No Icky for us...

The weekend started promisingly with the Black Hole Marsh wader fest but alas Bank Holiday Monday didn't quite hit the birding mark. After an Ictering warbler was found on Portland on Sunday, it was an easy decision to try for it on the Monday morning. The three of us were there at 06:30 but where was everyone else? We spent an hour and half standing at the edge of the Eight King's Quarry hoping the Icky might show itself in the morning sun to feed but there was no sign of it. It was only then that we learned from another birder that the assembled crowd had been kicked out the previous afternoon by the land owner - so that's why there were no later reports! Oh well, you win some, you loose some. As nothing else was reported on the Isle, we decided to head off and get a few butterflies under our belts instead:

Chalk-hill blue, male: R. Harris

Chalk-hill blue, male: R. Harris

Chalk-hill blue, female: R. Harris

Chalk-hill blue, male (last one, promise): R. Harris

Clouded Yellow: R. Harris

Common blue: Dave Helliar

Strange blue - not sure about this one? D. Helliar

Tachina grossa - a VERY big fly: D. Helliar

...and here next to a normal fly for comparison.
This thing's as big as a bumblebee!  R. Harris

Sadly Portland's not the best place to get a mobile signal and we missed out on news of a flyover osprey back near the obs and had left before a wryneck was discovered at the obs quarry. Later learned that an ortolan was seen briefly by two observers along the east cliffs too. Maybe this week will see the rest of the UK getting some good migrants, not just the east coast...fingeres crossed.

Did luck in on a mega moth at the Obs early on though - we were told only the fourth or fifth British record (first was only in 2006 - though according to UK Moths, http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=2413a that's still the only record?) for Shining Marbled:

Shining marbled: R. Harris

...yeah, not that good looking but bloody rare.