Tuesday 5th September

Just a short visit over high tide saw 880 Oystercatcher, 49 Ringed Plover, 37 Dunlin, nine Sanderling and two Sandwich Tern around the Bight. 

Elsewhere three Teal remain at the Main Pond, but apart from four Chiffchaff, a Blackcap and a Whitethroat calling from cover, the bushes were quiet. A few Swallow were high overhead and a Wheatear moved quickly through Greenland Lake.

Other Wildlife: Summer temperatures have arrived for the beginning of meteorological autumn and the sunny conditions saw four Emperor dragonfly still active along with several Migrant Hawker, Small Red-eyed Damselfly and Common Darter also on the wing.

Yellow-barred Peat Hoverfly - Alan Keatley

Other insects included a Yellow-barred Peat Hoverfly Sericomyia silentis in the Entrance Bushes, following the recent pattern of September appearances from its heathland breeding sites. Also appearing for the first time this year Rough-saddled Bandwing Dipogon variegatus, a spider wasp, and the groundbug Nysius ericae; both at Langstone Rock.

Dipogon variegatus - Alan Keatley

Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis heparana - Alan Keatley

Sunday 3rd September

A quick visit on the dropping tide saw a juvenile Spoonbill roosting on Finger Point before feeding on the Bight. Also in the Bight, 56 Dunlin, 31 Ringed Plover, 21 Sandwich Tern, 12 Sanderling and a Knot.

Elsewhere the summering Great Northern Diver was offshore, 35 Swallow and a Yellow Wagtail were overhead, a Wheatear was in the Bight was the only grounded migrant with a female Great Spotted Woodpecker in Dead Dolphin Wood the most notable species in the bushes. 

Other Wildlife: The first Vestal of the year was on Warren Point with a new Wasp Spider discovered in the Entrance Bushes.

Saturday 2nd September

A roving flock of tits around the sallows held many of today's migrants with 12 Chiffchaff and a Reed Warbler amongst 15 Blue, 13 Long-tailed and six Great Tit. Also on site, the bramble scrub held five Whitethroat, four Blackcap and two Garden Warbler with two Grey Wagtail, two Meadow Pipit and a Siskin overhead.

In the estuary 20 Wigeon were in Shutterton Creek with counts from the Bight including 105 Dunlin, 55 Ringed Plover, 22 Sandwich Tern, 18 Sanderling, two Black-tailed Godwit and single Knot and Turnstone.

Elsewhere four Balearic Shearwater flew south, a Great Crested Grebe was on the sea and a Hobby flew through just off seawall early morning, flushing a Kingfisher which it then tried to catch, the Kingfisher survived by diving into sea to avoid capture. It or another was on the Main Pond later. 

Other Wildlife: Small White were the most numerous of the seven butterfly seen today, no doubt migrants along with the four Red Admiral and a Painted Lady. Moths noted included several Silver Y, Yellow Belle and Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer Agriphila geniculea.

Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer - Alan Keatley

Also on the wing four Migrant Hawker, a couple of Common Darter and, at the Main Pond, two Small Red-eyed Damselfly.

Friday 1st September

Seawatching early morning saw 39 Balearic Shearwater head south along with 29 Common Scoter, 16 Sandwich Tern, 15 Arctic Skua and two Fulmar. A Wheatear on the seawall was one of five on site, with other migrants included six Whitethroat, a Sedge Warbler, several Meadow Pipit and a mixed flock of several hundred Linnet and Goldfinch in Greenland Lake. Four Swift were overhead with good numbers of Swallow and House Martin, presumably attracting the two Hobby seen jousting over Finger Point.

Wheatear - Dave Jewell

Counts from the estuary included 160 Dunlin, 104 Ringed Plover, 43 Mute Swan, 20 Knot, seven Greenshank, three Teal, three Bar-tailed Godwit and a Common Sandpiper.

Thursday 31st August

Counts from the estuary over a wet morning high tide included 62 Ringed and seven Grey Plover, 51 Knot, 36 Mute Swan, 23 Sanderling, 15 Wigeon, nine Whimbrel, six Sandwich and four Common Tern, five Turnstone and a Bar-tailed Godwit.

A brief look offshore after the rain didn't turn up any seabird passage and the bushes were quiet, with migrants on site including 60 Goldfinch, four Blackcap, two Willow Warbler and single Whitethroat and Wheatear with eight Swallow and two House Martin passing through. 

Kestrel - Alan Keatley

A singing Cirl Bunting and the male Kestrel were along the Back Path.

Cirl Bunting - Alan Keatley

Other Wildlife: A surprise and unexpected find today, the Chalk Snail-killer Dichetophora obliterata. It can also be found in sand dunes despite its name, with few records from the southwest. 

