Dorset - Tidmoor Point The Fleet - Dot to Dot!

The soccer season is about to resume for the man in the middle and my phone was busy for most of the morning sorting out the weekends fixtures. I eventually got out taking a brief birding skirmish to Tidmoor Point which overlooks The Fleet. A Velvet Scoter, Slavonian Grebes and a Common Scoter had been circulated by @freddyalway on Twitter.

These birds were all still present but getting pictures was another matter. I think dot shots are the best way I can describe my efforts. Sometimes I could not even see the bird having just fixed on a landmark behind it. I gave up with the Slavs in the end having attempted get some shots using my old Samsung phone attached to my scope!

There were numerous Brent Geese on The Fleet and a group of Greylag’s with a lone Canada took a mid level fly-by. The skies were getting darker and I headed for the hills mid afternoon a bit disappointed but with a couple more winter visitors under my belt!

I have met numerous people during my time here and excluding the farmer on East Fleet everyone has been very helpful in getting the new boy settled into his new county! Even the Tottenham fans are friendly down here!! Thank You all!

Dorset - Nothe Fort - Stake-Out Nails Iceland Gull!

There has been an Iceland Gull that has frequented Porland and Weymouth Harbours over the last few days. I have been keeping an eye out for the bird on my travels around the harbour and have always been in the wrong area when the bird has been spotted! The bird does not stick around in the same area for long either making it even trickier to nail the bird which incidentally is a fairly rare white winger to frequent the county.

Having collated the information surrounding the birds movements I decided it was time for a stake out! I gathered enough supplies and warm gear to see me through the day and returned to Nothe Fort which is at the entrance to Weymouth Harbour. My arrival had been delayed by a Blackcap in a berry tree in my garden but conditions were bright and sunny good despite the glare!

I picked up the bird some way out from the harbour but due to the light could not be certain of the id and a couple of shots I took were almost sun blocked. I noticed a fishing boat heading into the harbour from near the breakwater with this gull joining it mid way. As the boat came closer the Gull dropped down out from behind the sun like a fighter pilot would stalking enemy aircraft and boom the Iceland Gull was in clear view and at close range.

The bird did sit on the sea for a few moments before doing a fly-past of the boats mast. 

The fisherman was oblivious to what was happening above him! The camera was in full swing until old Icy had disappeared up the harbour.

I did not see it fly out the harbour and put out the news. I was joined by Brett and Edmund (WeymouthBirder). The bird went missing for a good hour but I picked it up again on the far deck which was welcome news for the latter who had missed the bird a couple of times.

My impression in the field was a medium sized and overall pale bird unlike the biscuit brown of a juvenile. The bill had a black tip with pink base which had me thinking of a second winter bird but first winter birds can appear very pale with feather wear. The eye was dark and the patterning on the bird also seemed fairly even, consistent with a first winter bird!

The tricky bit was not with the bird but locating my Gulls of Europe Asia and North America by Olsen and Larsson. Now which box is it in! I have a kindle version but it is not the same as thumbing through pages when comparing print with photos!

There was also a couple of very obliging Great Northern Diver at the entrance.

A Razorbill was also surprisingly close in.

The local Turnstone was also in close attendance particularly when lunch came out the bag!

Dorset - Silverlake - Long Tails of a Duck!

 I spent the day at Silverlake which is the former site of the Woodsford Airfield and is also known as Warmwell Gravel Pits. It is a former landfill and waste collection site which was run by our good friends Viridor Waste Management!

I have visited this site many times but usually at the end of the day as its a few clicks from my home. I have noticed that it turns up some interesting birds including a Long Tailed Duck which is in its fourth day in residence. The pink on the bill indicating a Male bird!

The duck gave me a good excuse to have a thorough walk around the site and establish the best vantage points to view the mix of wildfowl, gulls and passerines that frequent the area. 

The site has public footpaths that lead through Knighton Heath Wood where the airfield memorial stone is situated. Warmwell (Woodford) Aerodrome opened on May 1st 1937 and was used as an armament training station No.6 ATC and during the war coastal patrols were flown by Avro Anson's from this airfield. In 1940 it became a satellite fighter station for Middle Wallop. Fighters based here forming No 10 Group  played a significant role in winning the Battle of Britain. The airfield was also a target for bombing raids during this period. (ref:Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust)

Before I reached the memorial I noted a couple of female Goosander on what I call the main pit. There was a large gathering of Egyptian Geese the most I had seen but no sign of the Ruddy Shelduck. The gulls were facing into the wind which made sifting through them tricky with a face on wind.

