tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52845079321520471442024-03-13T04:52:10.525+00:00Charmouth BirdingLocal patch birding and coastal natural history around Charmouth, Dorset, UK and sightings from trips further afieldCharmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-1380179168864967222020-06-23T13:25:00.002+01:002020-06-24T17:24:37.638+01:00Nightjar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The male Nightjar has been present on the day-roost branch since before the 4th June.</div>
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We've had a lot of rain recently and as the season turns towards full summer, the lush vegetation has thickened and grown higher. It is now more impenetrable and the well-chosen roosting perch more concealed and even more difficult to find.<br />
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And a videoclip:<br />
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<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-70734926584225690502020-06-10T11:50:00.000+01:002020-06-23T12:34:25.418+01:00Thursday 4th June 2020 - A day-roosting Nightjar at Trinity Hill, Axminster, DevonTo see a <b>Nightjar </b>in daylight is unusual. Personally, I've never seen one at rest during the day. Let alone find a roosting bird myself. And so I've never had the privilege to marvel, in good light, at their intricate cryptic 'dead-branch' mottled plumage of browns, greys, black and buff-white. Until this recent encounter that is.<br />
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During a walk on Tuesday afternoon I flushed a <b>Nightjar, </b>catching no more than a glimpse of that unmistakable shape as it slipped silently away into the woodland. This morning, Thursday, I crept back to the general area for a really patient look around. Have to say that my expectation was not running that high. But, I got lucky!<br />
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"Approaching the area I cautiously inch forward taking a long time to study all the bushes through the binoculars as the sight lines change; looking through bracken and into bramble patches and bushes; carefully scanning every area of bare earth and heap of broken branches. A real challenge with "haystacks" and a "needle" coming to mind!<br />
And then ... wow, suddenly between 2 pieces of foliage, there he is (because it was male bird), no more the 20m in front of me, eyes closed, still sleeping, resting on a horizontal branch. Incredible... I nearly drop my bins! (One of my best birding moments ever without question and capturing a picture in my minds-eye which I will long remember). Slowly, very slowly I raise my camera which thankfully I always set on silent. Pressing the release twice, taking a silent burst of 2 and then a burst of 3 shots. That is it. One last look through the bins to make sure I'm not dreaming and I retreat leaving him, undisturbed ... continuing his roost".<br />
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A magical encounter lasting less than a minute.<br />
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A fantastic male (European) <b>Nightjar</b>. What a moment - to get as close as I did for a shot like this one without disturbing the camouflaged beauty. A nice find and top fieldcraft if I do say so myself!!<br />
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<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-1963198500265332442020-01-28T22:37:00.001+00:002020-06-05T21:53:11.331+01:00Siberian Chiffchaff at Kilmington WTW - 28 Jan 2020 .... and a Caspian Gull on the AxeA cold morning (6 degrees) but feeling much colder with a wicked wind chill. Between the rain and sleet showers there were abundant flying insects around and within the treatment centre. Some bushes were jumping with <b>Chiffchaffs</b> as they searched for food.<br />
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Nearly all were regular<b> Chiffchaffs</b> like this one:<br />
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I spent a good hour patiently working through the <b>Chiffs </b>and <b>Goldcrests </b>until I found this pale beauty which in the field, stood out from the crowd exhibiting enough of the classic <b>Tristis </b>features for me to be happy enough with my ID to run it by the members of the local Whatsapp group:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Siberian Chiffchaff - Tristis</b></td></tr>
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The bird was actively feeding above me in small trees and much of the time against a bright sky. Note the classic black legs and bill, which show up much better here in the photos than I noticed in the field.</div>
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Shouldn't be greedy but it would have been nice to hear it call too but it remained silent while I was there.<br />
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An enjoyable and rewarding morning. Now what shall I do in the afternoon I thought. Answer a quick snack, a hot drink and then a bit of gulling.<br />
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I drove to Coronation Corner, parked up next to the River Axe and was just about to starting eating my lunch when Gavin tapped the window and said that he'd just found a <b>Caspian Gull</b>. (I hadn't been paying attention to the Whatsapp group so having missed several Axe <b>Caspian Gulls</b> before, this was very fortunate timing). Gav wondered how I'd arrived so quickly after he'd sent his post!! Lucky timing! The day was just about to get even better.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1w Caspian Gull</td></tr>
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Most of my early birding was in an inland, land-locked county. Have to say that in common with quite few Birders I still do not find Gulls easy even though I've been trying hard to catch up. So my thanks to Gav for pointing me at my first confirmed <b>Caspian Gull </b>and for talking me through the key features. Just got to go and try to find my own <b>Casp </b>now ... with emphasis on the trying. Have to give it a go. We'll see!!<br />
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By the way, he also picked out (and got me onto) a 2w Yellow legged Gull which dropped in briefly. What a pro !Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-77750177191161683992020-01-05T21:22:00.000+00:002020-01-07T10:14:23.523+00:00Siberian Chiffchaff and Firecrest at Chideock WRC, Dorset - 5th Jan 2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Siberian Chiffchaff: </b>On 13th December I paid a visit to the Wastewater Treatment Centre at Charmouth run by Wessex Water. As I was wandering around the pretty much smell-free and birdless site (a fairly modern pumping station) I got chatting to a couple of their operatives who, when I described the filter beds at Colyford WWT suggested I might like to try my luck birding at the Chideock sewage works. They described it as having above ground level filter beds, with public access all around and screened by mature trees. Chideock is a small village about 5 miles to the east of Charmouth and I had no idea until that conversation that it had its own Water Recycling Centre. So getting directions, I thought I'd give it a go. I found the place easily enough which was set in some interesting habitat, surrounded with a mature screen of coniferous trees, brambles, hedgerows and Alder trees. My first visit gave 2 <b>Firecrests, </b>maybe<b> 15 or so Chiffchaffs, several Long tailed Tits, </b>2 or 3<b> Goldcrests </b>and also a "pale and interesting"<b> Chiffy.</b> Bingo! Staggering. An absolute birding treasure-trove hidden away, off the beaten track<b>.</b> And I don't recollect ever seeing a birding report from this location before. Posting the highlights on the local Whatsapp group I was delighted to hear later that day that Gavin @NotQuiteScilly had quickly followed up the post and had re-found the latter. Hats off to Gavin for the work he's put in, reading round the problematic subject of Fenno-scandian and Siberian <b>Chiffchaffs </b>which he's described in his various blogs over the last few weeks.</div>
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So, although "not a 'classic' <b>tristis</b>", we think the little gem that I photographed today has been around since at least 13th December 2019 (see also Gavin's blog 17th December <a href="https://notquitescilly2.blogspot.com/2019/12/more-chiffery.html">Here</a> which contains photos and a description of how the bird responded to a '<b>tristis</b>' song recording).</div>
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This morning was the first chance I've had to re-visit the location this year and I was not to be disappointed. As well as loads of <b>Chiffchaffs</b>, <b>Long-tailed tits</b> and <b>Goldcrests</b>, I also saw a <b>Firecrest</b> flitting<b> </b>about in the brambles. Best of all though, the "pale and interesting" <b>Chiffy </b>was still around. Never easy to photograph, the <b>Sibe Chiffchaff </b>was actively feeding on the plentiful supply of flying insects near the main vehicle entrance. Although very active, it did occasionally perch up for a few moments on the chain link fence, long enough for me to get these record shots:</div>
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And under the same flat lighting conditions with the same camera settings here are some additional photos of regular "collybita" <b>Chiffchaffs </b>for comparison.<br />
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I'll be visiting the site again!</div>
<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-3657188786383859972019-12-12T00:14:00.000+00:002019-12-12T00:14:22.197+00:00About Birds, Birding and Twitchers<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b>Reproduced here is my Article from the Winter 2019 edition of Shoreline Magazine (with minor edit):</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I think it was my father’s interest
in the birds on the bird table in our suburban garden that got me started - that
and this wonderful little book “The Observer’s book of Birds”. How many of you
remember it, I wonder?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I re-found my well-thumbed copy a
few months ago and was somewhat intrigued to see that my boyhood-self had been
sufficiently organised and interested to neatly underline some of the species
in that wonderful introductory guide. So maybe the need to list and record has
always been there or maybe it’s a boy thing if we are still allowed to utter
such words in today’s pc world. Fast forward to the year 2019 and because of
family and city work commitments it is only latterly that I have been in the
fortunate position to be able to pick up on my boyhood interest. And so, since
retirement I’ve replaced a desk and stuffy office in central London with the
fantastic coastal scenery and bracing, changeable weather of our local
neighbourhood. And I go out and find those birds I remember first seeing in that Observers guidebook.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When out <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Birding</b>
I travel fairly light. A pair of decent boots, Binoculars (of course), a Bridge
camera, fleece or waterproof as needed, hat - maybe a bottle of water if I’m
going to be out for a few hours. I meet a lot of people, dog walkers, hikers, villagers
and visitors alike. Most on the footpaths and cliffs are walking their dogs.
