Tealham Moor - Fri 8 Apr

After an hours drive from Chew, mainly due to a road closure and diversion north of Wells, I parked on the roadside and scanned across the fields. I was hoping that there would be some Yellow Wagtails about, but there was no sign. I did pick out a male Wheatear in the near distance and a few Skylarks were calling. A single Redshank was displaying and a Lapwing flew over. But as my target species was failing to oblige I headed off again.

Chew Valley Lake - Fri 8 Apr

I had the day booked off work and so I dropped Ellie off at work and then headed up to Chew Valley Lake, arriving at about 9.30am. I parked at Herriott's Bridge and scanned across the main lake in the hope that the elusive Ferruginous Duck might be about...but I found no sign of it. I did however manage to pick out what must be one of the last Ruddy Ducks surviving at the site. There were also a few Goldeneye still present and a Goosander flew over. In the reed beds there were a couple of Reed Warblers singing, but they were well hidden. I then drove round to Heron's Green but there was nothing of interest. In fact there were very few birds about so I decided against buying a permit and visiting the hides and instead headed back south to the Somerset Levels.

Portland - Mon 4 Apr

After a good start to the day I headed west from Wareham and drove down to Portland, parking at the Bird Observatory. After collecting some books I had ordered I walked up the road and got on to a Short-toed Lark, which had been found yesterday. Yet another quality bird! I then walked down to the Bill but conditions were not suited to seawatching, though I did see my first Rock Pipits of the year!
Returning to the Obs via the Hut Fields I saw nothing of note, just a few Chiffchaffs and Stonechats. So I drove north to Weston and took a walk down Barleycrates Lane. This was another wasted trip, with no birds of note at all. Though this was not that surprising due to the lovely blue skies all morning.
So it was a real case of quality rather than quantity today as I headed on home at 3.00pm after a good day out and about.
UK list for 2011 now at 187 species.

Durlston CP, Studland & Swineham - Mon 4 Apr

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.

Stanpit Marsh - Sat 2 Apr

As it was on my way to the lunchtime rendezvous I popped in to Stanpit Marsh for an hour. I walked straight out to Priory Marsh, but there was nothing much present, so I continued round Stanpit proper. Interestingly enough there was a small flock of six or seven Reed Buntings, and all the birds were males.

A single White Wagtail was present and a small party of Linnets were flitting around. As it was high tide there were not that many waders about, just a couple of Curlews and several Black-tailed Godwits. As I returned to the car a pair of summer-plumaged Mediterranean Gulls flew over.
At 12.55pm I left Stanpit and met up with Ellie and the in-laws for lunch after a nice morning out...it certainly beat shopping.

Hengistbury Head - Sat 2 Apr

Down to east Dorset today and whilst Ellie spent the morning touring the shops of Bournemouth with her mum, I set off to Hengistbury Head in the hope of finding a few migrants. I spent the first hour of my visit on the Head itself, but there were surpirsingly few birds about. A couple of Sandwich Terns were off the beach and a few Sand Martins and Meadow Pipits flew in off the sea. But on the land I only saw a few Stonechats and Chiffchaffs. So I walked back to the car and then on to Wick Fields. Again, there were few birds about but I did see my first Blackcap and Willow Warblers of the year, and a large flock of thirty or so Meadow Pipits flew overhead. So with little else happening I headed off to my next stop of the morning.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 1 Apr

After dropping Ellie off at Choir Practice I spent an hour at the reservoir, making straight for the southern end where I saw very little! A single Stock Dove flew over, and a pair of Kestrels were flying around. A couple of Teal were still present and a male Reed Bunting was singing. I then drove back to the northern causeway and scanned West Pool, but there were no diving duck on the water. Over the main reservoir a couple of Swallows were hawking insects and around forty Sand Martins passed through. So still not many migrants passing through but hopefully things will pick up in the next few weeks.