Somewhere a bit different today as I spent the morning out with a birding mate down in south Dorset. We arrived at Ferrybridge at 7.00am and scanned the small number of waders that were present. A single Whimbrel was the pick but a couple of Sanderling were amongst the more numerous Ringed Plover and Dunlin. A few Little Terns and two Sandwich Terns were feeding in the bay.
Leaving Ferrybridge we drove up to Portland and took a walk around Barleycrates Lane, West Cliffs and Reap Lane. It was really quiet and devoid of migrants bar a single Wheatear. Offshore we saw a few passing Gannets and a couple of Fulmers but that was it. So off to the Bill.
It was gone 8.00am by the time we got to the Bill for a spot of sea-watching. Over the next 45 minutes or so we saw a few Manx Shearwaters pass by, including a very close individual, plus a total of six Common Scoters, all of which were male, and a fair few auks. At 9.00am we decided to head back inland (failing to see the Little Owls in the Obs Quarry!), when news broke of a Kentish Plover...at Ferrybridge! How did we miss that earlier?
It didn't take us long to reach Ferrybridge and it seemed that every birder that was on Portland had also made the trip. Despite the bird not showing when we first arrived it was soon relocated and we managed to get some cracking views of this male Kentish Plover to round of a good start to the day. I also discovered that it had flown in when first seen, so we had not overlooked it after all, so that saved some embarrassment.
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