Bird Racing

5th January,
Saturday morning I was up at 0400 hours getting ready for my first ever bird race, for those not familiar with what a bird race entails. It is basically a team of birders that race a round a county ( in my case Dorset) to see and tick off as many birds we can see against a check list, all good fun. So by 0500 hours I was out with the team looking for Woodcock, Snipe and Jack Snipe some where round the harbour, but we did not find them so went went off to look for owls. While searching for Barn Owls we heard a Tawny Owl calling away, then out of the blue two Barn Owls started flying around, there white under body showing nicely in the half light.
 Then a dash to Lodmoor, but it was still a bit to dark to see anything, though we did hear Water Rail,  we decided to head off to Portland to see if the Short eared Owls and Little Owls we about but again we failed on these.Though we did get Raven, Kestrel and surprisingly there were quite a number of Pheasants about the place. While at Portland we sea watched for a bit and soon ticked off Razorbills, Guillemot and Fulmar and the usual gull species. While here I had my first sighting of Purple Sandpipers, I have been a few times to try and see them here at Portland and at Sandbanks Ferry but always failed to see them, so it was very nice to see four of them on the rocks.
It was very good day as I got to a few places that I had not be to before like Sandfort  Castle, Thorncome Woods were we saw two wonderful Firecrest, It was a tiring day though the hours went quickly and it was soon time to get to the finishing line.
At the end of the day I added a small number of birds to my Poole Harbour Bird List.
Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Grey Plover, Knot, Greenshank,Salvonian Grebe, Cattle Egret and Chiffchaff are the ones I can think of the top of my head.
The sounds coming off Brands Bay was just magical, Curlew,Greenshank Wigeon and Brent Geese calling as the light was fading.

Bar-tailed Godwit

Brent Geese

Brands Bay

Urban Birding

1st January 2019

I kicked of the year with some urban birding for my Poole Harbour Year list.

Started off at Baiter were I saw.

Sandwich Tern x 1

Great Northern Diver x 1

Goldeneye x 3

Great Crested Grebes x 4

Brent Geese

Oystercatchers

Redshanks

Dunlin

Turnstones

these were the highlights

Great Northern Diver

Great Northern Diver diving

Then I moved on to Poole Park for the Mandarin which I found on the small pond by the station and cafe.

Also here

Little Egret

Little Grebe

Tufted Duck

Greylag Geese

Drake Mandarin

I followed this up with a trip to Holes Bay/Upton CP one of the best parts of the morning with stacks of Wigeon I would of thought there was about C300

Wigeon

and C200 Dunlin and C100 Redshank and it was wonderful to watch these wheeling about over the bay, watching from the cycle path.

Also here I found 8 Avocet, Shelducks, more Oystercatchers at least four Pintail, Teal and Shoveler and by the stone bench a large group of Black-tailed Godwits and Curlew.

Sleeping Wigeon

Holes Bay looking towards the twin Sails bridge

Looking toward Poole Town

More Wigeon

The Twin Sails Bridge

I then moved on to Hatch Pond but there was not much here a part from 17 Snipe on the cut reed bed.

One of 17 Snipe

By this time the call of Longham Lakes was to great to resist and I head over to my local patch

were I saw the Great Egret still in resident on the large island along with a few Gadwall, Wigeon, Tufted Ducks and a group of 50 Pochard on South lake and a group of 30 Pochard on North Lake.

Then I found what I thought was a Red-crested Pochard by the large island in South Lake, but with only ever seeing on male Red-crested Pochard before in full male Plumage this one through me of a bit. It looked like a RC Pochard expect the breast area was not the glossy black and the back was a greyish flat brown and the flanks  a mix of greyish brown and white, like when a tufted duck is in eclipse type plumage. The head was large and orange colour with a black hind neck, the bill was a croal redish colour and the eye was red.

A 1st winter male Red-crested Pochard? Attached a couple of picture of the bird asleep.

Possible Red-crested Pochard

another of the possible Red-crested Pochard

The Eve of a New Project

I have decided to fire up my old Blog as I have planned a new project for 2019 a Poole Harbour Bird list using the the recording area as defined by the map on https://www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/interactive-map
At the same time I am going to donate 20p per bird I see to the https://www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/ for any one of there projects they will be running.
I am going to kick off the year on the 1st January with a spot of urban birding  a round Poole then if I have time I will nip over to my other patch Longham Lakes, it is going to be interesting how I am going to juggle my patch watching and my new project but I will give it ago.
If anyone reads the blog please leave some comments and encouragement to  help me keep the blog going.

