A flying visit on my way home from work produced a flock of twenty-two Whimbrel flying west over the southern end of the reservoir, where there was also a large flock of Swallows and House Martins. The adult female and three young Mandarin were also present and a single Common Sandpiper was also seen.
A quick look over West Pool produced nothing of note, but two Hobbies (an adult and a juvenile), were circling over the reservoir whilst being mobbed by a couple of Carrion Crows.
Thursday, 9 September 2010
Wednesday, 8 September 2010
Lodmoor RSPB and Portland Bill - Wed 8 Sep
With term back in full swing I get to have Wednesday afternoons off as compensation for working on a Saturday morning, so I took advantage of the good weather and headed down to the coast, arriving at Lodmoor RSPB at about 2.15pm.
I walked around the reserve in the hope of picking up a few migrant passerines as well as a few waders, however, there was not a huge variety of birds on show. I did manage to pick up nine species of wader, with the pick being two Ruff, a Spotted Redshank and a couple of Curlew Sandpipers. The only other birds of note were six Wheatears and a single Chiffchaff.
Leaving Lodmoor I drove on down to Portland and parked at the Bird Observatory. I did not spend a huge amount of time at the Bill as I was really after just one bird, and as I set up my scope at the Obs Quarry I did not have long to wait as the Wryneck I had hoped to see hopped in to view. I did manage to take a few record shots using my mobile phone held against my scope, and they are possibly the worst shots of a Wryneck ever taken, but at least you can see what it is!
There were plenty of other birds flitting around in the quarry, but nothing really out of the ordinary, with a single Whitethroat present and a couple of Stonechats seen. With time ticking on, and knowing I had to get home to cook dinner for Ellie, I headed off at 4.30pm and still managed to get stuck in traffic through Weymouth for nearly an hour!
UK list for 2010 now at 206 species.
I walked around the reserve in the hope of picking up a few migrant passerines as well as a few waders, however, there was not a huge variety of birds on show. I did manage to pick up nine species of wader, with the pick being two Ruff, a Spotted Redshank and a couple of Curlew Sandpipers. The only other birds of note were six Wheatears and a single Chiffchaff.
Leaving Lodmoor I drove on down to Portland and parked at the Bird Observatory. I did not spend a huge amount of time at the Bill as I was really after just one bird, and as I set up my scope at the Obs Quarry I did not have long to wait as the Wryneck I had hoped to see hopped in to view. I did manage to take a few record shots using my mobile phone held against my scope, and they are possibly the worst shots of a Wryneck ever taken, but at least you can see what it is!
There were plenty of other birds flitting around in the quarry, but nothing really out of the ordinary, with a single Whitethroat present and a couple of Stonechats seen. With time ticking on, and knowing I had to get home to cook dinner for Ellie, I headed off at 4.30pm and still managed to get stuck in traffic through Weymouth for nearly an hour!
UK list for 2010 now at 206 species.
Sunday, 5 September 2010
Sutton Bingham - Sun 5 Sep
After a wet start to the day the weather cleared up late morning so Ellie and I popped out for a quick walk before lunch. Parking at the hide we walked along the reservoir as far as the car park and then retraced our steps. I had hoped that the rain might have brought a few migrants in, but unfortunately that was not the case. Opposite the hide was a single Common Sandpiper and the four Mandarin were again on the shore on the far bank.
On West Pool there were a couple of White Wagtails but nothing else of note.
Near the car park we saw a couple of Common Blues and a single Small Copper:
Near the car park we saw a couple of Common Blues and a single Small Copper:
Powerstock Common - Sat 4 Sep
What with it being a pleasant afternoon Ellie and I headed out, after some discussion on where to go, and eventually ended up at Powerstock Common near Maiden Newton. This was a site that we had not visited before and we had read about it on the Dorset Butterflies website. Whilst we new it was not the best time of year for butterflies, we thought we'd give it a go.
As we walked in to the nature reserve the first thing we saw was a Nuthatch. We then did a circular walk around the reserve which took us a couple of hours. Along the way we also saw three or four Spotted Flycatchers, and several Willow Warblers. A pair of Marsh Tits were seen feeding.
