Dorset Holiday Day 4

I allowed myself something of a lie in this morning, getting out of bed at 7.00. It is perhaps because of this that there were fewer moths again, many having already moved on. However, a few nice specimens were still around. A Buff-Tip had reappeared, but was near the roof of the building, while photographable moths included a nice Dark Arches and a male Four Spot Footman.

 -Four Spot Footman

-Dark Arches

 My family were heading into Wareham for the morning, so I decided to hitch a lift and go to one of the heathlands over that way. I eventually decided to go for Morden Bog, site of the 2014 ST Eagle. The weather was reasonably nice and so I hoped I might get decent views of Woodlark.

As soon as I was there I could tell this was a quality site. Just in from the road and there was a largish pool adjacent to the path, so I headed over that way to have a look for some dragon and damselflies. It was not particularly sunny but was pleasantly warm, so there were a few of them about. The main species present were Common Emerald, Common Blue and Small Red. The latter species is one I do not encounter very often so I was pretty pleased to see more of them. On a scarcer note I was able to add a solitary Variable Damselfly to the list.

-Emerald Damselfly

-Variable Damselfly

 On the dragonfly front there was significantly fewer individuals present but still a good number of species, overall higher than the number of damselflies. Around the pond there was the main Emperor hunting, then a number of Common Darter and Black-Tailed Skimmer along the fringes. I also had a Black Darter but only the one. Then in the wood itself I had a very distant Common Hawker

-Black Darter

 The pond also had a number of other goodies. There were a few notable butterflies around, including my first Silver-Studded Blues of the holiday, and a Grayling on the path. The weather probably played a part in the overall lack of butterfly species but there were still a few around. On the path I had a smashing Green Tiger Beetle running around, and in the pond itself I was thrilled to spot a Grass Snakes head bobbing around. I spotted it the same moment it spotted me, and it then quickly dived. I had to wait about a minute before I spotted it again but I was able to grab a few photos.

-Silver Studded Blue

-Grass Snake

 Birds were sparse around the pool but there were a few more as I moved around the heathland. I headed up towards the main pool where I was surprised to see a few birders around. I asked one about woodlark and he said that he had not seen any, and that at this time of year they were very hard to find. He did mention hobby though, which I failed to see (Probably due to the weather) and Dartford Warbler, which I did see.

-Dartford Warbler

 I had stupidly left my binoculars at home, and so was pretty much birding blind. That being said, I got a very good haul for the day. I heard multiple Crossbill flocks before I actually spotted 2 individuals flying overhead. Sadly without bins I was unable to really appreciate them, but through what photos I have you can see the bill extension. I also had multiple Stonechats, some of which were very vocal, as well as a solitary Tree Pipit. Siskins and Yellowhammers were also in abundance and were often very vocal themselves.

-Crossbill

 My favourite record from the site was one that was completely unexpected for me and a real bonus species for the holiday. As I was heading along the track I could see a depression in the vegetation which indicated a pool, which could mean dragonflies. I meandered over to have a quick check and was stopped dead in my tracks by the sight that greeted me. There, at the back of the pool, right out in the open, was a Water Rail. I could not believe what I was seeing. It had not seen me yet but was definitely on the move, so I only had a little time for photos. It moved behind a clump of vegetation and as I moved round to see it again it spotted me and bolted. So sadly I only have a couple of very poor shots, but they say more than I ever could.

-Water Rail

By one in the afternoon I decided to call it quits, largely helped by the fact that my parents were passing on their way back from Wareham, but the key factor was that I could not work around not having my bins. It was doing my head in and had put a real downer on the morning.

For the afternoon I decided to stay local. I headed to the local heath, but this time to the slightly further Winfrith Heath as opposed to my usual site of Tadnoll Heath. Winfrith was quite disappointing in all honesty, with only a handful of insects around, and most of those seemed to have a taste for my flesh. A few none savage insects included a Common Hawker hunting along the path, and a Green Tiger Beetle doing the same.

-Green Tiger Beetle

 I decided to call in at Tadnoll on the way back just to have a quick check of the corrugated iron tins for reptiles. So far it had been a pretty poor deal for reptiles but that all changed when I had a look then. I lifted up the first tin and was thrilled to see both a superb Grass Snake and a female Smooth Snake. The Grass Snake scarpered all too quickly for my liking but the Smooth Snake just sat there settled, allowing me to take plenty of photos and have a fantastic view of it. I was buzzing, and it got even better when I flipped another tin to see a male Smooth Snake under there. Sadly it too cleared off pretty quick, but I did get a couple of shots of that.