The American Search

On Tuesday  12th September I had arranged to take my son to RSPB Radipole to see if we could get is first sighting of a Bearded Tit. Just before we were about to leave I received a tweet from a fellow birder Mark Andrews informing me that a Grey Phalarope was currently on Longham South Lake. This is a bird the breeds in Iceland and the high Arctic and as role reversal with female much bright coloured and after breeding leaves all the work for the male bird to incubate the eggs and rear the chick. So being a bird I had not seen before and only the 2nd since September 2009 I delayed our departure and headed of to see the bird. It was a lovely little bird though a bit distant  and being a small bird was hard to get a shot of but I managed a couple of phone scope record shots

Grey Phalarope

Grey Phalarope

After this I shot back home picked my son up and headed of to RSPB Radipole, knowing that two rare North Amercian birds were present at Lodmoor. We got to Radipole and walked round the Buddila loop and down to the north screen hoping to pick up the beardie but this was not to be. So after a spot of lunch I decided we should go to Lodmoor to see the rare waders and we might just pick up a Bearded Tit there in the reed bed. As we arrived at the parking spot a birder was just walking back to is car so I asked it the Stilt Sandpiper and Least Sandpiper were still about, but the news was good and bad as he told me the the Stilt had just flown due to being spooked by a helicopter but the Least was still about and there was some Bearded Tits in the reed bed We mad our way through the reeds and caught a glimpse of a bird flying from stem to stem. I made my way round to the shelter by the hump were there was a lot of people so not much room. We managed to squeeze in and just about see the Least Sandpiper through the scrub! We made our way back to the reed bed,but stopped by two benches and managed to get good scope views of the Least Sandpiper which I was pleased with even though it was distant. While standing here I noticed a large crowd on the other side of the reserve . We made our way quickly to the reed bed were we waited a while to see it we could get better views of a Bearded Tit, one called very loudly then flew across the path in front of us a new bird for my son. On arriving round at the other side I inquired if the Stilt sand was still about,the answer that came back was not the on I wanted "its just flown over to the west side mate" just were we had come from! Never mind I thought as it was now time to head home I could come back in the week.

Friday 15th I went down to Lodmoor in the morning hoping to catch up with the Stilt Sandpiper. But that was not to be as I was told it had just flown again! to the middle as of the reserve, like others spent the next two hours looking and hoping it would show. In the mean time I  had very nice views ( much better than Tuesdays sighting) of the Least Stint a very interesting bird it was nice to see it next to Ringed Plovers and Dunlin which looked rather big against the stint.

As the other sandpiper was  not showing I headed off to Portland were I got some nice views of my 1st Wryneck a wonderful well camouflaged bird in the grass bank to the right of the obs quarry. But no Buff Breasted Sandpiper as asking around it had not been seen since early morning. So back to Lodmoor and still no Stilt Sandpiper, apparently after 5hrs one of the birders there told me., at this point I decided to go back to Longham Lakes for the early in the morning I had a tweet to tell me a Little Stint was showing. Arrived at Longham in the late afternoon and with some luck it was  still there and with the least still fresh in my mind if was good to see the Litter Stint and compare the details. Both look different but the same if you get what I mean . The legs were strikingly different  with the least having a pale straw looking colour the the legs and the little dark/ black legs and the least having a brighter richer colour to the upper parts than the little . A White Wagtails and Yellow made for a nice distraction at Lomoor.

 

Record phonescoped shot of a Wryneck

 

Something Different

A Budding Moth-er

I have been meaning to do a blog about Something Different but never seem to have find the time before now.

Back at the earlier part of June I commented on some very nice pictures of moth on my Twitter feed and stated that moth trapping would be something I would like ago at one day as it seemed very interesting . 

 Little did I know that little sentence would lead me down in to a very absobing hobby, I started off thanks to a fellow Twitter follower and Dorset bird Mark Andrews ( Thank you Mark) you kindly lent me is Skinner Moth Trap and some small pots and a field guide. He came over one evening to show me how to set everything up and just looking through the field I was surprised how nice some of the moths looked. While sitting in the garden talk moths Mark spotted a moth on the house was under the bench , Mark quickly potted up the moth and showed me how to use the field guide and my first garden moth was a very worn and faded Green Carpet.

