Tag Archives: Portland Bird Observatory

277/365 Lifer: Great reed warbler

04 Friday Oct 2019

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I’ve left the best till last. We saw a lot of nice birds during our long weekend at Portland Obs but this bird was the undoubted star.

It was late morning, on Saturday 28 September, and a few of us were standing in the Obs front garden, watching for a Firecrest that had been seen there, when keen-eyed Tim noticed a brown bird hopping about in a buddleja right in front of us. It looked like a Reed warbler but was too big, and our experts almost immediately realised it was a Great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus). The bird disappeared for a short time (John raced inside to tell the other birders, and I went in to grab my camera), then, luckily, it reappeared and proceeded to munch on some blackberries growing alongside the garden wall. Unfortunately, it didn’t linger long, soon disappearing along the side of the buildings.

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Several people had noticed the bird had a ring on one leg so this Great reed warbler must have been the same bird that had been caught and ringed in the Obs garden 10 days earlier. Amazingly, it had lingered in the surrounding scrub and bushes without anyone spotting it.

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The largest of the European warblers, the Great reed warbler is only occasionally seen in Britain – it breeds in Europe and Asia and overwinters in sub-Saharan Africa – so, this bird had somehow lost its way during migration.

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If you want to see much clearer photos of this cracking bird, check out Martin Cade’s photos and reports on the Portland Obs blog here (when it was first ringed) and again here (when the bird was re-found, during Saturday afternoon, in the Obs back garden).

Birding on Portland

01 Thursday Nov 2018

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From Lodmoor we continued on towards Portland, stopping for a scan through the few birds on the water and shore at Ferry Bridge (but there wasn’t a lot of be seen) and for a wander through the quarries looking for the reported Ring ouzels at The Verne (turns out we were in the wrong place but the Stonechats were nice to see). Friday ended with us all settled in our rooms at the Obs (Portland Bird Observatory) and off for a meal at The Pulpit Inn.

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Saturday was our day for birding around Portland but the weather really was against us on this year’s trip. The strong freezing northerlies and clear skies meant most migrating birds were being driven on above our heads, rather than being caught in the nets at the Obs or stopping over somewhere on the island to refuel.

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With nothing much happening on the sea or in the Obs garden, we had a wander down to the Bill and along the shore. Rock pipits, pied wagtails and a confiding Kestrel were about all we found there – no Purple sandpipers to be seen.

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From the Obs, we drove to Pennsylvannia and walked down the track to Church Ope Cove, checking all the while for the Yellow-browed warblers that had been seen there – no luck, unfortunately, but it was a lovely walk, with stunning views, and we did see some Stonechats.

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Another walk took us between the various quarries and past the remains of windmills to The Hump, where Yellow-browed warblers had also been reported. Once again we lucked out … but saw more Stonechats!

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Having walked back to the cars, we drove on to The Verne, to look once again (in the right place this time) for the Ring ouzels, but they remained elusive. It was another good walk though, with more cracking views, out over the sea and along the coast over Chesil Beach.

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After a second look at Ferry Bridge (our first Knot of the trip spotted through the ’scopes), it was back to the Obs for the night and another meal, amidst much banter and laughter, at The Pulpit, though not before we indulged in a spot of Short-eared owl watching in the fields across the road from the Obs itself. Three birds seen flying – superb!

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My first Fieldfare of the season in the Obs garden

Birding at Portland

23 Monday Oct 2017

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One more birding blog from my wonderful weekend at the Portland Bird Observatory and then no more about Portland … till next year.

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In case you don’t know, Portland is sort of an island – it is actually connected to the mainland – but it looks for all the world like a small island jutting out into the English Channel. It’s where the famous Portland stone (used to build such landmarks as St Paul’s Cathedral in London) comes from, and so the coastline is dramatically rocky and the land is riddled with quarries, many of which are now disused.

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On the Saturday of our long weekend we went for a wonderful walk, along the cliff-top coastal paths and inland through fields, and later in to one of the old quarries. Those with ’scopes spotted some nice seabirds passing by, and gannets, shags, cormorants and various gulls could easily be seen with the naked eye and bins.

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Kestrels were abundant – one sat obligingly on top of a post (though shooting in to a bright sky didn’t make for good photos) and I managed to get a reasonable fly-by shot.

As well as seeing Stonechats, Meadow pipits, a Whinchat, Wheatears and large flocks of Goldfinches and Linnets, we also disturbed a family of Pheasants (mum, dad and two kids) in one of the fields.

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And the resident Little owl popped out of its hidey hole in a local quarry for a short time early on Sunday morning, though, again, the light was not the best for photography.

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All up the group total for the weekend was 117 species seen or heard. At 82, my personal total was a bit lower but it’s the quality, not the quantity that counts – of those 82, 15 were lifers, birds I’d never seen before – and that’s a pretty impressive total for just three days’ birding!

A bird in the hand

16 Monday Oct 2017

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I’ve just had a fantastic long weekend’s birding with the Glamorgan Bird Club at the Portland Bird Observatory in Dorset. Not only did we stay in an old lighthouse but we saw an incredible number of amazing birds. I haven’t typed up my list yet but I do know I had fifteen (yes, 15!!!) lifers (for non-birders, I saw fifteen species I had never seen before).

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This little beauty was one of them: it’s a Rustic bunting (Emberiza rustica), a bird that breeds in northern Europe and in Asia and normally migrates to Japan and parts of China and south-east Asia to over-winter. This little one may have been blown the wrong way by strong winds or perhaps, by mistake, it joined up with a group of other small birds heading for Britain.

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It was both an amazing experience and a real privilege to see such a rarity up close. (You can read more about this bird and see more pictures on the Portland Obs blog here.)

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