The day before my recent emergency excursion to Portland to see a
Spectacled Warbler, I was on Portland shortly after dawn looking for commoner migrants - flycatchers, chats and warblers. Photographing a migrant male Pied Flycatcher well in Dorset has been a long-held ambition - and so it remains as I didn't see one on Sunday. But I did find a female in the Reap Lane area, alongside a couple of Spotted Flycatchers. Another Spotted Flycatcher was just around the corner at Avalanche Road, all entertaining and confiding birds to watch.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLV69oxIbwckvKnnb6ShL4tVJ1XpHmYf1CjpxHAYMuIdR7mW0kVKlRsBTlFLob9vjY9LnA4tzTRBgnR_Br-L4VQPKHc0ETtu275ljzBx5qq_9vbR0XSyNUeemxxSYhGt1VL-v5WlWAT4w/s400/Pied+Fly+Reap+Lane+2.JPG) |
Pied Flycatcher, Reap Lane |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWnLEiKq1LRCjyF7784d7FtHKd7nKMacmdeKFhVA-5VsweHoGcUsLE2pbygHSgAXNMff0fEpb29p_7wwxMdkbUaxET7zd3BV39cfVZsWVFlhAcczf325U3GsW0THJmRf41DbRYoSvFU4/s400/Pied+Fly+Reap+Lane+3.JPG) |
Pied Flycatcher, Reap Lane |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHk0kNDbgyodYgt7JdD8-v8eI_pruB4gTZ9x-w8AlE4fZ0irXuOUig-BVnMLWXfee3tDVOcoSGYPPQvtZ54H0jhVnNMBMvk37u71AhDQLbuSIjDIh4t4jBA_2yG40nMjml6dx9ZL_Byb0/s400/Pied+Fly+Reap+Lane+4.JPG) |
Pied Flycatcher, Reap Lane |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwtHAOi03N71yeUt-nsSA5xG24IGkScm0oR5ADfJ9jvjOMnlVc3hYfaG5cgQrKLiubma37u_zj4geGpD2qv8WoGopjAB-nfrWsrDQetb2724_WgG846S89PY_VztEaIPJDgOBHjnOa1D4/s400/Pied+Fly+Reap+Lane.JPG) |
Pied Flycatcher, Reap Lane |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9HyVLkvsRN0OvXdby9q0JcKvS0e82ffnLxxDffsMHacZTECggc-adwaLLa9rfgrSRSQWpv9po4gwwasBvbn6vvS8U-hbVL2WkWZQxyqfvlrOOWuOUxUv2Q6U2KCRWRuwdTvgUuhskRHQ/s400/Spot+Fly+Av.JPG) |
Spotted Flycatcher, Avalanche Road Hump |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3Q7SeCNeR-yYuIXdRcUN4O9HXjKu91rFjzygBY8p5hlzPcUNsjHw7fTZCHPAo9KKtDp6FEfT2T-n_F7RLnGOS2hbuLa2-NrbLuPfgpM8y5P4XQVME07vTpk4jqxqPsbWzptWjiNHd0g/s400/Spot+Fly+Avalanche+Rd.JPG) |
Spotted Flycatcher, Avalanche Road Hump |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz8Czt5aR7ZKARHWa-oKkvZuUM74GACJg-ybWhAxf1ofr840-ejHaXdQX1oLXOwbeetZIRJhlFwV-fzAXIvJVt4ZuE6W5j_QHBEJAQCgkUQNFhzdU3RTrufZGnF5d99WSEzTkAW2lDG0U/s400/Spot+Fly+reap.JPG) |
Spotted Flycatcher, Reap Lane |
Before the flies, and therefore the flycatchers, had woken up, I had ambled up Barleycrates Lane where Whinchat was the early bird of the day - a couple of this attractive species were present. The Whinchats were matched for perkiness as the morning warmed up by a duo of male Redstarts which played their own version of
duelling banjos, singing at each other across a Portland paddock.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlj7vZZ5t1_PwG22by3BN5PL8J1FiJ4QAiHWYvB0nEk4HlEbTtQMCLqZFAN3sMxt2_FaCj5cFfReqF_Ek0yGRyr2PsQWXSsMZSVioTW7CDCV91nvCv9bb4JuGMmrwBvmnLnQ2mRhnR6OE/s400/Blog+Whinchat+2.JPG) |
