What you could see month by month
We have listed 'typical species' that you could reasonably expect
to see at various times of the year. However Dorset and in particular
Portland is one of the 'Birding Hotspots' in the United Kingdom – so
be prepared to see the unexpected !!
JANUARY
Portland Harbour will have plenty of grebes and divers to see at this
time of year and on a good day we could see all eight species. Brent
Geese will be on the Fleet in huge numbers and Short-eared Owls may
well be hunting over the fields. Water Pipits are regular visitors in
January. Our digiscoping weekends are also held at this time of year.
Email us for details.
FEBRUARY
Poole Harbour will be full of wildfowl and waders with the nationally
important flock of 1,000+ Avocets a major attraction. Hen Harriers are
relatively easy to see here and the nearby heaths should produce Dartford
Warblers and Woodlarks with Great Grey Shrike an added bonus in most
years.
MARCH
The first of the summer's migrant birds will have arrived including
Wheatears and perhaps an early Swallow or Sandwich Tern. Towards the
end of the month Puffins will be at The Bill and Little Terns at Ferrybridge.
Portland Harbour will still have a few grebes and divers, giving us
the chance to see an exciting mix of winter and summer visitors.
APRIL
April is the best time for seabirds on Portland with the Guillemots
and Razorbills vying for space on the cliffs and the Kittiwakes noisily
announcing their presence. Puffins are less common but we should see
one or two of these delightful birds on the sea. Further out we may
well see passing Manx Shearwaters and Arctic Skuas amongst the flocks
of Gannets that move east and north each Spring.
MAY - JUNE
As the bird migration season comes to a close we switch to Wild Flower
and Butterfly weekends. Email us for details.
JULY
Our Jurassic Coast weekends are held in July and throughout the year,
looking at the landscape and rocks of South Dorset as well as wildlife.
SEPTEMBER
Autumn migration is underway and Portland should have a variety of migrants
in the fields and quarries, such as Wheatears, Redstarts and Tree Pipits.
Seabirds should also be passing the Bill and may well include shearwaters
and skuas with waders such as Curlew Sandpipers and Little Stints stopping
off at Ferrybridge.
OCTOBER
October is the best time for finding rare birds on Portland, whether
from across the Atlantic or Asia. Pallas's and Yellow-browed Warblers
turn up most years with Pectoral Sandpiper a possibility to look out
for at Lodmoor.
NOVEMBER
Rarities continue to turn up in November whilst the winter birds have
started to arrive. Seawatching can be good especially in stormy weather
with Little Auk, Grey Phalarope and Storm Petrel all seen in recent
years.
DECEMBER
With the flocks of wildfowl settled in for the winter we will have plenty
to look at on the RSPB's reserves around Weymouth and Wareham. Bitterns
are a regular visitor at Radipole Lake and Bearded Tits are best seen
at this time.
Birdbreak checklist - 218 species since January 2000
| Red-throated Diver | Black-throated Diver | Great Northern Diver | Little Grebe | Great Crested Grebe |
| Red-necked Grebe | Slavonian Grebe | Black-necked Grebe | Fulmar | Storm Petrel |
| Manx Shearwater | Balearic Shearwater | Sooty Shearwater | Gannet | Cormorant |
| Shag | Little Egret | Grey Heron | Purple Heron | Bittern |
| Spoonbill | Mute Swan | Whooper Swan | Canada Goose | Dark-bellied Brent Goose |
| Pale-bellied Brent Goose | Black Brant | Red-breasted Goose | Barnacle Goose | Greylag Goose |
| White-fronted Goose | Shelduck | Wigeon | Gadwall | Teal |
| Garganey | Mallard | Pintail | Shoveler | Pochard |
| Ferruginous Duck | Ring-necked Duck | Tufted Duck | Scaup | Eider |
| Long-tailed Duck | Common Scoter | Velvet Scoter | Goldeneye | Red-breasted Merganser |
| Goosander | Ruddy Duck | Red Kite | Marsh Harrier | Hen Harrier |
| Sparrowhawk | Common Buzzard | Honey Buzzard | Osprey | Kestrel |
| Merlin | Hobby | Peregrine | Grey Partridge | Red-legged Partridge |
| Pheasant | Water Rail | Moorhen | Coot | Stone Curlew |
| Oystercatcher | Avocet | Little Ringed Plover | Ringed Plover | Lapwing |
| Golden Plover | Grey Plover | Knot | Sanderling | Pectoral Sandpiper |
| White-rumped Sandpiper | Curlew Sandpiper | Purple Sandpiper | Dunlin | Little Stint |
| Ruff | Snipe | Black-tailed Godwit | Bar-tailed Godwit | Whimbrel |
| Curlew | Spotted Redshank | Redshank | Greenshank | Wood Sandpiper |
| Common Sandpiper | Turnstone | Grey Phalarope | Great Skua | Arctic Skua |
| Pomarine Skua | Little Gull | Mediterranean Gull | Black-headed Gull | Common Gull |
| Ring-billed Gull | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Yellow-legged Gull | Herring Gull | Great Black-backed Gull |
| Iceland Gull | Kittiwake | Sandwich Tern | Roseate Tern | Arctic Tern |
| Common Tern | Little Tern | Black Tern | Guillemot | Razorbill |
| Little Auk | Puffin | Stock Dove | Wood Pigeon | Turtle Dove |
| Collared Dove | Cuckoo | Little Owl | Barn Owl | Tawny Owl (heard) |
| Long-eared Owl | Short-eared Owl | Nightjar | Swift | Alpine Swift |
| Kingfisher | Green Woodpecker | Great Spotted Woodpecker | Lesser Spotted Woodpecker | Woodlark |
| Skylark | Sand Martin | Swallow | House Martin | Tree Pipit |
| Meadow Pipit | Rock Pipit | Water Pipit | Yellow Wagtail | Grey Wagtail |
| Pied Wagtail | Waxwing | Wren | Dunnock | Robin |
| Redstart | Black Redstart | Whinchat | Stonechat | Wheatear |
| Nightingale (heard) | Ring Ouzel | Blackbird | Fieldfare | Song Thrush |
| Redwing | Mistle Thrush | Cetti's Warbler | Grasshopper Warbler (heard) | Sedge Warbler |
| Reed Warbler | Dartford Warbler | Lesser Whitethroat | Whitethroat | Garden Warbler |
| Blackcap | Pallas's Warbler | Yellow-browed Warbler | Chiffchaff | Willow Warbler |
| Wood Warbler | Goldcrest | Firecrest | Red-breasted Flycatcher | Spotted Flycatcher |
| Pied Flycatcher | Penduline Tit | Bearded Tit | Long-tailed Tit | Marsh Tit |
| Coal Tit | Blue Tit | Great Tit | Nuthatch | Treecreeper |
| Great Grey Shrike | Jay | Magpie | Jackdaw | Rook |
| Carrion Crow | Raven | Rose-coloured Starling | Starling | House Sparrow |
| Chaffinch | Brambling | Greenfinch | Goldfinch | Linnet |
| Siskin | Crossbill | Redpoll | Hawfinch | Bullfinch |
| Yellowhammer | Corn Bunting | Reed Bunting |