 

Robinson Light trap

The light that started it all

 

Faded Green Carpet

 

 

  So on the 10th June I set up the light and went to bed wondering what will be in the trap I woke up early on the Sunday excited to see what I had caught over night . There was not many which was not a bad thing for my very first go which helped as I I was not over whelmed with trying to find the IDs in the book. These were Riband Wave, Treble Brown Spot,Willow Beauty,Bee Moth and Heart and Dart.

After this I could hardly wait to set up the light again specially after reading through the field guide and looking at all the wonderful moth with in. So on the 14th June it was back out in the garden for the night and once again I had that exciting feeling of what will the night yield. 

It is amazing what I have discovered that is or could be flying round the garden on any given night.

Heart and Dart

Willow \beauty

From those first few nights I was totally hooked on moths and whated to get myself a light trap so once again I put out Tweet asking if any body would know were I could get hold of a second moth trap from as I was very interested in obtaining one. Twitter can be a wonderful place at times as it was not long before I had a reply back from  Nature Of Dorset ( Peter ) stating that he had a trap if I would like it, after a few emails late I went of to Peter's and picked up and wonderful moth trap.

Thanks to Peter I have also enjoyed many new moths in this trap. Thank you Peter, Iam  certainly enjoying the the light trap.

Since starting this wonderful hobby I have so far gained 32 new species of moth for the garden and it is truly amazing to see these moth close up some of the details and colours are just a nice and perhaps a little better than some of the butterflies.

 

So here are a few of the moth that have been in my garden.

 

Barred Straw

Buff Arches

Male Buff Ermine

Buff Tip

Elephant Hawk-Moth

Plain Golden Y

Poplar Hawk-Moth

Small Magpie

Green Pug

Sliver Y

 

 

Longham Patch 18th May 2017

While at work I was contemplating whether to go down to Portland in the evening to see if I could catch up with the Golden Oriole that was reported the day before. But news of one turning up near Corfe Castle and with the weather starting to turn for the worst, I decided not to go to Portland as I thought the bird had moved on and it was not wise to travel after work in the pouring rain just for a may be there bird.

 On the way home from work it chucked it down and I began to wonder if the weather had grounded any birds at Longham. I arrived at the lakes round about 18.00 hrs and soon found the Bonaparte's Gull on North Lake after take a few pictures and a video of the bird as it is quickly moult in to its summer black hood. I moved on up along the causeway and round South Lake hoping for some new birds but everywhere seemed very quiet and it did not bode well with the Ducks canoeist group just about to go on the water. At this point while on the west side of the lake I noticed to little ducks swim out of the reeds and to my surprise it was a wonderful pair of Garganey and male and female. For those that read my blog and do not know about these wonderful little ducks. They are roughly the  (37-41cm) same size Teal perhaps a little bigger.  They are a rare  summer migrant from sub-Sarharan Africa with less than a hundred or so pairs that arrive to breed. It was very nice to see a pair together as I have only seem males by them selves and a lone female at this little inland wet land site in May expect last year when I either missed them or which I think is most likely one never turned up.

Male Garganey

Female Garganey

Grey Wagtail

This Garganey now puts me on 95 species seen at the site and what a nice little duck one of my favourite ducks.

Longham Patch 13th May 2017

I do not now how past springs have been at Longham ,but I am  having a very good spring this year.
Last year doing the Patch Work Challenge i finished the year on 96 species, by the end of the first quarter this year (January - April ) I was on 89 species with 63 of those species found in January alone.
Though April - May top the bill with finding  a Nuthatch my first for the site, then finding a wonderful male Whinchat followed up with two lifers with the Bonaparte's Gull and Red-rumped Swallow . One stunning Dunlin in summer/breeding plumage.
Then today I find a lovely Bar-tailed Godwit, still in its winter/none breeding plumage on the large island in South Lake. My first for the site and looking through the Bird List and Past Records on Dominic's web site www.birdwords.co.uk it looks to be only the 2nd record since 1st May 2007.
I am really getting in to this patching watching now and as I sit here typing this I am wondering what if any birds I could be missing at the site,and I am missing some good birds to at my other favourite place Lytchett Fields,but I feel I am becoming part of Longham Lakes and want to be there all the time, the wife thinks I am daft and becoming obsessed but who cares birds are just wonderful and exciting . What will the Autumn passage bring?

Bar-tailed Godwit 2nd record in 10 years!