Isle of Portland – April 2017

For my last day at the coast I decided to go to the Isle of Portland. I knew there were a lot of migrants coming in so thought I’d go and see what was about. Now I knew I was probably going to struggle identifying some of them but it was worth having a go. 

It was a lovely sunny morning when I reached the car park and there was only a light wind. My first spot was in the car park, a Song Thrush. I then headed to the cliff edge, where a kind man pointed out 2 Purple Sandpipers. These were a first for me and I slowly managed to climb down some of the rocks to get on to a lower platform to get a little closer, although they were still a distance away. While watching the sea and cliffs I spotted, Gannet, Razorbills and Guillemots. Thankfully I spent a weekend at RSPB Bempton Cliffs last year so could easily identify them. 

After lunch I headed over to the grassland areas to look for Wheatears, I had never seen one and wanted to find them. I was sat watching some vegetation when a man asked me if I had seen the Little Owls. I didn’t even know there were any! He showed me where they had been seen in the morning and half an hour later we saw an Owl! This was the biggest surprise of the day. I had never seen a Little Owl before and I stayed watching for as long as it was around. It was a lovely experience 🙂

I watched many little birds flitting around at the time but was unsure of what they were; being able to identify them from my photos when I got home, I now know. I did get a little stuck with this one but now I realise it’s another Cetti’s Warbler 🙂

My full sightings list:
Birds: Song Thrush, Sand Martin, Purple Sandpiper, Gannet, Little Owl, Wheatear, Cetti’s Warbler, Dunnock, Fulmar, Guillemot, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Razorbill