Sunday 07 May – Portland and Weymouth Leader: Jane Cumming

This visit to Portland was designed to coincide with peak Skua passage, but on a fine sunny day the only evidence of migration off the Bill was two Sandwich Terns flying east a long way out and a trickle of Swallows coming in off the sea. However, the more local seabirds put on a fine show with Gannets, Fulmars and Shags passing to-and-fro, Guillemots and Razorbills that could easily be separated by their colour in the bright sunshine, and a few Kittiwakes. The Observatory Quarry held the hoped-for Little Owl, Whitethroats were in good voice, and a couple of members who wandered further up to Culverwell found one of the singing Cirl Buntings that have recently been gracing Portland with their presence.
The top fields at Southwell are useless these days, with extensive stables and a big camp site taking over the area where we used to find migrants moving up from the Bill. At Ferrybridge we found three Dunlins with a dozen Ringed Plovers, and at least 40 Little Terns resting on mud banks, a good indicator that the nesting colony on the beach must be doing well. Lodmoor produced a fine haul of new species for the day, including Reed Warbler, Cetti’s, Chiffchaffs and Lesser Whitethroats in song. Three Godwits were expected to be Black-tails at this freshwater site but after a bit of puzzling they proved to be Bar-tails, and another migrant was a Grey Plover in prime summer plumage. At least 15 Common Terns seemed to be struggling to find nesting room amongst the numerous and noisy Black-headed Gulls. We added Grey Heron, Little Egret and various waterbirds to our lists, and a search through the loafing gulls produced first-summer Mediterranean and Common Gulls. Five observers had an enjoyable day at the seaside and a total of 69 species. (Thanks to Jane for leading) Jane Cumming