2nd December

Today was a bit of a surprise package: the cloud that had rolled in overnight had seen the temperature creep up a few degrees - it did feel noticeably milder - so there were no expectations of more cold weather movement, but in the event there was more on the move than on either of the last couple of days. Thrushes made up the bulk of the numbers on the ground and overhead with c50 each of Blackbird and Song Thrush, 26 Redwings and 7 Fieldfares at the Bill and a few more of each everywhere else that was checked; singles of Brambling and Siskin also passed over at the Bill. Offshore, 27 Wigeon, 27 Common Scoter, 24 Red-throated Divers, 4 Shelducks, 3 Pintail, 2 Brent Geese and a Pochard made up a respectable tally at the Bill, with 6 Teal and 4 Wigeon also settled in Portland Harbour. Winterers included 5 Purple Sandpipers, 4 Firecrests and a Goldcrest at the Bill, 4 Firecrests around the centre of the island and 17 Black-necked Grebes, 7 Goosanders, 4 Great Northern Divers and a Black-throated Diver in Portland Harbour.

The Goosanders were putting on a nice show along the western shore of Portland Harbour this morning, with an additional drake adding more colour to the mix © Debby Saunders: 




A couple of the Goosanders also featured amongst a nice selection of Pete and Debby Saunders' photos from Portland Harbour/Ferrybridge from the last couple of weeks when we were away and unable to update the blog © Pete & Debby Saunders: