The Portland area is one of the best for birdwatching on England’s South Coast. Key locations to the north include Chesil Beach and the Fleet Lagoon, Verne Common overlooking Portland Harbour, and Portland Bill in the south.
Local residents
The cliffs here are home to one of the few seabird colonies along the south coast. Residents include nesting Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes and Fulmars. Peregrine Falcons can often be seen in the summer months.
Regular migrants
At the southern tip of the island Portland Bill sticks out nearly 6 miles into the English Channel. This makes it a natural landing point for thousands of birds arriving on migration to the UK every spring.
The Lower Lighthouse has been used as a bird observatory since 1961, and is ideally placed for observing and studying migrating birds, including those passing out at sea like Terns, Skuas and Shearwaters.
Scarce migrants regularly seen at Portland include the Hoopoe, Golden Oriole, Woodchat Shrike and Wryneck.
Rare arrivals
Bird spotters occasionally flock to the Isle of Portland to observe even more unusual guests. In 2016 a rare Great Spotted Cuckoo took up residence for several weeks and attracted many admirers.