And most I would have to say are in a hurry. My pace is much slower. On one
such outing in a village, not far away, I had found a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Spotted Flycatcher</b> in a farm orchard and was concentrating so hard
on trying to get a photograph that I was oblivious to the horse and rider who
had come around the corner of the field. So intent was I looking through the
camera viewfinder, that they had both seen me long before I was aware. And the
horse was not happy at the sight of this motionless figure. The rider was
struggling to control the spooked creature. And so the friendly farmer called
out to me “Can you move a bit or do something! He needs to know you’re a human
being!” I did and the horse settled. The farmer chatted for a few minutes about
the birds she’d been seeing on her farm and then they moved on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A couple of days later, in the same village, I drove
up a lane to the vineyard, realised my mistake and was turning the car when a
different villager stopped to chat through my open window. Usual pleasantries,
“Are you lost? Can I help you? Etc.” “Eh, no, I’m just out, exploring, doing a
bit of Birding, looking for autumn migrant birds”. “Oh!” she said “you must be
the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Twitcher</b>. Pleased to meet you.
My friend said there was a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Twitcher</b>
about.” Word gets around quickly in a village!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Spotted Flycatcher</b> - photo taken August 19 at Lambert's Castle, Dorset</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So what am I? It got me thinking. Am I a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Birder</b> or a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Twitcher</b>? I’ve always thought of myself as a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Birder</b> but this exchange got me wondering. As I say I usually go
out locally and find my own birds. Readers of this blog will </span><span style="color: #222222;">probably</span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span><span style="color: #222222;">have built up a fairly accurate picture of my birding pastime. But for
those who have not (and are unfamiliar with the terms), perhaps I should try to explain the difference between the
two, if you’ll bear with me. So what is the difference? Well </span><b style="color: #222222;">Twitching</b><span style="color: #222222;"> is the pursuit of a
previously located rare bird. The term </span><b style="color: #222222;">Twitcher</b><span style="color: #222222;">,
sometimes misapplied as a synonym for </span><b style="color: #222222;">Birder</b><span style="color: #222222;">
describes those who travel long distances to see a rare bird that would then be
ticked, or counted on a list. </span><b style="color: #222222;">Birdwatching</b><span style="color: #222222;">
or </span><b style="color: #222222;">Birding</b><span style="color: #222222;"> is a form of wildlife
observation in which the observation of birds is a recreational activity or
citizen science. It can be done with the naked eye, through
binoculars/telescope (I have both), by listening for bird sounds or by watching
public webcams. It’s different to </span><b style="color: #222222;">ornithology</b><span style="color: #222222;">
which uses formal scientific methods but there’s probably a bit of an overlap
here.</span></div>
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<br />
<span style="background: white;">So we’ve already established that I recorded the
things I saw back in my youth. But do I still? And do I keep a list? To be
truthful, those lines in my bird book don’t really paint a picture of the “how
many” or the “what time of the year” or even the “where was it seen”. So as a
snapshot of how our wildlife was doing at that time, it’s not much use as a
historical record.</span><br />
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<span style="background: white;">Well I do now have a birding diary notebook. To
be honest until recently I’ve been a bit of a casual <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">lister</b>. But spurred on by a good friend of mine (who is somewhat
more organised than I) who sent me the complete list of the birds likely to be
sighted in the UK, I have paid a bit more attention to the what, the where and
the when. And so for what it’s worth here’s what I found out.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">In the UK the total number of bird species is in
the region of 650. Not that many really! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> How's the 2019 Year list going? Well, o</span>f those 650, I’ve seen less than a
third this year; 205 to be exact, mainly in Dorset but also with a few trips out of county to Devon, Somerset, Cornwall and Sussex. And I’ve had to work pretty hard to ‘achieve’ that
‘score’ this year.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Since I've been birding our immediate local area or “patch” I’ve
managed to record 155 different species of birds – my patch list.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
<span style="background: white;">Incidentally, the corresponding totals for
dragonflies in UK are even fewer at 56 and for butterflies 60. But I don’t
systematically record my sightings so I don’t have my personal numbers for 2019
and the patch. Which perhaps should be a challenge for me in the future?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222;">So am I a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Twitcher</b> then as the lady asked? Well No and Yes! She seemed pretty
reassured that I was ONLY a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Twitcher</b>
mooching about the local highways, byways and footpaths pursuing their hobby. And
from her viewpoint I gathered that she seemed to have a fairly tolerant and positive
attitude to the hobby. But in the strict sense, as I don’t drop everything to
zoom off to the other end of the country to see some stranded rare feathered
waif, I can’t really claim to be a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Twitcher</b>
in the true sense of the word. So I think it’s a no. But just to confuse the
reader even more, I have been known (on occasions) to jump in the car and drive
3hrs down the A30 road towards Land’s End to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">twitch</b> an American vagrant bird or 2 (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Grey Catbird and White rumped Sandpiper</b>). So it’s a definite No …. and
Yes!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Autumn Local Patch Sightings<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222;">What birds have I found on the
local patch and what should the reader be looking out for in the coming winter
months. Well I can report that October 2019 has been a fantastic month bird-wise
with some terrific sightings in the village as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">21</span><sup style="text-align: start;">st</sup><span style="text-align: start;"> October - </span><span style="text-align: start;"><b>Scandinavian Rock Pipit</b> (Ring Number A94), feeding well on Charmouth Beach, 21/10/19, ringed in Norway</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222;">A really quick response from the Sunnmore Ringing Group in Norway. A94 is a female <b>Rock Pipit</b>, ringed on 18.07.2016 at Maletangen, Norway and found at Charmouth 1484km SSW, 3 yrs 2mths old. A great patch record of the sub species!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">25</span><sup style="text-align: start;">th</sup><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> October - </span><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">2 <b>Turnstones</b>, sheltering from an Autumn storm, Charmouth Beach, 25/10/2019</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">26</span><sup style="text-align: start;">th</sup><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> October - <b>Grey Phalarope</b>, River Char at Footbridge. Brilliant views and a fantastic record for Charmouth!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OIr65_oPBqs/XfFuxoPtVlI/AAAAAAAABgQ/YD_Sg_RxShESzHecaCzmnmxTb5leFQDGwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DSCN4056%2B%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OIr65_oPBqs/XfFuxoPtVlI/AAAAAAAABgQ/YD_Sg_RxShESzHecaCzmnmxTb5leFQDGwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSCN4056%2B%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">31</span><sup style="text-align: start;">st</sup><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> October - 1 of a record 6 <b>Black Redstarts</b> fly-catching around Beach Huts Green above West Beach, Charmouth. Brilliant to watch.</span></td></tr>