-Female Smooth Snake

-Male Smooth Snake

 Because of the success I had there, I decided to stick around and keep birding on the site. There were ample dragonflies within in the heather and plenty of butterflies on the brambles; Comma, Peacock and Red Admiral. There were also plenty of dragonflies and I was chuffed when I found a Golden-Ringed Dragonfly on the floor. I managed a few shots before it decided to move off…

-Golden Ringed Dragonfly

 Walking along the central dirt track I was given another fantastic boost for the day when I happened to flush four birds from the track. I knew exactly what these were, but when I set eyes on them on the deck for the first time I was taken aback and began to doubt myself as I could not clearly make out the features that made them Woodlark. This was probably due to the distance away that they were but fortunately, all doubts were laid to rest when they flushed again, and for the first time I heard them call. Distinct Woodlark call! That was all the proof I needed. They loitered around the path for a bit but despite seeing where they landed I could not pick them up on the deck, and my views remained only flushed views.

-Woodlark

 Now knowing they were still present I decided to put down some seed to see if I could attract them in. In the evening my parents mentioned that they wanted to have a look at the site, so put down some seed along the side of the path. Along the evening walk we flushed the four Woodlark again, but they returned to the heather and not the path, so I could not really pursue them. Still, having seen them again, I do have hope that I might see them on the deck properly at some point.

We had a look at the tins again in the evening, and were rewarded with the Grass Snake again, but once again it cleared off pretty quick. However, we had a fantastic encounter with a Slow Worm along the path. It was very docile, probably as a result of the cooler evening, but it did allow me to grab plenty of photos of it. It was lovely and bronze, the best I have ever seen. It was a lovely end to the day.

-Slow Worm

Species List:

Crossways Caravan Site: Treecreeper, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Woodpigeon, Nuthatch,

Morden Bog: Yellowhammer, Jay, Green Woodpecker, Stonechat, Robin, Woodpigeon, Greenfinch, Meadow Pipit, Reed Bunting, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Mistle Thrush, Siskin, Great-Spotted Woodpecker, Water Rail, Crossbill, Dartford Warbler, Tree Pipit, Bullfinch, Grass Snake, Common Toad, Black-Tailed Skimmer, Keeled Skimmer, Common Hawker, Emperor Dragonfly, Common Darter, Black Darter, Small Red Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Variable Damselfly, Common Emerald Damselfly, Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Small Heath, Gatekeeper, Grayling, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Marbled White, Silver Studded Blue,

Tadnoll and Winfrith Heath: Willow Warbler, Long-Tailed Tit, Magpie, Chaffinch, Yellowhammer, Grey Heron, Linnet, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Common Buzzard, Song Thrush, Great-Spotted Woodpecker, Bullfinch, Woodlark, Stonechat, Mute Swan, Green Woodpecker, Grass Snake, Smooth Snake, Slow Worm, Four-Spot Chaser, Black-Tailed Skimmer, Keeled Skimmer, Common Hawker, Golden-Ringed Dragonfly, Common Darter, Common Blue Damselfly, Common Emerald Damselfly, Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Small Heath, Gatekeeper, Grayling, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Marbled White, Silver Studded Blue, Red Admiral, Comma, Peacock, Small White, Large White,

Dorset Holiday-Day 7: Tadnoll and Winfrith Nature Reserve

Another scorching day, another trip to a heathland wildlife watching. This time I was going to Tadnoll and then Winfrith Heath nature reserves. These were quite close to the camp site, so I walked most of the way there.

When I was nearly at Tadnoll a Sika Deer wandered across the road in front of me. It seemed to be limping, and when I got a bit closer I could see that one of its back legs seemed to be twisted to the side so it stuck out perpendicular to what it should. It looked fairly horrific, but when it saw me it had the energy to run away, so it clearly did not have too many issues.

-Sika Deer

The reserve had a notice board, and on it I noticed that it said that there were ladybird spiders on the reserve. That got me interested, besides that it claimed all 6 British reptiles, dartford warblers and the rest of the regular heathland animals. As soon as I got onto the heathland I was delighted to notice that they had lain out corrugated iron sheets for the reptiles, the first site I had found where this had been done. Therefore I started to lift them up to see what was about. I had a look under the nearest one and there was nothing there.

