Ferrybridge

I stopped off at Ferrybridge (on 17th). The tide was going out but still high, and with the sun behind me and a clear blue sky the birds were looking at their best.

About 500 Brent Geese, tens of Med Gulls, Ringed Plovers and Dunlin.

Weymouth/Portland 17

With just the morning free I started at the Obs. The clear skies had a predictable consequence; no-one was sure where any birds were except for the Firecrest that has been doing a circuit of the obs garden for the last few days. I saw a few small green birds flitting through the trees, but the only ones I could identify were Willow Chiffs, and a Goldcrest. With just a couple of Swallows overhead and a pair of Common Buzzards I decided to cut my losses and headed off for Ferrybridge - more of that later - and Lodmoor.

Lodmoor had: pinging Bearded Tits, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Barwit, 11 Blackwits, 8 Dunlin, a few Snipe and Lapwings, a Wigeon, a couple of Wheatears, two pairs of Stonechat, a Reed Bunting and a Willow Chiff.

Portland 16 Oct

Business in Weymouth was over by 3 leaving me some time to go Portland as the sun set. Just a quick dash round the hut area. A couple of flighty Black Redstarts the stars.

28,982

thats the number of Redwings that had flown over the Pinnacles in Sandy by 11:25. Not 28,981, or 28,983. The mind boggles at the effort involved in getting the number down to the individual bird.