Abbotsbury - Sun 26 Feb

As it was such a lovely afternoon I took Tristan down to the coast for a few hours and we drove down to Abbotsbury. I forked out a small fortune to park in the beach car park and then walked east along Chesil Beach for about a mile, which on the shingle and carrying a baby and optics was very hard going! Reaching the edge of the Swannery I had a rest and scanned The Fleet. In the afternoon sun it really was a lovely view.
A female Marsh Harrier was gliding over the reedbed which was a pleasant surprise. Scanning over the water I picked out a couple of Scaup associating with a small flock of Tufted Ducks.

I then returned to the car, and as I did so a Fulmar drifted over my head heading towards Portland. I then spent about fifteen minutes seawatching in the hope of picking out the three Velvet Scoters that had been about for a couple of weeks (and had been reported earlier in the day off the beach). But despite all my efforts I could not locate them and a Great Crested Grebe was the only bird out on the water. It was now 3.00pm and so I had to call it a day and get Tristan back home to mummy for his afternoon feed.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 26 Feb

A usual Sunday morning visit with Tristan whilst Ellie was at church didn't really produce that much in the way of new birds at the reservoir, but some of the long-staying visitors were still about. The two Great White Egrets were again present just south of the Canoe Club. The male Reed Bunting was still singing away and about 150 Teal were counted. A Meadow Pipit flew up from in front of me as I walked along and a female Sparrowhawk drifted over.

Fifty or so Wigeon were still off the Fishing Lodge and off the picnic area car park, the four redhead Goosanders were still about.

Four more Teal were on West Pool but that pretty much summed up the birds seen today.

Chilton Moor - Wed 22 Feb

I had big plans for this afternoon and a visit to the Dorset coast with Tristan was planned, until the rain descended and as a result I took the boy up on to the Somerset Levels for a couple of hours whilst Ellie had a rest.

We drove up to Chilton Moor, just to the north of the village of Chilton Polden. I had not visited this part of the levels before, but found it easy enough by following instructions on the SOS website. I was hoping that one or more of the wintering Short-eared Owls would put in an appearance, but the drizzle did not fill me with confidence. I parked the car and got Tristan kitted up and as we were getting ready I was surprised to see a Short-eared Owl fly in and land in the small field right next to the car...result.

As the rain closed in it was pretty obvious that I was not going to see much else this afternoon, though there were several hundred Lapwings in the various fields. So we headed back towards home, making a quick stop at Greylake RSPB reserve...but saw nothing worth reporting!

Sutton Bingham - Sun 19 Feb

An early start as I had promised to let Ellie catch up on some sleep so I planned on taking Tristan down to Radipole RSPB Reserve in Weymouth for a few hours. However, no more than twenty minutes in to the journey the car in front kicked up a stone that at first chipped and then cracked my windscreen...so it was a quick turn round and a stop off at Sutton Bingham instead.

My first stop was at the south-east corner near the Life for a Life remembrance garden. A Jay flew up in to one of the trees and I could see twenty Wigeon leaving the water to graze on the grass. A brief stop near the Water Treatment Works produced just a couple of Coal Tits and a Song Thrush so I made for the northern causeway.

West Pool again held a Great White Egret but it flew off shortly after I arrived. There were at least twenty Snipe present in the rough fringes and a couple actually flew out on to the mud to feed. A female Grey Wagtail was also seen.

I then drove down to the hide and took a walk along the path back towards the Canoe Club. The Great White Egret that had flown from West Pool was now present with its mate, though both were a little flighty. Some sixty Teal were counted and a Meadow Pipit flew over calling. A male Reed Bunting was singing out his territory. We had now been out for over two hours so I decided to head back home after a somewhat curtailed trip out!

Sutton Bingham - Sat 18 Feb

A brief visit this morning as we were heading out for a big family lunch, so I only spent about an hour at the reservoir with Tristan whilst Ellie got ready to go out. There were loads of Common Gulls this morning, I counted at least seventy-three individuals, a much higher than normal number. There were also over sixty Cormorants present, including at least three of the Continental race, sinensis.

On West Pool there were four Wigeon and a further sixteen were off the Fishing Lodge. West Pool was also playing host to one of the Great White Egrets.

A quick look from the Canoe Club produced thirty-six Teal and a Great Spotted Woodpecker, and before I knew it time was up and we had to head off.

Wyke Regis - Fri 17 Feb

After a very eventful and successful morning my luck ran out this afternoon. I took Tristan down to the coast whilst Ellie had a few things to do and we drove down to Wyke Regis and took a walk out past the Bridging Camp towards Littlesea.

I was hoping to find the Hume's Warbler I had seen last year, but despite a good search I drew a blank. Furthermore I also dipped out on the long-staying Richard's Pipit...so not a good afternoon. However, I would rather dip two year ticks and get a lifer in one day than the other way round!!

I did pick up a couple of year ticks though as two pairs of Goldeneye were on the Fleet and a near summer-plumaged Mediterranean Gull flew past. A Raven flew over several times calling and as I walked back to the car I saw a female Black Redstart in the Bridging Camp complex...which would have been a year tick too if I hadn't have found a male whilst at work earlier in the week!
UK list for 2012 now at 128 species.

Rhiwderin - Fri 17 Feb

Having already booked the day off work, I took it as an omen when news broke last night of a Common Yellowthroat in Gwent. So I was up at 5.00am and on the road soon after, arriving at the site just on the outskirts of the village of Rhiwderin at 7.00am. There were already about twenty cars in the alloted field when I got there, and cars continued to arrive over the course of the morning.

For ninety minutes I waited, scouring the hedgerows and corners of the large field until the shout went up that the bird had been seen. I was at the bottom of the field and the bird was halfway up, so a sprint uphill (along with over a hundred other twitchers) followed and we then had a mass stake-out of an ivy bush. By this stage there must have been some three to four hundred birders on site, several of which I recognised and it was a pleasure bumping in to my old mate Lee Evans. This shot gives a rough idea of how many briders had made the trip, there were just as many behind me and on the other side of the hedge!

Another painful wait and the call went up again, the bird had moved even further up the hill so another mad dash, so much so I left my scope behind! But I saw the bird as it flew between clumps of vegetation. I soon saw it again and thought I had better go and retreive my scope.

Returning to the masses I then got really lucky as I managed to see this first winter male Common Yellowthroat perched in some brambles. It showed really well for about a minute before vanishing again. So with the bird seen I headed back home soon after 9.00am after a very successful morning.