March...

This month-by-month review of 2016 lark is proving harder than I thought. Not just remembering what happened - that's difficult enough as I hurtle through the foothills of middle age - but summoning up the creativity to write something interesting about it. Fortunately, March was almost wholly uneventful, thus sparing me the bother. Little was achieved in the way of photography, the highlights being:

Treecreeper, Blandford Forum: my photo of the month - against not very stiff competition, it has to be said

Black-necked Grebe, Studland

Firecrest, Kingston Lacy

Great Grey Shrike, Wareham Forest - a late winter visitor

Northern Wheatear, Portland - a harbinger of spring

OK, nature, you convinced me...

...spring is here. Although it's been colder this past week than most of the winter, the evidence has been mounting. So I headed out on a bright Sunday morning, before parental duty took me to Gillingham for Wareham Rangers' Under 13s final game of the season, determined to see my first Brimstone, or Sand Martin, or Wheatear of the year - three species which I normally have to see to be convinced. In the end I saw none of them, but the direction of travel with the changing season was still evident: breeding plumaged Black-necked Grebes were in Studland Bay, Med Gulls were cooing saucily overhead and Lesser Celandines were flowering on the verges.

Black-necked Grebe, Studland Bay

After an enjoyable hour on the beach I concluded that the Grebes weren't going to come in any closer so I headed back in the hope of collecting the family and heading off to the footie. This involved much chivvying and ferrying of stuff back and forth to load the car, but, just as we appeared ready to go, somewhere between the house and the car I managed to lose the ignition key. The spare had also gone AWOL, and in the process of searching for it we had left the gate open. At this point Director Fury, the bolder of two guinea pigs (Agent Coulson being the more cautious one) made a bid for freedom and pelted into the perilous world beyond the garden.

Mediterranean Gull, Studland Bay

Having persuaded a distraught wife and children that this was not a big enough crisis to justify a 999 call, recovered the rodent and located the spare key, we finally headed off. Wareham to Gillingham is about the longest journey we have to make in the Dorset Youth League, and after diverting for road closures, and being taken several miles off course by a dodgy satnav, we ended up missing the first 20 minutes of the match. Luckily, they still had enough players to kick-off, but despite our tardy super-sub of a son coming on at half-time, the boys still lost. We retraced our steps with some insight into how Newcastle fans must feel on the way back from defeat at Southampton. A brief stop in Blandford on the way found the Otters not at home, but a showy Treecreeper, and the discovery of the lost car key inside a child's shoe in the boot (obviously!) made up for that.

Treecreeper, Blandford Forum

Better still, with the Under-13s football season now over, we will at least get our weekends back, and the chance to enjoy the rest of the spring unencumbered by the emotional roller-coaster of sporting drama. For a season's worth of match reports, many penned by yours truly, see here; for a season's worth of what I hope will be lots of lovely wildlife photos, do come back to these pages soon.

Treecpreeper, Blandford Forum

Don't let the bustard get you down

That's what I had to tell myself this morning when it became clear that the chance of adding Little Bustard to my British list had slipped away, or become fox-food, overnight. While the rest of twitch-kind spent New Year's Day hot-footing it to East Yorkshire, I was stuck at home in Dorset, 'on call' for emergencies, one of the additional privileges of rank which I now get to enjoy.

Blyth's Pipit, Calder Park - quite a leggy bird with neat mantle stripes

Showing shortish hindclaw (shorter than Richard's)

Plenty of artillery still lined up for the Pipit

It was the first time I'd been on call, and as it was only for 2 days over the turn of the year I figured that would be as safe a time as any to be out of circulation. Unfortunately, both days were the only ones on which the Bustard chose to be twitchable. As well as not being able to leave the county, I was unable to drink, so drowning my sorrows was not an option. Plus I had to be within an hour of HQ, so I couldn't even join other Dorset birders on a New Year birdboat around Poole Harbour. So much for that well meaning New Year resolution in my last post to be more positive about life. Well let me tell you, people, positive sucks!

