Another Dorset Day! 9th October 2019

Our third visit to Dorset in just over a week but this time not to twitch anything in particular but a whole day out at Portland and Weymouth before going onwards to Cornwall tomorrow. We make an annual visit to see Cirl Buntings at Labrador Bay near Torquay on the way to Cornwall so usually take a day birding either in Dorset or Somerset and then stay within easy reach of the Cirl Buntings. 

For a change the drive down to the south coast was made in fine weather, rain free, and we made decent progress. We made our usual pit stop at the Vine Cafe at Sturminster Marshall and debated whether to go to Radipole in Weymouth first to look for Bearded Tits or go straight onto Portland. We elected for the Weymouth option, because it was closer and we were keen to get the holiday birding list rolling, and then changed our minds almost immediately since a Richard's Pipit, needed for our year list, had been seen on Portland right by the carpark at the Bill. A twitch after all. It pays to be flexible in this game! 

We were parked up less than an hour later and togged up as fast as we could. It was very breezy at Portland Bill with strong winds straight out of the south west. The Pipit had been reported as being present "in and around the Qinetiq Compound" which is right next to the carpark. Frustratingly there were no other birders around and the compound is fairly large so we wouldn't know exactly where to look. We walked around the perimeter, the installation has a high fence around it but only found Stonechats, Linnets and Meadow Pipits. Every bird was scrutinised and I re-familiarised myself with the Richard's Pipits call but there was no sign of it so it must have moved on.

male Stonechat

Because it was so breezy I decided to have a look at the sea in the hope that some seabirds would be passing close to the cliffs. In the next half hour though we only saw Gannets and Shags so assumed that the wind had to be stronger or had to be from a different compass point to be more productive. A Raven flew over calling raucously and I took that to mean, in true GoT fashion, to beat a retreat to the cafe for a coffee. Almost a month ago we had watched an extremely confiding Lapland Bunting by the cafe in what turned out to be an extremely good day. After the coffee and cake we walked eastward towards the Observatory and Huts and onward from there to a disused quarry where we'd seen Little Owls before. You can never get enough of Owls!

Raven

What a difference a month makes. On that day in September the cliff top fields were rammed full with Wheatears and Yellow Wagtails and there was a constant procession of Swallows and House Martins flying south. Today the fields were pretty much empty except for just a couple of Wheatears and although vismig was still happening there were far fewer hirundines heading out. Plenty of small flocks of Linnets and Meadow Pipits were migrating past still and some would occasionally pitch down into one of the small coves. At the Bill, stood against the strongest wind earlier, I was amazed to see Swallows and Finches flying straight out over the sea into the wind. They are certainly hardy little souls driven by that insatiable desire to head to warmer climes for the winter. Bird migration is a marvel.

Northern Wheatear

Just before the disused quarry I noticed a "white" bird sat on the grassy cliff top and on approach was surprised to see an adult Arctic Tern, presumably resting before continuing it's own migration. As everybody knows, or should know, Arctic Terns make the longest migration journeys of any creature on the planet, travelling all the way from the high Arctic to South America and even the Antarctic. Simply incredible but of course Terns are built for long flights, much more so than those small American land birds that we'll be hoping for in Cornwall in the coming week.

Arctic Tern

The Arctic Tern was disturbed by a couple walking along the path but after a brief sortie out over the sea returned to the cliff top again. It was obviously determined to retain its resting spot since when ousted once more, it again settled back into the exact same spot.

There was no sign at all of the Little Owls, maybe it was too breezy for them and they'd decided to stay put in bed. It was time to move on so we regained the car, ignoring a report that a Wryneck had been caught and ringed at the Observatory and would be released into the gardens there. I don't view the practise of capturing birds in mist nets very kindly and abhor "trophy ringing" (the apparent challenge of catching a rare bird and then showing it off in the hand via social media) so don't think it right to "tick" any birds that have been captured. In fact I'd go further and suggest that it's wrong for any birder to count any bird that is "held in the hand" because to me that is akin to counting any captive bird such as those in zoos or aviaries which of course is entirely not on.  But, before my regular reader starts yelling at me, I do understand the requirement of mist netting birds for scientific purposes particularly at migration periods, but do worry that it is only us and not the birds that benefit from it.

