Basking time

It's several weeks since winter was confidently declared over in this neglected corner of the internet. Sufficiently long ago in fact to make this pronouncement that spring has arrived an overdue statement of the obvious. Nowhere has it been more so than at Swineham, where the Adders and several of the early spring butterflies have been out for a while now thanks to an ongoing warm spell. A visit last weekend also produced my first 'proper' migrant birds of the year there in the form of not just one but four Little Ringed Plover on the floods which are still referred to grippingly as 'the Stilt pools'. While unsympathetic habitat management continues to take the shine out of visiting Swineham of late, some photos to prove that at least the sun hasn't deserted the old place completely:

Adder enjoying the early spring sunshine

Check out those eyes

Brimstone is uncommon at Swineham

Comma is more typical of the site

Of the butterflies that over-winter as adults, the Peacock seems to be doing particularly well this year 

Speckled Wood at Swineham: once known as the Wood Argus, this butterfly may over-winter as either larvae or pupa

Chiffchaffs can be seen all year round at Swineham but they are now singing almost constantly

Little Ringed Plover at Swineham

Migrants!

The fine forecast for Bank Holiday Monday presented me with a choice: flog around the patch scraping the barrel for migrants; or head for the bright light-houses of Portland and guaranteed new arrivals falling from the skies. It was my last day before returning to work, and I am weak, so I headed west. News soon filtered through of the first decent fall of spring with 400+ Willow Warblers going through early on. While I missed the main event, plenty were still lingering around the Obs garden when I arrived, some singing con gusto, some half-heartedly, others not at all. But with birds seemingly everywhere there was plenty to photograph.

Redstart, Avalanche Road - first of the spring on Portland (#141)

A first summer male

Willow Warbler at the Bill (#142)

One of many ringed at the Obs on Monday morning

Also bearing a leg-iron was this Firecrest (#143)

Feeding energetically but not always very visibly among the blossom

Next stop was the Bill itself where the resident auks were back on their breeding cliffs and buzzing back and forth on fishing forays. No Puffins though, which were probably feeding out at sea on the falling tide, or perhaps just avoiding the attentions of a Peregrine which was perched uncomfortably close to some Razorbills on the cliffs and eating one of their congeners. Walking back to the car I flushed my first Tree Pipit of the year which flew off with a hoarse call.

Guillemot (#144)

Razorbill (#145)

Razorbills trying to look small and unpalatable as a Peregrine plucks one of their pals

Chiffchaff

Meadow Pipit

Wheatear

As an eventful morning drew to a close, with a family bike ride to Arne planned for mid-afternoon, it was time to head home - but not before a quick canter around Radipole Lake and Lodmoor hoping for some reedbed birds for the photo year list - unsuccessfully as it turned out, but there were a few other goodies to snap to make up for it. Here and elsewhere Spring seemed to announce its arrival conclusively on Monday. And very welcome back it is too.

Well, I was in the area...

...possibly the only angle I haven't yet photographed the Bonaparte's Gull from

Great Crested Grebe, Radipole Lake

Pochard, Lodmoor

Brimstone at Arne

And a leucistic Sika Deer stag at Arne to end the Bank Holiday



Headbangers

It's taken me years to see Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers in Dorset, testament not just to what a duffer I am but also to how difficult they have become to catch up with. All that changed in Wareham Forest this weekend and while I didn't exactly have them drumming on my lens cap like this one photographed superbly by Brett Spencer yesterday, I was happy to get some record shots of a pair. A Great Spotted was battering its head on the same tree and Green Woodpeckers flying around the same area completed the set.

Male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in flight

Female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Female Great Spotted Woodpecker - compare with previous shot

Woodlark was also present near the Woodpeckers

Brimstones confirmed the arrival of Spring

Grey Squirrel

Fieldfare were shipping out as the warmer weather arrived

And this Great Grey Shrike in Wareham Forest won't be around for long either

Star Terek

I was poised to go on news this morning if yesterday's Terek Sandpiper was still at Rye Harbour but unfortunately it had decided to boldy go somewhere else. A shame as this could have been my second British tick in consecutive weekends. I was so confident it would be there that, as you can see, I even had a blog post title ready prepared for my all-conquering return. It seemed a shame to waste it.

Hobby

Kestrel

Crossbill

This misplaced confidence may have been extra wishful thinking as twitching would have been a useful displacement activity to avoid knuckling down to a dissertation which I have to complete soon as part of a work-related qualification. I was up early anyway so made a half-hearted start on this. But then Steve Smith, who had offered me the putative lift to Rye, suggested a trip to nearby Morden Bog instead to search for odonata, which sounded like more fun than homework.

Male Downy Emerald

Downy Emerald - I think this is a female - the abdomen sides being more parallel and less club shaped than the male

Short, curved anal appendages help tell male Downy from Brilliant and Northern Emerald. But they don't occur in Dorset anyway. So the anal appendage close-up is just, well, gratuitous.

Downy Emerald was the main target and despite the efforts of three Hobbies to wolf them all down we managed to find a few. A couple of patrolling individuals on one of the main paths were difficult to pin down at first but eventually we did so - on a rhododendron bush to which they repeatedly returned to rest. The same area also proved attractive to damselflies and a few butterflies - Brimstone, Holly Blue and Green Hairstreak.

Brimstone

Common Heath

Common Heath underside

Four-spotted and Broad-bodied Chasers were also on the wing, along with Large Red and Azure Damselflies.


Four-spotted Chaser

Broad-bodied Chaser

Green Tiger Beetle, I'm reliably informed

When I got home the laptop on which I am supposed to be typing my dissertation looked up at me accusingly. I ignored it and went for a nap. When I woke up it was still there, glowering impatiently. So I mowed the lawn. Now it's sighing despairingly while I type blog posts instead of critiquing academic theories of project management. Maybe tomorrow.

Large Red Damselfly

Large Red Damselfly

Azure Damselfly (male)