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<o:p> And to round off an interesting couple of weeks on patch:<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lVrYyFQGlaE/XfF2FKVZ7NI/AAAAAAAABg8/MM3OgPE4INEP4J7qzP8TAdpV1-_oMTd4ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DSCN4132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lVrYyFQGlaE/XfF2FKVZ7NI/AAAAAAAABg8/MM3OgPE4INEP4J7qzP8TAdpV1-_oMTd4ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSCN4132.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2nd Nov 2019 - always expect the unexpected? A female <b>Common Scoter </b>in a puddle in Charmouth Beach Car park; exhausted by the violent storm she was taken into care for a few hours and released later that day</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p><span style="background: white;"><b>Common </b></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-weight: bold;">Birds to look out for on patch over winter months</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Garden and woods: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Siskins</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Redpolls</b>, <b>Goldcrests</b>, overwintering <b>Blackcaps</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Bramblings</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Chaffinches</b> and also winter Thrushes, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Redwings</b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Fieldfares</b> will come into the garden to feed on any left-over
windfall apples or berries they can find. Foreshore and Beach Huts Green: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Rock Pipits</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Black Redstarts</b>. On the sea and beaches, look out for <b>rare Gulls</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Turnstones</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Purple Sandpipers</b>, <b>Ringed Plover</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Oyster
Catchers</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Dunlin</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Brent Geese</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Gannets</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Auks, Ducks (Mallard,
Eider, Scoter) </b>and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Divers</b>. Overhead: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Buzzards</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Kestrel</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ravens, </b>possible <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Marsh </b>or<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Hen Harrier. </b>Fields and Cliffs<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">: Cattle Egrets, Stonechat, Meadow Pipits, Linnets</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">POST SCRIPT<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222;">But what struck me recently is that
although I’m switched on to birding there’s so much more out there in the
natural realm. I see such a diversity of nature; land and sea birds, mammals,
reptiles, butterflies, moths, insects, bees, dragonflies, sea creatures, and
fish. It’s all still there. On our doorstep. You just have to go out and look.
Sad to say not in the numbers I remember as that boy growing up in the 50’s and
60’s but it <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">IS</b> still out there. When
was the last time you saw a flock of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Yellowhammers</b>,
or had a good view of a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hare</b> or a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Blue butterfly</b>? We need to cherish what
we have. Wouldn’t it be great if we could have an area set aside for wildlife,
flowers, trees and fungi? A small wildlife sanctuary area would build on what
we have already in our beautiful village of Charmouth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-70828416566287431512019-07-17T00:32:00.002+01:002019-07-24T10:46:55.822+01:00<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Spring 2019 - Patch Roundup</b><br />
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I recently tweeted "What a poor spring migration that was! I hear you say ..." And it generated a few really interesting comments, with a general feeling that Willow Warblers in particular were poorly represented here. Thanks again for those comments which were and are really appreciated. Here are some more thoughts.<br />
I love the sights and sounds of Spring migration on the
Lyme Bay coast. So was it a "good" spring passage? Was it above or below average? My gut feel was that it was a bit slow (in quantity) for the common passage migrants on the land but thanks to some nice sightings on the coast during the latter half of May the passage of waders in particular was pretty good. Anyway, here's a roundup of some of my Spring birding highlights on the
local patch.</div>
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2 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Whimbrel</b> visited the outflow to the river on the morning of 6<sup>th</sup> May. They
didn’t stay long but left flying high over the beach car park heading north
over the village whistling goodbye with their distinctive call of 6 or 7 flutey
notes. “7 Whistlers - nice”.<br />
4 more <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Whimbrel</b>
touched down at low tide on the 9<sup>th</sup>.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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2 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Turnstones</b> and
a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ringed Plover</b> were seen on the beach on 14<sup>th</sup> May.<br />
There was another (or the same) <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ringed Plover</b> present for 4 days from 17
- 20<sup>th</sup> May. Favouring the area of beach around the high tide mark in
front of the blue beach huts it spent a lot of time feeding with 30 or 40 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Pied Wagtails</b>. The photo below shows
this lovely little bird.<span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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When this individual
was stationary it would “disappear” into its stony surroundings, presumably a
very successful survival technique! Feeding on sand hoppers and flies in its
deliberate way, it seemed relatively unconcerned by the proximity of the busy
car park only 30 or so metres distant and with all the consequent bustle and
activity. It was great to observe this confiding bird at such close quarters. Although
strikingly marked (see photo), the banded plumage to its head and neck helped it to blend in surprisingly well with the shingle and rounded pebbles
on our stoney beach. And it was only when it moved that it became more visible. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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2 days later on 22<sup>nd</sup> May, I recorded my highest
count to date of another lovely small wader when 17 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sanderling</b> paid a visit to the west beach. Smaller flocks were
present in the following few days with 14 on 24<sup>th</sup>, 7 on 25<sup>th</sup>
and 10 on 31<sup>st</sup> – a really good spring passage for this bird species.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very different to the <b>Plover's </b>more measured, deliberate feeding method, it was g<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">reat to watch the <b>Sanderling's</b></span><b> </b>all action approach to feeding, rushing to and fro, running
backwards and forwards over the wet sand and seaweed to
peck at tiny food morsels. Most of these small flocks of <b>Sanderling </b>were very flighty,
frequently taking fright to fly out over the waves, before returning as a group
to a quieter area of the beach. One group however were very confiding and approached
fairly close to where I was sitting quietly on the beach.</div>
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I was quite pleased