A Peregrine was stirring up the wildfowl and in particular the Lapwings who were present in good numbers.

Over head a Raven was konking its way across the site. This must be a local bird as I saw it several times during the day!

This site oozes birds and features on if I was to adopt another patch this could be on the this is it list! The welcome problem with Dorset is there are many sites that fall into this category and in complete contrast to SVC17 where the top sites are inaccessible which creates a patch situation if you are lucky enough to have access to one! Which I was!

In Dorset I would always be wondering what I was missing elsewhere if I was entrenched in one place! The other side of the coin is I am less likely to find good birds if I am regularly jumping between sites but I guess I will have to work out the weather patterns if I carry on in this vein!

There is still plenty of time to sort out a battle plan and for now I will continue to scoop up the wintering birds that stop of around Portland, Weymouth and closer to home!

When all is said and done It is a good problem to have and the mixture of heath, woodland and gravel pits and paths certainly has put Silverlake firmly on my radar!

Dorset - Portland Harbour - Diving Around The Harbour!

I had another blitz on Poole Harbour today pacing along the Rodwell Trail with eyes firmly fixed on the harbor. The flying people were out in force today so I started further up the trail locating a Red-necked Grebe which was feeding off a group of Mergansers that had been pushed into an area off the boatyard / sailing club.

I have missed a Red-throated Diver a few times in my travels but I spied a bird just off Smallmouth Beach between some flying people. I had the camera at the ready and waited for it to re-surface once again in the same area.

I had a good chat with Charles a lifetime Portland birder who gave me some tips on covering the vast area. A Seal popped up in front of us and probably wondered “Who are you looking at!” I then made my way around to the East side of the Harbour and Portland Castle.

Portland Castle was built from Portland Stone by Henry VIII in the 1540s as part of a defense system to protect the area from invasion. It was originally armed with eleven pieces of artillery that would be used against enemy shipping.

I found a suitable spot out of the wind which incidentally had been battering me all day! A Black Redstart buzzed about the rocks in front of me as I searched for divers on this side of the harbor. A Black Throated Diver was the best offering with several Mergansers in tow. The pictures were terrible and I could have got closer shots from the leisure centre car-park!

Tomorrow the wind completely drops therefore there may be a better photo opportunities!

Dorset - Portland Harbour - Stake-out in the Harbour!

The weather has been very changeable over the last few days but today there was a change of wind and Mr Sunshine was going to make an appearance. To the Kojemobile before the weather changes its mind!

I decided to stake out Portland Harbour looking for divers and grebes and concentrated my search using the Rodwell Trail to cover the harbour. I bumped into Joe Stockwell (not that he was aware of this!) in the cove beyond Sandsfoot Castle! He did find a Red-Throated Diver and a Black Redstart at Smallmouth cove the latter I did manage to connect with during my time at the harbour.

There were numerous Red-breasted Mergansers in the area which I hoped might encourage the re-appearance of the Red-Throated Diver but it was not meant to be!

I did spy three Black-necked Grebes out from the small boat yard and took some dodgy scope assisted pictures of the group. The birds can be some way out beyond the grasps of even the largest bazooka lens!

Any attempts to secure pictures of the Black Redstart were dashed by a couple of territorial Stonechat which pounced every time the bird came to this side of the cove. A Robin even stood by to watch the home guard in action! It gave up in the end preferring to hang out on the rocks past Billy Winters!

I still have a long way to go before I master what habitat to cover during what period but I am gradually picking up the local terms for all these places which hopefully will pay dividends at some point! 

Dorset - Portland and Lodmoor RSPB - Red Necked Seeks Sanctuary!

Having been confined to barracks for a day due to torrential rain I saw the potential for a couple of hours out in the field today. The window was going to be a couple of hours worth with some sunshine thrown in which was a pleasant prospect! Then the skies would open up again and if Noah was around he would have been gathering the animals to board his ark!

I started off at Portland Bill to acclimatize to sea-watching in blustery conditions. I did have a Great Northern Diver fly by close in and plenty of Gannet and Guillemot that were further out. Being an inland birder I have not done much sea-watching and this was going to be a testing hour or so!

Having been battered by the wind I sought out more pleasant conditions at the woodland by Pennsylvania Castle. This area was more sheltered and the task was to try and find something out of the ordinary amongst the tit flocks that were doing circuits of the area. A Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blackcap and a Chiffchaff were the best on offer today before the rain came in! I made it back to the car just in time and started tucking into lunch when I realized that the Red-necked Grebe was back at Lodmoor RSPB. With no time to wait I was off dinner was going to be on the go and the rain was hacking it down!

I opted for the shortest route to the shelter parking in the car-park at Lodmoor RSPB taking the short hop down the path to the shelter. I was the only one there on arrival which invoked a sinking feeling uh oh has it moved on again! I had been checking Portland Harbour on a regular basis looking for this bird with a complete failure rate. The bird had been at Lodmoor a couple of days earlier but I did not connect with the news!

Fortunately for me the bird popped up just to the left of me about mid-water. At last this species had been nailed for Dorset. I was joined by another birder and a couple of bazooka wielding local birders/photographers who added to the joy of the occasion with some light hearted comedy!

The bird must have sensed the deluge of rain that was to come and flew off up the valley heading towards Radipole Lake. Crikey I wish I had flown with it. When it rains here it does not mess about!

Dorset - Maiden Castle - Moments of Pure Gold!

The mission for today was a straight forward one. Locate the flock of Golden Plover that were at Maiden Castle and count them! I arrived at the lay-by and scanned the fields around the base of the Iron Age Fort and bingo lots of dots huddled in a field.

I drove to the main car-park which was considerably nearer and spoke to a local dog walker who confirmed my thoughts at the lay-by! I had also noticed a field near my destination had been ploughed with a good number of gulls in attendance.

I could hear the rattling of keys all around me and spied a single Corn Bunting sat on a fence en-route to the field. After a few pictures I made my way along the base of the fort to view my intended quarry!

The Golden Plover were settled in a rough field which had its chalk layer exposed at the bottom of the hill. The clicker was deployed and the task of counting and checking them began. I have adopted the check everything approach since I arrived in Dorset as a rarity could be lurking behind any blade of grass!

There were no American counterparts in the flock and after a re-count the total number of birds was 681! Wow not a bad number at a site that is known to hold a wintering population.

I was just admiring the view when whoosh the gulls went up in the ploughed field and yes you have guessed it the Plover followed. What an impressive sight! I did not find what had caused the commotion but turned my attention back to the flock which had by now gained height and broken down into several smaller “V” formations with a muddle of individuals in-between.

The decent was just as impressive as the three groups circled the field losing height as each circuit was complete! Then before I knew it the flock had returned to terra firma in almost the same area as before. Now that was impressive no accidents or crash landings in sight!

Dorset - Lodmoor RSPB - Wonderful Wildfowl!

Lodmoor RSPB was to be my destination today. I had a couple of deliveries to make so I decided to check out the viewing at the closed for winter Abbotsbury Swannery. I found a spot just off the road looking across the reserve but it was some distance away and my scope was maxed out once again. The wind was also driving into my face which may hi-powered viewing even trickier. I did not see the recently reported Whoopers or Scaup but marveled as the masses of ducks that were there. Pochard, Tufted, Teal, Mallard were there in good numbers. It’s such a shame the reserve closes for the winter!

I am particularly partial to ducks and I knew Lodmoor would also have a few ducks in tow but first I would check out some of the shorebirds that were seeking sanctuary on the reserve. Black-tailed Godwit was the most indulgent of the feeding parties. A dozen birds were counted.

A small group of Dunlin was also feeding in the same area as the Blackwits. These were all put skywards along with the Lapwing and wildfowl by a young Marsh Harrier that wanted to spoil the party.

Snipe was also evenly distributed around the raised edges venturing out into the open as the afternoon progressed. A Kingfisher did a low fly-by of the shelter which was a good stake out point between showers!

The duck were well represented with a handful of Shoveler tucked between grassy mounds.

Gadwall was the next species to fall under the camera but they kept their distance unlike the next species.

Tufted were obviously after some handouts as they paraded in front of me turning away when the human did not oblige! I still see people feeding bread to ducks I do despair sometimes!

On another note I have just started using twitter again but I am a bit of a duffer when it comes to its use. I missed the news from Portland Observatory about the Arctic Redpoll by about an hour! Then debated whether it would still be there if I got back to my car and headed onto the Island. I could not have been further away from the car if I had tried! As a result I had another note to self moment!

I popped into Silverlake on the way back home to find the Ruddy Shelduck had made friends with some Egyptian Geese. A couple of Green Sandpiper were spooked by a helicopter then showed well by the water edge. More rain put another day to its close! I have living here for over two weeks already. Where does the time go!!

Dorset - Church Ope Cove and Pennsilvania Castle - A Good Start to the Day!

A Pallas’s Warbler found late yesterday had me heading out for Portland once it had stopped raining this morning. I took a walk down Church Ope Cove in search of the wintering Black Redstart. It took a while to locate the female but it appeared behind me near the chalets before moving onto the beach and then off to the cliff. There is also a male in the area viz Martin.

There was a handful of Rock Pipit feeding along the beach every so often a squabble between birds would break out resulting in one being chased off only to return a short time later!

The Grey and Pied Wagtail were more conservative in their feeding methods keeping their distance from one and other but keeping an eye out should one find a concentration of bugs.

I wandered up to Pennsilvania Castle and spent time around the graveyard where the mixed flock of tits, Goldcrest and a Yellow Browed Warbler appeared at the tail end of the flock. The bird was very restless and obtaining pictures of my first Dorset YBW was not happening! Fortunately this species is a regular on the island therefore pictures will no doubt follow at some point! I saw Martin (Port and Wey) and Martin Cade during my afternoon stake out but the Pallas’s Warbler did not give itself up for anyone!

I did find this little chap sunbathing on the castle walls and unlike the YBW it stayed still to allow the paparazzi to capture the moment but I didn’t overstay my welcome!

Pennsilvania Castle was built by John Penn (grandson to William Penn) and was completed in the 1800. Penn was a friend of King George III and was appointed as governor of the Island in 1805. 

In more recent times it was a private residence until 2010 and is now hired out for functions by an Australian Hospitality Company who purchased the castle in 2011. 

On my way back home I stopped off at Billy Winters to check Portland Harbour for Black Necked Grebe (having spoken to Andy earlier in the day) and found a group of six with a couple of Great Northern Diver near the entrance to the harbour. My scope was maxed out with eyepiece at 60x and also in my favour the harbour was like a mill pond! I was in the right place the other day at Sandsfoot Castle but got my areas mixed up (see earlier post for schoolboy error)!

Dorset - Ferrybridge - Masses of Meds!

My next stop was Ferrybridge where the tide was nicely positioned level with the walkway. I took a rough count of the Mediterranean Gull. There were groups of other gulls scattered amongst them but this was an impressive sight! I don’t think I have had to search out Black Headed Gull before which was  a complete role reversal from my Farm days where hours were spent looking for a Med!

A Knot was present and seemed to attach itself to the flock of Dunlin every time the birds were put up.

This gave a good size comparison against Bar Tailed Godwit that was also in the bay.

A couple of Sanderling joined the group scurrying around along the shoreline taking only a short pause to feed and then move on.

Another day in the field has come to an end and with so many sites to see will I ever get to visit them all! 

Dorset - Sandsfoot Castle - Dodging the Rain!

The plan was to spend the day on Portland but when I approached the cloud covered island decided to give it a miss. For a moment I felt like a migrant… The weather ahead is grim best I drop in on the edge have a feed and then move on when the skies are brighter!

This proved to be moderately costly with Red and Black Necked Grebes reported from Portland Harbour both species I have not seen in Dorset but I am certain there will be more. My staging post took me to Sandsfoot Castle and a walk around the Cove which borders Weymouth Harbour. There has been a landslide close to the road but the area still has plenty of trees and bushes to attract passing migrants.

There was plenty of regular species a Chiffchaff being the best of the bunch. Robin strategically lined the base of the scrub to fend off any potential intruders!

The bay was like a mill pond and there was also some movement across it. A Little Egret passed close by…

.. with a Grey Heron passing in the opposite direction a bit later on.

I am becoming moderately interested in Castles probably because there are so many in this neck of the woods so I walked up to the small site where Sandsfoot Castle ruins meet the cliff edge. 

The Castle was completed in 1539 on the order of King Henry VIII and provided defense for shipping along with Portland Castle. It housed around fifty men and had room for a large cannon and munitions.