Seymour Birdies Diary: A Summer Visit to Portland Bill

17th July 2023

I couldn't possibly be on holiday in Dorset without visiting Portland Bill and luckily the weather was kind. When you step out of the car at Portland you are greeted by swathes of their specialities, Rock and Golden Samphire.

The usual suspects were present including the numerous Herring Gulls and the odd Great Black-backed Gull.

Out at sea a Grey Seal was watching me photographing him and a Gannet flew past, a little bit closer than normal.

The Gannet appeared to be a 3CY bird and briefly alighted on the water before taking off again and flying a loop providing a couple of opportunities for some shots.

In one of the cliff inlets a small flock of Linnets were flying around but the main interest here was a pair of Rock Pipits feeding young.

They were bringing in an endless supply of insects to a very hungry young family.

This one appears to have brought in a grasshopper.

And the youngsters were very grateful!!!

And I have often commented on just how tame the resident petrosus Rock Pipits are compared to their migratory littoralis cousins on the east coast. When the cafe has closed and everyone has gone home they search the picnic tables for some dropped crumbs.

And the Ravens have a similar routine, searching the picnic area for some tasty morsels. I can never get over just how tame they are. I was trying to edge closer to this bird when it flew towards me and ended up just 12 feet away. I had to go full frame to get it all in.

And just look at that bill!!!

But the biggest surprise today was when I stumbled across a Wheatear. Nothing particularly surprising in that, probably just an early migrant.

But this one was accompanied by a number of youngsters so they had presumably bred nearby. I have visited Portland Bill several times during the summer months and have never see breeding Wheatears, so I asked Martin Cade their status as a breeding bird on The Bill. Martin replied:

"The pair of Wheatears you saw bred in the Bill Quarry this year; breeding isn't an annual event but it is perhaps getting a little bit more regular in recent years than it once was (eg there have been successful pairs in three of the last five summers)."

What lovely fluffy youngsters.