Backlit Whinchat on Barleycrates Lane |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikgmkH35yiDHBcXyN6PbW-ssflYS1tMIjXR4aEDkD3-PDHorOeZxYcVK4G8E-dtufICY-D2spaLmgtO2BDBzbKugYdNKFZBwGBo7BKi411a4NswXdIoVSc2alH9825Yqx3rmpJRm8nL6o/s400/Blog+Whinchat.JPG) |
Whinchat, Barleycrates Lane - from the exact spot I saw the Northern Harrier on 21 April 2014, in case I hadn't mentioned it previously... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsCuaetmgVqD_nAvMqsM-hhMOA0so3daRISyLevrv_7yRubwQKe4um3gFmcnVJKa4g8T2kewnZ3AV-7kCqImLQ27tLoIpDpMR4SzkLuIMqqOm5g6laYGMlTNILG9cOwjyHcSDRZkgerQI/s400/Whichat+Barleycrates+2.JPG) |
Whinchat is always a delightful bird to see |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnyBM9vsiZuqKXJ88H16MhkGysOAIgehbRdvJkuQ07ww7EhwNMdgaKxhZlowehhWR5zTE_tMNkX0D169BaLRVV3OmYLl7HJX-jnxySumGoOdLoS6AduNw-U7O-NcRSg34OTDtNnmu8NQ/s400/Whinchat+2.JPG) |
Invariably sitting up to give good views |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbe2pdJbmJjhjiBtgySoVnfPGuUJi9YFWpMToyG2_IIBy2Cdy6NFYGyqzurvY3JGFZJ0xXbdacWjgvM-TXuk_S7goOBIRQdA-2pTkPfV413jkumxHotzQQ0DBGNJ1M8GQX0hu82F5I_L0/s400/Redstart+Reap+Lane.JPG) |
Male Redstart, Reap Lane |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizu4aIj1CSm6MEMqTvwurqqs4kUQc3GgdYHUAeNtS3_OiGIihd4OowyWNJCi-5auxzx1w5ITRuXgx_aTMWX4aOhjGdu_zg572CxSz-b8WdOoFUHZZQKFh2126FOjixazkm0E3ayUrpBk4/s400/Redstart.JPG) |
Male Redstart singing on Reap Lane |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBN0SR12rJTATfN29P8cO-phpf3GLriNz84AIIf2DX8W73Hx8-Ez2MkJjgfXpVHD1JQAarHBMx5F9V9thvz7e8h2nLEe_1wUrZ05ohiwHODY7SDDP7OuMdO6qhU0oT977j4Yp84UK8wQg/s400/Willow+Warbler+Reap+Lane.JPG) |
Willow Warblers were still passing through this weekend - this one at Reap Lane |
It shouldn't be a surprise that a series of early morning visits to Portland in recent weeks have proven so rewarding for migrant birds, but what was a surprise was the apparent lack of birders I encountered around the middle of the island. I'm not complaining, or indeed criticising - I display borderline criminal neglect towards my own patch at Swineham, after all - but let's face it, there is a bit more incentive to get out on a spring morning if you live on Portland!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKyt855oKic4V22EmKtHWPcxPZen_7XT4KarOz-x9gik4YBXM_G9mEpZ3MLSIZSplQnQMIduzRSRHzJwF4KQMfseQdUBfvtXRw799IhCEDcopqYaWsCbzWueTB-NH2sDl_QpF9DM1lGM/s400/Blog+Whinchats.JPG) |
Whinchats on Barleycrates Lane |
Loved that last picture purely for the aesthetics
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Thanks Bill, it's been a bit erratic lately!
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