Portland Bird Observatory

Little Egret - Portland Bill, 5th January 2009 © Martin Cade ...we were driving down the Bill Road this afternoon when we noticed an egret leap up from amongst some horses beside Culverwell...surely a dead cert to be a Cattle Egret; after an emergency stop there was just enough time to grab a couple of record shots as the bird disappeared over the ridge into Top Fields. As you can see from the results above we were pretty disappointed!!
5th January	Evening update. More of the same today: 7 Lapwings, 4 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Golden Plovers, 2 Turnstones, a Little Egret and a Firecrest were on the ground/overhead at the Bill and 18 Common Scoter, 2 Red-throated Divers and a Great Northern Diver passed through on the sea there. The only report from elsewhere was of a Black Redstart still at Reap Lane. Late news for yesterday: 3 Gadwall were in Portland Harbour, a Dartford Warbler was in Top Fields, a Black Redstart was still at Chesil Cove and one of the Short-eared Owls at the Bill left out to sea heading south.
Lapwing and Golden Plover - Portland Bill, 4th January 2009 © Martin Cade
4th January	Under a veil of heavy cloud and with the wind having dropped right away it didn't feel nearly as cold as in recent days. The sea produced most of the day's sightings, with the Velvet Scoter still present with 22 Common Scoter off Chesil Cove, 3 Black-necked Grebes and 2 Great Northern Divers still in Portland Harbour and 22 Mediterranean Gulls, 11 Common Scoter, 7 Mallard, 6 Teal, 4 Red-throated Divers and 3 Eider passed through off the Bill. On the land there were 6 Lapwings, 2 Golden Plover, 2 Redwings, a Short-eared Owl and a Reed Bunting at the Bill, another Golden Plover at Reap Lane, 70 Mediterranean Gulls at Ferrybridge and 10 Lapwings headed north over Chesil Cove.
3rd January	Another fair list today including a few more year ticks. Most of the reports came from the Bill where 15 Song Thrushes, 6 Lapwings, 3 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Redwings, a Common Buzzard, a Water Rail and a Short-eared Owl were logged on the land and 27 Mediterranean Gulls, 17 Wigeon, 7 Red-throated Divers, 6 Common Scoter and 4 Pintail passed through on the sea. Elsewhere a Velvet Scoter joined the party of 30 Common Scoter off Chesil Cove, 2 Redwings were at Cheyne and a Black Redstart was again at Reap Lane.
Short-eared Owl - Portland Bill, 2nd January 2009 © Martin Cade
2nd January	A much nicer day with plenty of sunshine throughout the morning. Good coverage of the Bill area produced 16 Song Thrushes, 6 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Lapwings, a Turnstone, a Short-eared Owl, a Firecrest, a Linnet and a Reed Bunting on the land and 4 Red-throated Divers and a Black-headed Gull through on the sea. Elsewhere there were 110 Mediterranean Gulls at Ferrybridge, 3 Black-necked and a Red-necked Grebe in Portland Harbour and a Golden Plover and a Black Redstart at Reap Lane.
1st January	A very dull and chilly start to the new year. There was just a hint of some cold weather movement at the Bill where singles of Lapwing, Golden Plover and Fieldfare showed up; otherwise there were just singles of Short-eared Owl and Raven logged on the land there and 13 Mediterranean Gulls, 4 Red-throated Divers, a Common Scoter, a Great Skua and a Black-headed Gull passed through/lingered offshore. The only other reports were of a Black Redstart at Reap Lane (a different individual to the one seen at the same spot a couple of days ago) and more than 100 Mediterranean Gulls at Ferrybridge.