7th December

Amazingly, I saw my second new bird of the weekend this morning- what a great couple of days!

About a week ago, a Barred Warbler had appeared in a mist net at Portland Bird Observatory. This was a remarkable record. This species is a scarce passage migrant to the UK, breeding from central and eastern Europe to central Asia and wintering in tropical East Africa. Around 100 are seen in Britain each year, virtually all of which are first winters in September-October along the east coast. As far as I know, this individual is the first to be recorded in Britain in December, when it should be enjoying the warmth of Kenya... I know where I'd rather be! I had hoped that the bird would stay at Portland until the weekend, however it disappeared for four days, before reappearing yesterday evening. Thankfully, it was still there this morning:

Barred Warbler, Portland Bird Observatory. What an awesome bird!

The Obs at Portland has started to put apples out for the Blackcaps that spend the winter there and quite remarkably, the Barred Warbler has taken a liking to them too. This bird was noticeably chunky- much, much larger than the female Blackcap that was also feasting on the fruit. Its size, combined with its really rather evil eye, combine to give this bird a rather fearsome appearance- certainly not an appearance normally associated with the warbler family. What a beast! The odds on me seeing a Barred Warbler feeding on apples about ten yards away on a cold and windy December Dorset day must have been pretty slim...

Also at the Obs was the corpse of a Hoopoe that had sadly been found dead the previous day, most likely having been killed by a cat. Seeing this magnificent bird so close up was incredible- its wing feather patterns are absolutely remarkable, but it really was sad to see such a resplendent beast lifeless.

My next stop was Portland Castle, where I was lucky to find a female Eider hiding incredibly effectively on some seaweed-covered rocks just offshore:

Female Eider, Portland Castle. Not the best picture, but it was so well-camouflaged that this was the only time I managed to find it in the camera!

This was only my second Eider ever, and my first in about ten years. Alongside it were several Red-breasted Mergansers and I also had distant views of a Black-throated Diver flying over the harbour from Hamm Beach. It was a good morning!