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 1

Having traveled down last night we were all set for the first full day out on our summer holiday in Dorset. Sadly as we had arrived overnight, moving the caravan was first on the agenda that morning so I was unable to get out. This was not an issue as the weather was a little less than I would have hoped and as such I opted to stay in bed and wait around.

I got up around half 7 and went for a walk round the caravan site checking out the toilet facilities for any good moths. As soon as I got to the first block I spotted my favourite moth, a Buff Tip, which I have only ever seen once before, which was also here. There were plenty of other goodies, but sadly some were more difficult to photograph, but I got a decent photo log of the different species seen. 

-Buff Tip

-Yellow-Tailed Moth

-Angel Shades

-Snout

Since the weather was pretty poor the family decided to go into Weymouth for a look, which meant I had a free ride to both RSPB reserves, so got dropped off a Lodmoor for a look round. I had hoped to yeartick Greenshank, probably my biggest tart yeartick, and I was very pleased that it did not take long to spot one, feeding along the edge of the lake. It was not the only wader, as there were 2 superb looking Black-Tailed Godwits. In total I had a very impressive species list from my morning there including; a Peregrine that flew through, a brief Cettis Warbler, 2 Common Sandpipers, both Common and Sandwich Terns.

-Greenshank

-Black-Tailed Godwit

 I finished up at Lodmoor and walked along the seafront into town to reach Radipole Lake. Along the seafront there was nothing besides Herring Gulls, except for a single Gannet out at sea. Radipole was much quieter than Lodmoor but that is hardly surprising. I was waiting for my family for lunch, so I only stayed at the entrance to scope the main large lake to see what there was. I picked out 5 species of gull: Greater Black-Backed, Lesser Black-Backed, Herring, Black-Headed and finally Mediterranean. There was only a single Med Gull and it was distant but it was a superb summer adult bird, looking fabulous.

-Mediterranean Gull

 After lunch I went round the reserve with my parents. My mum picked out a couple of super Scarlet Tiger moths on the floor of one of the boardwalks which I was able to get good photos of. Before they had been a little scratty but these were both in superb condition.

-Scarlet Tiger

 On the bird front there was much less than Lodmoor, but still plenty of decent birds. The number of Hirundines had picked up throughout the day and by the time we reached the far hide there were hundreds of House Martins, Swallows and Swifts. A Juvenile Long-Tailed Tit plucking feathers from a branch was novel. There were a few duck species, Tufted Ducks were in abundance as per, but also 2 Pochard which I had not seen there before and a Gadwall on the path. Finally there were a few raptors about, namely Sparrowhawk and a few Marsh Harriers, including a juvenile perched nicely on the trees behind the hide.

-Marsh Harrier

 As the afternoon drew on we decided to head off home and follow the tennis final on the radio. After dinner I decided to make my first visit to Tadnoll Heath nature reserve for a look, since it was fairly local and was able to get there easily.

I arrived on site to a Yellowhammer in full song, and though I failed to pick it up initially, I did manage to pick up 4 individuals through the 2 hours I spent on the site. There were also 2 Stonechats which were also calling, and I got the added bonus of a juvenile Green Woodpecker on the path. It was very flighty but the light was fading and so I was unable to get a photo that was any good. I did manage a record shot of the Yellowhammer though, but sadly not one of the singing males.

-Yellowhammer

 I was thinking about heading off as the evening drew on, since I was on a bike and I had no night equipment for my bike. I was walking across the main path back to my bike when I flushed 4 passerine birds. They immediately grabbed my attention as they did not call when they were flushed, nor did they call during flight.

This interested me, so I followed them to where they fell and then made my way across there. Sadly I could not pick them up in the heather and before I knew it I had flushed them again. I followed them again, but quickly realised that in the light I had no chance of picking up the features I was looking for, so I decided to try and grab some photos.

Fortunately they banked round and came close enough for a record shot attempt. I followed them 2 more times but was unable to pick them up on the ground, making my job very frustrating. More frustrating was that they did not call at all during any of their 4 flights, save once when they flew straight over my head, I heard a soft call, but it was so faint I could not really relate it to anything.

By now though I could get a grip of the jizz of the bird and as such was beginning to form an idea of what they could be. I began to think that these were probably Woodlark, as they flew similar to skylarks but looked far more compact in flight. There were a number of issues, namely the lack of calling and the fact that I was in more open heathland, but everything else seemed good.

Having got back and checked the photos, I can confirm that they are Woodlark. The only major issue is that the only clear photo I have of the birds in flight shows the lack of the white bar on the wing. However, all other features are good and with the lack of the light it is possible that it was not picked up by the camera, or that it was a young bird. Only my second self-found lifer this year. Not bad going, and the species I really wanted this holiday. Now knowing they were there I think it’s fair to say I will probably see them again at some point during my stay here. 

-Woodlark

What a way to start the holiday, with a nice lifer and a couple of yearticks, as well as a bumper crop of moths.

Species List:

Crossways Caravan Site: Robin, Magpie, Jackdaw, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Chiffchaff,

Lodmoor RSPB: Cettis Warbler, Common Tern, Greenshank, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Black-Tailed Godwit, Moorhen, Coot, Linnet, Oystercatcher, Mallard, Shelduck, Canada Goose, Grey Heron, Black-Headed Gull, Great Black-Backed Gull, Lapwing, Starling, Tufted Duck, Carrion Crow, Reed Warbler, Blackbird, Dunnock, Herring Gull, Sandwich Tern, Little Egret, Peregrine, Wren, Blackcap, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Collard Dove, Common Sandpiper, Reed Bunting, Feral Pigeon, House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Swift, Cormorant, House Martin, Swallow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Common Whitethroat, Gannet, Pied Wagtail, 

Radipole Lake RSPB: Mute Swan, Great-Crested Grebe, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Cormorant, Swallow, Coot, Moorhen, Feral Pigeon, Black-Headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Great Black-Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Swift, House Martin, Collard Dove, Canada Goose, Woodpigeon, Reed Warbler, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Long-Tailed Tit, Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Great Tit, Pochard, Gadwall, 

Tadnoll Heath: Stonechat, Coal Tit, Linnet, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Yellowhammer, Herring Gull, Blackbird, Green Woodpecker, Woodlark, Mistle Thrush,