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,

Old Moor RSPB

Yep, I went back for the little bittern. It showed so well on the Sunday that I figured it may be worth another go. I figured wrong! The bird was only seen at around 7 in the morning and not after until early evening. This was some consolation, as it means I did not miss it as I had done before. I waited 3 hours at the watchpoint before deciding enough was enough and going to look at something else. Namely this was due to the weather, which had deteriorated somewhat.

There was a bonus species however, in that an American Wigeon was also on site, so after I had given up on the bittern I went to go and have a look at that, which was on Wath Ings. Sadly it was right at the back, but no matter, as it was possibly the most awful looking bird I have ever seen. It was obviously still in eclipse somewhat and it meant it was rather drab and all its colours had merged together. It was not the most inspring bird to look at. Because of the distance I could only grab record shots of what is only my second ever of this species, but I think they say enough.

-American Wigeon

The real star and consolation of the day was a superb Green Sandpiper feeding just outside the hide. Granted the sun was not out so it was not spangling, but it was so close with pristine plumage, it looked the bomb. I digiscoped a few shots of it, and they are some of the best shots I have ever managed of this species. It really did make up for the lack of little bittern and rather uninspiring wigeon.

-Green Sandpiper

In the end I stayed until half 2 in the afternoon when I finally called it a day. I spent the rest of the time in the Wader Scrape Hide, where there were a few nice juvenile Avocets and a Common Sandpiper. A nice days birding, if not lacking a little bittern.

Species List:

Old Moor RSPB: Kingfisher, Reed Warbler, Magpie, Coot, Great-Crested Grebe, Reed Bunting, Canada Goose, Swift, Sand Martin, Black-Headed Gull, Cormorant, Mute Swan, Goldfinch, Woodpigeon, Kestrel, Mallard, Carrion Crow, Little Grebe, Bittern, Stock Dove, Grey Heron, Common Tern, Tufted Duck, Lapwing, American Wigeon, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Graylag Goose, Feral Pigeon, Gadwall, Common Teal, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Pied Wagtail, Green Sandpiper, Redshank, Jackdaw, Avocet, Wigeon, Shoveler, Starling, Common Sandpiper, Bullfinch, Collard Dove, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch,

Leighton Moss RSPB

I'm not going to lie, the terrible run of form I was on when it came to twitches was begging to get on my wires. The solution? Get twitching! I was keeping an eye on proceedings and there were a few bits around, but I eventually decided to go for a second day White-Winged Black Tern at Leighton Moss RSPB.

Obviously its not even that rare, but it was an adult and had been showing well. It being a Sunday there were public transport limitations but I worked it all out and arrived on site for half 4 with 2 and a half hours before the train back. I made haste into the visitor center for directions, and was gutted to find that the 'lower hide' the bird had been showing from was indeed the hide 2 kilometers away. To add to the experience the heavens had well and truly opened for the first time in a long time outside Preston, and as such I was getting pretty drenched having set off from glorious Halifax.

I made short work of the 1800m distance to arrive at the hide dripping wet. I could afford to waste no time in trying to find the tern for myself so asked the couple in the hide already for the gen. It was flying around even as I entered so got it in the bins and admired it, before it flew into a different section of the lake obscured by reeds...

It was very mobile for the most part, for at least an hour I only saw it on 3 occasions. On the third occasion I decided it best to grab some record shots, should it not come back again. I grabbed a couple of shots, which nicely show the black underwing contrasting the pale primaries. 

-White-Winged Black Tern

Whilst waiting for the terns intermittent appearances I kept an eye out for other goodies that were about. The other bird on my target list for the afternoon was the Great White Egret that had been around for a while. I was pleased that I picked it up resting at the back of the lake, only my second ever. It was less active than my first, but I was able to get excellent views through the scope. I did not transfer that view into good photos, as only one shot was sharp. Having said that, I did get a reasonable video, bright but reasonable, which is some compensation.

-Great White Egret

-Great White Egret

We then followed that up with a deep discussion regarding a possible scaup. It was clearly not all scaup due to a number of features but was certainly an abbarent Tufted Duck with a number of possible scaup features. Personally I did not buy into the hybrid idea and think it was probably just an odd female tuftie.

As the tern shifted in an out we had a very lovely surprise when one of the chaps in the hide picked up an Otter swimming across the lake in front of the hide. It took me a while to get onto it, but it was nice once I had. Through the scope I was able to get my best ever views of an Otter as it swam around fishing and then coming up to process its catch. Sadly it did not stay up very often, quickly going back under, and this made it very difficult to photograph, hence why my solitary shot included here is so blurred and not very good.

-Otter

It took a while but the bird did come down eventually and landed on the posts in front of the hide. That was pretty sick, and I was able to get some reasonable record shots and a short video which I am pretty pleased with. Without doubt it was a damn fine bird, and well worth the twitch effort. It stayed like that for about 20 mins before it flew off round the corner where it had been before, which I took as my cue to leave, as I would have run out of time otherwise. Such a good bird and lifer.