with how this photo turned out. It shows a beautiful adult <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sanderling</b> coming into full summer breeding plumage complete with lovely red eye-patch (thanks Steve @axebirder for those words!). Plumage variations were amazing in this flock, some clearly with moult much less advanced and still winter birds.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Just along the coast at Lyme Regis the regular flock of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Purple Sandpipers</b> and the immature male
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Eider Duck</b> which have been around
for most of the winter months were still showing until late May. The former are interesting local specialities and the latter a good and unusual record for here.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Away from the coast, I found a <b>Garden Warbler</b> on 6th May and 2 male <b>Common Redstarts</b> on Stonebarrow Hill on 8th May.<br />
A <b>Hobby</b> flew by nearby Chideock on 7th.<br />
2 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Nightjars</b>
were seen and heard “churring” at Trinity Hill on 13<sup>th</sup> May - quite an early date for here I think.<br />
Although I saw my first <b>Swift </b>on 7th May it wasn't until 14th May that I was delighted to get a report that they had returned to their regular
nesting site in a house on the west side of Charmouth village.<br />
The first <b>Common Whitethroat</b> appeared on Stonebarrow bang on cue on 18th May. </div>
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So there’s been some decent activity in our local area
this spring. Although with good weather and clear skies during peak migration time the numbers of migrants grounded here on the headlands, hills and farms were low. Probably good news for the birds!<br />
<br />
But what, for me, was <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the</b>
highlight? There have been quite a few! Maybe it was the first <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wheatear</b> arriving in/off the sea and
landing on a rock next to me on the beach. Or maybe, after the long winter months,
it was seeing the first <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Swallow</b> hawking
for insects around some farm buildings? Or maybe that moment in early May, as
dusk settles, hearing the eerie “churring” of the first returning <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Nightjar</b>? All these are great moments and encapsulate what spring birding can be about.<o:p></o:p><br />
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But there was one other highlight for me this Spring. My
best birding moment of Spring 2019 came unexpectedly on the 16<sup>th</sup> May
when I witnessed part of a strong passage of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Pomarine Skuas</b> here in Charmouth. Talk to most birders and they
will say that yes, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Skuas</b> are
very special birds indeed. And <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Pom Skuas</b>
although regularly seen on passage are rare birds and the views are generally fairly fleeting (and often distant) making them extra special. They are hunters and
predators wintering off the coast of W. Africa and breeding on the arctic
tundra. In spring, like so many birds, they are compelled to track northwards.
Earlier in the season I’d been fortunate to see a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Great Skua</b> and a few <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Arctic
Skuas</b> flying past Portland Bill, Dorset. But on 16<sup>th</sup> the reports
I was getting on the birding grapevine had added spice! That day there had been
sightings of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Skuas</b> all along the Sussex
and Kent coast of the English Channel. From Selsey to Dungeness reports were
coming in to say that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Pomarine Skuas</b>
were also on the move, travelling in small flocks of up to 9 or 10 individuals. The only trouble was that all the reports earlier that day would, as one would expect, confirm that these <b>Poms </b>to the east of me were travelling EAST and away from me! Still, they were definitely on the move. Perhaps I could find my own? So here in Dorset, despite being many miles to the west of these earlier
sightings I thought I would have a go at seawatching and so that evening I took up
station at the seafront on the bench down by the Coastwatch Lookout.<br />
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Despite these
encouraging reports, I settled without much expectation into my evening
seawatch, binoculars and telescope at the ready. After all, this is not Dungeness or the
Hebrides, this is a quiet corner of the English Channel tucked away at the
top of Lyme Bay. Have to say it was a bit slow in the first hour with only a
few <b>gulls</b>, 1 or 2 <b>Cormorants </b>and 22 distant <b>Manx Shearwaters</b> to show for my
efforts. Still it was a pleasant evening. And recalling the last flock of Poms I played my part in finding at Seaton (account <a href="http://stevesbirdingblog.blogspot.com/2017/05/pom-porn.html">here</a>), why not give it another hour or so?<o:p></o:p><br />
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And my intuition and persistence was rewarded when at 18.05
checking a group of gulls flying midway between Charmouth and Lyme Regis suddenly
there they were, 4 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Pomarine Skuas</b>
complete with long tail “spoons”.</div>
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Unmistakable! Superstar birds on their way from the southern
Atlantic Ocean and flying in a small flock up passed our little village of Charmouth. A quick check
with the telescope and binoculars but faffing about with the bins and camera I managed to lose them! Still shaking, I got the word out on the phone to the immediate local birders and posted the news on Twitter. Shame, but they were gone all too quickly. Don't think they came past me heading east. No one, to my knowledge, picked this group up to the west of me either. So did they go up over Black Ven, over Lyme Regis Golf Club and overland? I really can't say. But it would be really interesting to hear from anybody in the birding world who has sightings of overland passage of <b>Poms</b>?<br />
Anyway, that was it,
a few fleeting seconds to admire their powerful and graceful beauty. These are
rare migratory birds and as luck would have it, I was in the right place at the
right time to experience this very special moment. And hopefully next
year I’ll be lucky enough to see some (even 1 would do) again, however fleetingly. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brilliant birds, showing that migratory drive,
pushing them close by and flying past our village on their way to breed and
complete the circle of renewal. Spring migration! Can’t wait for the Autumn but
first the long summer months.<br />
<br />
So to return to my original question, I think Joe S @Joe_stockwell put it nicely when he commented in response to my original tweet " ... coastal patching is a terrible gauge of what's really going on, you'll get a run of good weather and a huge number of birds will overfly the coast and end up on territory ... Good springs for us <i>(ie coastal patchers)</i> aren't necessarily good for birds .." Wouldn't disagree with that, Joe!<br />
<br />
< The core of this blog appears in the Summer edition of Charmouth's Shoreline magazine ></div>
<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-90529540835218423012018-05-22T21:52:00.003+01:002018-05-23T09:55:29.898+01:00Turtle Doves at Martin Down NNR, - 22 May 2018I haven't seen a <b>Turtle Dove</b> since Autumn 2016. That was a passage bird which stopped to refuel at Bridge Marsh in Seaton; a bird found by Tim Wright. It is well documented that numbers of this delightful summer visitor to the UK have crashed. I'm not aware of any breeding sites near Charmouth and once again this Spring, I failed to see a migrant bird hence the trip to Martin Down NNR, near Blandford Forum.<br />
<br />
