Wagtail, 4 “White” Wagtail, 5 Tree Pipit, 100+ Swallow, 3 House Martin, 1 Sand Martin, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 3 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 25+ Common Whitethroat, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Redstart, 1 Whinchat, 5 Wheatear, 1 Goldcrest, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 1 Little Owl, 2 Sparrowhawk, 3 Kestrel, 1 ♀ Peregrine Falcon and another Osprey flew over the Obs at 18:30 heading north up the island.

Dragonflies; several Common Darter, 1 Migrant Hawker, 1 Southern Hawker.

Butterflies; 1 Clouded Yellow, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White, Gatekeeper, Common Blue.

Moths; A local birder from Puddletown brought in a rare moth; a Clifden Nonpareil.

Reptiles; Common Lizard.

 Little Owl

 Common Whitethroat

 Robin

 No Stopping

 Common Lizard

 Clifden Nonpareil (held inside a container as it was taken back and released at the capture site) photos Loren.

Coming and Going, Going and Coming

Cloudy, 18º, wind moving from NW to SE through the day fairly light and cloud clearing early evening.

A slow but steady day with migrants coming and going, 28 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Grey Wagtail, 8 Tree Pipit, a steady trickle of Swallows, 1 Swift, 8 Wheatear, 20+ Robin, 1 Whinchat, 6 Redstart, 7 Common Whitethroat, 3 Blackcap, 2 Garden Warbler, 5 Chiffchaff, 20+ Willow Warbler, 3 Spotted Flycatcher and 1 Pied Flycatcher.

Late afternoon an Osprey flew out to sea and possibly the same returned early evening and flew towards Weymouth.

4 Kestrel spent around 10 minutes playing aerial tag around the top of the Obs lighthouse, 6 sightings of 4 different Sparrowhawks, 2 Common Snipe flew north and over the sea 4 Sandwich Tern flew west and 13 Common Scoter flew east.

Dragonflies; 1 Migrant Hawker and several Common Darter.

Butterflies; Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Large White, Small White, Gatekeeper, Comma, Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell.

Moths; Garden Tiger, Jersey Tiger.

 Spotted Flycatcher

 Kestrel

 Willow Warbler

 Willow Warbler

 Willow Warbler

 Common Darter

 Jersey Tiger (Loren)

 Garden Tiger (Loren)

And now the birds......and Insects

Cloudy, a few light rain showers, 20º, breezy W.

After an early flurry Viz-Mig virtually dried up after midday and just prior to rain starting .

20+ Yellow Wagtail, 2 Grey Wagtail and a Tree Pipit overhead shortly after dawn with a few more Yellow Wagtail hanging around in the top fields with 8 “White” Wagtail.

7 Wheatear, 3 Redstart, 3 Common Whitethroat, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 3 Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler (in the hand) and a late (in the day, in the hand) Pied Flycatcher.

Also noted 200+ Swallow, 5 House Martin, 2 Sand Martin, 36 Meadow Pipit, 2 Buzzard, 3 Sparrowhawk, 4 Kestrel, 1 Little Owl.

The sea was very quiet, 1 Balearic Shearwater and 5 Common Scoter of note.

Dragonflies; Broad-bodied Chaser, several Common Darter.

Butterflies; 2 Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Gatekeeper, Common Blue, 1 Meadow Brown, 1 Wall, Small White, Small Tortoiseshell, 2 Speckled Wood.

Moths; Hummingbird Hawk Moth, Convolvulus Hawk Moth.

Other; Hornet Hoverfly, Speckled Bush Cricket, Possible Large Narcissus Fly plus a lot more.

 1stw m Pied Flycatcher

 Ghost Ship on the horizon

 Another Hummingbird Hawk Moth

 Large Narcissus Fly ?

 Red Admirals

Insects at Portland

Cloudy, light rain showers, 20º, breezy W.

Obs Garden;

Dragonflies; Broad-bodied Chaser, several Common Darter.

Butterflies; Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Gatekeeper, Common Blue.

Moths; Hummingbird Hawk Moth, Convolvulus Hawk Moth.

Other; Hornet Hoverfly, Speckled Bush Cricket plus a lot more

First 5 are Hummingbird Hawkmoth

 Convolvulus Hawkmoth

 Common Blue

Hornet Hoverfly