With a week off for February half-term and nothing in particular planned I had two things in mind: some time with the family and some time out birding on the bike. The latter came first, of course, with a gentle 46 mile warm-up run along the coast on Saturday 11th in the hope of seeing a Green-winged Teal which had been making erratic appearances over the previous week at Stanpit Marsh. Despite grilling its favoured areas I couldn't find it, but a trio of Barnacle Geese out in Christchurch Harbour were a useful addition to the non-motorised yearlist.
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| Ross's Gull, Dorchester |
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| Ross's Gull, Dorchester |
Claire had Monday and Tuesday off work so Monday was earmarked for a National Trust day. Claire fancied nearby Kingston Lacy, I lobbied for the more distant Stourhead. By some miracle I won the argument so we headed north just over the border into Wiltshire with our reluctant teenager in tow. An enjoyable day was spent in the grounds where the birding highlight was a Marsh Tit. Then just as we were getting in the car to leave news broke of a Ross's Gull on the water meadows just outside Dorchester.
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| The Ross's Gull gave just the one short fly-around in the time I was watching it |
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| The pink wash on the underparts seemed more obvious in flight |
Frustratingly, a quick bit of mental arithmetic suggested that there would not be enough daylight to get home, pack the bike and cycle the 16 miles to the other side of Dorchester. It was 1540 when we left, an hour to home, 10 minutes to change and pack the bike, and at least 1hr 15 mins to the site - an ETA of just after 18:00. Had I listened to my wife and gone to Kingston Lacy it would definitely have been on! Anyway, that was now academic and it was just a short detour by car on the way home so with the agreement of the family we headed straight there.
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| The Dorset birding grapevine was in fine form on Monday 13th February |
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Stourhead
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On arrival it was all smiles from the familiar faces of local birders, particularly Steve Smith and Shaun Robson who had been away when the last Dorset Ross's Gull graced Lodmoor and Radipole Lake back in 2018. That was an adult, but this was a distinctively plumaged first winter bird, and it paraded at close range in front of the crowd of admirers. I got some reasonable photos and headed back to the car to the patient family.
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| A remarkable find for an inland site |
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| Looking good in late afternoon light |
In the end the Ross's Gull stayed until 17:53 so had I attempted to twitch it by bike I would have missed it - a good call to go straight there as it was gone the following morning. Not that I could have gone for it anyway as we had a family day trip to London planned, baling out from which would have been a divorceable offence. Still, Ross's Gull would have been a mega bike tick and it was a shame it didn't linger.
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| A brief swim for the Ross's Gull |
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| Probably my best flight shot of the Ross's Gull |
By Wednesday Claire was back at work and with the sun shining I headed into Wareham Forest on the bike to look for a few more 'firsts for the year'. Woodlark, Dartford Warbler and Crossbill were very much expected but stumbling across a pair of Marsh Tit was a bit of a bonus. After about 15 miles pootling around I was about to head home for a late lunch when news reached me that the Green-winged Teal was back at Stanpit.
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| One of 4 Woodlark seen in Wareham Forest |
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| Woodlark |
After a moment's hesitation, I realised I had everything I needed except food and decided to go for it. Google maps for cycling wanted me to head back to Wareaham which would have been quite a detour so I followed my nose through the woods to Organford before briefly joining the perilous A35 near Baker's Arms (where a makeshift track on the verge spared me the need to use the road) and thence on to the familiar, safer route through Lytchett Minster, around Holes Bay, and back to the Bournemouth seafront for the second time in five days.
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| Marsh Tit, Wareham Forest |
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| Marsh Tit, Wareham Forest |
A forecast weather front was due to move in behind me and was now ominously visible so it would mean cycling back into the wind and rain. But I figured I would worry about that when the time came and in the meantime would take advantage of the following wind to spirit me to Stanpit, arriving with over an hour of daylight left. Christchurch Harbour stalwart Alan Hayden was on site when I arrived and had the Green-winged Teal pinned down to a marshy area, and although it was out of view it didn't take me long to relocate it. The light was fading rapidly - a combination of the deteriorating weather and the time of day - but I managed a few record shots and, after adding a couple of flyover Cattle Egret to the year list, I was on my way.
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| Green-winged Teal, Stanpit |
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| Green-winged Teal, Stanpit |
As the 50 mile mark approached I was flagging, having stopped only briefly on the way to Stanpit for a drive-by flapjack lunch from a seafront kiosk 4 hours earlier. Being an elite athlete there was only one thing for it: a pit stop at the Phat Fryer in Upton where steak & kidney pie, chips and mushy peas provided a perfectly balanced meal. From there the last 6 miles were a bit of a slog carrying the extra weight - but all worth it to finally add Green-winged Teal to the year list at the second attempt.
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| The 'cycle-helmet' head shape visible here |
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| Probably my best views of this species |
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