Blue Tit, Pugneys CP

Goldcrest, Pugneys CP

I guess this must be a 3rd winter Yellow-legged Gull - unless anyone can put me straight? Quite striking in the field/lake/whatever.

I must say being unable to leave Dorset felt like a new and particularly cruel kind of torture in the circumstances - a real twitcher's nightmare. And I'm not sure whether it's worse or better that there were no emergencies after all either. Had armed rebels seized the Corn Exchange in Dorchester and I been called in to negotiate, or at least organise pizza, then missing out on a Little Bustard might have felt worthwhile. I certainly had an incentive to bring an early end to a siege. But as it was, the emergency hotline never rang, other than with offers of lifts to see the Bustard, which of course I had to turn down.

Black-headed Gull, Pugneys CP



Coot, Calder Park

Moorhen, Calder Park

As you may have gathered from the photos, I headed north this morning anyway as soon as the end of my stint on duty would allow, and was over half way to Yorkshire when news came through that there was no sign of the Bustard. But I was sufficiently far up the M1, and sufficiently had the hump, to press on and look for the long-staying Blyth's Pipit near Wakefield anyway to salvage something from the day, and also to keep myself within striking distance in case the Bustard should be relocated later.

Redwing - not many of these around home at the moment

Treecreeper, Pugneys CP

Jay, Pugneys CP

The Pipit, so elusive early in its stay that many went away with only flight views, certainly rescued the day from disaster. I parked the car, walked 100 yards and papped it less than 10 seconds after picking my spot at the end of a line of admirers. Many of these had also been heading for the Bustard which made me feel a bit better - a problem shared etc.

Drake Goldeneye, Pugneys CP

Female Goldeneye, Pugneys CP

Male Kestrel, Pugneys CP

The Pipit then flew to a patch of waste ground next to a KFC to where the twitch relocated. A young attendant came out of the restaurant, I presumed to shoo away the smelly birders who were parking but not purchasing, but no: he offered anyone carrying a tripod a 10% discount! I would have taken him up on the offer had I not thrown mine in a skip with the telescope at Leicester Forest East services.


Female Bullfinch, Pugneys CP

And a pair

Bullfinch

After a bit of aimless watching the long grass, I figured I could spend the rest of the day there and not do any better than my initial views, so decided to check out nearby Pugneys Country Park, where I saw my first Bufflehead many years ago, returning from a Scottish trip with Matt Jones. Local gen suggested that this site might produce a Willow Tit - I managed to hear one in a fast moving tit flock but could not clap eyes on it.

The habitats of Pugneys: plastic...

...footballs...

...plastic AND footballs

After a couple of hours just birding the angst of twitching had substantially receded, and I was ready for the long journey home, but still sufficiently distressed to need the soothing influence of Classic FM all the way. Sibelius and Schubert I didn't much care for, but Liszt hit the spot as I approached Wareham with the perfect composition to sum up my day: 'Consolation No 3' (this was my 3rd Blyth's Pipit after all). I took it as a sign, and spent the rest of the evening with him and his mate Brahms.

An unfamiliar call like a manic Fieldfare was eventually explained by this character, sat in a hedgerow at Pugneys.

Sick as a Parrot? I know how you feel. Apparently it's a Port Lincoln Parrot, native to Australia. A celebrity in local news - and top marks to the Wakefield Express for eschewing 'Twitcher's flocked...' bylines in favour of 'Pugney's Parrot has beautiful plumage'. FACT.

Kestrel. Pic of the day.

And breathe...

Dorset's Smooth Snakes and Sand Lizards could finally un-clench on Monday morning as it became apparent that the Short-toed Eagle had moved on. Although I saw the bird twice and only really had to wait a couple of hours between the initial sighting and my own, it still left me with a buzz which I took with me on my return to work on Monday. I always expect something mega-rare in the first week of June because (i) there always is (ii) I'm always busy after a half-term break, and tied up the following weekend with the start of the camping season, Claire's birthday etc etc. No surprise then that a Spectacled Warbler turned up in Norfolk. But not even that prediction being proved  correct could wipe the smile off this week as the Eagle had already got June off to a flying start.


