We went down to Portland today with the hope of finding a real rarity. We arrived very early, when it was still dark, and started by having a look around the trees in the Obs car park. I could see several small green birds flitting around, most appeared to be goldcrests, but there were also some chiffchaffs as well. Then, a bird with a particularly prominent eye stripe appeared at the top of a bush. We unfortunately did not get great views, but saw enough of it to know that it was a yellow-browed warbler, my first and an Asian vagrant which has arrived in extraordinary numbers this year.
We then walked up through the top fields. There were hundreds of thrushes- predominantly blackbirds and my first redwings of winter, along with mistle and song thrushes. Huge flocks of woodpigeon, starling, linnet and meadow pipit dominated the skies. There were also high numbers of kestrels and one buzzard. We had a quick look in a small forested area for any scarce warblers. Unfortunately there appeared to be no warblers there, so we moved on. A woodcock took flight from the field we were walking through. We then headed down to the Bill Quarry. I saw my first black redstart of the year in the QIDIC MOD area, always a great bird to see and something of a Portland speciality. Out to sea, I saw three common scoter fly past and an unidentifiable auk species. A peregrine falcon flew over the cliffs and there were dozens of gannets out to sea.
We decided to have one last look in the top fields. There was a large crowd of birders gathered and we heard news that an Isabelline Shrike had been seen less than 50 yards up the path. We arrived, and the bird appeared immediately. An adult male Daurian Isabelline Shrike, arguably the most stunning British bird I have seen. It was no more than 10 yards away from us, regularly sweeping down to the ground in pursuit of insect prey. This bird has got extremely lost heading to its wintering grounds in Pakistan and Iran from its breeding grounds in China. Its extraordinary sandy colour made an extreme contrast to the muddy autumnal Portland landscape. It really was a magnificent bird and a seriously rare one as well.
As if it couldn't get any better, as we headed back to the car, some birders said they had found a Siberian stonechat with the common stonechats in the field. We had a quick search for it, finding a very late whinchat along with the stonechats. Then, a paler-looking bird, almost the colour of a wheatear on the back appeared in a clump of brambles. It had far more white on its throat than most stonechats and more of a white eyebrow. Checking the book, it turned out to be a female Siberian stonechat, a seriously rare bird verified by Martin Cade, the PBO warden. Although not the most exciting to look at, it is a very bird in Britain, only recently separated from the European stonechat and an Asian vagrant.
That ended an extraordinary morning, with three Asian vagrants, all of which were new to me. Portland really is an incredible place.
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