Birthday treats

It was my birthday recently - a stuttering but undefeated innings of 48, in case you were wondering. To celebrate almost half-a-century of under-achievement I cleared my professional decks, booked the day off work and did some birding around Poole Harbour. The children were at school and Claire was at work, affording me the luxury of neglecting the entire family to go looking for birds without guilt.

Lesser Yellowlegs at Lytchett Bay

Green-winged Teal, just leaving Lytchett Bay

Redhead Smew distantly in Holes Bay

The once fierce competition between Lytchett Bay and Swineham as Poole Harbour birding locations, a fire stoked in these pages on more than one occasion in the past, has tailed off somewhat in recent years. Lytchett has gone from strength to strength under sympathetic management by the RSPB, being diligently scoured by Top 10 Patchwork Challengers (impressive, though I still think Patchwork Challenge sounds like a needlecraft contest). Swineham has gone downhill under a less wildlife-friendly regime, being wilfully neglected by feckless regulars like yours truly. So much so that I felt barely a flicker of shame in shunning the latter for the former to go looking for Lytchett's two long-staying winter rarities from the Americas: a Lesser Yellowlegs and drake Green-winged Teal.

Dark-bellied Brent Geese at Baiter Park

Coot, Poole Park

Drake Goldeneye and Red-breaster Merganser were out in the middle of Poole Park lake

The Yellowlegs was easy enough, sitting out nicely with a Redshank for comparison, the only two medium-sized waders on one of the pools. The Teal required a bit more luck: it flew off just after I arrived, but not before a kindly soul had let me have a quick squint at it through his scope, hence the dodgy record shot above, hurriedly snapped as it pelted away. Around the corner a returning redhead Smew was in Holes Bay for its third winter, while Poole Park held a few photogenic fowl as always. I caught up with a trio of Great White Egrets slightly further afield at Longham Lakes before heading over on the Sandbanks ferry to complete a circuit of the Harbour.

A lone Black-tailed Godwit was on the shore of Poole Park lake

Little Egret, Poole Park lake

Three Great White Egrets at Longham Lakes

The last hour of daylight was spent at Studland, where the raucous calls of a couple of Sandwich Terns were a cruel reminder of just how far away is spring, and the even more raucous calls of the local Ring-necked Parakeets were an equally cruel reminder of just how far away and warm is their native India.

Ring-necked Parakeet, Studland

Ring-necked Parakeet, Studland

Sandwich Tern, Studland

I would say watching the sun go down at Studland completed the day, but that wasn't really the end of it as on arriving home there was a birthday present to play with: the US Capitol building from the Lego Architecture range. Quite repetitive assembling the orderly lines of neoclassical columns and other fiddly bits, but ridiculously satisfying, a pure indulgence, and, I am reliably informed by the teenager of the house, substantially more socially acceptable than making an Airfix model. The perfect gift for the middle-aged man-boy in your life.

The US Capitol Building courtesy of the Lego Architecture range - George Washington laid the first brick. If you listen carefully this model makes a strange whirring noise: the sound of a miniature George turning in his grave.

The Bond films in bird photos

It's a reasonably well known fact that Ian Fleming was a keen birdwatcher and got the name 'James Bond' from an American ornithologist of the same name who wrote a field guide to the birds of the West Indies, a copy of which was in Fleming's possession. So here's my tribute: the Bond films in bird photos taken around Dorset in the last couple of weeks.

Goldeneye

Goldeneye II

Goldfincher

The Man with the Golden Plover

From Russia With Love: Russian Dark-bellied Brent Goose

Smew Only Live Twice

Skylarkfall

And finally, a cameo appearance by Roger Moorhen

Quantity v quality

Well my 2015 photo year list finally ended on 240 species, the final addition being some colourful Crossbills in Wareham Forest photographed on 29th December. While I never set a target exactly, I said earlier in the year that I would be disappointed not to get to 200 and delighted to get to 250; so just short of delighted will have to do. 250 was definitely within reach, but would have meant doing things like going to Hampshire for Ferruginous and Ring-necked Ducks, and to be honest I wasn't that committed! The real value of the exercise was undoubtedly the extra impetus it provided to get out and about, and it certainly helped achieve that when motivation was lacking.

The down side of the photo yearlist was the compulsion to post even lower quality pictures than normal, and I haven't exactly been too precious about photographic quality over the years! Even so, I don't think I'll try to repeat the exercise in 2016, and will try to raise the quality of the offerings above last year's level. Starting with a few subjects from the first days of 2016 around the north shore of Poole Harbour. In the effort to raise quality over quantity, some light would help, but there hasn't been much of that yet this year in Dorset, so high ISO ratings have had to come to the rescue.

