Dorset - Puddletown Water Meadows Bardolf Farm - Happy Hirundining!

The outlook did not promise much but we are in a peak period for migration therefore anything could turn up. I started out on the Water Meadows dodged the cattle (I do like this herd as they don’t follow you around!) and the first action of the day was 104 Mallard that flew in from the NE. A small percentage pitched down on the River Piddle. The remainder circled for a while before departing in all directions!

There were a trickle of Hirundines across the Meadows but nothing to get excited about. I trawled the Causeway pond and the hedgerows where there were a good mix of passerines including Treecreeper a few Coal Tit, Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker. This prompted me to head to Burleston pond where the action was to hot up! A few passerines around the pond and a Spotted Flycatcher on the wires near the pond. Instinct told me to shoot first then deploy the binos on this occasion!

I went back to the truck to have a snack and I noticed a steady flow of hirundines heading SE over the clump of trees I was parked beside. This continued for a while so I drank up and moved onto the ridge at Long Bottom. The flow of mostly Swallow continued for a good hour before I repositioned myself opposite the ridge to Waterbarn cottages. At one point there were 100+ Swallow at the bottom of the valley who seemed to be held up by the conditions. The skies brightened up and whoosh they were gone!

I moved to the “hide” and watched on for another hour or so with pulses of hirundines passing through the area. Later in the afternoon the Maize fields behind me were cut which had me return early evening to note what had moved onto the field. Corvids and a few pigeon were the only offering but it will give me an incentive to get up early tomorrow to check the fields again!

I am still eagerly awaiting the arrival of the geese but I think the meadows need some more rain! One did make an appearance this morning only to be chased off by the Mute Swan on the pond!

Dorset - Puddletown Water Meadows Bardolf Farm - Spot Flys still at the pond!

It is always worth having an early start following a day of rain. The weather particularly at this time of year mixes the birds up and there is always the possibility of a surprise around the corner! The other positive note is the water levels will increase which will encourage some wildfowl onto the pools at the Water Meadows. I had to negotiate the livestock in the area to view the key areas. This herd of cattle seem less inquisitive which mad life a tad easier!

A small flock of Teal numerous Mallards, a couple of Green Sandpiper and the flyover family party of Egyptian Goose were the product of the morning’s vigil within the environs of the Causeway pond.

I returned in the afternoon after a heavy shower and was greeted by the first Lapwing of the autumn! Is the rain continues it won’t be long before Wigeon return. There have been reports of Barnacle (6), Canada (1369) and Greylag (190) geese at Silverlake which is roughly south of here. The meadows when wet will attract a small proportion of these birds as they look for feeding in fields! 

The Spotted Flycatchers were still at Burleston pond. I looked on as the heavens opened whilst I was walking a circuit of the pond.

Dorset - Puddletown Water Meadows and Bardolf Farm - Fog Mixes up the Migrants!

Thick fog greeted me as I prepared to spend a day on Bardolf Farm. Nevertheless I ventured out hoping that something had got lost in transit and would fly over the almost dry meadows! The two ponds are attracting a variety of species at the moment so this was to be my main focus for the day.

There were a few Spotted Flycatchers within the environs of the Causeway Lake. The surrounding bushes are loaded with berries so the early slightly blurred hours were spent in this area. There was plenty of song therefore I kept my ears pinned back for anything unusual!

Once the sun began to break through there was a small movement of hirundines which generally headed north to find clearer skies. After a thorough search of this area I moved up to Waterbarn Cottages and the hedgerow lined fields surrounding the grain storage barns.

A couple of Stonechats were spied at the edge of the lagoon dropping into the mixed seed and Sunflower field to feed. I moved down to North field and noticed a Reed Warbler making its way along the hedgerow at the east end. I took up position on top of a pile of chalk to get some pictures. The bird did not call at any point during the photo shoot!

Mid afternoon I moved down to Burleston Lake and took up a leisurely position sitting on the garden furniture that no doubt features in many a family picnic! There were also Spotted Flycatcher here and it was amazing to watch the birds hawking insects with the sun as a back-drop over the lake!