Terrible photos of tiny waders #1: Little Ringed Plover at Swineham 24th May

Terrible photos of tiny waders #2: just a single bird present for the day

I had the whole week off, and, fortunately with hindsight, we decided not to go away. The downside of this was that the bills still rolled in through the letter box, and I was constantly reminded about the windows needing cleaning, gutters wanting fixing etc. The up-side was that I could get away with a lot more local birding and was a bit freer to twitch should something good turn up.

Terrible photos of tiny waders #3: Temminck's Stint at Lodmoor, 30th May

Terrible photos of tiny waders #4: here with a Ruff for size comparison.

It started with the best of intentions, flogging the patch in the hope of re-discovering the Black-winged Stilts which turned up last time I went away, or the Great White Egret which had been burning the candle at both ends, going out early and coming back late to roost and feed at mystery locations. The Stilts returned - but to nearby Lytchett Bay not Swineham, and, having dissed this site in a previous post I was too proud to beg it's guardians for access to the off-limits location. Several early/late shifts failed to turn up the Egret as well, so not a great start to the week.


Spotted Flycatcher at Morden Bog: taken just 3 days before the Eagle arrived

Treecreeper at Morden Bog with spider

But perseverance was rewarded with a patch tick in the form of a Turnstone. Not exactly a bird to get anyone else's pulse racing, except perhaps Marcus, but surprisingly rare at Swineham. By Wednesday, the Turnstone looked like it might be the highlight of the week: a poor return for my efforts by any standard. Then things picked up with a Serin at Durlston that morning, a Ross's Gull on the Exe Estuary in the afternoon, and the following day a Temminck's Stint at Lodmoor offered the chance of a Dorset tick which I duly snaffled up in a quick smash and grab.

Twitching the Temminck's provided an opportunity to catch up with the Arctic Tern which has summered with the Common Terns in recent years

Arctic Tern in the foreground - a slighter, shorter-legged and more blood-red billed bird than the Common Tern behind

Throughout the week my kit was packed for an emergency twitch - 'have leave, will travel' being my motto at times like this - and news of a Slender-billed Gull in Norfolk had me haring off in that direction on Monday in pursuit. Reason and mathematics fortunately intervened soon after as it dawned on me that (a) I wouldn't get there before dark (b) it was Bank Holiday Monday so I might be stuck on the M25 until Tuesday. I had got no further than Longham Lakes by this point, and the bird disappeared in any case, so a lucky escape there at least.

Arctic Tern on the left - not the long tail streamers and neat black line on the trailing edge of the primaries

Here quite a dark-billed Common Tern coming in to land...

Bee-eaters were appearing everywhere throughout the week: on the ringing nets at Portland Bill, on wires at Durlston, and chatting up the locals in bars with their smooth continental patter. I was up and down to the Portland and Purbeck coast like a quarry lorry but just couldn't get there fast enough to add one of these stunners to my Dorset list. Then the Eagle appeared to sweep all the best laid weekend plans away with one flap of its awesome wings. I spent the rest of the weekend resisting the massive temptation to write blog posts with Eagle-based puns in the title, figuring they would all be taken by other bloggers anyway. Andy Mears said he was looking forward to my post, so good to know it was eagley-awaited by one person at least. See what I did there?


...and a Sandwich Tern to complete the collection

And one more of the Ross's Gull - High Arctic wanderer and bird of the week until elbowed out of the way by a certain raptor from warmer climes.

SAS Crestie

This Crested Tit visiting feeders at Loch an Eilein today appeared to have had SAS training: it's mission was to get in an out without anyone noticing. Unlike its showier cousins it would approach from the rear of the tree laden with feeders, sneak through the branches, drop in to grab a peanut and go. Much more obliging was this Treecreeper in the same area which also had the decency to pose for photographs during the only hour of sunlight of my five days in Scotland.