Studland & Arne RSPB - Sun 10 Nov

A day out with the family in Dorset today and it started just north of Studland where we took a walk along the beach to try and find a Surf Scoter. After getting rough directions from a couple of birders I soon located the bird feeding amongst a large number of Great Crested Grebes. As always I tried to get a few pictures, though it seemed that every time I clicked the camera on my phone the bird vanished in the swell!

Also in Brand's Bay a Great Northern Diver and several Red-Breasted Mergansers. There were also a good number of Dark-bellied Brent Geese and Shelduck present and a couple of Grey Plover flew over.
After our walk in the brisk wind we drove back to Studland village and parked in Middle Beach car park before getting a well deserved snack before playtime on the beach. Whilst walking along I noticed a couple of Chiffchaffs feeding in the trees behind the beach huts. Unfortunately I didn't have time to investigate the area in more detail, instead I had to settle for a quick look for Ring-necked Parakeets. I was pretty gutted to find the trees in which the parakeets had usually been found had been removed for some reason, so I drew a blank with regards to seeing any but I did hear one bird calling as we got back to the car.
After a brief trip in to Wareham for some lunch we spent the afternoon at Arne RSPB. A walk out to the beach at Shipstal Point failed to produce much in the way of birds until we actually reached the beach where an adult Yellow-legged Gull was on the water. I guess a raptor must have passed over the saltmarsh because a large number of Wigeon and Teal suddenly appeared and a small flock of Black-tailed Godwits joined them.
With time getting on we then headed back to the car. A Mistle Thrush and a few Fieldfares passed overhead and as we reached the small church I found a Firecrest...though it was typically mobile in the canopy for most of the time. That being said it rounded off a lovely day out.