There were loads of Speckled Woods as we walked along:
A single Painted Lady was seen as we entered the reserve and we also saw a Meadow Brown and a Red Admiral:
A few whites were about, including a single Green-veined White.
Saturday, 4 September 2010
Sutton Bingham - Sat 4 Sep
A mid-morning visit today as this would be my last Saturday morning when I wouldn't be stuck at work for a few weeks. I decided to take a walk round the far southern end of the reservoir, but saw nothing of note apart from a couple of Speckled Woods.
From the hide I saw four Mandarin resting on the far bank, and a Common Sandpiper was also present, whilst on the small pool a single Green Sandpiper was also seen. Three Stock Doves flew over.
Back to West Pool and two Snipe were busy feeding as was another Common Sandpiper.
From the hide I saw four Mandarin resting on the far bank, and a Common Sandpiper was also present, whilst on the small pool a single Green Sandpiper was also seen. Three Stock Doves flew over.
Back to West Pool and two Snipe were busy feeding as was another Common Sandpiper.
Friday, 3 September 2010
Sutton Bingham - Fri 3 Sep
After dropping Ellie off at choir practice I popped up to the reservoir for three quarters of an hour to see what was about. I headed straight to the hide and set up my scope to scan the area, flushing four Mandarin from the water's edge.
Before long I had picked out five Common Sandpipers and two Green Sandpipers. Another wader caught my eye feeding at the extreme southern end in the small pool that has formed there. Unfortunately, the light was not brilliant and the bird did not give very obliging views. However, eventually, I finally got a sight of it's back and saw the charactistic marking that confirmed it as a Common Snipe...and not some rare vagrant!
A female Tufted Duck was also present at the southern end, and the four Mandarin I had seen when I first arrived joined two more birds and were sat up on the bank with numerous Mallards.
A quick look over West Pool produced nothing, though several Swallows were feeding above the reservoir.
Before long I had picked out five Common Sandpipers and two Green Sandpipers. Another wader caught my eye feeding at the extreme southern end in the small pool that has formed there. Unfortunately, the light was not brilliant and the bird did not give very obliging views. However, eventually, I finally got a sight of it's back and saw the charactistic marking that confirmed it as a Common Snipe...and not some rare vagrant!
A female Tufted Duck was also present at the southern end, and the four Mandarin I had seen when I first arrived joined two more birds and were sat up on the bank with numerous Mallards.
A quick look over West Pool produced nothing, though several Swallows were feeding above the reservoir.
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
Sutton Bingham - Wed 1 Sep
After last night's excitement I popped up to the reservoir before work, arriving at about 7.30am at the field where the storks had been present. It was rather misty and there was no sign of the birds, so I drove on down to the reservoir to check it out.
On West Pool a single Green Sandpiper was present but nothing else of note so I went on down to the hide. From here I saw an Osprey preening itself in a dead tree on the opposite side of the reservoir near the canoe club hut, though by the time I had passed the news on to a fellow birder it had flown.
With time getting on, and knowing I had to be at work at 8.30am, I headed off and checked out the field opposite Goose Slade Farm one last time when I had a phone call from a mate of mine, Lee Evans, asking if I had an update on the White Storks. Lee had received a pager message that the brids were still present, but I had left my pager at home so didn't pick it up. The birds had apparently relocated to a field nearer the reservoir, and before long I had tracked them down. As I watched the White Storks I was surprised as a Hobby flew through!
A pretty good morning at the reservoir.
On West Pool a single Green Sandpiper was present but nothing else of note so I went on down to the hide. From here I saw an Osprey preening itself in a dead tree on the opposite side of the reservoir near the canoe club hut, though by the time I had passed the news on to a fellow birder it had flown.
With time getting on, and knowing I had to be at work at 8.30am, I headed off and checked out the field opposite Goose Slade Farm one last time when I had a phone call from a mate of mine, Lee Evans, asking if I had an update on the White Storks. Lee had received a pager message that the brids were still present, but I had left my pager at home so didn't pick it up. The birds had apparently relocated to a field nearer the reservoir, and before long I had tracked them down. As I watched the White Storks I was surprised as a Hobby flew through!
A pretty good morning at the reservoir.
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