Hot-footing it to Holt Heath

I didn't pay much heed to a report on Monday 18th May of a Red-footed Falcon on Holt Heath, NE of Wimborne, not least as I was working in London that day and Tuesday. After a complete absence of news on Tuesday I assumed it had gone but the weather back in Dorset was apparently foul so it's possible no-one went to look for it. When the bird was relocated on Wednesday I was working again, but back at home, and started to contemplate the possibility of twitching it by bike after work. Phil Saunders saw it that afternoon and when he relayed that it was an adult male my mind was made up: I had never seen this species in this plumage so it had to be worth a punt.

Red-footed Falcon, Holt Heath, 20th May

A few silvery feathers in the upperwing

The Falcon was catching insects on the wing like a Hobby and hovering like a Kestrel

A good view of the red feet and trousers

I was away soon after work and with a following SW wind I made good time, completing the 17 mile journey in just under 90 minutes. Although I had a dropped pin location to head for, working out how to get to the pin on the labyrinth of tracks across the heath was another matter, but fortunately some local birders pointed me in the right direction just as I was about to make a wrong turn. As I approached the area I stopped to check the location of the pin and caught sight of a small falcon hovering against the light briefly before it dropped below a low knoll.

A lovely slate-grey plumage

My first adult male in the UK or anywhere else in fact

Silvery grey flight feathers again noticeable

The archetypal shit-shot

A horseshoe of wide, sandy tracks skirted the knoll, almost encircling it, so I headed clockwise at first, bumping into other birders who said that they had just seen the Red-foot hovering in the direction I had come from - so that was almost certainly the bird I saw, but I needed a more conclusive view. There was no sign of it here so I retraced my steps anti-clockwise, arriving at the southern side of the knoll from where a couple more birders were watching. As I looked to the east I soon picked out the slate-grey falcon hovering some way away. It then settled distantly on a dead tree, sallying occasionally to catch insects, giving extended telescope views.

A close view as the Falcon landed in the heather nearby

Tricky light that evening

Kinder light but a more distant view

A good view of the Falcon between hunting forays

I was in no rush to leave, and patience eventually paid off as the bird gave several reasonably close passes over the next hour or so, landing in the heather at one point less than 50 yards away. I kicked myself for accidentally packing the 'wrong' camera, the Canon R7, which is next to useless for flight photography IMHO, especially if the subject is against a background of anything other than a clear sky, as opposed to my old 7D Mkii, which locks on to pretty much anything, even at extreme range. I didn't help myself by fluffing the settings, but a few frames from many taken produced some passable images reproduced here.

Red-footed Falcon, Holt Heath, 20th May

Red-footed Falcon, Holt Heath, 20th May

Red-footed Falcon, Holt Heath, 20th May

Red-footed Falcon, Holt Heath, 20th May

I set myself a cut off time to leave of 1930 but overshot that by quite a bit, enjoying seeing Hobby, Dartford Warbler, Curlew, Woodlark and Tree Pipit which were also on the heath. It was gone 2130 and pretty dark by the time I got home, but I was happy with the evening's efforts and pleased to have had good views of the bird which proved quite elusive for some over the next couple of days. Although not a 'bike tick' - I was able to walk down to see the female of this species which graced Wareham water meadows in 2015 - I was also delighted to see this striking plumage for the first time