Although one of the largest areas of chalk grassland in the country, Martin Down represent a small remnant of the downland which once covered the geological Cretaceous Chalk.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xhq0_LywNSg/WwR8tmJ_YYI/AAAAAAAABV0/VBKb3bwlS5sQSFKdBx28cMsK3zVlPBASgCLcBGAs/s1600/DSCN8047%2B%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xhq0_LywNSg/WwR8tmJ_YYI/AAAAAAAABV0/VBKb3bwlS5sQSFKdBx28cMsK3zVlPBASgCLcBGAs/s320/DSCN8047%2B%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chalk Grassland unploughed for centuries ...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Exr0Keso-B0/WwR8rrGqbOI/AAAAAAAABVw/uGVkilW_o84qa2sEhjW5-w7X254_0cM3gCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_4223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Exr0Keso-B0/WwR8rrGqbOI/AAAAAAAABVw/uGVkilW_o84qa2sEhjW5-w7X254_0cM3gCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_4223.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...support a huge variety of downland flowers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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This was my first visit to the site and the birding day list as well as the 2 (possibly 3) <b>Turtle Doves</b> included tens of <b>Skylarks</b>, <b>Cuckoo </b>(first of the year), <b>Red Kite</b>, <b>Buzzard</b>, <b>Raven</b>, <b>Whitethroat</b>, <b>Blackcap </b>and<b> Linnet.</b> Sadly in the time we had available on the day, we didn't manage to find <b>Corn Bunting or Grey Partridge, </b>both of which had been reported this morning<b>. </b>The<b> Turtle Doves</b> were easy to locate with their iconic purring call carrying considerable distance. They were seen mainly perched conspicuously. They were seen to the take to the wing to give their display flight over their chosen territory.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iconic Turtle Dove</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Purring and displaying Turtle Doves</td></tr>
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The weather was sunny and dry, temperature +20 degrees, with a thin high cloud and a light Northerly breeze.<br />
Butterflies on the wing:<br />
<b>Gizzled and Dingy Skipper, Brimstone, Burnet Moth, Small Blue, either Chalkhill Blue or Small Heath</b>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grizzled Skipper</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small Blue - they really are this tiny!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terrible photo of either a Small Heath</td></tr>
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<b><br /></b>Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-78045467559287473102018-05-21T16:13:00.002+01:002018-05-21T17:27:18.916+01:00Cirl Bunting - Dawlish Warren - 18 May 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Situated so close to Labrador Bay, RSPB and a stronghold of <b>Cirl Buntings</b>, I suppose I shouldn't have been so surprised when this popped up onto a dead branch as I was walking around the Warren. Good but distant views of <b>Cirl Buntings</b> at Dawlish Warren, Devon. Love to find one of these near Charmouth!</div>
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<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-58602214515791094482018-05-21T15:56:00.000+01:002018-05-21T17:22:31.047+01:00Red Spotted Bluethroat - Lodmoor, Weymouth - 14th May 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A planned trip to Weymouth and Portland was given an extra bit of spice when news broke early that a <b>Red Spotted Bluethroat</b> had been found at Lodmoor RSPB Reserve. On arrival we heard that the bird had been flushed earlier by some joggers and was now proving very illusive, to say the least! So, so fortunate that a few minutes after arriving a voice was heard from the far side of the bush saying in an excited tone "I've got it here!" And there was a superb male <b>Red Spotted Bluethroat</b> giving crippling views (albeit brief) in full sunshine, perched lowdown on some brambles. He stayed for no more than a few seconds, flew up to the top of the bush, and always with his back to us, gave a quick burst of song before promptly disappearing for most of the remainder of the morning. Here's a couple of shots I managed to grab on what turned out to be a very lucky twitch.</div>
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<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-38397177759145721412018-05-02T18:12:00.000+01:002018-05-02T18:12:09.912+01:00Bonxie - 1st May 2018, Portland Bill, Dorset<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A couple of photos of the Bonxie which powered round Portland Bill around 10.25 on 1st May heading up channel. I think that's a Herring Gull in hot pursuit.</div>
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<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-47507827258837114352018-04-30T18:35:00.000+01:002018-05-02T18:05:14.989+01:00Golden Oriole (female type) - 30 Apr 2018 - Portland, DorsetEarly reports that the <b>Golden Orioles</b> had remained on the island overnight prompted a little trip over to Portland with Justin T @Woodworser<br />
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We arrived around Midday and after making enquiries at Portland Bird Observatory (PBO) headed in the direction of the Top Fields to be told that the bird (a Bird, possibly the male) had been seen heading away from the Observers. Pausing briefly to take in a gorgeous male <b>Common Redstart</b> we wandered over in the direction of Sweet Hill. No G<b>olden Oriole</b> but quite a few <b>Common Whitethroat</b> were evident in the hedgerows. A beautiful male <b>Greenfinch </b>flew through against the cold northerly wind and one or two Swallows were also heading north. We returned to the Barn area of Top Fields, which we decided afforded our best shot at connecting with the <b>Golden Oriole</b>.<br />
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While we waited the male and also now 2 female <b>Common Redstart</b> were feeding in the adjacent paddock areas, giving fantastic prolonged views. We didn't have too long to wait and after a couple of false alarms, at 1pm, a beautiful female type <b>Golden Oriole</b> flew along the hedge, affording great flight views. Flying across the next field it perched up about 100 metres away for a few minutes in good light. Thanks to the original finders and the usual great location information from PBO! A fantastic bird and the second I have now seen on Portland - the first being a (sub-adult male I think) bird-in-the-hand last year on 18/05/17. I'm sure others will have fantastic photos which will emerge over the next few days but anyway, here's a few snaps I managed to get which will help me to remember this successful mini-twitch. (Wouldn't want to be greedy but what a pity we dipped the male bird! (see below))<br />
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<u>Post Script</u> - Returning to Portland on 1st May, I struck very lucky on my second visit. A couple of minutes after I arrived in Top Fields with the female type <b>Golden Oriole</b> showing really well on the top of a hedge, the male bird flew in, along the hedge giving brief but scintillating views and then the pair of them promptly disappeared out of sight. "Stunning" is a much overused word but the male really is a STUNNER! And all the more so for seeing it set against grey Portland Stone as a passage bird. A great couple of days spring birding.Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-70833314197406085652018-04-24T17:55:00.001+01:002018-04-24T18:48:06.668+01:00Ravens - Chardown and Stonebarrow Hill.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Ravens </b>- there's a lot in the press about <b>Ravens </b>at the moment. This is a short piece in support of our largest passerine.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Raven on a Coastal Cliff ...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">... Inhabiting Remote hilltops ...</td></tr>
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Walking on my local patch, a loud and echoing call rings out above me, drawing my attention to one of the resident <b>Ravens</b>. The call is described in the guides variously as Korrp! Korrp! or Prruk-Prruk-Prruk. What I hear is Gronnk!-Gronnk!-Gronnk! But anyway its an unmistakable call and I "always" stop, look, and marvel as one of these magnificent bird sails past. Its a fairly familiar sight around the rocky hills and cliffs near Charmouth and around Lyme bay and Portland.</div>
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In flight (see photos above), it's often difficult to judge just how big this monumental bird really is.<span style="text-align: center;"> Seen on the ground though and it's a different matter. Once, very early one morning, </span><span style="text-align: center;">I was very fortunate to catch this early morning opportunist raiding the Charmouth car park bins. <b>Ravens </b>are huge birds!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A wonderful Raven - in its more usual clifftop surroundings</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><b>Ravens </b>really are impressive birds, particularly if they show their shaggy throat feathering as these birds are doing:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glossy all black, almost oily back feathers </td></tr>
