I spent the day at Portland sea-watching and searching for migrants. The sea-watch started in Chesil Cove at stupid o clock amidst some heavy rain which had downed a Manx Shearwater in the cove. A couple of Sandwich Tern were the only product of what seemed like a crazy idea!
The Sandwich Terns were moving out to sea from the Harbour and The Fleet so I decided to go and investigate. I bumped into Pete and Debbie Saunders in the harbour. The Sandwich Tern were moving through the harbour from the Nothe Fort area and Pete logged 80+ birds in his time there.
There was also a couple of Great Northern Diver in the Harbour. These will be moving on to breeding grounds soon.
A sea watch at Portland Bill produced the best results following heavy showers which saw Manx Shearwaters passing east through the bill. The biggest group was six birds. A small flock of Scoter and Sandwich Tern were also noted.
A Wheatear made a brief appearance as I walked back to the Observatory. Once the sun re-appeared there were plenty of folk wandering around at the Bill therefore it was no surprise the bird did not stick around!
I spent the afternoon checking the fields on the east side of the island which did not add much to the day list.
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