Peter Moore's Wildlife Blog

Sunday, 7 September 2025

Birding by bike: June re-cap

My first big effort to add to the non-motorised year list in June came on the 8th with an early start to beat the traffic down to Portland where a lingering Sooty Shearwater was my main target for the day. It was a warm morning, pleasant for cycling, and I made reasonable time, making the last short climb of the journey up out of Southwell before preparing to freewheel down towards the Bill. As I did so a text from Steve Smith at 0750 relayed news that a Bee-eater had flown up the East Cliffs earlier that morning. I was literally saying to myself 'well that could be anywhere by n...' when I heard a 'bloop' and saw a vivid flash of colour in a bush next to the road - Bee-eater!

Bee-eater, Portland Bill, 8th June

Bee-eater (with bee) just before it vanished over Top Fields

House Sparrow successfully bred in my garden - this youngster was present on 1st June

Applying the brakes without trying to screech to a halt, and mindful that in hi-vis I was somewhat more visible to the Bee-eater that it was to me, I rolled the bike along the road until the Bee-eater was just obscured by a hedge so as not to flush it, quickly dismounted and made a call to Martin Cade at the Obs to break the news. Then I quickly assembled the camera and took a few photos. The sun was a bit harsh from the side but to get a kinder light would have involved heading back up the road and risk flushing the bird so I had to make do and over-expose a bit more than I would have liked.

Scarce Chaser, Swineham, 11th June

Four-spotted Chaser, Swineham, 11th June

Broad-bodied Chaser, Swineham, 11th June

Black-tailed Skimmer, Swineham, 11th June

A couple of cars had by now made the short journey up from the Obs but stopped a bit before my position, and I could see the first occupants rolling out and looking in all directions but mine. I thought I was pretty visible in my bright yellow jersey but apparently not so I waved as frantically as not flushing the Bee-eater would allow. This caught their eye and the first arrivals got there just in time to see the bird before it looped over the road and headed up over the Top Fields out of view. After the disappointment of dipping a Bee-eater at Durlston by about 20 mins back in May, this felt like a triumph - but there was no time to waste as there was still sea to be watched!

Hobby, Swineham, 11th June

Carrion Crow, Swineham, 11th June

Blue Tit, Swineham, 11th June

Rock Pipit, Portland Bill, 14th June

I could see shearwaters in with a distant gull flock off the Bill but they were too far out to identify with confidence. Eventually, however, a few came close enough to resolve as Balearics - my first of the year. I was having no luck with the Sooty but I was joined by James Lowther and shortly after he picked it up flying in from the west. Frustratingly I couldn't get onto the bird but fortunately it landed on the sea and we watched it drift for some time with a Guillemot for company.

Moving my son out of his Bristol Uni accommodation on 15 June took me within a mile of this male Desert Wheatear in Keynsham

Desert Wheatear, Keynsham, 15th June

Those three new birds for the year on 8th June turned out to be the last of the month - I went back to Portland on 14th for a very disappointing seawatch and ended up getting the train home. Soon after we were heading off to the Picos for the family holiday and the afore-shortened month kept the cycling down to a modest 91 miles with the year list on 200 - the earliest I had reached this milestone which usually has to wait until August!

Sunset on Slepe Heath, 21st June

Nightjar (female), Slepe Heath,

Nightjar, Slepe Heath, 21st June

Bee-eater, Portland Bill, 8th June

Sunday, 17 August 2025

Birding by bike 2025: May re-cap

May started well with an evening seawatch alongside some Purbeck birding friends producing the first Manx Shearwater and Pomarine Skua of the year on 1st. Curlew Sandpiper normally has to wait until the autumn but I was able to catch up with one at nearby Lytchett Fields on Bank Holiday Monday the 5th. Later that evening the Swineham 2025 goose-fest continued when Trevor Warwick located an adult White-front within yards of where the Pink-foot had spent much of April. I was in the middle of cooking a roast dinner when the news broke, but I managed to tear down to the gravel pit on the bike, photograph the bird and get back in time to make the gravy within 20 minutes - a new record for speed-twitching Swineham!

Adult White-fronted Goose, Swineham, 5th May

The White-fronted Goose was still present the following day in better light

White-fronted Goose in flight

Manx Shearwaters past Durlston, 1st May

Sand Martin, Wareham Common, 2nd May

Bottlenose Dolphins, Portland Bill, 3rd May

Bottlenose Dolphin, Portland Bill, 3rd May

Red-veined Darter, Portland Bill, 3rd May

Curlew Sandpiper (lowest bird), Lytchett Fields, 5th May

The following Saturday (the 10th) saw me heading east after an early start towards Normandy Lagoon in Hampshire where a Roseate Tern had spent the previous few days. As I rounded the Christchurch bypass I faced the dilemma of whether to detour a few miles to Coward's Marsh to look for a Woodchat Shrike present the night before. The dilemma was resolved when a phone call from Phil Saunders suggested that I might want to get back to Purbeck as he had just found a pair of Stone Curlew at St Aldhelm's Head.