-White-Winged Black Tern

-White-Winged Black Tern

I then had to leave pretty quick or else miss my train. Funnily enough that's when the rain stopped, but it made for a pleasant, if midge filled, walk back. Sadly the only thing I did not get was a yeartick of marsh tit, but there was a Greater-Spotted Woodpecker on the feeders on the car park. What a splendid way to end my dipping streak

Species List:

Leighton Moss RSPB: Mallard, Cormorant, Black-Headed Gull, Tufted Duck, Little Egret, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Great White Egret, White-Winged Black Tern, Moorhen, Coot, Swift, Pochard, Mute Swan, Graylag Goose, Pied Wagtail, Great-Crested Grebe, Reed Bunting, Magpie, Pheasant, Marsh Harrier, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Collard Dove, Woodpigeon, Sparrowhawk, Great-Spotted Woodpecker, House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Rook, Carrion Crow, Grey Heron, Whimbrel, Curlew, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, 

Soil Hill

I said before I would not post individual posts for random trips to soil hill but today was a pretty sick day with 2 patch ticks and a host of other decent species to think about. I made my way around the far side near the wind turbines, with nothing major present. Next went round the top before heading down to where the Whitethroats area. I had 3 individual birds, one of which was a song flighting male.

-Whitethroat

While I was down here I sworn I heard a gropper but only twice while it was distant, and when I was closer I heard nothing. It was almost certainly a grasshopper that sounded a little funky. Also whilst here I had a patch tick of Common Blue Damselfly, and a flyby Oak Eggar moth, which was pretty sweet.

I heard a call that I knew immediately was something different, and sounded similar to the Tree Sparrows I used to hear whilst at Spurn. I looked up to see 3 small birds flying overhead. I had the camera in hand, not the bins, so grabbed some shots whilst I had the chance. I only managed one that was of any use. As soon as I returned to my bag I played both Sparrow calls on the Collins App, and it sounded only similar to what I had heard. My camera screen is broken so I had nothing really to go off and decided to look into it when I got back.

A quick look at Sparrows and the photos told me they were not Sparrows due to the forked tail. The call was nothing like any finches I am familiar with and the wing structure ruled out many other examples. Looking at the photos the wing structure ruled out many finches but by trying to draw out any features on the photos you can make out a streaky breast and apparent buffy browny underparts. With this in mind I checked out Twite on the App and the call sounded spot on for what I heard, which would explain why I did not recognise it, having not seen Twite since I started to pull my finger out with birding. These were my first Soil Hill Twite, my first in total since 2009 and my 198th species this year.

-Twite

Oblivious to the fact that a patch tick had gone overhead and still contemplating putting them out as tree sparrows I continued on my way round the hill. At the main pond, which was now well dried up, I had Large Red Damselfly which may or may not be a patch tick for me, as I can't remember seeing one up there previously, but I probably have.

-Large Red Damselfly

That was about it for the top of the hill. I made my way down the track to the 'forest'. I had intended to spend a short time there having a look for anything within, but as soon as I arrived I could hear Goldcrest calling within and so waited it out. I sadly only saw it once but it was a good view, withing the canopy of one of the trees. Undoubtedly the same bird as I saw before, almost a week ago. No doubt its been hiding within the trees this whole time.

Whilst I was there I got chatting to Bradshaw John about things that had been happening recently. As we parted about 10 mins later I happened to notice something flying slowly through the swifts over the top. I raised my bins to see that it was indeed a bird, and that it looked like a bird of prey. Since it seemed in line with the swifts and seemed only marginally bigger I assumed it was a falcon of some kind, but it was steadily flying towards me, so I kept my bins trained on it until I could make more out on it.

It came over and it appeared to be getting bigger, and that the perspective of it had been what had thrown me with the size. I thought I caught a glimpse of a fork in the tail but the angle and distance were not helping. However, the fork in the tail soon became clear, and the bird consequently revealed itself to be a Red Kite, a patch tick and one I had been pretty gripped by in recent times.

I called out so John, who had already started up to the top, could get on it. I then took a plethora of photos to confirm the sighting. Another excellent patch tick, we are on a roll on Soil Hill. 

-Red Kite

And with that, thrilled to bits with the days work, I headed back to enjoy a lovely afternoon of Wimbledon. Two patch ticks and reconnecting with the Goldcrest, as well as a host of superb insects. This is why Soil Hill is a great patch, push through the dross and it will reward you.

Species List:

Soil Hill: Blue Tit, Blackbird, Magpie, Linnet, Woodpigeon, Skylark, Carrion Crow, Meadow Pipit, Twite, Swift, Whitethroat, Goldfinch, Swallow, Goldcrest, Red Kite, Common Blue Damselfly, Large Red Damselfly, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Small Heath,

Old Moor RSPB

With the Little Bittern having been present for a couple of days, I decided to go and have a look. It was my first chance to go and see it, but the earliest I could get on site was 8.30, which makes a change from the usual early times I could manage in Sheffield.

