Hilfield Hill NR, Gore Hill and Sutton Bingham - Wed 28 Apr

After a busy couple of weeks I felt pretty exhausted so I stayed a bit closer to home this afternoon and drove about ten miles south-west of Sherborne to the small local nature reserve at Hilfield Hill. The reserve itself consists of shrub-like vegetation and small trees, whilst to the south there are large arable fields. I parked up in the car park and decided to walk out across the fields on a circular walk of a couple of miles around Gore Hill.
As I walked along a noted a few Yellowhammers singing and there were loads of Pheasants around. As I reached one field I noticed a few birds feeding on the ground. I set up my 'scope and scanned across. Before long I had counted over twenty Linnets plus three Wheatears and several Skylarks. Continuing around in a loop back towards the car park I saw at least six pairs of Red-legged Partridges.
A quick walk around the reserve itself at Hilfield Hill failed to produce anything out of the ordinary so I headed back towards home and stopped off at Sutton Bingham for about an hour.
A scan over West Pool produced five Tufted Ducks, but nothing else. A single Sand Martin flew over and a mixed flock of Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls numbered around fifty. A Kestrel was near the Canoe Club and a Skylark was in song over the southern end of the reservoir. With little else about I headed off home for a relaxing evening in front of the TV!

Meare Heath NR and Ham Wall RSPB - Tue 27 Apr

I met up this evening with the guys I'm heading off to Lesvos with in a little over a weeks time so that we could finalise a few plans. We had decided to meet up for a spot of birding beforehand, and met at Ashcott Corner car park at 6.30pm and walked out towards Noah's Lake at Meare Heath NR. The drained lagoon had a few waders on it, including eight Black-tailed Godwits and single Little Ringed Plover and Ringed Plover. A few Swifts were whizzing around overhead, and a Hobby was seen briefly. With nothing of note from the hide we returned to the car park and walked out to Ham Wall RSPB.
We marched straight out to the second viewing platform and scanned the reed beds seeing a Bittern in flight. I then got on to another heron flying towards us some distance away. I knew straight away that I was looking at a Purple Heron! I soon got everyone else on to the bird and it circled around showing really well in the evening sunlight, an adult bird in breeding plumage. It then landed in the top of a tree and looked as if it was looking for a roost site for the night.
Heading back to the car as it was now 8.30pm we saw another two Bitterns in flight, a great end to a wonderful evening. We ended up in The Ashcott Inn for a well deserved drink and a final run through of the plans for next weeks trip.
UK year list for 2010 now at 185 species.

Hengistbury Head - Sun 25 Apr

My soon to be in-laws are in the process of moving house, so Ellie and I were up early and headed down to Highcliffe to give them a hand moving furniture and picking carpets. After a few hours of heavy labour and a well deserved lunch we decided to pop along to Hengistbury Head for the rest of the afternoon rather than simply drive straight back home as it is one of Ellie's favourite places.
We parked at Mudeford Quay and took the ferry across to the Head, seeing a couple of Sandwich Terns and four Turnstones en route, and then cheated by taking the Land Train to the main car park and cafe. A couple of Wheatears were hopping about near the Land Train "Station" and a few Sand Martins were whizzing by.
When we reached the cafe, Ellie settled down for a cup of tea and gave me twenty minutes to find a Subalpine Warbler that had turned up the day before. So, having gotten instructions on its location from a fellow birder, I hot-footed across a field and then through some rather vicious thorns and brambles. I met up with a few other birders who had been waiting a while for the bird to show. After a couple of fleeting glimpses of a Sylvia warbler that could have been it, I finally spotted the bird, a splendid summer plumaged male. This was my third Subalpine Warbler in the UK, and all three have been seen in Dorset. I then rushed back to the cafe and arrived spot on 4pm, my deadline!
I decided to reward myself with a cup of tea and a cake before we walked back to the ferry. Along the way we noted a few Whitethroats and a Blackcap and on the small lagoon near the start of the beach huts we saw a couple of Whimbrel.
Despite the rather cold and strong wind we had an enjoyable few hours out and about, a nice end to a good weekend.