Chalk Snail-killer - Alan Keatley

A bright spell into the afternoon turned up a few butterflies, mostly Small Copper and Small White, with at least four Migrant Hawker also on the wing.

Migrant Hawker - Alan Keatley

Wednesday 30th August

A quick visit to the evening tide saw an Osprey far up river with counts from the Bight and estuary including 83 Ringed Plover, 64 Dunlin, 40 Mute Swan, 37 Knot, all juveniles, six Bar-tailed Godwit, four Sandwich Tern and three Turnstone. 

Tuesday 29th August

The only news received was from a short afternoon visit, with the tide low the estuary was empty of waders. Two Wheatear were around the Bight and other migrants included four Chiffchaff, two Blackcap and two Reed Warbler. Elsewhere a female/imm Eider was a new arrival off Langstone Rock.

Other Wildlife: Insects were elusive with a single Emperor dragonfly and just five butterfly species recorded, but a few bright spells encouraged some activity on the emerging Michaelmas daisies including the presumed migrant Locust Blowfly in the Back Meadow.

Locust Blowfly - both Alan Keatley

Angle Shades - Alan Keatley

Birch Polypore - Alan Keatley

Sunday 27th August

No news was received from the high tide but an evening visit saw four Teal and the Dark-bellied Brent Goose on the mudflats with the regular waders dispersing with the tide, including Greenshank and Whimbrel. 

Elsewhere migrants included three Swift overhead with single Sedge and Willow Warbler, Whitethroat and Wheatear also on site.

Other Wildlife: The highlight was the discovery of two new native plants for the Recording Area, the 761st & 762nd species recorded on the Warren, Wild Mignonette and Fool's Parsley. Both were taking advantage of the same area of bare ground.

Wild Mignonette - Kevin Rylands

Moths included Portland Ribbon Wave, Lesser Swallow Prominent and Waste Grass-veneer Pediasia contaminella around security lights, Marbled Conch Eupoecilia angustana and Dingy Drill Dichrorampha sedatana on their foodplants, leafmines of Silver-barred Alder Pigmy Stigmella alnetella and Common Slender Gracillaria syringella and caterpillars of Box-tree Moth and Buff-tip.

Portland Ribbon Wave - Kevin Rylands

Dingy Drill - Kevin Rylands

Common Slender leafmine - Kevin Rylands

Box-tree Moth - Kevin Rylands

Buff-tip - Kevin Rylands

Saturday 26th August

An Osprey was in the estuary just after high tide where counts from the Bight included 205 Dunlin, 162 Ringed Plover, 25 Sanderling (13 juv), nine Turnstone (three juv) and a lone Sandwich Tern with a juvenile Bar-tailed Godwit on the beach. 

Elsewhere a Teal was at the Main Pond and migrants included the year's second Lesser Whitethroat, eight Chiffchaff, two Blackcap and single Reed and Willow Warbler, Whitethroat and Goldcrest.

Other Wildlife: A Rush Veneer was on the Golf Course, where new sites for Autumn Ladies-tresses and Dark Mullein were discovered. 

Dark Mullein - Kevin Rylands

Poplar Bent-wing Phyllocnistis unipunctella leafmine - Kevin Rylands

Thecabius affinis gall (an aphid on Poplar) - Kevin Rylands

Thursday 24th August

An adult Osprey circled over the Golf Course mid morning before heading up estuary, this typically put up all the waders in the estuary mid count, but numbers that returned to the Bight included 109 Ringed Plover, 77 Dunlin, 18 Sanderling, seven Black-tailed Godwit and two Knot, with 35 Mute Swan, 19 Whimbrel and four Mediterranean Gull also present. Sandwich Tern were once again notable by their absence. 

Osprey - Alan Keatley

Other migrants were limited to 25 Swallow, five Willow and two Reed Warbler, three Blackcap, a Chiffchaff and a Wheatear. Elsewhere a record count of 16 Collared Dove leaving a night-time roost near the Station before making a brief incursion into the Recording Area as they circled around then headed inland in a single flock.

Cirl Bunting - Dean Hall

Other Wildlife: The show of  Autumn Ladies-tresses is at its peak in Greenland Lake and elsewhere with thousands of spikes in the dune turf.

Autumn Ladies-tresses - Dean Hall

Autumn Ladies-tresses - Alan Keatley

The butterfly peak has however passed, with the Gatekeeper season virtually over and with the exception of a new generation of Small Copper, notably fewer butterflies on the wing.

Small Copper - Dean Hall

A male Ectophasia crassipennis, a shieldbug hunting tachinid in the Back Meadow was the insect find of the day, this species first arrived in the UK but is already seemingly established on site.

Ectophasia crassipennis - Alan Keatley

Jersey Tiger - Dean Hall