2nd April

Despite the wind finally dropping right away and it not raining anywhere near as much as we'd been expecting, it did remain dreary throughout and the quality of the birding only improved a very little. In the absence of any arrival of routine grounded migrants it was left to a new Firecrest at the Obs (joining 2 long-stayers there) and the spring's first Little Ringed Plover at Ferrybridge to provide interest on the ground; a tiny bit more overhead included another trickle of arriving Swallows. Reports from the sea included 12 Brent Geese, 6 Manx Shearwaters, 2 Sandwich Terns and a Red-throated Diver through off the Bill and 4 Sandwich Terns and the Black Guillemot in Portland Harbour.


Firecrest - Portland Bill, 2nd April 2015 © Martin Cade

...it's been very noticeable that despite being ever present for several weeks, this spring's Firecrests have been quieter and more unobtrusive than they often are at Portland; today though we did happen across a noisier duo gleaning a lot more actively amongst sallow catkins: