Dorset - Portland - Portland Three Day Pageant!

I am currently sidelined from the turf due to an injury and what better tonic to hear that pal and all round nature guru Pete Alfrey was in town! A night at mine and then it was time to blitz Portland and spend some time at the bird observatory! The mild weather was producing some interesting moths with the odd rare bird thrown in!

(photo by Pete Alfrey)

Bird of the three day visit was a Pallas’s Warbler which I initially thought was a life bird but in the excitement I forgot about the bird that I saw whilst on a day trip to Dungeness on 8^th November 2003! This was the second bird to feature in the Bird Observatory gardens within a few days. It was very elusive making brief appearances in the tree by the old book shop. Needless to say I failed to get pictures of the bird but I knew Pete would be quicker on the button and the above was a screen shot of the bird!

A Wryneck had been present at the observatory quarry for a couple of weeks and it did not disappoint showing well for both of us!

Time was spent trawling the coast-line of the island hoping for a swift to be patrolling the sheltered areas of the coast. The east coast of the country having had several Pallid Swifts, but we did not find one despite a concerted effort. A nice bonus was a Short Eared Owl that appeared from no-where during the skirmishes along the east coast!

A Wheatear was spied at Fancy’s Farm and a wing bar phyllosc escaped identification the eagle eyed Pinpoint having picked it up at distance!

Moth of the trip was an Egyptian Bollworm which was the eleventh record for Britain and the forth record for the PBO!

A couple of Crimson Speckled was on the island one made its way into a pot at the PBO and the other which was twitchable on the island.

There were good signs of migration with Brambling, Siskin, Redpoll, Meadow Pipit, Wood Pigeons and a Hawfinch which we missed! Gannet were numerous (500+/-) close in to the shore but a sea watch produced little else!

Stonechats were present in good numbers across the island with small groups moving around keeping an eye on us from the tops of bushes.

An evening session around Pensilvania castle produced a pair of Firecrest which were vocal but tricky to capture on camera.

The quieter periods were spent delving into the PBO moth trap basins with plenty of migrants taking advantage of the warm airflows. I have a stack of pictures which I am attempting to identify but failing that I’m sure Pete will remind me of the names of the moths I have forgotten!

 Petes blog here 

On the way home I stopped off at Ferrybridge noting a dozen Brent Goose, just under two hundred Mediterranean Gulls, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, and half a dozen Bar-tailed Godwit.

Dorset - Puddletown Water Meadows Bardolf Farm - Having a Field Day!

Torrential rain with strong winds have been battering the neighborhood over the last few days and it was reminiscent of my days at Laguna Blanca where the only thing to do was to batten down the hatches and let the storm pass!

The upside to this is the water meadows are beginning to live up to their name with the River Piddle re-gaining decent levels and the purpose built pools filling up with water! It won’t be long now before the meadows are alive with wildfowl!

There was a small sign of things to come today with Teal, Lapwing and Wigeon all present around the pools.

After an early start at the water meadows I moved up to the farm spending the rest of the morning at Waterbarn Cottages. The skies were dark and rain threatened every minute that passed.

The most significant movement of the day was Fieldfare which flew SW in untidy flocks ranging from a dozen to over one hundred birds. There were fortunately a few stragglers that were within camera range. 613 birds was the final count in a steady flow of birds between 1100 and 1220hrs.

This is the first real passage of this species I have seen in the area. The fields in winter hold smaller flocks but it was great to witness this mini spectacle! I just hope to see a few over my house!

A couple of Shoveler passed over N along with two groups of Wigeon. 

The second group looking to put down circling the River Piddle valley before departing!

An Egyptian was the only goose of the day. I regularly see and hear geese over my house first thing but recently they are flying away from the water meadows likely to nearby fields to feed.

Dorset - Puddletown Water Meadows Bardolf Farm - Red Sky in Morning...!

 

The day after a decent downpour can be interesting particularly if there is another day of rain to follow! Then plan was to blitz Bardolf Farm and the Water Meadows and stupid o’clock was the start time! The skies looked particularly menacing. Red sky in morning…..Uh oh!

The pool on the water meadows is filling up but there needs to be a lot more rain before the Piddle is assisted in bursting its banks. The dawn came in with the sound of honking geese from a field adjacent to Milom Lane! This is just outside the recording area but the Geese were obviously restless as parties took flight circling the water meadows are returning to the field! It took a while to get to grip with numbers but there was a flock of Greylag’s and another of Canada’s. There were a few stragglers of each but 70 (44 Greylag, 26 Canada) was the final tally over the meadows!

I took a drive down the lane later on in the morning but viewing is difficult due to the high hedgerow and narrowness of the lane. I found a gate to pull in at and watched the geese part in the direction of Silverlake! 

After a quick pit stop at the house I drove round to Waterbarn cottages to continue my farm watch. The Sludge tank had its regular Green Sandpipers, Meadow Pipits, Pied and Grey Wagtail. The bird in the picture dropped in at Athelhampton whilst I was watching a tit flock.

Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer and Linnet were nearby some utilizing the wires which made counts easy to complete.

A wander round to the River Piddle saw a Kingfisher perched up on one of the new log features that were added by the Dorset Wildlife Trust.

A couple of Stonechat were in the hedgerow just along from the gate. Calling Chiffchaff was all checked just in case a YBW was lurking behind one of the calls!

The day moved on and my first sighting of a Hobby as I crossed over the footbridge above the A35. This bird was seen again 3hrs later patrolling high above the Piddle. Both the ponds were checked with Little Grebe on both.

There were good numbers of gulls scattered about the fields some had gathered to wash up and rest but I could only find Herrings of varying ages with Lesser Black Backed!

The day ended back at the Water Meadows and I took my leave as another wave of menacing clouds rolled in. Nothing special today but plenty of birds moving around keeping me occupied recording 54 species in just over eleven hours!