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For me, it's a privilege to have these impressive birds on my doorstep.</div>
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Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-87490825972011235332018-04-16T22:51:00.001+01:002018-04-16T22:51:10.176+01:00Red Kite, Stonebarrow/Chardown Hill, Dorset - 16th Apr 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A rather disappointing day in the field was lifted by the appearance of this superb <b>Red Kite</b> late in the afternoon. Not a regular bird here so it was nice to see and quite a bonus on a quiet day. On the migrant front there were only a few <b>Chiffchaffs</b> and <b>Linnets </b>passing through early on. A single <b>Wheatear </b>was found on the horse field this morning.</div>
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Birds seen today on Stonebarrow and Chardown Hills, Dorset:<br />
<b>Red Kite, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Wheatear, Meadow Pipit, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Robin, Mistle Thrush, Buzzard, Raven, Linnet, Green Woodpecker, Jackdaw, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Yellowhammer, House Martin, Swallow, Wren, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Pied Wagtail, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk.</b><br />
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<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-45536968094487015092018-04-12T14:14:00.001+01:002018-04-12T14:28:17.764+01:00Ring Ouzel - Portland Bill, Dorset - 12th April 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A beautiful male spring <b>Ring Ouzel</b> appeared in the Crown Estate Fields opposite Portland Bird Observatory early this morning. Picking it up as it flew from the north west corner along the fence line I had good 'scope views as it began to feed at distance. Unfortunately it quickly moved out of view behind some bushes. Walking round to the east side with sun behind me I got stunning 'scope views from near the Privet Hedge with the bird feeding at a distance of 200 metres or so. The bird was well marked showing the typical pale (almost white) half moon to breast, pale scaling to sides and distinct pale edges to its wing feathers. A handsome bird.</div>
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<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-43628458583951088992018-03-30T20:20:00.001+01:002018-03-30T20:30:27.833+01:00Glaucous Gull - River Axe at Coronation Corner 30th March 2018A very wet day today was brightened for me when I heard at 15:44 via Ian Mc. that he had found yet another "white winger" Gull on the River Axe at Coronation Corner - a <b>Glaucous Gull</b>. This was too good to miss and if I could get there before it departed would be my 2nd local <b>Glaucous </b>of the winter. My first was the bird I self-found at Lyme Regis on 6th February. Jumping into the car I made the journey from Charmouth to Axmouth within 25 minutes and on arrival saw a single bedraggled figure huddled in the downpour on the viewing platform (local birder Tim White!).<br />
Scanning the river, I quickly picked out the bird settled with some other large gulls between Coronation Corner and Tower hide on the east bank. And what a superb bird! I managed a couple of quick photos with the P900 in pouring rain before retreating to the shelter of the car. And at 16:40 it was away. It was huge and in flight looked even bigger than when it was settled on the river. I followed it in the binoculars until it was out of sight as it flew up and over towards Tower hide and then to the north and west. Wonderful. Thanks again to the finder.<br />
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<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-35252685864737666592018-03-30T19:39:00.000+01:002018-03-30T19:39:16.929+01:00Mediterranean Gull, Lyme Regis, 6th March, 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
2 <b>Mediterranean Gulls</b> were off the Cobb this morning, this distant possibly 2nd winter bird:</div>
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The second bird was an adult <b>Mediterranean Gull</b> coming in to full Summer plumage:</div>
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<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-63629774124444945322018-03-05T15:18:00.003+00:002018-03-06T18:36:10.607+00:00Little Gulls, Cobb, Lyme Regis, 5th and 6th March 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On the 5th, a 1st winter <b>Little Gull</b> was feeding with <b>Black-headed Gulls</b> off the Cobb, Lyme Regis:</div>
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The <b>Little Gull</b> is roughly 2/3rds the size of a <b>Black-headed Gull</b>:</div>
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Here's a flight shot showing dark patterning to upperwing and tail bar:<br />
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Here are some more photos taken on 6th March when 2 birds were showing really well.<br />
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...and lastly a "Little" video clip taken 6th March:<br />
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<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-25766209922532103912018-02-27T20:56:00.000+00:002018-02-27T20:56:16.038+00:00Bonaparte's Gull - Teignmouth, 27th February 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Continuing with the Gull theme - here are a few pics of the <b>Bonaparte's Gull</b> seen today at Teignmouth, Devon. A beautiful adult winter bird, slightly smaller than the accompanying <b>Black-headed Gulls</b>, paler under the wing making it seem sharper and brighter and surprisingly easier to pick out "in the field" than I was expecting from the written description. A rare vagrant from North America. Be very nice if one of these turned up locally at Monmouth Beach, Lyme Regis. Very Smart.</div>
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<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-41335496823997052912018-02-26T23:10:00.000+00:002018-02-27T20:30:56.275+00:00Ross's Gull - Radipole, Weymouth, 26th February 2018For the last few days an adult <b>Ross's Gull</b> has been seen visiting both Radipole and Lodmoor nature reserves in Weymouth, Dorset. Today was my first opportunity to drive over to see whether I could hook up with this stunning small gull - a rare visitor from Eastern Siberia and Arctic North America.<br />
The "Beast from the East" has begun to affect eastern areas of the country and the first few snow showers were arriving in East Anglia, London and the South East of England. Temperatures in Dorset were once again at or slightly below zero minus a few degrees of windchill. A leisurely drive along the coast road with Justin T started well as a flock of <b>Plover </b>overflew the car. But unfortunately we only had a brief glimpse and we couldn't say with certainty whether they were <b>Lapwing</b> or G<b>olden Plover</b>.<br />
Making a brief stopover at Abbotsbury Swannery we scoped the Fleet hoping to pick out a distant <b>Scaup</b>. We dipped <b>Scaup </b>however but the overflying <b>Red Kite</b> (heading West) as we arrived more than made up for this. And suddenly and even better about 12 <b>Golden Plover</b> flew over the road from the direction of the Swannery and landed in a nearby field along with c100 <b>Lapwing</b>, c50 mixed flock of C<b>orvids </b>(mainly <b>Rooks </b>and <b>Crows</b>) and c50 <b>Starlings</b>. A fantastic start on a freezing cold day.<br />
Fast forward to RSPB Radipole, we chatted with some of the many patient observers and it was soon confirmed that the <b>Ross's Gull</b> had been briefly seen early that morning at Lodmoor (good news!) and had departed high westwards before 8am but had not been seen at Radipole (not so good news!). At our 2nd Radipole visit we determined to sit it out, fairly confident that the bird was still in the area and that there was every chance that it might return at some point in the afternoon. But you never know! Luckily and after a tense wait, we were not to be disappointed. And at around 2:45 a shout went up - to those (me included) on the small bridge by the visitors Centre unsighted as we were by tall reeds - that the bird had just dropped onto the water a few hundred yards to the north. A quick dash and I got the scope onto a beautiful, dainty <b>Ross's Gull</b> having a wash with some <b>Black-headed Gull</b>s and near a <b>Teal</b>. And a couple of minutes later it was all over. My photos are not great as the bird was distant and it only stayed for a few minutes before flying off over the eastern reedbed. But they are a record for me that give an indication of the general structure and appearance of this superb little gull and show the comparison in size with the nearby <b>Black-headed Gulls</b> and <b>Teal</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Size comparison with Black-headed Gull</td></tr>
