Dorset - Portland - Flitting Flycatcher at the Observatory!

 

I caught up with another lingering bird at Portland Bird Observatory today. The Red-breasted Flycatcher was spending its second day in the observatory garden. It had been trapped and processed earlier on in the day and was busy feeding in trees flitting about between the branches hardly pausing for breath between snacks! 

Although the bird was easy to view through binoculars getting any kind of a picture was proving very tricky so I grabbed my ground mat and sat it out missing a few opportunities before I secured a shot!

I spent the rest of the day trawling other Portland hotspots for passerines but could not jam into anything unusual. At least now I can tell Charlie that I have been trying with my yearlist! 

I am now preparing for a weekend on the turf which includes a couple of interesting Cup ties!

Dorset - Weymouth Harbour - Harbouring a Little Auk!

A Little Auk has been seen over the last few days in and around Weymouth Harbour and Nothe Forte. Brett having re-found the bird after a day absence. Thanks for the heads up!

From my viewpoint this bird has shown how a certain amount of luck is required when chasing rarities. I responded to local news shot down to Weymouth parked at Nothe Forte and walked down the stairs to the Lifeboat station and bingo! There the bird was in full view just in front of the rudder to a moored boat! If I had arrived ten minutes later I would have had a lengthy wait to nail the bird!

As Charlie once said after I had left him too early in Chesil Bay dipping three Pomerine Skuas “Kojak if you wanted a easy life you should have taken up model airplanes!” This phrase regularly rings in my ears resulting in a quiet chuckle to myself! It was good to catch up with the regular birding suspects making the twitch a welcome social event!

I spent the rest of the afternoon watching Puddletown Water Meadows where the wildfowl and gull numbers are increasing which encourages me to spend more time at the site. I am still hopeful of jamming into something good at one of the cress beds!

Dorset - Maiden Castle - Its Snow Joke!

The Snow Bunting which was found at Maiden Castle a few days ago has turned into a real saga with delayed news appearing via a third party on a whattsapp group which was set up for “local” birdwatchers to circulate bird news. The moderator stepped in to split the schoolyard up and clarify the position!

I will be adding I didn’t know I could post on this group to the regular excuses of not having a phone or one with no battery or credit for not circulating news of a rarity! I have experienced this first hand at my former patch where the system worked perfectly until a good county bird was found by a single observer on the site. The finders response was just as BS as the above (fortunately it was not a first!)! If you don’t want to share your find be honest about it and be big enough to take the flack when others find out (Because they always do!)!

I am glad to say that I caught up with this local rarity having spent the day Kojak style skulking the lanes. A shout from Ashley had me looking in the right direction. He had briefly seen the bird fly over the road that leads down to the car park. Once I had found the bird feeding by the roadside I even stopped traffic to secure photos just in case the bird decided to fly off. I’m not sure what the drivers thought as I scurried commando style through the scrub at the edge of the field!

The bird was so settled feeding just inside the gates to the un-ploughed field a tank could have driven by and it would not have flinched. Pictures secured and detailed news circulated and I watched on for nearly an hour before leaving the bird to continue its feast! Third time lucky and a new county tick! Woo Hoo!

It wouldn't surprise me if another rarity was found here with the numbers of birds utilizing the freshly ploughed sunflower fields. But there are so many sites within a few clicks of my home to cover which is why using news groups is so important!

Dorset - Puddletown Water Meadows - Pinned Down!

I spent the day at Puddletown Water meadows which incidentally was not the original plan but there was plenty of movement through the flooded fields throughout the day. The morning was chilly and sunny but warmed up once the cloud moved in which kept everything low that flew through.

I also bagged another new species for my meadows tally in the shape of a Pintail. The only problem was getting some shots of it as it was right at the back of one of the pools. The heavy artillery was out (phonescope!). The bird seemed quite settled feeding in the sodden grass. Views through the telescope were much clearer confirming a female.

Fieldfare was on the move today small flocks taking advantage of the berry bushes that lined the back of the first field.

The geese had finally arrived in numbers with the majority Canada, a handful of Greylags and the regular pair of Egyptian Goose. I just hope something else will be dragged in during the daily movement around the water meadows.

I had my first view of a Kingfisher for a while as it fished from a low bush. It did not hang around for long once it had succeeded in its task.

There was a good movement of Wood Pigeon overhead with some groups stopping off en route south to rest in trees or refuel in the fields.

I listed 43 species during my vigil before a quick check at Athelhampton before dusk. The meadows here are much drier than this time last year.