Butterstreet Cove & Radipole RSPB - Sun 7 Apr

An afternoon in south Dorset and I made straight for The Fleet, parking at East Fleet and following the coastal path west for about a mile until I reached the field I was looking for, and within this field a total of five Stone Curlew! Now they were rather distant, with the exception of one bird which was in a slightly closer field, but the wind was such that I had no chance of even getting one of my infamous record shots...perhaps a good thing! I didn't hang around too long and instead headed in to Weymouth and to the RSPB reserve at Radipole.
I walked straight out to the North Hide, seeing very little along the way, and I was lucky enough to get my target bird without having to enter the hide. A very smart male Garganey was sat in plain view, and I'd left my scope in the car, so again there was no chance of getting a photo, which was a shame as I'm pretty sure I would have managed something half decent! So two year ticks in the space of about 45 minutes, but very little else around, and with time against me it was time to head on home.

East Coker WTW - Sun 7 Apr

A quick trip to the Water Treatment Works at East Coker, and I took advantage of the access I'd been granted to take a look and see what was about. It was quieter than my previous visits, but the Siberian Chiffchaff was still present, along with two Chiffchaff. Three Grey Wagtails and a Meadow Pipit were feeding on the sewage beds alongside commoner species. There were a surprising number of winter thrushes present, a mixed flock of around fifty Redwing and twenty Fieldfare were in the fields around the Works, and a single Yellowhammer was again seen.

Longham Lakes & Mudeford Quay - Sat 6 Apr

I was heading down towards Christchurch today, so took the opportunity to stop off at Longham Lakes en route. A quick walk round one of the lakes produced my first singing Willow Warbler of the year, though I failed to see it, and an Egyptian Goose was another year tick as it sat in a field alongside a couple of Canada Geese.
The lakes themselves held the usual diving and dabbling duck, nothing out of the ordinary...despite my scouring the various birds sat on the water. Around the fringes there were loads of Chiffchaffs and Robins, but again nothing more exotic.
On then to the coast and a walk around Mudeford Quay. After a lot of searching I finally managed to locate the long-staying Red-necked Grebe. Unfortunately it was rather distant so I was not really able to appreciate it in its splendid summer plumage. A few waders were present, including Turnstone and Grey Plover, and I picked out my first Sandwich Tern of the year as it flew in and settled on a sand bar. Out to sea there was nothing of interest...in fact, there was nothing! But it was a worthwhile trip and I ended the day with four year ticks.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 1 Apr

A pre-breakfast trip to the reservoir this morning. I had missed a couple of Ospreys that had been seen at the reservoir last night because my phone was on silent and the battery in my pager had run out, so I was on site at 6.30am in the hope that one of the birds would have roosted overnight and would still be present on site. In an hour long search, I drew a complete blank. However, what I did see more than made up for it as I was treated to some stunning views of a hunting Barn Owl between the hide and the canoe club. This was a Sutton Bingham tick for me so I was thrilled to bits!
Also this morning a Kingfisher flew past the hide and two Stock Doves passed overhead, but there was little in the way of migration and a singing Chiffchaff was the only real taste of Spring with a bitterly cold wind making it almost too cold for shorts this morning!
A return visit in the early evening on the off chance that I had simply missed any Ospreys first thing in the morning produced three pairs of Shoveler from the northern causeway and from the hide, a very smart Osprey!

 

The Osprey showed very well for about five minutes before flying north and circling the reservoir, eventually it settled again and so I went to look for it. I relocated the Osprey as it was perched in a dead tree about a hundred metres south of the car park...making some of the local Cormorants rather nervous. So a good end to what was a very profitable day at the reservoir.

Portland - Sat 30 Mar

This afternoon I headed south and drove down to Portland. I was hoping to see a Bluethroat that had turned up earlier in the day (the third one on Portland in the last week and as I had not been able to go and see either of the others). On arrival in Weston I was told that the bird had been showing well feeding in and around a small pool, and within minutes I got some cracking views of an adult male White-spotted Bluethroat.

 

There were loads of Chiffchaffs feeding in and around the same area, but not much else in the way of migrants.
Returning to the car I then decided to have a quick stop at Barleycrates Lane where I added Wheatear to the year list. A couple of Song Thrushes and a Blackcap were also seen, but there were no hoped for Ring Ouzels.
Driving back through Weymouth my first few Sand Martins of the year were whizzing over the water at Radipole RSPB reserve.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 24 Mar

This afternoon I just popped up to the reservoir for an hour or so and had a good walk around the southern end of the reservoir. Wildfowl were represented by sixteen Teal and a pair of Tufted Duck, and a Little Grebe was heard calling.
There was nothing much else on the water but I did see my first two SBR Chiffchaffs of the Spring. Three Bullfinches (one male and two females) were seen and a Kestrel put in a fleeting appearance. A single Snipe was flushed from the water's edge.
Overhead, five Meadow Pipits flew north and a flock of about three hundred Starlings also moved northwards.
The northern end of the reservoir produced absolutely nothing of note!

Morden Bog - Wed 20 Mar

Having dipped the Great Grey Shrike at Sixpenny Handley twice this year I decided to try and see the one present at Morden Bog instead this afternoon. I had tried and failed to see this particular bird back in November on a flying visit, it had then gone missing for most of the winter but was now back...only I didn't see it!
In fact, there was not that much to see at all and a couple of Meadow Pipits were the only birds I saw on the heathland itself, whilst the conifers hosted a few Siskin and Goldcrests.
I had hoped to pick up a few year ticks this afternoon on this patch of Dorset heathland, but nothing added to the list and to make matters worse a pager message appeared stating that the Sixpenny Handley shrike was showing well this afternoon!