Dorset Double - Golden Oriole & Short-toed Lark

Golden Oriole

Twitchers grew as news spread

Golden Oriole was very comfortable feeing in this bush

Kestrel 

All ready !

Portland Observatory

Traditional cake & coffee

Pesky Short-toed Lark

Nestled down nicely but difficult to see

Stonechat

Cogden Beach

An early start saw me heading to Devon for a day in Dartmoor but as I reached Seaton, about 20 minutes away, thick fog had swallowed the road ahead so I decided to turn around & head back and put together a new plan. After deciding I'd going looking for the Dippers again my phone flashed "Golden Oriole - Portland". I then applied my twitching risk assessment strategy - two reports & a photo on social media. Satisfied with both I set out but still had reservations that many Orioles move on very quickly. 

I made good time & a quick pull in as I past a couple of birders by the Observatory confirmed the bird was still present. With the car quickly parked I marched back across towards a group of around twelve birders who were watching the bird. As soon as I'd set my scope up & lined the bird up in view the bird took flight and flew around the fields opposite before going out of sight. I was very pleased but longer views would have been better. Another birder & I searched around the direction without any success so I headed down to the lighthouse for a bit of sea watching. I was hopeful I'd see a Pomarine Skua passing but had to settle for two Sooty Shearwater, a dozen Manx Shearwater & the normal Gannets.

I was considering leaving then I noticed a single birder concentrating hard, he had relocated the Oriole. A few of us headed up the path for a view from a different angle & that proved a good idea as the Oriole was sitting on this side of the bramble feeding well on a feast of caterpillars. It was difficult to confirm whether the bird was a first summer male or a female bird. It was great to watch this stunning bird through the scope & take a couple of record shots. My second lifer on this short break & the first record on Portland since 2016.

As I left Portland a probable Short-toed Lark appeared on the bird news at Cogden Beach which was actually on the way home. Surely not another lifer on the same trip. About an hour later the sighting was confirmed and I was quickly parked up at the beach. What it didn't say on the reports was the birds last sighting was 3/4 of a mile down the beach through thick shingle. To make matter slightly worse it was raining hard but that did stop thankfully when I reached four other birders but the bird had not been seen for an hour. The habitat was very difficult to see any bird so we spread out across the beach and walked south. After another ten minutes we got a possible sighting, then at last the bird showed well in the open. How on earth Mike Morse @Bexbirder found this bird I have no idea, it was the 270th recorded species at the site.