Anyway leaving Portland behind, probably for the last time this year, but who knows when year listing, we headed for Lodmoor, another RSPB reserve in Weymouth, where the scrapes attract waders and other birds and you can often get really close views. A Grey Phalarope had been present for a few days and even though we'd seen one just a couple of weeks ago nearby at Stanpit Marsh, they're always nice birds to see. We made for the "Gazebo" a rudimentary shelter, useful when the rain comes in which was frequent now this afternoon. Passing the scrape a Great Egret was stalking prey in the shallow water, it then obliged by flying past on its way to another part of the reserve. Great Egrets are elegant members of the Heron family and it's only ten years ago on our return home from a Cornish holiday that we saw our first one at Chard in Somerset and yet now, because we see them so often, we have become sadly so blasé about them.

Great Egret

A juvenile Herring Gull was attacking what at first looked like an egg. But eggs are not normally completely round and this object was so I think it was a small ball of some sort, maybe a fishing net float. The young Gull had managed to damage it but I'm guessing it was just a game rather than a worthwhile feeding exercise.

juvenile Herring Gull

There was no sign of the Grey Phalarope, a good job it wasn't required for the year list and vindicates the hastily made decision to go to Stanpit Marsh for the one there! We headed down to the west scrape where there were more wading birds. Last time we were here a Lesser Yellowlegs graced the reserve. It kept company at the time with a "white-headed" Ruff. The Ruff, assuming it's the same one but it certainly looked the same, was still on the scrape but the scarcer bird has been absent for a few months now.

male Ruff

Black-tailed Godwits feed in the muddy water and offer really good views. I found one having a nap and for once my subject was bathed in lovely sunshine, a commodity in poor supply this year. The Godwit, in keeping with most birds kept a watchful eye out whilst lazing the time away.

Black-tailed Godwit

Little Egrets in contrast were busily hunting the shallows. There were maybe twenty or more dotted around the scrapes and channels with a couple quite close to the path. Does anybody else other than me start singing "The Simpson's" theme tune and think of "Mr Burns" when looking at Little Egrets? Ok, just me that's a nutter then! Thought as much.

Little Egret (aka Mr Burns)

Another Black-tailed Godwit was just feet away from the path and I had to walk backwards away from it to get the bird into focus. Lodmoor is a bird photographers dream and I realise now why so many really good images are posted online by Toggers in the area. 

There was still no sign of the Phalarope, it would reappear after we left of course, so I studied the small flock of Gulls loafing on a muddy spit. At one end were Black-headed Gulls and at the other, the more prized (to an Oxfordshire birder at least) Mediterranean Gulls. There were twenty-seven Med Gulls in all trumping the number I've seen in Oxon this year by about twenty-five! One of the Med Gulls very obligingly took a short flight, unfortunately the sun had decided to do a bunk so I was caught out with my camera settings, a good pointer why professional photographers have my upmost respect!

Mediterranean Gulls (adult top three, 1st winter bottom)

We needed to get moving so reluctantly left admiring another beautiful Black-tailed Godwit on the way out.

Radipole Lake has never been kind to us and we have no luck whatsoever in getting views of Bearded Tits there despite hundreds of crippling photos of them being posted online almost every week. But Radipole is just a short drive from Lodmoor so we dropped in for an hour anyway. I saw one Beardie and that was a very fast flypast over the reeds at about fifty metres away! We'll stick to Somerset and Titchwell for good views of them. We did have the scant consolation of seeing yet more Great Egrets.

We headed off to our overnight accommodation at the hitherto excellent Mason's Arms in Branscombe. Unfortunately something appears to be amiss at the Mason's and I'd no longer recommend it to people I like.