Portland Bird Observatory and Field Centre: 1st May

With yesterday's numbers not sustained it fell to variety to get May off to a reasonable start, with a Serin at Blacknor and a Kentish Plover at Ferrybridge providing some nice scarcity interest. By the look of the steady arrival of Swifts and hirundines throughout the day conditions were more than favourable for migration but, sadly for the wealth of bank holiday weekend visitors, the clear, calm night certainly hadn't been favourable for grounding many passerines, with totals of even the commonest species struggling to get beyond low double figures; uncommon migrants at the Bill included 3 Yellow Wagtails, 2 each of Purple Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper, and singles of Short-eared Owl and White Wagtail, with a similar array elsewhere. By dint of considerable effort the sea eventually returned some quality, including 10 Arctic Skuas, 5 Great Skuas, 2 Pomarine Skuas and singles of Red-throated Diver, Great Northern Diver and Great Crested Grebe through off the Bill.