A day off work and a fairly early start as I drove down to Swanage and Durlston Country Park to try and connect with a bird that I had longed to see for years. I arrived at Durlston just before 9.00am and was rather nervous as there had been no news on this bird on the pager since Sunday afternoon. However, after bumping in to the Warden I was reassured to hear that it was still present. After finding the right field I set up and within thirty minutes I was looking at a cracking female Red-flanked Bluetail! After watching the bird for a few minutes it disappeared in to the undergrowth so I had a stroll around as I had paid £4.00 to park for the morning, but there were no other birds about.
So at 10.00am I set off to Studland. Parking at the South Car Park and having to pay to park again, I walked out and scanned the trees where I found a pair of very amorous Ring-necked Parakeets:
Again there was little else about, so I drove up the road and spent half an hour scanning the heathland and Little Sea for birds. However, it was very quiet here too, so I retraced my steps and drove on to Wareham.
I drove through the centre of Wareham out to the east as far as Swineham where I walked out to Swineham Farm and the gravel pits, seeing a male Blackcap along the way. This was another twitch as the pager had alerted me to a Red-rumped Swallow seen earlier in the day. Luck was with me again as within twenty minutes the bird was located feeding with Sand Martins and Swallows. Another cracking bird and a great end to the morning.
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