From the Bay to the Bill and back

September was my least productive month so far this year in terms of additions to the non-motorised year list with just two new birds added - the Portland Wryneck and a Hampshire Little Stint seen during a 69 mile marathon to Keyhaven (I later saw this species closer to home at Lytchett Bay). This slowing of the run rate had more to do with a poor start to the autumn from a Dorset perspective than lack of effort on my part, as the month worked out at at an average of 138 miles per species (!) taking into account my total distance travelled on the bike for the month. The low point was a 51 mile trek out of county to Blashford Lakes on the 5th where a couple of Black Terns had been present for a few days but had failed to read the script about being there on the morning of my arrival. To rub salt in they reappeared later the same afternoon long after I had left.

Hen Harrier at Swineham - first new bird on the year-list for October

The Hen Harrier spooked a flock of about 30 Pied Wagtail from their roost

So I would need a good October, traditionally a big month for scarce and rare migrants, to pick up the momentum again. Unfortunately from a listing perspective, this was not going to be easy with the first week of the month being spent on Shetland, as recounted elsewhere on this blog. Fears of what I might miss whilst away were unfounded though, as a few potentially 'do-able' Grey Phalaropes were about the only thing which could have been added to the list during my absence.

Little Stint, Swineham, 14th October

Eels seem to keep the local Herons well fed at Swineham

Darker evenings represented a further constraint on returning from Shetland, but there was still about an hour of daylight left if I could finish work reasonably promptly after 1700. This was just enough time to get to Lytchett Bay to look for a Pectoral Sandpiper before dusk fell but, frustratingly, I was unsuccessful in this endeavor on two successive nights. My first post-Shetland foray to the patch at Swineham on 14th was more successful, however, producing the first new bird of the month when a Hen Harrier powered through - a regular wintering species in Poole Harbour which I had somehow missed at the start of the year. Shortly before this I had been watching a Little Stint on the pools which on checking turned out to be a patch tick so it was a good evening all told. 

As close as I came to photographing the Pectoral Sandpiper when it made a short flight - you can just about see the sharply demarcated pectoral band. I renamed this bird the Pixelated Sandpiper after the various distant images appearing online.

Kestrel, Portland Bill

With my wife away for a hen-do on Saturday 16th, and the kids now wholly independent of their father save for meals and cash, I had plans for a big day out on the bike. It started with a return to Lytchett Bay when Ian Ballam kindly relayed news that the Pec was still present, He was still there to point it our after a bit of wait when I arrived 45 minutes later. Returning home for lunch with the boys, I then got ready for an even more adventurous trip: to Portland to add Short-eared Owl to the year-list. Again, this is a species which can be seen closer to home with luck, but the non-motorised year-list is all about taking the bird in the hand when the opportunity arises - and the Owls at the Bill are about as reliable as it gets.

Short-eared Owl, Portland Bill

Short-eared Owl, Portland Bill

I had left my departure time until early afternoon deliberately to ensure that I arrived in the late afternoon, thus (hopefully) avoiding a long wait before the Shorties became more active. I made good time and even had a few minutes to spare to check out a report of a Ring Ouzel at Church Ope Cove en route - another species which I had missed earlier in the year. It wasn't to be, and I didn't linger as the Owls remained the main target. 

Short-eared Owl, Portland Bill

Short-eared Owl, Portland Bill

A few birders and photographers were present on arrival in the area where the Owls had been showing, but no-one had seen anything. Before long though the raising of bins and lenses across the valley suggesting that something was afoot, and within seconds two Shorties appeared over the horizon and gave excellent views as they hunted in the long grass and perched up on fenceposts. 

Short-eared Owl, Portland Bill

Short-eared Owl, Portland Bill

With a 27 mile return journey ahead of me, and dinner to organise, I couldn't stay until dusk, but success with the Owls gave me the adrenalin boost I needed to make a rapid start. While the last 90 minutes were completed in the dark, it was a pretty smooth run home - with the added bonus that the traditional puncture in Weymouth never materialised! I had added as many species to the year-list in a day as I had in the whole of September, and almost half of October still lay ahead.

Short-eared Owl, Portland Bill

Short-eared Owl, Portland Bill