THE FLEET NEAR WYKE REGIS - FERRYBRIDGE - PORTLAND AT: BARLEYCRATES LANE - REAP LANE - THE HUMP AT AVALANCHE ROAD - PORTLAND BIRD OBSERVATORY - WEYMOUTH - HARBOUR BRIDGE LAKES - LODMOOR
WEATHER; overcast for most of the day, with short sunny spells, a cold southerly wind.
This was the first of two birding-days in Dorset with David and Sally, regular clients and friends from Cambridgeshire. They wanted to see some migrant species and also to add a few species to their impressive year list of 188!
Cirl Bunting was a high priority for them so after I collected them from their accommodation in Chickerell at 8am we set off for an area along the fleet where the buntings have been seen over the last couple of years. It was really quite chilly as we got out of the car, coats, hats and gloves were the order of the day.
We scanned horse paddocks, sheep fields and hedgerows looking for the buntings, I am not surprised that we hardly saw a bird for the first twenty minutes, the wind was keeping everything down. We found a couple of Northern Wheatears, then a pair of Stonechats, Meadow Pipits, Linnets and some common gardens birds. Just before we gave up at this site we found a male CIRL BUNTING sitting on top of a distant bush, we got it in the scope but not in 'can' as the distance was extreme! Sally and David did not want to walk all the way down the valley to get a closer look, so we left the Cirl in peace.
one of the many Northern Wheatears seen today
We then headed onto Portland, by-passing Ferrybridge and Portland Harbour, it was high tide and nothing could be seen from the road. Our first stop on Portland was the track called Barleycrates Lane, it was quite windy up there and we saw very little. A couple of Northern Wheatears was all the migrants we saw. Goldfinches, lots of House Sparrows, Starlings and Herring Gulls was all the local stuff on offer.
As we got back to the car, we got notice from the local Whats App group that a Hoopoe had been seen this morning near Chickerell where David and Sally were staying, doh! They really wanted to see this bird as it would be a lifer for them. So we drove off Portland and back to Weymouth and ended up in a small car park at a fishery, where a series of small ponds had been created just for fishing.
We walked the main track for an hour or so and did not find the Hoopoe, in fact, after talking to some of the local fishermen we found out that bird had only been seen in the evenings between 5-7pm, we were shown photographs and a video of it! We ate our picnic lunch in the car park before setting off.
We left the site and went back up to Portland! But first we stopped at Ferrybridge to scan the buoys for terns. We found six Little Terns and two Sandwich Terns, also a Cormorant and several Mediterranean Gulls in summer plumage.
two of the six Little Terns seen at Ferrybridge today
Reap Lane was our next venue on Portland, we walked the tracks around the horse paddocks and came up with 7 Northern Wheatears, a few Barn Swallows and a House Martin. We also listed Linnets, Meadow Pipits, Skylarks and Stonechats.
From the coastal path along the west cliffs we noted more Barn Swallows and a few Fulmars flying around their nesting ledges, Kestrel and Common Buzzard were added there. A brief stop at the 'Hump' in Avalanche Road produced more Chiffchaffs and nothing else.
The Bird Observatory at the Lower lighthouse near Portland Bill was our next venue. Not much had been seen at all except for a fly-through Turtle Dove and a few species flying past the Bill area over the sea. Martin the warden told us that he had caught only six birds in the Mist Nets, the lowest count ever for this time of the year and this type of weather. We saw a couple of Chiffchaffs in the bushes and a short walk to the Quarry next to the observatory produced a Little Owl, my first in the UK of the year, what a little star.
Little Owl seen in the 'Obs Quarry'
Back on the mainland we visited the Sandsfoot Castle area near Weymouth Sailing Club. We looked for Firecrest in the thick shubbery along the road leading to the Sailing Club, but all we found was Blue and Great Tits and a very confiding Robin.
We finished the day at Lodmoor, parking in Weymouth Bay Road we entered the RSPB reserve at the nothern end. It was quite calm there and in fact, we saw more birds in that last hour than we had all day. In the lea of the 'rubbish' dump hillock we watched Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Willow Warbler and we heard Reed Warbler, David saw a Cetti's Warbler. We enjoyed the many Greenfinches singing around us and dozens of Sand Martins flew about above the marshes.
Common Shelduck
Avocets
A Marsh Harrier flew over as did a Grey Heron and a Little Egret. From the west track we viewed the wader scrapes and came up with a few birds. Twenty-one Black-tailed Godwits, most of them in their beautiful summer-plumage, were joined by two Dunlin, two Avocets, two Oystercatchers and a single Common Sandpiper. Also on show were: Gadwall, Teal, Shelduck, Little and Great Egret in full summer plumage.
Great Egret in summer plumage, note the black bill, the green lores and the red legs
Black-tailed Godwit in winter garb and below a splendid summer plumage bird
Common Sandpiper, our last tick of the day.
We left around 5pm, I dropped my two friends off in Chickerell and headed off home, we are meeting up again on Wednesday for another exciting day out out in Dorset.