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1st April
A pre-dawn deluge might have been hoped to be the shot in the arm that our needy cause required but in the event fell well short of expectations. Whilst quantity might have been deficient quality...
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Another day with no more than single figure totals of grounded migrants at the Bill, amongst which 2 White Wagtails and a lone Redwing provided the only glimmer on interest; elsewhere, lingering...
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Weather-wise, our tale of woe continued, with the strength of the wind being today's blight. An unseen Serin in song in a birder's garden at Southwell frustrated subsequent searchers by turning as...
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These things are relative because the recent bar has fallen to ever such a low level but there was just the tiniest hint of there being more about on the ground today, with Wheatear and Blackcap both...
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5th April
Yesterday's hint of things getting going again did indeed prove to be the precursor to migration gaining substantially more momentum, with a far more typical Portland spring fall in evidence right...
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A bit of a curate's egg of a day - something that perhaps might have been expected given the peculiar conditions that saw the likes of a mountainous sea arrive in tandem with enough warmth for it to be...
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7th April
A less than compelling day: batteringly strong winds overnight saw passerine migration remain on hold and did far less for the sea than might have been hoped. What numbers and variety there were were...
View Article8th April
Popular opinion ventured that there was a more than evens chance of a decent drop of birds today - but what do we know about it? In the event the happenings didn't get beyond the very mundane at the...
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9th April
A 60mph westerly gale really isn't what's needed in mid-April and for the most part Storm Pierrick was an ill wind bird-wise. A Hooded Crow at Reforne was a surprise new arrival but interest otherwise...
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10th April
Another day that offered what looked to be some hope of a fall out of migrants on the land and a bit of a seawatching, both of which almost completely failed to materialise. It wasn't utterly dead but...
View Article11th April
In a day long peasouper, for a few hours we were able to kid ourselves that there were migrants out but we just couldn't see them; however, by the afternoon, the reality had dawned that it really was...
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12th April
These things are relative so today was hardly, for example, like last year's mega day when a tsunami of migrants swept through the island and with just a handful of mist-nets we broke all previous...
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13th April
Consecutive days with plenty of birds - blimey, things really are looking up! The mould was set right as dawn broke when a Cirl Bunting appeared and was duly trapped in the Obs garden and there was no...
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14th April
There was certainly a bit of quality on offer amongst today's mix, with a Hoopoe in off the sea at the Bill kicking things off in exciting fashion; it proved to be the most active of migrants and...
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15th April
In keeping with the pattern so far this spring no sooner had it looked like migration was gaining momentum than shoddy weather rolls in to bring things to a halt. Today it was a fierce gale that had...
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16th April
Not a day of plenty on the land, sea or overhead, in fact for this date it was a bit of a shocker with only the continuing Western Subalpine Warbler at Wallsend allowing us to salvage some pride....
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17th April
The smallest of upticks in passage was appreciated after a couple of lean days but the 50 Swallows, 25 Wheatears, 15 Chiffchaffs, 10 Wheatears, 10 Blackcaps, 2 Yellow Wagtails, a Redwing and a Redstart...
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18th April
With it way too clear overnight - and far less windy than during the last couple of days - migration no doubt picked up far overhead but there was no chance a big arrival of birds on the ground. The...
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19th April
IN FOCUS SOUTH WEST Optics day this Sunday 21st April @PortlandBirdObs@DorsetWildlife for more info call Keith 01225 891352 @opticronuk@SwarovskiOptik@VortexOpticsUK@ZEISSBirding Hawke and more...
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20th April
Spring northeasterlies have attained almost magical status here in recent times so their forecast arrival - for pretty well the first time this season - had been hotly anticipated. Whilst the reality...
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21st April
The magical northeasterlies persisted and whilst they didn't precipitate anything approaching a huge fall there was plenty to see throughout the island, with easily the best variety on offer so far...
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22nd April
For a day that was half rained off and by most conventional metrics had been written off by an hour after dawn (...and that after dawn itself had looked to offer so much promise) today actually ended...
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23rd April
Another decent enough day with overcast skies at dawn dropping a succession of mainly routine migrants at the Bill and a clearance through the middle of the day seeing Swallows get going again in very...
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24th April
Samey conditions - even those that were initially propitious, migrant-wise - eventually see numbers fizzle out as birds get the hang of what's going on and today's pleasantly quiet, semi-overcast...
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25th April
It only took a subtle change in the weather to give an altogether more positive feel to today's proceedings, with a brisk northwesterly at dawn dropping a good 400 or more Willow Warblers at the Bill....
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