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I didn't manage a flight shot of its diagnostic tail shape with longer central tail feathers (seen clearly in the binoculars) but I did manage a ropey shot of its long pointed uniformly grey wing with paler rear margin.<br />
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<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-66224947907957339722018-02-06T18:48:00.000+00:002018-02-06T18:48:23.541+00:00Glaucous Gull - Lyme Regis Pre-Roost gathering - 6th Feb 2018Here are a few record photos of this very pale bird with only small amount of shading on its mantle.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first view of the bird hunkered down</td></tr>
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And a little bit of video:<br />
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<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-23319473712520980602018-02-03T19:21:00.000+00:002018-02-04T23:21:51.659+00:00Large Gulls on the River Axe - Back to basics<b>3rd February 2018</b><br />
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In the last week, I've been spending a few hours each day trying to improve my ID of the common larger <b>Gulls.</b> Below is a small selection of the hundreds of photos I've taken between 29th January and 2nd February 2018.<br />
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<b>Herring Gulls</b><br />
By far the most numerous large Gull in the Axe valley have been <b>Herring Gulls.</b> Common. Dead common I hear. Some might say "Well they're JUST Seagulls aren't they? They're everywhere. On the beach. On our seaside roofs. Even in Tesco car park! Why bother."<br />
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Why spend your precious birdwatching moments paying close attention to <b>Herring Gulls</b>? So before you switch off I'll try to explain why, this week, I've been taking so many photos of our commonest large Gull.<br />
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I did subtitle this blog "Back to basics". So bear with me! Personally I don't think Gulls are "easy" and I've decided it's time I got better at their identification. I've been reading Gavin's and Steve's recent, inspirational blogs (and Tim W. too has got in on the act) about finding and confidently IDing the rarer large Gulls and in particular their recent brilliant records of <b>Caspian Gull.</b><br />
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I noticed that one of the clues to the rarity was the often subtle divergence from a common Gull such as the <b>Herring Gull. </b>It' seemed to me that a good place to start is to take the time to look ... to get-out-your-Collins-Bird-guide-and-reeeeaally-look ... at <b>Herring Gulls</b> because I thought that this might hold a key to me being able to make more sense of Gulls. Who knows with practice I may even be able to start finding the odd rare large Gull for myself. So duly inspired and starting with <b>Herring Gulls</b>, my plan has been to get to grips with different plumage variations, moulting patterns and crucially ageing of the birds I see every day.<br />
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On 2 of my visits, the wind was in the north which meant that I could get good flight shots from my position at Coronation Corner; Some as the birds flew passed me up-river and some (even better) as they stall-landed further upstream pointing into the wind and showing their wing and tail plumage brilliantly well in the bright sunlight.<br />
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So how did I get on? Well as you might expect I found plenty of these 1st Winters:<br />
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And here's a selection of some more 1st Winter birds in flight ...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1st Winter HG with a few adults</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 x 1st winters playing drop-and-catch the stick</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying upriver into the headwind</td></tr>
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There were also a few 2nd Winter birds:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adult colours beginning to develop</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surrounded by 1st winter birds</td></tr>
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I even found a couple of these beauties - pretty sure it's a 3rd Winter <b>Herring Gull -</b> flew in low along the river from the south and dropped into shallow water - quite smart pale grey above but showing marked black on the wingtip contrasting with paler grey inner primaries and quite nice dark tail band. Getting there plumage wise, smart but still some way to go before they reach full adult:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3rd Winter - Landing upstream</td></tr>
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And a another 3rd winter bird; this one with a less distinct tail band (bird in flight):<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The same bird just landed, showing open wing and plumage</td></tr>
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And finally here are a few shots of full adults 'flythroughs' or with wings outstretched showing the amount of black and white to wing tips. Feel free to comment on whether these are <i>argenteus</i> or <i>argentatus,</i> I think they're probably all <i>argenteus </i>but wouldn't like to say for definite. (Could be a possible topic for a future blog though).</div>
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P.S. Hopefully I haven't made any school boy errors with these photos but feel free to comment / correct as necessary. As I said, the real reason for spending time doing this was to learn more about Gull ID and so if there are any inaccuracies it would be good to know. And with a bit of luck, in the future, I'll be more confident in picking out the oddities and unusual as and when they drop in.Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-59050270744507158092018-01-24T18:51:00.001+00:002018-01-24T18:51:58.972+00:00Charmouth - 24 Jan 18 - IDing Winter Gulls, Kittiwake and Common GullsRegular readers of this blog will know that Charmouth River is small, very small, hardly bigger than a large stream in the summer months. But after rain when the river is in spate and particularly when onshore winds break through the shingle bank at the beach allowing high tide waves to surge up towards the footbridge, the river becomes slightly bigger than normal ... becoming an ever-so-slightly larger stream! We are not talking River Exe or Axe estuary here. At the footbridge the river is no more than 20metres wide and yet in rough weather, like this morning, it does provide some shelter which is enough to provide a short respite from the full force of the gale. Also the water is brackish and gulls will drop in to wash and preen their feathers.<div>
The wind was gusting 50mph this morning and in the heavy rain and the squally conditions I thought it might be worth having a quick shuftie. I noticed that there was only 1 other car as I pulled up in the car park which was another good sign as this meant that only a few people were braving the storm conditions. So using the car as a shelter and hide, today I got great views of the gulls.</div>
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The regular <b>Black-headed Gulls</b> are still in their winter plumage but 1 or 2 individuals were starting to show their darker hood patterns:</div>
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With the <b>Black-headed Gulls</b> were three 1st winter <b>Common Gulls</b>:</div>
