Haven Holiday

Martin's Haven in Pembrokeshire was the first stop on a family holiday to Pembrokeshire last week. The trip started inauspiciously: we had hired a classic VW camper van but the night before we were due to collect it the phone rang to say it had broken down and that no replacement was available. We considered camping but with gales forecast in the end we settled for some hastily arranged self-catering.

Swallow

Swallow

The plan was to arrive at Martin's Haven in good time for the 1000 boat to Skomer - even if we missed that we figured we could catch the 1100 or 1200. Arriving at the car park at 0930 we were met by a sign saying that all the landing tickets for the whole day had already sold out. It was not possible to book in advance, and by the look of various shattered punters in the car park some of them had got there very early to avoid disappointment.

Wheatear

Wheatear - not long out of the nest

We were all pretty down about this, but managed to book on to a round island cruise for later in the day, giving a few hours to enjoy the birdlife around Martin's Haven: Swallows nesting in the loos, Wheatears breeding on the heath, and Choughs foraging on the cliffs.

Chough

Vivid colours at Martin's Haven

A sight for sore eyes

I was determined not to go for the Roller in Yorkshire, a recent trip to Scotland having diminished my enthusiasm for long distances and the motorway network. But having been teased for several days by its presence, when a window in the calendar opened on Bank Holiday Monday, my desire to avoid Jubilee street parties strengthened, and my resolve weakened. The bird had reportedly flown off the night before so I decided not to go in the dark in hope, but to wait on news. The in-built twitcher's alarm woke me early anyway so I planned to head up to north Dorset to look for farmland birds first and be well-placed to head north should news on the Roller come out early. As I left the house a  flock of Crossbill flying over augured well - a garden tick for me - and I arrived at a very windy Martin Down on the Dorset/Hampshire border about an hour later. Quail had been heard there recently, but I could detect no sound of them. Seeing them would have been too much too ask, especially as by now my eyes were streaming and itching with some kind of hayfever reaction.

You don't need a frame-filling shot to identify this baby. Fortunately.

The pager then reported that the Roller had returned the previous evening after flying off, and before long confirmed that the bird was present again this morning - by then I was already on the way. Various drops and lotions had failed to soothe my sore eyes in recent days, but I can now recommend seeing a Roller (or at least the adrenalin and anticipation of a long-distance twitch) as the perfect tonic for this particular ailment. On arrival the Roller was performing to a sizable crowd - a little further away than in some of the photos I had seen, but, in perfect light, not exactly an identification challenge. It's hunting method involved a series of short flights interspersed with longer periods where it would still, scanning intently. Eventually it sheltered up in the long grass at the edge of its favoured ploughed field, so I headed home in time for the evening celebrations and fireworks (which upset the local Jackdaw roost something chronic) on Wareham Quay.


The closest view I got was this majestic flypast

 This was my fifth new bird this year, but the only one that could really be described as a proper spring rarity - the other four (Spanish Sparrow, Paddyfield Warbler, Yellowthroat and Greater Yellowlegs) all presumed to be over-wintering birds from last year's bumper autumn.

Perched in its favoured ploughed field

Bunting everywhere...

Reed Bunting, that is - I counted about 18 singing males around Swineham and Bestwall RSPB this morning, and about 30 singing Reed Warbler at the same time - not surprising given the extent of the reedbeds in the area.

Reed Bunting

Reed Warbler



Stonechat

Some early sunshine brought my first Small Tortoiseshell and Wall butterflies of the year, but this eventually gave way to muggy conditions, light rain and a migraine that made be glad I hadn't gone to Yorkshire for the Roller. I'm sure there'll be another.

Small Tortoiseshell

Wall

More surprising though was seeing the Short-eared Owl which I saw here last month - still present at the start of June, unusually for this part of the world.

On the wing at Cerne Abbas

A profusion of butterflies were on the wing around the Cerne Abbas giant today - the star attraction being the Duke of Burgundy fritillary (which is, the lepidopterists will tell you, a metalmark rather than a fritillary). Also present were Brown Argus (which is a blue, not a brown), Marsh Fritillary (which is a fritillary, but was on chalk downland, not marsh), Green Hairstreak (which was green but a tatty specimen which didn't have much of a hairstreak), Common Blue (which wasn't that common), Grizzled Skipper, Dingy Skipper, Small Heath, Small Blue and Adonis Blue (which did what they said on the tin, except the Grizzled, which didn't). With one or two unidentified species of White that made 11 or 12 in total. Conditions were perfect for photographing them - bright sunlight to get them flying about followed by patchy cloud to get them settled and take the harshness out of the light. A selection of the best shots below.

