17th August

Heros to zeros in quick time today, with not a sniff of a repeat of yesterday's excitement. In truth, just about anything could have been lurking at the Bill but the chances of finding it in the cool, overcast and very windy conditions were slim indeed; in the event, Wheatear just got into double figures but singles of Tree Pipit, Sedge Warbler, Garden Warbler and Willow Warbler were the only other grounded migrants logged. Another 9 Black-tailed Godwits dropped in at Ferrybridge - or are the recent records there just regular wanderers from Lodmoor/Radipole? - where 3 Sanderling and singles of Redshank, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel and Arctic Tern were amongst the continuing decent numbers of Ringed Plovers, Dunlin and Common Terns. Seawatching at the Bill came up with a surprise in the form of a long-range Sabine's Gull, with 22 Manx Shearwaters, 16 Balearic Shearwaters, 13 Common Scoter and a Great Skua making up the back-up tally.





Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwits and Hummingbird Hawk-moths - Ferrybridge, Southwell and Portland Bill, 16th and 17th August 2014 © Matt Phipps (Bar-tailed Godwit), Debby Saunders (Black-tailed Godwit and upper Hummingbird Hawk-moth) and Mike Trew (lower Hummingbird Hawk-moth)