A pair of Purple Sandpipers bathing in the surf at North Haven this afternoon

As long as you are patient and don't mind risking wet feet, close views can be had

This Great Northern Diver was very close in off Baiter Park on New Year's Day

Water off a diver's back

Brent Geese have also been feeding close to the Baiter Park car park

Bad weather suppressed the disturbance from dog walkers yesterday but they were back out in force today

Rock Pipit on the beach at Baiter

The same bird on the flooded playing fields

The distinctive wing pattern of Turnstone in flight

Turnstone feeding on the beach at Baiter

 

Starcross lover

As February turned into March, I too felt like a change. And so to Devon on Sunday, and Darts Farm, where a trio of Penduline Tits has been entertaining the locals since last December. I have written before about the fancy retail park to which this tiny RSPB reserve is attached. None of the facilities were open when I arrived shortly after 0800, and although I was first on site, there was no sign of the birds for almost an hour. Then a thinly whistled call gave one away and I quickly located it in the small reedbed in front of the hide. It performed royally feeding on reedmace and was eventually joined by a second bird. By now a small group had gathered and the Pendulines flew towards us and into a small tree at the edge of the reedbed. They proceeded to call, preen, pick insects from the blossom and generally show off unexpectedly well.

Having filled a memory card, I decided to leave them to it and push my luck for a few more photo ticks for the year, heading around the Exe Estuary, one of my favourite areas for birding, through Starcross and Cockwood down to Dawlish Warren. I should probably have quit while I was ahead: there was no Bonaparte's Gull at Dawlish despite taking a really posh Darts Farm freshly baked loaf of bread to tempt it in; there were no Cirl Buntings at Exminster, admittedly in a half-hearted search; and I even dipped on Dippers in Lyme Regis on the way home. So only a Linnet and a Greenshank were added to the photo list - but after the show put on by the Pendulines there can be no complaints.

Penduline Tit, Darts Farm RSPB, Devon (species #121 photographed in 2015)

This bird was being described my some on site as 'the male' but I'm not so sure. From what I've read, males ought to have a larger mask, more grey on the nape (this has a grey forehead which changes to grey brown just behind the eye), and often show rufous markings on the breast which are absent here...

..but then they are said to be difficult to sex

The bird then flew towards me into a tree - it looked almost out of place

Never quite got a perfect side profile but this came pretty close

The bird above was then joined by this one - not quite as well marked, and with a stronger wingbar - but still, I think, a female for the same reasons given above.

This one did a fair bit of preening

This is the first bird again

A small flock of Black-tailed Godwits were also at Darts Farm...

...along with Curlew and Wigeon

Linnet for the photo year list (#122)

This colour-ringed Brent Goose was one of a large flock near Starcross. I bet they call it 'Arfur' (R-4)

Greenshank in the tidal creek at Cockwood - often good for waders (#123)

Penduline Tit

Penduline Tit



Cramming

Despite having emptied the brownie point jar, and then pawned the jar itself, to dip on a partridge of dubious parentage on 2nd Jan, my family took pity and allowed me to cram as much birding as possible in to the last weekend of the Christmas holiday before I had to return to work this week. Of light, there was none; of birds, there were plenty. That's my excuse anyway for a large collection of not very good photos of a diversity of species below.

Sanderling, Sandbanks

Sanderling Sandbanks

Two Spoonbills still close in to the end of the PC World drain in Holes Bay

Spoonbill, Holes Bay

Spotted Redshank near the Spoonbill

Leaving no stone unturned

I gather young Joe Mitchell is doing a photo year list for 2015 and, needing an additional incentive to get out myself at the moment, I'm thinking of following suit. If I don't get out as much as I hope, it could all end in frustration and I'll pretend I never tried. But if all goes well, it will be interesting to see how I get on. So apologies if a larger than usual amount of trash starts appearing in this portal over the coming months. Usual rules for photo lists are that the photo doesn't have to be great but the species does have to be identifiable, so while I will aspire to doing better than just identifiable, there will be times when I will probably settle for it. Like now. 14 already posted this year, plus 3 above, so the numbering starts here at #18.

Shag, Sandbanks #18

Bar-tailed Godwit, Shore Road #19

Curlew, Shore Road #20

Little Egret, Holes Bay #21

Meadow Pipit, Studland #22

Rock Pipit, Sandbanks #23 - 4th pipit photographed this year. Only Tree, Water, Tawny, Olive-backed, Buff-bellied, Red-throated and Pechora to go...

Sorry to end on a sour note (have you not read this blog before?) but I was reminded of one of the perils of wildlife photography when taking one of these pictures: getting low to the ground to photograph Sanderlings at Sandbanks, I discovered to my dismay that I had been lying in dog waste. This wasn't innocently lost in the sand stuff either, it was at the end of one of the fancy flat-topped groynes about which I wrote in December. Come on people, bag it and bin it, it's gross.


Black-necked Grebe, Studland #24

Red-necked Grebe, Studland #25

A redhead Smew was a surprise bird in Holes Bay - here sandwiched between two female Goldeneye #26

Smart bird, the Smew

Drake Wigeon in Holes Bay - one of over 300 present on Sunday #27

Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Studland #28

No Sanderlings on Studland Beach. Can't think why.