Finally got it

After a few good trips our recently picking up some good year ticks, I was keen for a "lifer". One of my top targets for last couple of years has been ortolan bunting. It is one of those birds which is getting harder to find each year. It is not mega rare, an annual visitor to shores and with recording of calls at night seems to be present in good numbers in the Autumn. They are hard to pin down though and most are fly-overs or short-stayers. I've dipped a few times or been there when someone said they heard one but so far they have eluded me. So, last night when two birds were present and showing well on Portland I only had one plan - an early start and a dash down the M3.
I got to Portland just after 7 with a dull but still morning greeting me. The location was new to me - Fancy's farm. This is one of those farms that is now less of a farm and more a visitor attraction, as half a dozen wallabies hopping about attested to! I parked up and was surprised at the lack of cars. I would have thought more people would have been around for the buntings. With a large area to cover I wondered where to start. Lots of good habitat and I could hear what I thought was a bunting calling from the farm area. As I set off though one of the local birders, Duncan Walbridge, came into view. He pointed to one large tree where he said a bunting had just alighted. I couldn't see it but then a bird did fly out and drop out of sight behind us. Duncan was convinced it was the bird but all I got was a brown shape - nowhere near good enough for a life tick. We scoured the area for 15 minutes or so but despite turning up yellow wagtails. whinchat, tree pipit, wheatear and whitethroat we couldn't find the bunting, or buntings as Duncan had got 2 if not 3 already. A large number of dog walkers didn't help the situation either as nothing was settling. Finally we heard a sharp call and a bird flew out of cover and over towards the fence. As we looked round we saw 4 other  birders heading towards where it landed but unaware of it. We called out  to them and they stopped before accidentally flushing it again. All of us then approached the path cautiously. There it was, feeding away on seeds on the path!! A lifer and it wasn't even 8 o'clock.

We watched it for only a minute or so as it moved around a corner and out of sight.

Not the best photos but you can see the salient points. Very compact, short stubby bill, white-eye ring on a classic bunting-patterned face. They have a lovely yellow moustache as well. All in all a gorgeous bird. We saw both birds in flight and briefly on the ground again but not settling for good views. I hung around for a bit and got another local, Martin Adlam, onto it when it did show. I eventually left as the hordes arrived. I think the birds showed briefly mid-morning but not after that so I was really glad I got up early.
After this I went down to the observatory, which was very quiet. There was a lovely pied flycatcher in the garden though which was showing well in the bushes near the gate. As ever with these it was incredibly active but it did settle occasionally for a photo.

On the way back home I stopped off at Titchfield Haven. A Temmincks stint has been in residence for a few days, which is a good year tick. They are pretty uncommon in the UK and always a nice Autumn bird to get. This one though was in an awful place - a long distance from the only hide you could see it from and straight into the sun!

  It was on the left hand tip of this island. Stints are tiny birds, about 2/3 the size of a dunlin.

It is in the bottom left of this photo, absolutely dwarfed by the giant duck flying over it!

You can see a bit more of it here - the delicate build, chest band, sharply pointed beak. It was always active for the hour I was there and attracted a steady stream of admirers into the hide, most of whom were very grateful to be put straight onto it!.
A really good day. A lifer and another year tick can't be sniffed at and I've learned out one of my long-standing targets as well. Lets see what the rest of autumn can bring then?