Peter Moore's Wildlife Blog: Puddling, dipping and gulling

Monday 20 March 2023

Puddling, dipping and gulling

My 80-mile New Forest odyssey in mid-February left me a bit short of energy but I was back on the bike the following weekend 26th February in search of new additions to the non-motorised year list. This took me first to Silverlake, aka West Knighton gravel pits, which, at 12 miles to the west of Wareham, is one of the most reliable sites for Goosander within cycling distance. After initially drawing a blank and checking all corners of the complex of lakes, I eventually located a pair of redheads back where I started which must have dropped in while my back was turned. Embarrassingly a pair of Pochard was also a year tick, this species having been vanishingly rare at Swineham this winter.

Male Crossbill, Culpepper's Dish, 26th February

Female Crossbill, Culpepper's Dish, 26th February

After success with the Goosander a spot of togging was in order with reports of a party of Crossbill frequenting a drinking puddle near Culpepper's Dish, a short detour on the way home. After not too long a wait the Crossbills appeared, enabling some half-decent pictures and as I was packing up to leave, they came even closer, requiring a quick reassembly of the camera for a few more shots.

Two very distant Goosander at Silverlake, 26th February

Male Crossbill, Culpepper's Dish, 26th February

Female Crossbill, Culpepper's Dish, 26th February

A phone call from Paul Morton to say that he had relocated the Black Kite last seen on Boxing Day, about 7 miles to the east of where I stood, provoked a reassessment of my plan to return home at this point. An untimely puncture, my first in over a year thanks to my excellent self-sealing 'Slime' inner tubes, delayed my progress somewhat, but 45 minutes later, after the briefest of flirtations with the A31, I was heading for the hamlet of Anderson which is roughly where the Kite was last seen apparently following a large flock of gulls attracted by the plough.

Female Stonechat, Swineham, 19th February

Water Rail, Holes Bay, 5th March

Female Grey Wagtail, Holes Bay, 5th March

With my head down I almost didn't notice James Leaver's pick-up parked on the verge - he was also looking for the Kite - and after a brief consultation we resolved to head as far north as we could on a farm track which led close to where the gull flock was lingering. Unfortunately we drew a blank, but it had been a good day, adding Red Kite, Red-legged Partridge and Corn Bunting to the year list as well as the species seen at Silverlake.

Spotted Redshank, Holes Bay, 5th March

The following Sunday saw nothing more exciting than a Spotted Redshank added to the list at Holes Bay but it was an obliging one at least visiting, pools just yards from the housing estates of Hamworthy. A bit of a cold threatened to bring things grinding to a halt the next weekend but the discovery by Paul Harris of a Glaucous Gull back at Silverlake proved too much to resist. I dosed up on meds, shrugged off the man-flu and made stately progress westwards, arriving to find the Glaucous Gull roosting distantly on a causeway between two lakes. I didn't see a Glaucous Gull at all last year so it was good to get this one under the belt so early in the year. It brought the year list to 133, just a couple behind 'par' for last year.