WEYMOUTH & PORTLAND (8TH APRIL) - YEO VALLEY (10TH APRIL)
Weymouth and Portland - 8th April 2025
On Tuesday 8th April I joined Birding Guru Guy on a trip to Portland to look for migrant species arriving from the south. We stopped off in Weymouth to have a look for the Subalpine Warbler (a rarity in the UK) in Southill, Weymouth. This bird had be found 3 days ago and had been showing very well. It was a beautiful, sunny morning but a cold north-easterly wind took the warmth out of the sunhine and it felt quite cold.
We dipped on the Warbler, not a sniff of it was had by several people looking, so we set off to finish our journey to Portland. It seemed that we were late for everything today, everywhere we went people were telling us that birds were moving through and that we had just missed them!
my first Green-veined White Butterfly of the day
Nevertheless, we persevered and plodded along. At Barlycrates Lane we missed a bunch of migrants and found only 1 distant female Redstart and a single Blackcap. Reap Lane was very smilar, we missed a passage of of Black Redstarts and Yellow Wagtails, but found some migrant species passing along the West Cliff. Sand Martins, House Martin and Swallows dashed by with small flocks of Linnets, Meadow Pipits and Goldfinches.
male Northern Wheatear
In the horse paddocks at Reap Lane Old Barn we saw Stonechats, Linnets, Pied Wagtails and 1 male Northern Wheatear.
We drove down to the Bird Observatory where we drank a hot drink and ate our picnic lunch. We saw Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers, Goldfinches and Linnets whilst we ate.
Reports of Ring Ouzel sightings near the 'Top Fields' got us on our feet and we spent our best hour, watching migrant species in just one or two fields up the hill from the Observatory. A first year male Ring Ouzel ws the best of the bunch but two or three male Common Redstarts came close, a single female type Black Redstart was also seen and quite a few Northern Wheatears made up for a good bit of birding!
a male Common Redstart
record shot of the Ring Ouzel, which was distant.
Skylarks in the Top Fields
We drove off Portland around 3pm and decided to stop off at Southill to kae another stab at finding the Subalpine Warbler which had been showing on and off, for most of the day. On arrival we saw sevral people watching the bird in entirely a different area that we had looked earlier today. The bird was present and showed fleetingly as it moved around in the blackthorn and bramble bushes, Guy got a good view of it and I didn't! Hey, Ho, you win some you lose some. The bird did not show agian in the next 30 minutes, so we left for home.
Yeo Valley - Thursday 10th April
A short into Yeo Valley was very pleasant this morning, fluffy white clouds drifted over but a very cold wind persisted. I heard three Chiffchaffs singing, holding terrtories along the stream over a 1/2 stretch. At least four Wrens we also holding territories and a couple of Robins did the same.
first of three Chiffchaffs singing on my patch this morning
On the stream I flushed a pair of Mandarin Ducks and whilst standing on the bank of the stream where I think the Kingfisher may be breed, a Kingfisher dashed by, it looked as though it may have perched if it had seen me first!
one of my very vocal, local Wrens
a second Chiffchaff further along the stream in Yeo Valley
Whilst watching the Long-tailed Tit nest in the brambles on the grassy bank I heard a Goldcrest singing, I thien saw a female Goldcrest sitting on a branch not far away. She was obviously listening to the song but made no move towards it! I goit off a few shots with my phone through the telescope.
Goldcrest
Other species seen during this hour-long walk included: Stock Dove, Raven, Rook, Crow, Jackdaw, Wood Pigeon, Blue, Long-tailed and Great Tits, Common Buzzard and I heard a Collared Dove but did not see it.