Luccombe Down: Pied Fly x2 this morning (Aug 11th); a few more tree pips seen/heard including three northwards...The spell of settled weather continues with fairly high temps.
Monday, 11 August 2025
Thursday, 7 August 2025
Tree Pipits etc
Saturday, 26 July 2025
Pied Fly & Tree Pipit (Xbills)
Luccombe Down and Nansen Hill this morning (July 26th): First Pied Flycatcher of the autumn and 188 Xbills (most over but some landed). Willow Warblers have suddenly increased (30+)...
July 28th (A.M): single Tree Pipit (calling) flew north; first of autumn; seen with Steve and Andrew. Plus, xbills (c100) etc.
Monday, 21 July 2025
Crossbills (more counts)
Nansen Hill/Luccombe Down (this morning, July 21st, 06:45am onwards): c90 Xbills over (most North). Mark had 150+ at nearby Haddon's Pits over a similar time period. Also, a Sedge Warbler calling and seen; and c50 Swifts milling about. Some signs of early autumn migration.
My first (juv) Yellow-legged Gull (SCP sea watch) back on July 7th.
Friday, 4 July 2025
Crossbills (Parakeet)
Wednesday, 4 June 2025
Crossbills (LEOs Nightjar & RV Darter)
Evidently going to be a Crossbill year with more this morning (June 4th), either perched or on the move. At least 16 at Luccombe Village including 10+ that landed on a pine tree in a garden before leaving southwards. Evening-time: at least two juv LEO begging and Nightjar heard.
June 8th: x57 Xbills (North) Nansen/Luccombe. Also, a male Red-veined Darter on Nansen Hill.
Saturday, 31 May 2025
Savi's (better-quality recording)
Saturday, 24 May 2025
SAVI'S Warbler (reeling)
Yesterday evening (May 23rd) I could hear a SAVI'S Warbler, albeit distantly in breezy conditions and somewhat drowned out by the din of geese etc. I missed the last one (2020?). I managed to get a low quality sound recording of this one at least. Not seen.
Xbill movements are increasing with c25 west (May 26th) over Ventnor: Nansen Hill (5) & and Leeson Road (c12); and Nick had x8 along the coast.
Savi's warbler
— The feathers (@birdd111) March 28, 2025
Scientific name: Locustella luscinioides
Savi's warbler is a species in grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds in Europe and western Palearctic. The common name of this bird recognises Italian ornithologist Paolo Savi, the author of "Ornitologia Toscana".… pic.twitter.com/d8PrdvXcVe
Thursday, 22 May 2025
THRUSH Nightingale (quite possibly?!)
Thrush Nightingales are barely annual in Oslo although small numbers are regular nearby. A pair did breed last year and a male is back singing in the exact same spot. Hopefully a mate will turn up again this year. pic.twitter.com/r512ZzUtnH
— Simon Rix (@si_rix) May 15, 2025
Friday, 16 May 2025
Woodchat Shrike (twitch) Brading Marsh
Hudsonian Godwit-ad female-Titchfield Haven NR, Hants,GR8 find by @MarkFra64259515 & the first for the home county,really enjoyed this bird,even though I found the first for Portugal with @PeterAlfrey Terceira, Azores-July 2007 & seen on the nest in Churchill, CA this was class! pic.twitter.com/bCeagIVDSt
— Wader-World 🌍 (@Waderworld1) May 17, 2025
Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Golden Oriole (Bembridge Airfield)
Saturday, 10 May 2025
Saturday, 26 April 2025
Barwit evening (SCP)
April 25th: St Cath's sea watch (17:15 - 20:00): as the easterly winds had swung more south during the afternoon I gave the point a go: Barwits dominated with 759 east; combined with 470 recorded in the morning, 1229 was the day total. (NB Dungeness recorded 3000+). Always a great spring-time spectacle. Also: 44 Whimbrel, 2 Arctic Skuas, 5 Manx, 12 scoter, 11 Kittiwakes, 1 RTD, 6 Sarnies etc. The land remains very quiet tho.....
Tuesday, 15 April 2025
Pied fly (Ring ouzel & Gropper)
A bit of a slow start to my spring birding campaign; work stuff getting in the way; but hey/ho that's life. Plus, the recent successive (seemingly endless) run of bright easterlies maybe not so great for the patch. I managed to dip an Alpine Accentor at Gore Cliff back on April 5th: an exceptional rarity found by Graham A. and the Island's second record. The next morning (April 6th) it was not seen again; but we did see an in off male Pied Flycatcher fly past us after coming up and over the cliff. Plus, an equally smart male Black Red in the spot the accentor would have been.
April 15th (conditions have changed): Luccombe area (including Village and Farm etc) yielded a flyover Yellow Wag, reeling Gropper, Sedge warbler, and Ring Ouzel (of note). Whitethroats are back on territory singing away...
April 23rd: Gropper (Nansen Hill) & Sedge Warbler (Haddon's Pits).
Saturday, 5 April 2025
Island Tick
Thursday, 20 March 2025
SCP (Scoters, Little Gulls, swallow etc)
Tuesday, 18 March 2025
Harrier (St Cath's)
Saturday, 8 March 2025
SCP (Skua, Velvets etc)
Wheelers Bay Ventnor: (fem type) Black Redstart on March 5th.
SCP (St Cath's):
Sat March 8th: morning sea watch with George H [06:40-08:50]. Easterlies (ESE). Given it's early March, there was enough to keep us interested with a few highlights: an Arctic Skua east (by date early in the season), as well as three Velvet Scoters (with a scoter flock), a mixture of ducks (100+ scoter, Pintail, teal etc). LBB gulls. In off mipits etc. Number-wise somewhat paltry compared to Dunge?! but enjoyable all the same.
Sun March 9th: similar conditions (easterlies): SCP [06:40-09:35] with George (then Ollie): slow going, but some things moving eastwards: C.Scoter 26, LBB 10, Shoveler 7E, RTD 12E/2on, Common Gull 13, etc. Mipits in-off c60, a few alba/pied wags including a good candidate for White Wagtail (coasting low and east). My first singing Chiffchaff.
Ventnor: Hummingbird hawk-moth on March 10th (and chiff calling over Leeson Road).
Mind boggling Pintail numbers!!! Full totals ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/fqG5Avaug1
— Dungeness Bird Observatory (@DungenessBO) March 7, 2025
Friday, 28 February 2025
End of Feb
Friday, 14 February 2025
CASPIAN Gull (Sandown)
The second 1st-winter Caspian Gull of the year at Perelle yesterday. Two days after the first and a different, smarter, bird. @GuernseyBirds pic.twitter.com/uOl09RxBlI
— Wayne Turner (@WayneTurner4) February 11, 2025
Thursday, 6 February 2025
Velvet Scoters (Little gull)
Sunday, 2 February 2025
BN Grebe
Pied Fly
Luccombe Down : Pied Fly x2 this morning (Aug 11th); a few more tree pips seen/heard including three northwards...The spell of settled weath...

-
Yesterday (Saturday Oct 26th) Steve Jones put out news of a Yellow-browed Warbler and a possible Hume's Warbler , both along Bath Road ...
-
A couple of days ago (October 15th), George found a Richard's Pipit along the coast and just west of the Lighthouse, which again was se...
-
Feb 14th : Found a 1st winter Caspo today (around midday) at Sandown Canoe Lake (in brisk easterlies), which didn't linger unfortunatel...