Marsh Harrier, Swineham, 6th May

Greylag Goose, Swineham, 6th May

Cattle Egret, Swineham, 6th May

Banded Demoiselle, Wareham, 9th May

Nightingale

Beautiful Demoiselle, Wareham, 11th May

Scarce Chaser, Bog Lane, 11th May

Although it would mean throwing away the chance of both the Roseate and the Woodchat, Stone Curlew would be a bike tick, so I high-tailed it to Christchurch station, jumped on the train and headed for Wareham. I called in at home to ditch the telescope and reset the clock on the journey - a bike tick has to be a continuous trip to and from home unaided by motorised transport.

Stone Curlew, St Aldhelm's Head, 10th May

Spotted Flycatcher, St Aldhelm's Head, 10th May

Garden Warbler, St Aldhelm's Head, 17th May

Grey Partridge, St Aldhelm's Head, 17th May

Spotted Flycatcher, St Aldhelm's Head, 17th May

Whitethroat, St Aldhelm's Head, 17th May

St Aldhelm's involves a gruelling climb at the best of times but after an early start and with 20+ miles under my belt already that morning it was even more so, but I persevered and arrived in time to see the Stoners before the heat haze got too bad. As it was potential breeding habitat, news could unfortunately not be shared beyond a small number of locals. I was too tired to do much else at this point but linger at St Aldhelm's which enabled me to see the first Spotted Flycatcher of the year.

House Martin, Wareham, 11th May

Orange Tip, Wareham, 11th May

Bearded Tit, Swineham, 14th May

Bearded Tit, Wareham, 14th May

Bearded Tit (female), Swineham, 14th May

I was back at St Aldhelm's twice the following weekend searching for a Long-eared Owl seen by a lucky few but was unable to locate it - Grey Partridge provided some consolation on that trip. A mini-run of poor luck continued when I headed to Durlston for a lingering Bee-eater on the late afternoon of the 22nd - just as I got to the highest point of the journey at Harman's Cross, less than 4 miles from the bird, news filtered through that it had flown off. I pressed on anyway, but it didn't reappear before dusk - one of the low points of the year to date.

Lapwing chick - a rare sighting at Swineham, 14th May

Grey Heron, Swineham, 14th May

Black-tailed Skimmer, Swineham, 14th May

Goshawk, New Forest, 24th May

Wood Warbler, New Forest, 24th May

Reed Warbler, Swineham, 27th May

Sedge Warbler, Swineham, 27th May

Whitsun week offered the opportunity for redemption and I pushed myself close to my limits with another exhausting trek to the New Forest, where Wood Warbler was seen on 24th. My most northerly trip of the year to date came in the now annual pilgrimage to Martin Down four days later where, after a long wait, a Turtle Dove eventually woke up and purred its way onto the year list, perching up on a distant block of scrub. A detour on the way home via Tarrant Rushton airfield also proved profitable as I bumped into Rich Stephenson on his e-bike who put me on to a Quail. Although there was no chance of seeing it, it went onto the year list anyway as I count 'heard only' species.

Turtle Dove, Martin Down, 28th May

Red Kite, Martin Down, 28th May

Marsh Harrier, Tarrant Rushton, 28th May

A quick trip to see the parents in North Devon allowed me to pop into Horner Wood for a Pied Flycatcher on 29th May

Pied Flycatcher, Horner Wood, 29th May

Stock Dove, Fremington Quay, 29th May

Dartford Warbler, Morden Bog, 30th May

Stonechat (juvenile), Morden Bog, 30th July

Keeled Skimmer, Morden Bog, 30th May

Local trundles added Hobby and Nightjar on 30th, and I thought that might be it for the month - but a report of a Garganey at Lodmoor on 31st offered one last opportunity to add to the list. It took a bit of finding, and after seeing it I made the mistake of pressing on to Abbotsbury where a Roseate Tern had been reported. A couple of hours in the hide drew a blank, and it later emerged that a dark-billed Common Tern may have been causing some confusion...

Hobby, Morden Bog, 30th May

Four-spotted Chaser, Morden Bog, 30th May

Sandwich Tern, Abbotsbury, 31st May

Mediterranean Gull, Abbotsbury, 31st May

Black-headed Gull, Abbotsbury, 31st May

Broad-bodied Chaser, Morden Bog, 30th May

Despite that bitter-sweet final day, the list had increased to 197 by the month's end, 8 species ahead of my record year in 2021. 17 species had been added during the month in just under 400 miles cycled, possibly the furthest I have travelled by bike in a single month.