Channel hopping

Just back from an Easter break in Brittany with the family, where two themes dominated: first, the almost unrelenting greyness of the skies, which made photography a bit of a challenge; and, second, the presence of a number of species which appear quite catholic in their habitat tastes on the near continent, but ridiculously fussy, or absent altogether, here in the UK.

Male Cirl Bunting in the last of the light at Quiberon

A range restricted species in the UK, but more widespread on the other side of the Channel

If you can imagine Sandbanks and the top bit of Studland put together with a lot less dogs, you would not be far off the Quiberon peninsular - but can you imagine Cirl Buntings breeding at Sandbanks?

For some of these species the English Channel appears an insurmountable obstacle to establishing (or re-establishing) a breeding presence; for others, the slight difference in climate has the same effect; and for others still, the reasons for their relative success over the water are a bit of a mystery. One such is the Cirl Bunting - restricted to a few specially managed coastal slopes in the south west of the UK, but apparently much less of a fusspot across the Channel.

Female Cirl Buntings were not as showy as the males - this one was skulking in the car park at Pointe du Grouin

The song of the Black Redstart echoed around the citadel at Mont St Michel

Difficult to photograph the dark plumage against the insipid sky

We saw a pair of Cirl Bunting at our first stop on disembarking the overnight ferry at St Malo, on the rocky headland of Pointe du Grouin, and another pair on the sandy peninsular at Quiberon on Brittany's south coast, near where we spent the rest of the week. I also bumped into them on some non-descript farmland away from the coast confirming the impression of them being fairly widespread across the French countryside.

High in the Abbey grounds of Mont St Michel, a lone Lesser Black-backed Gull had staked out a small lawn within the cloisters 

Mont St Michel from the mainland

The bridge linking Mont St Michel to the mainland. Not sure Cornish planners would permit this at St Michael's Mount - and a good job too!

Before heading for the south coast of Brittany, we thought we should visit Mont St Michel - a worthwhile detour which, as well as the spectacular setting and fascinating history of the Abbey, had the added bonus of singing Black Redstart on the ramparts and rooftops.

Serin in Carnac-Plage - another species which is common on the near continent but rare in the UK 

Short-toed Treecreeper: ditto. Very similar to our Common Treecreeper but my eyes and ears tuned in to the subtle differences eventually.

Sunset at Quiberon

A tragedy of miscalculation

I think it was the great historian AJP Taylor who described the outbreak of World War I as a 'tragedy of miscalculation'. While the consequences for world peace were slightly less serious, the same phrase could be used to describe how last weekend went for me. I have come to bore even myself, let alone long-suffering readers, with my seasonal moaning about camping, and about this time of year, I would normally be bleating about being subjected to a weekend in a tent in the New Forest to celebrate my wife's birthday. This year the special day fell on Saturday, but to avoid the humiliations of canvas, we pushed the boat out and hired a campervan (a 1970s VW T2 called Maggie from the excellent Kombi Klassics in Wareham) in which we resolved to go to South Devon.

Male Cirl Bunting, Prawle Point

It shouldn't have been a surprise then, but was still a bit of a kick in the teeth, when the pager mega-alerted a male Eastern Black-Eared Wheatear in, you guessed it, the New Forest on Saturday morning. This would have been the closest new British bird for me to home this year, had I not already gone 100 miles in the wrong direction.

An attractive bird in an equally attractive habitat

As if to underline my miscalculation, the finder Gary Howard was down from Kent for the weekend - on a camping trip! And while theoretically mobile (we were in a campervan, after all), the duties of officiating at the birthday party, not to mention the fuel consumption of the van, meant that nipping back for the bird was not really an option. A bit like last month's Citril Finch, the other accessible spring weekend mega which I was unable to go for on the day of its discovery, it did not stick around.

Compare to this closely related male Yellowhammer

So I had to put it from my mind and concentrate on enjoying the sights of South Devon - Salcombe for lunch, Hope Cove for dinner, Kinsgbridge for fried breakfast in the van, Slapton for ice cream and the always inspiring Prawle Point for the resident Cirl Buntings. These provided some balm to soothe my Wheatear-related bitterness. Not a photo-year tick, on account of the trio of birds seen in Dorset earlier in the year, but still great to see and hear in song.

