The calendar is winding slowly towards the business end of spring migration and for me this is the busiest time of the year. The football season ends with finals at the beginning of May and teams are packing in fixtures to be finished by the end of April. Sunday I have a National League Women’s fixture which will wipe the day out travelling meaning a day less in the field!
Today did not start well with me watching unsettled weather as I sorted out other matters at home. I finally got out late morning and wondered if I had missed the boat. A few Sand Martin and Swallow passed through the Water Meadows at Mill Mead which provided some hope.
The showers moved in therefore I re-located with a stop at Athelhampton which provided another sighting of the Siberian Chiffchaff which is a sub species “tristis” at the bridge over the River Piddle along Athelhampton Road.
I moved to the North end of Waterbarn Cottages and a tower that I have adopted as a hide that overlooks the Devil’s Brook and the ridge at Long Bottom. The roof and sides give good protection from the elements with a 360 degree view over the area.
The afternoon moved on and I spied a large fingered raptor appear over the North end of the ridge. The White Tailed Eagle wheeled making its way in my raised direction. I took some shots and then phoned Hugo as I know this is a new species for his farm tally. It seemed to take an age for him to answer and after a brief sentence “White tailed Eagle North field” the call ended! I hung out of the side of the tower monitoring the progress of the eagle as it passed over the tower. I spoke to Hugo later on and he saw the bird being mobbed over the Shales which is at the South end of the ridge.
A re-introduction scheme exists on the Isle of Wight which saw six birds transferred to the scheme in June 2019 releasing them in August of the same year. More information here Roy Dennis Foundation Despite the high possibility that today’s bird comes from this project it was still an amazing sight to see! There were also a couple of birds recently observed at Charminster Water Meadows near Dorchester. I have reported the sighting to the project leader and await a reply!
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