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Another squall came through with strong winds and very heavy rain and this gorgeous <b>Kittiwake </b>suddenly appeared on the river, sat on the water, bathed and then flew round the picnic area before settling on the far bank with the local <b>Black-headed Gull</b>s. Superb to see this Adult winter plumage <b>Kittiwake </b>at such close quarters, down to 20 metres, I had to check the diagnostic features as below:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quite long winged</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dark grey upperparts shading to lighter grey</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill yellowish</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unusual view as the bird bathes</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plain white tail, yellowish bill</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mask</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slightly larger than BHG, greyer on back, long winged</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small black triangle on wing tip, long slender wings</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small black triangle on wing tip</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shortish legs, dark in colour</td></tr>
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Note: thanks to Steve W @axebirder for help with ID and ageing</div>
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Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-12582306223889304132018-01-23T17:51:00.002+00:002018-01-23T22:54:22.840+00:00Do you remember the "Hawfinch" Winter of 2017 / 2018?This winter will long be remembered for the number <b>Hawfinches</b> over-wintering in the UK<b>. </b>But where did they come from and when did they start arriving?<br />
Casting my mind back just a few short months to October/early November during peak visual migration time, I remember how many enjoyable hours I put in on the local cliff headlands making my first unsteady attempts at "vismigging" i.e. counting the migrating birds streaming westwards along the coast here in Charmouth. By he way, I'm a true convert to this form of birding and can't wait to have another go when the conditions are right - some fellow birders say its one of the best if not THE best birding experience. And I'm only just beginning to realise that I'm so lucky living here in Charmouth that it's arguably as good as anywhere else on the south coast to witness this amazing annual spectacle.<br />
Despite being delighted to pick out the migrating parties of <b>finches</b>, <b>skylarks</b>, <b>jackdaws</b>, <b>redpolls </b>and thousand upon thousands of <b>Wood Pigeons</b> try as hard as I could, I failed to find a single <b>Hawfinch</b> on autumn passage<b>.</b><br />
Looking at my twitter feed at the time, it was tantalising to see so many UK birders reporting the first influxes of <b>Hawfinches </b>from Central and Eastern Europe. Reports from inland sites of regular flocks of 5, 6, 7 or even double-digit counts were so common that each day I would head out to my observation point high above my village here on the SW Coast path sure in the knowledge that today would be the day that the <b>Hawfinches</b> would obligingly fly through! How wrong could I be? Not a sniff. Nil Point. Nothing. No <b>Hawfinches </b>at all. Was it me? As I said earlier vis-migging is pretty new to me and something which with more practice I am keen to get more proficient at. Perhaps I was in the wrong spot for good vismigging? Perhaps I was mis-IDing flight calls or silhouettes? My doubts were allayed however because luckily I also knew that I wasn't the only Birder here in the SW who was similarly disappointed and couldn't buy a single <b>Hawfinch </b>on their respective patches! So perhaps I wasn't missing something after all! The <b>Hawfinch </b>passage seemed to be at more inland sights particularly to the East of the country.<br />
The nearest local sighting was a flock of 14 found on 31st October by James McCarthy @tentims flying NE 5 miles inland from Charmouth at nearby Lambert's Castle plus a few overflying West Bay, Bridport. For my first sighting, I had to wait until 13th November when a call from James M alerted me to the <b>Hawfinches </b>he had located in Shute churchyard, Devon, some 10 miles to the west of Charmouth. These <b>Hawfinches </b>were not migrating birds though, but a group which had settled and was now centred on the village churchyard happily feeding on Field Maple and Yew. I visited the site regularly during late November and throughout December and with patience they afforded some fantastic views for me. My last sighting was on 1st January 2018 when I saw 2 individuals dive into the cover of the churchyard Yew tree.<br />
I've heard it said that this "<b>Hawfinch </b>winter" is a once-in-a-lifetime phenomena for us here in the SW of England so it's been my every intention of improving my field skills by finding my own group of individuals. So for the last couple of months I've kept a regular eye on some likely habitat locations. I've kept a close watch on various churchyards at the nearby villages of Monkton Wylde, Uplyme, Symondsbury, Whitchurch Canonicorum, Marshwood and Chideock and until this week I had had no luck whatsoever. But this changed last Saturday when I visited Uplyme, Devon in the rain and found a male and a female <b>Hawfinch </b>bombing around the churchyard and adjacent field hedgerows. Brilliant! I was delighted to have superb views of both individuals but sadly I didn't have my camera with me that day. Having got the news out I was equally delighted that 2 days later on 22nd January Sue Murphy @SueMurphy60 relocated the pair in exactly the same area of Uplyme churchyard. So far so very good but these <b>Hawfinches </b>were frustratingly 1/2 mile over the Dorset/Devon border on the Devon side. But could I find a local Dorset bird?<br />
However, things got even better today when I visited Symondsbury - a Dorset village 5 miles to the east of Charmouth. I found 4 more <b>Hawfinches </b>and this time I did have my camera with me. Although fairly distant and in very overcast conditions I was pleased with the results from my Nikon P900.<br />
A very handsome male and in excellent condition by the look of him. Take a look at the size of that monster bill!<br />
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Amazingly then, this is my first Dorset Hawfinch. And it's another self-find. As Sue Murphy says, "I'm on a roll!" Perhaps I might even be able to find a Hawfinch on patch before time runs out. Now that really would put the icing on the cake!Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-85443031718866895712018-01-08T19:03:00.002+00:002018-01-08T22:45:04.859+00:00Water Pipits and Rock Pipits at Colyford Common, Seaton Wetlands, Devon.<b>Water Pipits</b> - These superb winter visitors from continental Europe have been showing well on Colyford Common. They appear significantly paler than our ubiquitous <b>Rock Pipits</b> (see below), with prominent eye stripes and wing bars. I only picked out this one individual this morning although there are reports of over 5-7 present on the fresh water Colyford Common marsh near the boardwalk to Colyford hide:<br />
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There were a couple of <b>Rock Pipits</b> present on the marsh too which were nice to see as a comparison under the same lighting conditions. Appearing much darker in tone and more heavily streaked beneath than the <b>Water Pipits</b> and having less prominent eye stripes. This individual also showed typical yellow on the bill which was a nice detail to see on my photographs considering the dull overcast conditions.<br />
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<br />Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284507932152047144.post-11215413688008778542017-12-12T19:25:00.002+00:002017-12-18T22:16:57.263+00:00Purple Sandpipers, Dunlin, Turnstones and Rock Pipits at Lyme Regis, Dorset - 12 Dec 17Today I went looking for the Lyme Regis <b>Purple Sandpipers</b> in the<b> </b>bright early morning sunshine. I counted 8 roosting on the sunny south side and a 9th feeding out of the sunshine in the harbour.<br />
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Also on show was this confiding <b>Rock Pipi</b>t, perched up on the railings around the boatyard. Taken from Monmouth Beach, this photo also shows the masts of the yachts hauled up into the yard and distant chalets on the slopes behind Lyme Regis Bowls Club.<br />
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8 <b>Turnstones </b>were unsurprising but this <b>Dunlin </b>feeding with them, along the frozen road out to the Cobb is, I hear, a good record for Lyme Regis at this time of the year.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dunlin in a frozen puddle on the Cobb Access Road</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 Turnstones casting long shadows in the early morning sunshine on The Cobb</td></tr>
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Charmouth Birdinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15233193609766341916noreply@blogger.com0