The acceptable face of camping: a pig to drive, but lots of fun

A rousing finale

We arrived back in Dorset last Saturday after a family holiday in Suffolk which left me free on Sunday morning to trawl Dorset for some minor rarities and photo ticks for the year list. The forecast was to turn nasty by mid-morning so I started reasonably early at West Bexington, hoping to see the 3 Cirl Buntings which had been reported on and off. I was fortunate to bump into Mike Morse on arrival who showed me to the right spot. The first bird we saw was a Sparrowhawk so that didn't bode well, but after not too long a wait the Cirls flew in to the far hedge as Mike had predicted. Birders are being asked not to use the permissive footpath which goes close to their favoured hedge so we watched from the coast path and I managed a few record shots from distance. Possibly the worst photo tick on this blog this year. But this is a top bird in Dorset, a county tick for me and, more to the point, it's identifiable so passes all the necessary tests for inclusion here.

Sparrowhawk, West Bexington (#116)

A very heavy crop of the male Cirl Bunting (#117) at West Bexington

Raven, Abbotsbury (#118)

Next stop was Abbotsbury where a Greenland White-Fronted Goose has spent much of the winter - not a photo tick this year on account of it being a race of White-fronted Goose, several of the nominate race of which I saw earlier in the week in Suffolk. But still a very good bird down here, and the first I had photographed of this species in Dorset. A Raven over provided an easy photo opportunity. The Black Guillemot in Portland Harbour was my next target, and I soon located it, still distant but closer than on previous visits, and certainly close enough to get a passable picture by the low standards I have set so far in this post.

Greenland White-fronted Goose, Abbotsbury

Now here's a test for the ethics of the photo year list: the white blob with black on top far right is a drake Scaup at Abbotsbury Swannery. The dark blob with white blaze on the face far left is a snoozing female Scaup. I know they're Scaup, you know they're Scaup, but should I 'count' them for the photo year list? No, even I have standards.

Black Guillemot, Portland Harbour (#119)

A close Pale-bellied Brent at Ferrybridge was nice, although the rain and wind had picked up by the time I got there. Again not a photo tick on account of it 'only' being a sub-species of Brent Goose. Finally, there was just time to catch up with the Golden Plover flock at Maiden Castle for one last photo year tick (also the first I have photographed in Dorset) before heading back to Wareham for Rangers' U-12s final game of the season. Although arch rivals Swanage and Ringwood have games in hand and on form should finish above Wareham, we look likely to conclude the season as top scorers and can finish no lower than third, so well done lads - and thank you for letting me have my weekends back.

Pale-bellied Brent Goose, Ferrybridge. Compare to...

...Dark-bellied Brent Geese

Golden Plover, Maiden Castle

Golden Plover, Maiden Castle (#120)

A tick? Don't bet the House on it...

With a free afternoon, only Radio 5 Live for company, and no other distractions closer to home, I felt I had finally run out of reasons not to go and see the House Finch (right) at East Prawle. Despite the certainty that, if it has come from the Americas, it must have been by boat, the fact that it is naturalised rather than native to the East Coast, and the continuing possibility of it being an escape, the presence of other American sparrows at the same time creates a small chance that it may make it onto the British list as a ship-assisted vagrant. Crazy, perhaps, but I don't make the rules. Holland had just beatean Brazil and Murray was a set down when I arrived, two by the time I saw the bird and out long before I gave up on a second look. Feeling sullied by the experience of 'insurance ticking', I had to spend some time photographing 'proper' birds in the form of Cirl Buntings at Prawle Point - at least 3 singing males (right) within 50 yards of the car park. My luck held out, unlike Ghana's, on the return journey with the Gull-billed Tern reported at Topsham at 20:53 just as I was approaching Exeter. By 21:30 I was watching the bird in the near darkness, accompanied by a beautiful summer plumaged Spotted Redshank, a family of Black Swans, hordes of baby toads crossing the path and a huge, restless Sand Martin flock roosting in the reedbed.