Pallid in the mist

November is turning into a really good month. After a dash down to Weymouth of Wednesday for the Franklins gull, another lifer turned up there yesterday. There has been an influx of Pallid swifts into the country over the last few weeks. These are continental cousins of our common swift. The warm southerly winds have encouraged around 70 or more to cross the channel. Most have been on the East coast or Kent and haven't been gettable for me. This one was seen late afternoon over Portland and spent a couple of hours hawking for insects near Chesil cove. It seemed unclear whether it moved off or roosted but as I needed to drop in to see my mother-in-law in Weymouth the decision was an easy one. An early night and 5am start got me to Chesil cove just before 8.
The good and bad news was that it was very misty. This meant viewing conditions were poor but it also meant it was less likely that IF the swift had roosted that it had moved on. Birds tend to move on clear nights much more than on overcast ones. I parked up and after a quick reviving coffee set off on the short walk along the seawall to the beach huts. The mist was only just over the top of the cliffs and there wasn't much moving on a very still day. I got to the end of the prom and started to scan the skies. Luck was with me and within no more than a minute I got onto a bird circling low over the huts. The pallid swift HAD roosted and was now having a good breakfast!

It seemed to be favouring the area over a scree slope where whatever insects there were must still have been flying. I presume the rocks must have retained some heat and that was the reason it was going back and forth over them. Making sure I had not made a mistake on the ID I quickly got the news out as I was the only birder there.

I spent over an hour standing in the rocks watching as it flew around. Often it was right over my head no more than 30 feet up. The light and mist made for horrible viewing and photographic conditions bit it was still a stunning display.

 You could just about make out the key details on it. It was clearly a swift with very sickle-shaped wings and a light throat patch. It is more of a brownish than black coloration with light scallops on its breast. To be honest you had to have a bit of imagination to make them out though. Fortunately it was the only swift around and there are no common swifts anywhere in the country so I was happy this was a second lifer of the week and the 11th or 12th (if you count American back tern) of the year. Big cold front coming next week with easterlies attached to it so rehash a nice Sibe thrush next???