I then had a look under another which was a bit further from the path. I lifted it up and was amazed to find underneath a lovely Smooth Snake. Britain's rarest reptile looked rather lovely, and all its scales looked clean and shiny. I took plenty of photos, but had noticed that there was some wood covering its head. This was quite annoying as you need a license to touch the snake, so removal of the stick would require some skill. I managed to get it away without touching the snake, which, once the stick was removed, sat up and began to taste the air. I don't see many snakes being from Yorkshire, and this was the first time I had ever seen a wild snake taste the air with its tongue. Follows is my log of photos from possibly the best find of the holiday.

-Smooth Snake

After a good ten mins watching the snake I decided to was probably a good time to leave it before I did something wrong. As I was putting the tin down I noticed a snake skin on top, at about the same size of the snake underneath. I was en-devour to say that this was the reason the snake seemed in such fine nick. Needless to say, I kept the skin as a little souvenir of my first ever smooth snake. 

I checked the only other tin I could find, but there was only another skin under that one. It was a much bigger skin though, I think probably grass snake, though I did not find that snake. Near to that tin there was a drying up pool surrounded by gorse, and here I got my first dragonflies of the day: Keeled Skimmers as well as Large Red Damselfly and Common Blue Damselfly.

I wandered round the rest of the reserve but the heat, well over 30 degrees, seemed to have made everything wisely take cover. Therefore I did not see much else on Tadnoll. On the bird front I spotted a Stonechat, Linnet and a hunting Kestrel, but it remained quite there too. 

I wandered down to the floodplain to make my way to Winfrith. On the floodplain I sat down to have a drink and see what there was in the river there. There were quite a few Banded Demoiselles as well as a large Golden Ringed Dragonfly. The dragonfly was not keen to land, but I managed to get a few record shots of where it was.

-Golden Ringed Dragonfly

While I was sat there I noticed a Brimstone butterfly land on the thistle next to me. I don't see many of this species, and it was a first for this holiday. 

-Brimstone

-Banded Demoiselle

After crossing the floodplain and been eaten by horseflies I made my way on to Winfrith. The reserve climbed steeply and I found a tree with a pool underneath. While I was walking up I saw that there was a small brown bird calling from the tree with the familiar song. It was a Tree Pipit, the first one I had seen this year. I was able to get quite close while it was still in its display flight, but it was not keen on me taking photos.

-Tree Pipit

In the pool I spotted that there were some newts, which were the first I have seen this holiday. I don't really know what kind they were but I think that they were Smooth Newts.

-Smooth Newts

Around the pond there were plenty of Dragon and Damselflies. The dragonflies included Black Tailed Skimmer but the main species was Broad Bodied Chaser, which chose to land right in front of me. I was able to get my best photos of this species yet. It was a lovely male and seemed not bothered by my being there.

-Broad Bodied Chaser

I made my way round Winfrith but there was not much around, probably as a result of the heat, and that's the reason that I wandered into wool for lunchtime.

After lunch I returned to Winfrith, but this time I made my entrance at the south gate which was where the proper path and gate were. There was a notice board but it was the same as the one at Tadnoll. This section of the reserve was quite boggy, so I hoped that there would be lots of Dragon and Damselflies around. 

I wandered onto the bog to see what there was, but the first thing I saw was a Lapwing. It was obviously flustered by my being there, though I was no where near its nest. There were plenty of Dragonflies; Keeled Skimmer, Black Tailed Skimmer and Broad Bodied Chaser, but here it was the damselflies that really caught my attention. I spotted another Scarce Blue Tailed Damselfly but this time I needed no book to help me identify it. This time, since I was confident of my i.d. I was able to confidently take more photos of this species...

-Scarce Blue Tailed Damselfly

I made my way down the path and saw plenty of heathland birds, not least another Dartford Warbler flyby that I could not relocate, as well as Yellowhammer. I also spotted a large orange fritilary butterfly but it would not land and I lost it without knowing what kind it was. I also spotted a Green Tiger Beetle and got to watch it savage a Wood Ant, but as before it would not let me get close to it for a photo.

I made my way back on to Tadnoll as I made my way back to the campsite. On Tadnoll there continued to be limited wildlife. I went round all the tins again but this time there was nothing. On an old wooden pillar though there was a stonechat male calling.

-Stonechat

I wandered off, back to the caravan site by the road. I was impressed by the reserves but fancied that the heat had rather killed off quite a bit of their wildlife that otherwise would have come out. The way back was not particularly exciting until I was almost back. Then I flushed a large group of Sika Deer that were feeding by the side of the road. They called with their girly screams before running back to what they thought a safe distance. 

-Sika Deer

I considered coming back to these reserves the next day, but then decided to just go somewhere else and see if I could get anything else new.