Bog trotting

The warm weather tempted me out onto the local heaths last weekend, Morden Bog being a particular favourite at this time of year. Emperor Moths were whirling past in the heat but I was unable to find one perched. This has long been a photographic target for me and I am determined to achieve it one day, and without the aid of a pheromone lure! Fortunately there is still plenty of the spring left to persevere. In the meantime, some offerings from the weekend: 

The first thing I stumbled across was not a sign of the developing spring but the outgoing winter: a Great Grey Shrike.

Close views of an impressive bird - it will soon be heading off for its breeding grounds

This well camouflaged Woodlark flushed form the path and perched above me briefly

A Yellowhammer was easier to spot

Stonechat is always prominent on the heathlands...

...and Dartford Warblers are more evident at this time of year.

Siskin was among the songsters at Morden Bog...

...as was the Mistle Thrush - a haunting song

A migrant Wheatear was out on the heath

Judging by the webbed rear feet I believe this to be a Palmate Newt - photographed in a large puddle on a heathland path

A Stoat was also a welcome surprise at Morden Bog

And finally, one of the most sought after spring migrants has returned to the Bog: Common Redstart, a singing male

Some rare sightings in Purbeck

My old friend Matt Jones, taking a break from showing Kiwis to tourists on Stewart Island, NZ, paid me a visit recently. Having seen to family duties in his native Kent, and attended to business promoting his adopted country's wares at the Rutland Water Birdfair, he was good enough to find the time to squeeze in a visit to Dorset for a day's birding. He was particularly keen to see Osprey, Spoonbill and Yellow-legged Gull for his trip list so we headed straight for Middlebere.

Woodlark on Soldiers Road

Redstart at Middlebere

This is Matt near the Houseboats on Studland. If you are ever fortunate enough to get to Stewart Island on a guided birding trip, there is a good chance he will be showing you around

Dartford Warbler at Middlebere

Before he had taken a seat in the hide I had an Osprey lined up in the telescope. Locating the Spoonbills and Yellow-legged Gull required no optics as they were sat in the channel straight in front of the hide. So that was easy. We took our time wandering the track back to the car picking up a good selection of common migrants, and ended the day stumbling upon a family of Woodlark on Soldiers Road. It was good to catch up as this was only Matt's second visit in 2 years, so he's now officially rarer than White-winged Black Tern in Poole Harbour.

Green Sandpiper at Middlebere

Marsh Harrier at Middlebere

Yellow-legged Gull at Middlebere

Osprey at Middlebere

A couple of nights later, another real rarity was to be found at Swineham, and for one night only: me. Sightings of me there have been almost as rare as sightings of White-winged Black Terns, of which we have had three in three years now. A good run, such that they have been more numerous over that period than the generally commoner Black Tern. So it was good to find one of the latter hawking at the end of the pit. I had it to myself for the 40 minutes or so it was present before it moved out to the Wareham Channel.

Black Tern at Swineham

A moulting adult

More than I deserved after wilful neglect of Swineham in recent months

Less contrast in the upperparts compared to White-winged Black Tern which shows a whiter rump in any plumage

Back to Purbeck

After the excitement of yesterday's Greater Yellowlegs twitch, I spent a couple of hours closer to home this morning looking for migrants at the excellent Durlston Country Park. I didn't have to go far before stumbling across a cracking male Redstart. After that it proved to be harder going, though plenty of Blackcap were in evidence and I also heard my first Whitethroat of the year.

Male Common Redstart

Male Blackcap (#147)

Chiffchaff

Having checked the meadows and scrub it was down to the cliff edge where I knew I could guarantee adding Fulmar to the photo year-list. Several duly obliged and a Raven also gronked past a few times as I watched.

Fulmar (#148)

Fulmar

Raven

As I studied the Fulmars a dark shape came out of the sun, momentarily casting a large shadow over me: Peregrine. It stooped towards the Guillemot colony, honing in on a small party of birds which were flying out to sea, and appearing to grab one in mid-air. Ultimately, it could not hang on to the auk which wriggled free and dropped to the safety of the water.

Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine's legs straddle an apparently prone Guillemot...

...but it managed to turn and get away

A short but productive stop at Soldiers Road on the way home added two photo-ticks to the year list without leaving the car, Dartford Warbler and Woodlark - both Schedule 1 species so photographed from a respectful distance (see here for some sensible advice and a summary of the law on photographing Schedule 1 species). If only some respect had been shown by the two different parties of dog walkers who arrived during the time I was there and ignored the polite but prominent signs asking them to keep dogs on a lead, precisely to protect ground nesting birds such as these.

Dartford Warbler (#149)

Woodlark - a good species to bring up #150 for the photo list in 2015

Male Stonechat

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

Hate camping, love the New Forest

My dislike of camping has been documented on this blog before, the consolation being that it often takes place in good birding locations. This weekend it was the New Forest, for the occasion of my nephew's 18th birthday. His own dad, who loathes camping even more than me, got away with not going, yet somehow for me this was a three line whip event. Delighted though I was for young Harry to be reaching a landmark age, it still couldn't erase the indignity of having to pee in a bucket.

Woodlark

We arrived at Sandy Balls campsite - I'm not making it up, that's what it's called - on Friday evening, where my son amused me greatly by misreading the sign for their Hair and Beauty parlour as 'Hairy Balls Sand and Beauty'. Just as I was preparing for another night pretending to sleep, the pager flashed with news of a Dusky Thrush in Margate cemetery. It had been present since Wednesday, but news had only just been released. The phone pinged soon after with the offer of a lift if news was positive the following morning.

Woodlark - this one recently fledged

I tested the water about the possibility of a pass out but, not unreasonably, it was a flat 'no'. It was a sleepless night, on this occasion was not just down to the usual reasons of a deflated airbed and ball-aching cold. An early report that the bird was still present at 0600 brought on a seriously sinking feeling.

Redstart - usually reliable at Acres Down but not today: this one was at Morden Bog in Dorset a few days ago

Margate is a bit too far from Fordingbridge to get away with 'I'm just nipping out to get a paper', so I tested the waters again about permission to go. This would have been unwise at the best of times, let alone 0600. Again the answer was no. With no new birds for my British list so far in 2013, several plans to add to it foiled, and a recent mega-dip under my belt (another Thrush), this was hard to take.

Cuckoo at Acres Down

I took a leaf out of my offsprings' books when they are told the answer is 'no': if I've learnt anything from them it's the susceptibility of their mother to pester power. So when fellow Dorset birder Steve Smith texted me just after 0600 to confirm his offer of a lift I nagged and nagged until, most unexpectedly, the answer became 'yes'. Cheers kids! Claire has a birthday coming up, so I can thank her in the way I know she would want: with the purchase of hideously expensive kitchen gadgets. Which she would point are substantially cheaper than Canon cameras and Swarovski optics, and make better cakes. 

Dusky Thrush: a bit shy while we were there, but who's complaining?

And so it was that by 10:00 we and about 200 other birders had a Dusky Thrush, and a couple of bemused mourners, completely surrounded. It didn't move from it's semi-obscured perch for the next half-hour, after which, having ticked, it was time to run. Steve was kind enough to settle for the partial but still close views and get me back to Hampshire before papers could be served.


Dusky Thrush, Margate Cemetery

I spent most of the rest of the day playing football, giving piggybacks, swimming, cooking, washing up and generally doing whatever it took to rebuild my battered stock with both immediate and extended family. Fortunately the friends who had come down from Kent for the camping weekend could see the funny side of me pretty much going back past the house they had just left behind.


The friendly face of author-photographer-mandarin James Lowen, pictured here twitching AND snacking at the same time. A man of many talents.

Number 431 for my British list was a long time coming, and not even the campsite staples of snoring relatives, noisy neighbours and bassy beatboxes could stop me sleeping like a contended baby last night.


The last words are reserved for my rescuer from the hell of camping, and driver for the day: Mr Steve Smith. And the words are 'Thank you Steve'!