Tealham Moor and Meare Heath NR - Sat 24 Apr

Yet another warm and sunny day and after a morning at work and then an hour cutting the lawn I took Ellie up on to the Somerset Levels for the remainder of the afternoon. We drove straight up to Tealham Moor as the Yellow Wagtails I had missed ten days or so earlier were now back and holding territory. As we pulled up we saw a couple of other birders who had had no luck. However, after about ten minutes or so I located the birds we were after. The first was the "Channel" Wagtail, a hybrid of the UK Yellow Wagtail and Continental Blue-headed Wagtail which had been located a few days earlier. This was shortly joined by a female Yellow Wagtail. Also present were a couple of Redshank and several Lapwings. A few Linnets were flying about and a Skylark was singing overhead.
We then headed back to Ashcott Corner parking in the car park and heading along the path on to Meare Heath NR. We walked out to the end of Noah's Lake. Overhead there were at least five Hobbies hawking for insects on the wing. We could hear a Cuckoo calling, but could not pin it down, as was the case with a booming Bittern. We were fortunate enough, whilst watching a Hobby, to see a fly-over Whimbrel. There were also three Common Swifts whizzing around. As we returned to the car we saw six Black-tailed Godwits on the drained lagoon, but little else. However, it was a wonderful afternoon out and about in the sun.

Ferrybridge, Portland and Lodmoor RSPB - Wed 21 Apr

My half day and as the weather was pretty gorgeous I decided to head south and visit Portland. I drove straight down to Weymouth and on towards Portland, stopping for about ten minutes or so at Ferrybridge. As I scanned across the water there were four Sandwich Terns flying about and a single Little Tern was sat on a buoy.
I then drove straight up to Portland and parked in Weston and walked along Barleycrates Lane towards the West Cliffs. Within the first twenty yards or so I had found a female Redstart showing well on a fence post. I then scanned across the field that runs alongside the path and saw seven or so Wheatears and three Whinchats. I continued up the path until I reached the West Cliffs where a few Fulmars were soaring about and then retraced my steps back down Barleycrates Lane towards the car. As I neared the end of the path I saw a fleeting glimpse of a warbler, just the tail and under-tail coverts. I was pretty sure of what I had just seen, but spent another fifteen minutes trying to get better views and my patience eventually paid off as a cracking Grasshopper Warbler popped in to view. There were also several Linnets about and Meadow Pipits and Skylarks were in song.
I got back to the car and drove out to the Bill, parking at the Bird Observatory. Walking up to Top Fields I saw a couple of male Redstarts and another Wheatear. I continued across to West Cliffs and then walked down to the Bill proper. Looking out to sea I saw a few auks, primarily Razerbills but a couple of Guillemots too. A few Kittiwakes flew through, as did a Manx Shearwater. A Peregrine was perched up on the cliff near Pulpit Rock. With little else happening on the sea I walked back towards the Bird Obs via the Hut Fields. Here I saw several Rock Pipits and yet more Wheatears and a female Black Redstart. I got back to the car at about 5.30pm and decided to head to Lodmoor RSPB in Weymouth.
Arriving at Lodmoor I took the plunge and walked the whole route starting at the top of Beachdown Way. After about fifty yards I could hear a Grasshopper Warbler reeling in the reeds and a Reed Warbler flitted by. There were also numerous Cetti's and Sedge Warblers singing. Two Black-tailed Godwits were present, along with three Common Sandpipers and a flock of about twenty-five Dunlin. By the time I completed the cicuit and got back to the car it was 7.30pm, so I left Weymouth and headed home after a great afternoon of birding.
UK year list for 2010 now at 178 species.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 20 Apr

I made a flying visit before work to see if last nights Osprey was still about, and sure enough it was on the exact same branch as it had been when I left it yesterday. Two Common Sandpipers were also seen in flight as I drove across the northern causeway.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 19 Apr

I decided to pop up to the reservoir after work instead of do a few chores at home! I drove straight down to the southern end and parked up, looked out at the tree where the Cormorants usually rest and thought "Why are there no Cormorants...oh! That's why!!" as an Osprey was perched up in the dead tree! I watched this splendid bird for a good thirty minutes, and it was still there when I left at 5.00pm.
Also present on the raptor front, a male Kestrel flew over a couple of times, a female Sparrowhawk was soaring overhead, and at least three Common Buzzards were circling overhead.
A couple of Ravens also flew through, and West Pool still held five Tufted Ducks. A couple of Common Sandpipers were on the southern causeway. A very profitable hour long visit.
UK year list for 2010 now at 170 species.