Annual Dorset & Devon birding

RSPB Ham Wall

Marsh Harrier

Common Redstart

Little Tern

Dartford Warbler

Common & Sandwich Tern

Male Stonechat

Female Stonechat

Love a good donkey

Sedge Warbler

Purple Sandpiper & Dunlin

Purple Sandpiper

Spotted Flycatcher

Black Hole Marsh

Black Hole Marsh

Swallow

Gold Cap views

Dunlin on the Cobb

Coffee & cake time

Shelduck (Black Hole Marsh)

My annual spring migration break delivered it's normal great selection of birds in Dorset & East Devon. No lifers to reports but quality birds netherless & some super habitats.

I called in Ham Wall on the way down south where the sightings included Great White Egret, Bittern, Garden Warbler, Hobby & Marsh Harrier. On entering Dorset I headed to Lamberts Castle to check in on the returning Common Redstarts.

The Dartford Warblers took longer than normal to find at Aylesbeare Common unlike the Stonechats that were very vocal. I called in for my annual visit to the Donkey Santuary on the way back to Lyme Regis. 

Despite unfavourable winds I tried Portland for a day. Starting with a session of sea watching which the highlight was an Arctic Skua & 26 Common Scoter. Up at Ferrybridge, the Litte Terns showed very well & I also recorded a flock of Barnacle Goose, Black-tailed Godwits, Dunlin & Knot. I then headed to Lodmoor where there was excellent birds including a Ring-necked Duck, Sandwich & Common Tern, Little Gull & a Bearded Tit.

At least two Nightjar were back on Trinity Hill although it was disappointing to see another car park closed. It didn't feel partiucally safe there in all honesty. The local Dippers could be observed at close quarters in Lyme Regis and the first juveniles had been seen.

A quiet wood in East Devon provided me with my first two Spotted Flycatchers of the year & a high tide visit to Black Hole Marsh returned a Whimbrel, 12 Blacl-tailed Godwits, a Little Egret & some very teritorial Shelduck.

My final day was spent around Lyme Regis where I had some great views of the Purple Sandpipers on the Cobb. A Dunlin & Turnstone were also present. A Fulmer & 2 Common Scoter passed also. I then headed to Gold Cap where I've wanted to walk for many years. There were many amazing views of the Jurassic coastline whilst sightings were limited to Whitethroats and Linnets.

South west birding (Part 2) - Fremington Lesser Yellowlegs

Just as I reached the Slimbridge car park the phone buzzed with a message "Lesser Yellowlegs North Devon". I quickly pondered the journey as it was only an hour from our Somerset weekend base. It was certainly a species I was keen to see but I've never been around to see one locally. The village of Fremington was duly punched into the Sat Nav and off I went. 

The journey whizzed past as the traffic flowed well for a Friday afternoon and I then pondered where the Quay was, would it be easy to find and the normal variables. No such worries were needed as the turning was signposted and at the first parking bay I noticed another birder….Bingo. Quickly grabbing the optics and camera the Lesser Yellowlegs was just 30 metres from the road feeding well with a group of Redshank. 

The only trouble was the single track road was very busy so I was unable to set my scope up properly with having to take it down every couple of minutes so I tried to take a few hand held shots as best as I could.

This North American wader are pretty much an annual visitor to the UK but it's a case of seeing one when you can. There was one in Essex for a couple of weeks but sightings reported were very distant, personally I'd rather wait for views like this. 

Just another three hundred yards up the road there was a Glossy Ibis showing well and the session finished with a Spotted Redshank on the way back the car. Needless to add the Coldplay playlist was on in the car to celebrate my 21st new species of the year. Top day.

Kingsteignton Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

                                                      Gull-billed Tern

                                                       Gull-billed Tern

                                                   Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Snapped by Paul

Gull-billed Tern

Spotted Redhank (Centre)

Greenshank

You-Tube Video - D.Boult

As many of you know Terns and Owls are my favourite species so the temptation to head to Devon on my middle day off with new binoculars in hand to see a rare Gull-billed Tern was always going to prove to much. So after I dropped a couple of texts outs I headed south with Paul and David after meeting up on the M5.

Destination was the Passage House Hotel in Kingsteignton which I've stayed at on previous visits to Devon. A two minute walk up the river took us to a small gathering of the five birders who had reported the bird was still present and within a minute we were treated the first of many fly pasts by the Gull-billed Tern. This rare Tern isn't recorded very often perhaps only twice a year in the UK & Ireland. They winter in Africa and breed in open flat lakes and marshes.

The new binoculars allowed me to get some very close views of the birds short, thick, black bill. We headed under the A480 where you could see the bird perched where you could see the longer legs and the bird feeding on the estuary worms and insects. After a great session we headed to RSPB Bowling Green Marsh where we spent time on the viewing balcony and the hide. Highlights included two Greenshanks, Spotted Redshank, hundreds of  Redshank & Curlew, Black-Tailed Godwits, Oystercatchers and Green Sandpipers.

The journey back home was a bit grim as the weather had closed in however a Starbucks Frappacino and knowledge we had seen the Tern made the last few miles much easier.