Peter Moore's Wildlife Blog: Birding by bike 2025: recap on April

The first quarter of 2025 ended on a high with my catching up with the returning Forster's Tern at Arne having been convinced I had missed the chance to add it to the non-motorised year list (it went to Lancashire after it's initial appearance in Dorset but then came back). Would my luck hold out in the second quarter and keep a potential record within reach?

Pink-footed Goose, Swineham, 3rd April

A few wintering Ruff were still at Swineham into April

The Pink-foot was still around the next day (4th April) in the sunshine

Great Crested Grebe, Blashford Lakes, 5th April

Goosander, Blashford Lakes, 5th April

Little Gull, Blashford Lakes, 5th April

Black-headed Gull, Blashford Lakes, 5th April

Luck certainly seemed to be dangling the carrot on 3rd April when a Pink-footed Goose was reported flying over Lytchett Bay. I resolved to re-find it at Swineham after work- just a few miles away as the goose flies - almost willing it to be there when I headed out for a walk after work. As I left the house it started to rain quite heavily but I was committed at this point and continued undaunted. As I rounded the main gravel pit clockwise and reached Swineham Point I could see a small group of geese.

Sand Martin, Blashford Lakes, 5th April

Red Kite, Blashford Lakes, 5th April

Initially reported as a Ruddy Duck when I was on Scilly last autumn, this long-staying (presumed escape) Macao Duck was still at Blashford Lakes on 5th April

Macao Duck, Blashford Lakes, 5th April

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, New Forest, 5th April

Lesser Scaup, Longham Lakes, 5th April

Picking through them with misted optics I found myself saying: 'Canada... Canada... Canada... Canada... Canada... Canada... Pink-foot! East coast birders might not get excited about this species but it is a rare beast in Dorset, a great bird for the year list and also a non-motorised tick, bringing the lifetime list to 273. I put the word out and a twitch of very soggy local birders ensued.

Stock Dove, North Bestwall, 6th April

Song Thrush, North Bestwall, 6th April

Little Gull, Swineham, 6th April

Blackbird, Swineham, 6th April

Little Ringed Plover, Swineham, 11th April

Long-tailed Tit, Swineham, 11th April

Black-tailed Godwits, Swineham, 11th April

Orange Tip, Wareham, 11th April

Speckled Wood, Wareham, 11th April

The first weekend of the month offered the opportunity for a long bike ride to the New Forest to search for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. A very early start was required as I hoped to catch one visiting a popular drumming tree and after a longish, chilly wait, a female Lesser Spot finally arrived to get the adrenaline pumping again.

Red-throated Diver, Portland Bill, 14th April

Razorbill, Portland Bill, 14th April

Little Tern, Ferrybridge, 14th April

Little Owl, Portland Bill, 14th April

Kittiwake, Portland Bill, 14th April

Jackdaw, Portland, 14th April

Guillemot, Portland Bill, 14th April

Gannet, Portland Bill, 14th April

Common Scoter, Portland Bill, 14th April

Great Skua, Portland Bill, 14th April

The day warmed up on the journey home so I called in at a sunny Blashford Lakes for another diminutive year tick in the form of Little Gull, and enjoyed good views of Goosander and a few other species. To complete the little/lesser hat-trick I stopped off at Longham Lakes on the way home for a second look at the long-staying Lesser Scaup to cap a memorable day. My luck ran out though on 8th April when an evening dash to Weymouth for a Subalpine Warbler - a potential bike tick - ended in failure. The bird showed well the following morning to rub salt in.

Goldfinch, Portland, 14th April

Cattle Egret, Wareham Common, 14th April

Egyptian Goose, Swineham, 15th April

Common Sandpiper, Swineham, 15th April

Chaffinch, Swineham, 15th April

Common Crane, Swineham, 17th April

Common Crane mobbed by Shelduck, Swineham, 17th April

Common spring migrants like Wheatear, Reed Warbler and Blackcap kept the year list ticking along, but the first trip of the year to Portland on 14th offered a chance to add some scarcer species and seabirds: Little Tern, Little Owl and Bar-tailed Godwit on the land; Puffin, Red-throated Diver, Gannet, Razorbill and Kittiwake on the sea. Bird of the day though was a Great Skua just as I was about to draw a close on a long seawatch - my first for the non-motorised year list in 3 years and hopefully a sign of some population recovery after the ravages of bird flu.

Skylark, Medmerry, Sussex: a rare out-of-county 'brown' twitch for a Least Sandpiper ended in failure but this was one of the photogenic birds on the reserve

Sanderling, Medmerry

Little Ringed Plover, Medmerry

Avocet, Medmerry

Ringed Plover, Medmerry

The Pink-footed Goose was still at Swineham on 17th and gave me the closest views yet

Pink-footed Goose, Swineham, 17th April

Redstart, Wareham Forest, 19th April

A few years ago I would do the odd bike ride to keep myself out of the car but now it's the other way around, so after the exertions of Portland, and with time off at Easter, I indulged in some 'brown' birding with a trip to Medmerry in Sussex where a Least Sandpiper had been showing well. Karma was swift as the bird didn't appear and, to make matters worse, on the way home news broke that I was missing a pair of Common Crane over the patch back in Wareham.

Tree Pipit, Wareham Forest, 19th April

Whitethroat, St Aldhelm's Head, 21st April

St Aldhelm's Chapel, 21st April

Skylark, St Aldhelm's Head, 21st April

Corn Bunting, St Aldhelm's Head, 21st April

After a stressful drive in heavy traffic and a mad dash on the bike I eventually caught up with one. Although we can't really know if they were from the Somerset re-introduction scheme or elsewhere, the absence of visible rings on the legs gave the benefit of the doubt to add this species to the non-motorised year list!

Puffin, Dancing Ledge, 21st April

Whinchat, Furzebrook, 21st April

Wheatear, Furzebrook, 21st April

21st April saw me touring the Purbeck coast, adding Corn Bunting to the year list at St Aldhelm's Head, enjoying good views of the Puffins at Dancing Ledge and catching up with a Whinchat on a local heath on the way home. The final long bike ride of the month to Portland deserved more than just an Arctic Skua on a long seawatch, but Ringed Plover and Common Tern en route brought the year list to 180 at the month's end. 33 species were added during the month, a good return for 262 miles cycled.