The Little Bittern did fly 3 times while I was present, but I was in the hide and nobody in the hide picked it up, only those on the watchpoint. As a result I did not connect. I waited about 5 hours in total but no joy. Because the bird flies so quickly and then goes down, if you don't pick it up immediately then its down again and its half an hour before it appears next.

Alas, it was not my lucky day. I did yeartick Great Bittern though, which is some consolation and puts me on 198 for the year. It did a full fly over the entire reedbed before going down into the reeds where it was lost to view.

Other birds were around, but it was mainly regular species. I did pick up a Yellow Wagtail flying over the car-park as I walked in, first on call but then picked it out in the mid morning haze. Then got a lifer of sorts in the form of a Shoveler family, the chicks being my first views of young Shovelers. There was also a family of Pochard, which I have seen before but are still a novelty.

There were a few Dragonflies about; Common Darter, Black-Tailed Skimmer and Four-Spot Chaser, and a few Damselflies too; Common Blue and Blue-Tailed, plus a brief Demoiselle sp.

There were still a handful of Bee Orchids around, but they were not plentiful. They are, however, my first this year, and incredibly beautiful. They were the only thing I photographed today whilst I waited for the bus.

-Bee Orchid

A bit of a disappointing day but there were some nice things for compensation for dipping the little bittern. The nature of twitching I guess...

Species List:

Old Moor RSPB: Yellow Wagtail, Lapwing, Coot, Magpie, Jackdaw, Greenfinch, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Common Tern, Carrion Crow, Moorhen, Sedge Warbler, Oystercatcher, Cormorant, Kingfisher, Reed Bunting, Woodpigeon, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Pochard, Bittern, Little Egret, Gadwall, Mallard, Kestrel, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Canada Goose, Sand Martin, Swallow, Stock Dove,

Lake District

Since the weather was so nice as of late we decided to go into the Lake District for the day as a family. We started by going for a drink at the cafe at the Osprey Watchpoint at Bassenthwaite lake. The Osprey was very, very distant and nothing like the other views I have had this year, but it was nice to see one settled down. Also on site there was Gary the Biking Birder, who it was nice to see again after Spurn.

-Osprey

Post Osprey watching we headed onto a small village overlooking Bassenthwaite to grab a bite to eat. It sort of clouded over while we were there but was still unpleasantly hot. Here there were good numbers of Siskin flying around and calling, and a Lake District tick for me when a Red Kite came soaring over.

-Red Kite

Post lunch we headed out on a rowing boat on Derwent Water as per usual. It had really clouded over now but the wind had dropped a little making things a little easier. Out on the lake it was a case of the usual suspects still being around. Numbers of the probably feral Barnacle Goose population seemed to have dropped but it is possible they were within the trees on the islands in molt. We still saw around 10 individuals either flying around or lurking on the shoreline.

-Barnacle Goose

Also in molt were the Mergansers, or that's what I would presume since all those we saw today were brown birds, with no males seen at all. Its the first time I have taken my 500 lens to the lake district so I was able to try and take some nice photos of the Mergs. I got decent shots of one that was sat on the bank, and they were great to see as usual.

-Red Breasted Merganser

There had been a change in the dynamics of the bird fauna since last time I was here. This time there was a massive roost of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls on one of the island, and a few nests with developing chicks. I have never seen this many before and I have been here at this time of year previously, so the reason for this gathering is beyond me. There we well over 100 birds roosted on the island, whilst others we blogging about the lake. 

-Lesser Black-Backed Gulls

New to my Derwent Water list, as it were, was a Common Sandpiper that was on the shoreline of one of the islands. Its a patch tick for me, but I could not get a good photo as the boat kept rocking and the Sandpiper dipping in and out of the rocks. I did manage a solitary record shot which says more than enough.

-Common Sandpiper

After the boat ride we went for a walk around the side of the lake. It was getting dusky and the sun was now quite obscured, rain had started to fall and the Midges had come out in force. There were good numbers of commoner birds. The woodland area looked ideal habitat for lesser pecker but I saw none, only Great Spotted Woodpecker, of which there was an adult and a juvenile. The best bird of the walk was a nice Spotted Flycatcher that was in one of the more open areas of the woodland.

-Spotted Flycatcher

It was a lovely day out, only the heat was the downside but we can't complain given it will soon be back to the British summer we all know and don't love.

Species List:
Bassenthwaite Osprey Watchpoint: Osprey, Siskin, Grey Heron, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Stock Dove, Carrion Crow, Red-Breasted Merganser, Common Buzzard, Mute Swan, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Canada Goose, Graylag Goose, Mallard, Robin, Tufted Duck, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Woodpigeon,
Derwent Water: Barnacle Goose, Canada Goose, Graylag Goose, Red-Breasted Merganser, Common Sandpiper, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Oystercatcher, Black-Headed Gull, Pied Wagtail, Siskin, Woodpigeon, Great-Spotted Woodpecker, Coal Tit, Blackcap, Spotted Flycatcher, Jackdaw, Magpie, Mute Swan, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Nuthatch,