My planned early start somehow evaporated in to nothing so it was gone 9.00am by the time I arrived at Ferrybridge this morning. I paid for an hour's long stay in the car park and was soon scanning the mud looking to see what waders may be present.
A fair sized flock on Dunlin provided a bit of interest with nine Sanderling mixed amongst the flock adding a splash of colour with some very nice summer-plumaged birds. A few Ringed Plover were also present and the rockier areas held three Turnstone. A summer-plumaged Knot was another nice find as it fed in a channel in front of me (I over-looked it on several occasions).
A good number of Little Terns were flying around and alighting on the mud, including what appeared to be a fairly recently fledged bird. A total of at least forty-six Mediterranean Gulls were present and displayed various ages of plumage.
It was then back to the car and towards home, but I made a slight diversion to Hilfield where Honey Buzzard had been seen a few days earlier. I wasn't really expecting anything, but as I scanned the skies from the ridge I did see a Red Kite!
A walk around this small Dorset Wildlife Trust reserve produced a good number of butterflies which included Silver-washed Fritillary, Small Skipper and Ringlet. With time flying by I realised that I must get moving as I was visiting friends for lunch and thus ended a good morning out.
A last minute decision on Wednesday night to book today off work turned out to be a good one as it gave me a chance to head down to Weymouth and visit the RSPB reserve of Lodmoor. Arriving just before 9.00am I headed straight for the "Band Stand" viewing point.
On arrival I was pleased to bump in to a few birders that I knew and after the normal pleasantries I concentrated on the small Dunlin flock and contained therein a very nice White-rumped Sandpiper!
This is only the second White-rumped Sandpiper that I've seen, and funnily enough the other one was also at Lodmoor RSPB way back in 2000.
So with the rarity safely ticked off I continued around the reserve. A couple of Greenshank were present and amongst the small number of gulls present there were a pair of summer-plumaged Mediterranean Gulls. A female Marsh Harrier was hunting over the reed beds, causing a bit of a stir amongst the residents!
Interestingly enough, there were around twenty Common Terns present. The colony had deserted overnight a month or so ago, but apparently several birds had just arrived. Whether or not they will attempt breeding again this late in the summer or not is anyone's guess.
Anyway, by now it was getting extremely warm, so it was straight back to the car and air-conditioning!
This morning I was trying to find a site for Woodlark...but I couldn't and so instead I found myself at Hethfelton Wood just outside of Wool where a walk in the morning sun failed to produce anything much in the way of birds other than a Raven soaring overhead, but did produce a few butterflies.
I saw a total of seven different species of butterfly, with Gatekeeper being new for the year as were at least four Silver-washed Fritillaries (which are always great to see)...and that pretty much sums up the morning!
Somewhere different this morning and a trip down to Devon and the Axe Estuary where I visited Black Hole Marsh in the hope of some early waders. It was mid-morning by the time I arrived and I spent about half on hour or so in the "Island Hide".
There certainly were a few waders about with the highlights being a juvenile Little Ringed Plover and a very flighty Whimbrel. There were at least half a dozen Common Sandpipers feeding around the edges of the marsh and a small number of Lapwings, Redshank and Black-tailed Godwits.
One of the small islands hosted a hot and tired looking summer-plumaged Mediterranean Gull, which despite the stiflingly hot conditions still looked extremely smart!
To be perfectly honest I didn't really see much else, especially in the way of anything unusual or unexpected, and with it approaching midday it was obvious that any birds would be lying low...so I headed back home.
After a very quiet day with regard to birds on Saturday (a returning Common Sandpiper at Sutton Bingham Reservoir being the only bird of note) I popped up to Ham Wall first thing on Sunday and was surprised to find the car park already full. An hour on site produced flight views of the female Little Bittern and then two males together!! I also had a Common Tern hawking over the reed beds and water whilst a female Marsh Harrier was seen perched in a bush. I was also lucky enough to get several good views of Bitterns, with three birds being seen including one stood out in the open...until I got my scope on it to take a picture that is when it vanished in to the reeds!
Back to the car park and on to Meare Heath where a Garden Warbler but on a good show. The drained lagoon held the usual suspects though no Great White Egrets were seen on this visit...a surprising occurrence nowadays. A Grass Snake was a nice sight as it crossed the track near me, and as I returned to the car I was treated to another fly-by Bittern and a handful of Bearded Tits darting over the reeds (though I heard several more calling). All in all a pretty good morning out in bright sunshine and temperatures hitting 30 degrees!
Down to the coast this afternoon and a visit to the RSPB reserve of Radipole Lake in Weymouth. I spent a couple of hours on the site and covered a fair bit of ground but there was not a massive amount around. Singing Cetti's Warblers were noticeable and I caught a view of a couple of Bearded Tits as they flew between patches of reeds.
I then spent a long time and walked what seemed like miles in an attempt to track down a drake Red-crested Pochard that had been seen earlier in the day. I drew a complete blank but managed to pick up a bit of info when I got back to the visitor centre (where a Common Sandpiper was feeding on the small island). So I set off for the north of the reserve and checked the channel that runs adjacent to Radipole Road. A female Marsh Harrier provided some interest and just as I was about to give up I found it, although just starting to moult in to eclipse plumage it was still a very smart duck and a nice end to a good day!
Another attempt to try and see the breeding Little Bitterns at Ham Wall this morning, and this time I was successful! Within five minutes of arriving at the makeshift viewpoint I was lucky enough to see the female in flight over the reeds.
I then took a walk out to the second viewing platform where there were many fewer birds than on my last couple of visits. That being said I did see a couple of Hobbies and a Cuckoo was calling. Around half a dozen Lapwings were on the scrapes and the only other slightly unusual birds were a couple of Black-headed Gulls.
A female Marsh Harrier was quartering the reed beds and as I headed back towards the car I saw a male Marsh Harrier too. Another quick stop at the viewpoint produced brief flight views of the male Little Bittern. And to round off a good couple of hours a Great White Egret flew over the car park.
