A morning in south Dorset and a visit to the RSPB reserve of Radipole in Weymouth. Arriving at 9.30am almost the first birds I saw were a couple of juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls in the car park, present briefly before taking flight.
I then set off for a walk around the reserve. Part way along the paths towards the North Hide I heard a Green Sandpiper calling and looked up to see it fly south. There was little of note from the hide itself, though I did hear a Water Rail call and a Reed Warbler showed well.
Retracing my steps I then walked around the "Buddleia Loop" where there were good numbers of butterflies with the pick being a Painted Lady. I also saw a couple of Jersey Tiger moths.
The eclipse drake Red-crested Pochard was showing well from the small viewpoint along the path alongside some of the more usual duck species and a few Sand Martins passed through.
Back to the Visitor Centre for a well-deserved cup of coffee and a Little Egret perched on one of the wooden bars opposite the centre. And that was that for a nice morning out.
Back to the Levels this afternoon and Ham Wall this time. A brief look failed to produce any Little Bitterns, but I didn't really linger at the viewpoint but rather made straight for the second viewing platform. Dodging the thunder storms I did pick out a few waders including two Dunlin, at least two Green Sandpipers, three Snipe and a Black-tailed Godwit of the islandica race. I also had a distant view of a juvenile Yellow Wagtail and another Garganey.
As the rain set in I decided to make it quickly back to the car and on the way saw a female Marsh Harrier...as it happened this was the final decent bird I saw of the day. A pretty good day on the levels today.
A morning visit to the Somerset Levels and rather than a walk out across Ham Wall I headed east on to Meare Heath. Almost the first bird I saw was a fly-over Great White Egret, closely followed by a female Marsh Harrier soaring high in the sky. Continuing onwards a Bittern flew over the path ahead of me, affording wonderful views.
The "drained" lagoon had quite a bit of water in it and as a result there were no waders other than several Lapwing. A look out over Noah's Lake produced nothing apart from a couple more Great White Egrets so I retraced my steps and returned to the car.
Another Bittern fly-by was appreciated, especially as this bird was calling in flight, quite a different sound from the usual booming. A male Marsh Harrier was quartering the reeds, and another female type was also seen. The latter flushing the duck gathered on the lagoon and a Garganey was amongst the masses and rounded the morning off nicely.
The start of a new month saw me make a trip to Devon and a visit to Black Hole Marsh near Seaton. I arrived just before 9.00am and took a walk out to the Island Hide where I was told that the Pectoral Sandpiper which was present on Tuesday night was still about (the last I heard it had flown after being spooked by a Sparrowhawk). So luck was with me this morning and a collected a nice year tick with this smart Trans-Atlantic wader.
There were plenty of birds about today and waders were obviously the most notable. I counted at least six Common Sandpipers, an adult Ringed Plover, twenty or so Dunlin (including a very distinct individual with a bill almost as long as that of a Curlew Sandpiper), a Snipe, several Redshank and Black-tailed Godwits, and a minimum of seven Green Sandpipers.
I then took a walk across to the Tower Hide. I didn't loiter here too long and didn't really see anything different, but as I left the hide a Kingfisher flew across the path over my head and skimmed across the scrapes.
I also saw a lot of butterflies this morning, with loads of Green-veined Whites and a smaller number of Gatekeepers and a couple of Commas and Red Admirals.
It took me an age to get to Ham Wall this morning due to a traffic accident at Ashcott village. After two U-turns due to traffic congestion and another because of a road closure, it was a case of fourth time lucky and eventually I was parked at the Sharpham end of the RSPB reserve and was able to get out for a walk.
I made straight for the second viewing platform, but did stop at one point as I could hear some Bearded Tits calling from the reeds, and I did manage to see one bird as it flitted across the reeds.
On arriving at the viewing platform I had a good scan across and was surprised by the number of waders. A flock of around one hundred Black-tailed Godwits were present and Lapwings numbered around fifty birds. Slightly more unusual, two Greenshank and two Dunlin, and a couple of Green Sandpipers rounded off the wader contingent.
A Garganey flew in from the left and dropped on to the water before vanishing behind some vegetation and rounded off a good morning out despite the traffic issues!
This morning I headed off to Weymouth and took a walk around the RSPB reserve of Lodmoor. Walking anti-clockwise around the reserve from Beachdown Way the first birds of note were not really seen until I got the scrape opposite the car park. An adult Mediterranean Gull was resting and a Common Sandpiper and two Black-tailed Godwits were present.
Continuing onwards I stopped near the tern rafts where a flock of 37 Dunlin were seen and four Sandwich Terns were resting on the fencing.
Further on again and I was surprised to see a female Ruddy Shelduck and a second bird which appeared to be an Australian Shelduck, though it was roosting and seemed a little too pale, so I guess some sort of hybrid is probably the most likely option.
Another Dunlin was present from the "hump" on Beachdown Way as were two more Common Sandpipers. Alongside an Oystercatcher two Whimbrel were roosting. I then carried on back towards the car, hearing a Bearded Tit calling along the way. As I neared the car a Sparrowhawk caused a bit of a stir over the reserve, sending most of the gulls in to the air alongside eight Black-tailed Godwits. All in all a pretty nice start to the day.
A morning visit to Ham Wall today and I was pleasantly surprised to see two of my mates from Reading when I arrived at the "Little Bittern Viewpoint"! After a nice chat with Nigel and Mickey I left them waiting for the Little Bitterns and made my way straight to the second viewing platform where I bumped in to a couple of other friends. Another bit of banter followed and then a bit of birding. Before too long I had finally added Green Sandpiper to the year list...and over the next half an hour I connected with three individuals.
A Bittern was seen very briefly, in fact, to be honest, I just saw it's wing as it dropped in to the reeds! I also saw both male and female Marsh Harriers, and three Snipe and several Lapwing were also seen from the viewing platform.
With plenty of young birds about as well it made for a pleasant morning out.
