Portland Bird Observatory - wildlife diary

26th May	'The' Bottle-nosed Dolphin was off the Bill, and a large Jellyfish was found dead on the mudflats at Ferrybridge.
24th May	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 1 *Plutella xylostella, 1 Udea ferrugalis* and 1 Silver Y.
22nd May	A Red-veined Darter dragonfly was seen today near Bottomcombe Quarry; also there were 2 Clouded Yellows. Small and Adonis Blue butterflies are now on the wing at several sites around the island.
21st May	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 12 *Plutella xylostella, 2 Udea ferrugalis, 1 Silver Y* and 1 Nomophila noctuella.
20th May	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 20 *Plutella xylostella, 5 Silver Y, 2 Nomophila noctuella, 1 Dark Sword Grass* and 1 Udea ferrugalis; also a single Eudonia pallida.
19th May	A Bottle-nosed Dolphin was offshore at the Bill during the morning. Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 13 *Plutella xylostella, 9 Silver Y, 4 Dark Sword Grass, 3 Nomophila noctuella, 1 Gem, 1 Pearly* Underwing and 1 *Udea ferrugalis*.
Small Mottled Willow - 18th May 2002 © Martin Cade
18th May	The first Painted Ladies of the year were seen at the Ferrybridge. Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 96 *Plutella xylostella, 19 Silver Y, 10 Nomophila noctuella, 4 Dark Sword Grass, 2 Small Mottled Willow* and 1 *Udea ferrugalis; also 3 Eudonia pallida* and 1 Clay Triple-lines.
Delicate - 17th May 2002 © Martin Cade
17th May	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 1 Silver Y, 1 Dark Sword Grass, 1 *Udea ferrugalis* and 1 Delicate. Clouded Yellows are now being seen virtually daily in small numbers at sites throughout the island.
16th May	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 2 Silver Y and 1 Delicate.
12th May	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 2 Dark Sword Grass, 1 White-point, 1 Silver Y and 1 *Udea ferrugalis*.
11th May	A single Clouded Yellow was at the Bill.
10th May	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 3 Silver Y and 1 *Plutella xylostella*.
9th May	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 1 Dark Sword Grass.
7th May	Large numbers of Jellyfish (many reported to be creatures up to 3 feet across) have been seen in recent days off the west Cliffs at the Bill. The 'tame' Bottle-nosed Dolphin continues to be seen most days at Chesil Cove.
1st May	A Clouded Yellow was at Culverwell and a group of 4 Bottle-nosed Dolphins passed the Bill
25th April	Single Clouded Yellows were seen in Top Fields, at Southwell and along the East Cliffs. Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 3 Dark Sword Grass and 1 Silver Y.
23rd April	The first dragonflies of the year - a Broad-bodied Chaser and a Large Red Damselfly - were on the wing in the Obs garden. Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 1 Dark Sword Grass.
22nd April	'The' Bottle-nosed Dolphin was off the Bill for much of the day. Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 1 Silver Y and 2 Dark Sword Grass.
15th April	The 'tame' Bottle-nosed Dolphin was still in Chesil Cove and a single Clouded Yellow butterfly was at Penn's Weare.
14th April	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 2 Dark Sword Grass.
13th April	Single Hares were seen at Barleycrates Lane and Ferrybridge early in the morning (this species straggles to Ferrybridge fairly regularly, but is a very rare visitor to the rest of the island). The Bottle-nosed Dolphin was again in Chesil Cove all day, and the first Clouded Yellow of the year was seen at the Bill.
9th April	The 'tame' Bottle-nosed Dolphin spent most of the day in Chesil Cove.
6th April	A Bottle-nosed Dolphin was off the Bill during the afternoon. Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 1 Dark Sword Grass.
5th April	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 3 Dark Sword Grass; also a single Streamer (only the fourth recent island record).
Bottle-nosed Dolphin - 4th April 2002 © Mary Snell
4th April	The approachable Bottle-nosed Dolphin spent most of the day close inshore around Castletown. The first Red Admiral of the year was seen at the Bill. Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 1 Dark Sword Grass.
3rd April	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 2 Dark Sword Grass.
2nd April	A single Bottle-nosed Dolphin was again off the Bill.
31st March	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 1 Nomophila noctuella.
30th March	A very approachable Bottle-nosed Dolphin was off the Bill and Chesil Cove for most of the day.
27th March	Butterflies on the wing at the Bill included Speckled Wood, Small White and several very early Large Whites.
24th March	Two Bottle-nosed Dolphins were off the Bill in the morning.
22nd March	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 1 Dark Sword Grass.
17th March	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 1 *Udea ferrugalis*.
16th March	A Humming-bird Hawk-moth was seen at the Bill during the day, and at dusk a Bloxworth Snout was caught after it had flown into the Obs lounge.
5th March	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 1 Dark Sword Grass.
4th March	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 1 Dark Sword Grass and 1 Pearly Underwing; also a single Tawny Pinion (the fifth island record).
14th February	A Small Tortoiseshell at Weston was the first butterfly seen this year on the island.
Pearly Underwing - 13th February 2002 © Martin Cade
13th February	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 1 Pearly Underwing.
Common Toad - 27th January 2002 © Martin Cade
27th January	Common Toads are now appearing in numbers after dark around the Obs garden.
White-speck - 5th January 2002 © Martin Cade
5th January	Immigrant moths in the Obs garden traps this morning: 1 White-speck.