Trinity Hill - Little Bunting - Sun 19th Feb 2017

It's taken about 3 weeks, visiting the Reed Bunting roost, most days, on Trinity Hill, but today I finally got my reward with cracking views of the Little Bunting. When I say finally, I've managed to get glimpses and heard it call on a couple of my previous visits. But never good views. And what a stunning bird it is too, so different from the female Reeds which I've been grilling intently - A little corker! I really was beginning to think it would never show for me, although of course several birders have had good views, but it really is the luck of the draw. A difficult bird. I haven't added up the number of hours I must have spent. Last Saturday alone, I spent 6 hours patiently checking the flock as it moved back and forth, with icy snow flakes drifting down for most of the grey day. Absolutely freezing. But a very beautiful location and not without occasional rewards - Max 13 Snipe (today) but 9 and 4 on different dates, Buzzard, a few Yellowhammer, Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker, Meadow Pipit, Bullfinch, Dunnock, Mistle and Song Thrush, Blackbird and Robin.
Thanks again particularly to James M @tentims for doing the legwork and turning up this Rare - hat's off to him (and Steve W @axebirder) for having the patience and persistence to find this wonderful winter visitor and to get the news out. Another good outcome for me is that because I've visited so regularly I've met some really nice new fellow Birders and finally got to meet for the first time some more of my longstanding Followers from the Twitterverse.

Fieldcraft: What did surprise me though was one particular Birder (out of 8 quietly watching at the time), who decided to push past the small crowd and stomp back to the car park along the middle track and through the bushes where the flock had been perching moments before, and where it had afforded good views the previous day. Apalling fieldcraft, causing disturbance to the birds and extremely discourteous to the other observers, some of whom had travelled a considerable distance and had yet to see the Little Bunting. An isolated incident though and personally I've found most of the Birders to be very patient and quiet, respecting the Reed Bunting flock and the other Birders, preferring to maintain a quiet vigil, waiting and checking the comings and goings of this loose flock.

So after the excitement of seeing the Little Bunting and to celebrate, I popped down to the Axe this afternoon to look at gulls - and was delighted to pick out a nice Mediterranean Gull in the roost with mainly Black Headed Gull near the tram sheds at Axmouth.

...and zoomed in, showing it is starting to get its summer plumage.

It was nice to see the Black Tailed Godwit beginning to get tones of their brick-red summer plumage too.

A really successful day and have to say quite a relief in the end to finally get such good views of the Little Bunting - a Lifer for me and so much better that it is only 4 miles from home.

Charmouth - Wed 1st Feb 2017

The grassy area between the car park and Seadown Caravan Park is partly flooded at the moment. And the park is closed for the winter season and is quiet. For the last few days gulls have taken to roosting and bathing in the large puddles and today 2 superb Mediterranean Gull were present with the usual Black-headed Gull.

2 Mediterranean Gull

And here's a short video of one of Med Gulls bathing:

Up to 7 Moorhen have been feeding away from the river reed bed on the short grass in the caravan park ...

Moorhen

... and if it's quiet a usually secretive Water Rail has been showing well ..

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Water Rail

.... sticking close enough to the reed bed to be able to scuttle back at pace if disturbed. Notice how thin it is if seen "head-on" - thin enough to squeeze between reed stems. Here's a videoclip of the Water Rail taken in poor light under a heavy downpour.