Duke of Burgundy



Duke of Burgundy - this fresh specimen remained partly obscured unfortunately



Duke of Burgundy underside - stunning

Duke of Burgundy underside



Adonis Blue - male



Adonis Blue - a female

Brown Argus



Brown Argus



Grizzled Skipper

Grizzled Skipper underside

 

Marsh Fritillary

Marsh Fritillary

Marsh Fritillary - underside

Cinnabar moth

I love May

Or 'Isle of May' as they say in Fife. After a successful twitch of the Greater Yellowlegs last Saturday, Sunday was earmarked for more chilled out birding on the Isle of May. Late on Saturday, however, a Thrush Nightingale, three Bluethroats and a Red-backed Shrike were reported on the Island. I have heard but not seen Thrush Nightingale in Dorset so a potential tick was on the cards.

Grey Seals were numerous around the island

Guillemots were on the cliffs in huge numbers - this Bridled Guillemot one of only a few seen

The first Puffins appeared not far out of Anstruther Harbour

The tides meant less time than normal on the island - only 2 hours - and after the warden's welcome speech that was down to 1 hour 50 minutes. He was actually very helpful, telling me where all the rarities had been seen, but in the time available I was unable to find any of them. There were migrants around, however, including several Redstarts, a single Black Redstart, Chiffchaffs and a Whitethroat - all easily seen in the absence of cover. One Bluethroat was seen by one lucky photographer in the mouth of a Heligoland trap - but not by me unfortunately.

Guillemot

Puffin

Razorbill

At this time of year on such a warm day half of the Puffins were in burrows and the other half generally out at sea, but it was a good opportunity to practice some flight photography as they whirred to and from the island. Breeding Eider, Fulmar, Kittiwake, Guillemot and Razorbill were also present in good numbers.


Fulmar



Kittiwake

Razorbill

The boat cruised slowly under the auk-covered cliffs before the journey back, which was punctuated by a steady stream of Gannets commuting to and from nearby Bass Rock.

Drake Eider



Female Eider



Gannet - 3rd year

Gannet

Guillemots

Puffin with Sandeels

Whitethroat - one of a number of migrants on the island

Has it got the legs?

Yellowlegs, that is. My uber-dip of 2011 was undoubtedly the Greater Yellowlegs in Northumberland which ruined a perfectly good twitch by not showing for me. A few days off and a hire car last weekend provided an opportunity to catch up with it again as it had been present every day for about 3 months at the Loch of Strathbeg in Aberdeenshire. I wouldn't twitch that far in a weekend let alone a day, but a mini-break with a day on the Isle of May and a return journey via the grouse moors of County Durham provided the padding for what would otherwise have been a ridiculously long way to go for a single bird. My brother put me up in Stirling for a few nights, which gave me a chance to see my nephew on his 5th birthday, adding the veneer of a respectable family visit to the enterprise.

Greater Yellowlegs. Honest. I was wearing hat and gloves as it was so cold, but there was still a wicked haze over the Tower Pool making even digiscoping difficult. 

 Arriving on Friday and with family civilities dispensed with, I set off north from Stirling early on Saturday morning. Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen and Peterhead came and went, and just when I thought I was going to fall off the map I reached Strathbeg. With no one around I set up the scope full of hope but careful scanning produced nothing. Just as I was contemplating a nervous breakdown another birder turned up who had seen the Yellowlegs the previous day and was able to point me roughly in the right direction.

A terrible flight shot - but even in this the square white rump can be seen

I had been looking too close, but on scanning the more distant Tower Pool we saw the bird almost immediately, it's legs aglow despite the great distance. A 700m walk to the Tower Pool hide produced a slightly less appalling view, but from here I was able to compare it with a Greenshank with which it was associating - apart from the obvious difference in leg colour it looked a shade bigger, paler and more speckled. I even heard it call and was treated to a fly-around which revealed the square white rump.

Adult Little Gull

A sense of relief was accompanied by a burst of adrenalin which kept me going as I watched a stunning adult Little Gull, its 1st summer companion and a healthy flock of Tree Sparrows near the visitor centre.

Adult Little Gull

A couple of hours later, as I wandered up the Ythan Estuary searching for the semi-resident King Eider (unsuccessfully as it turned out), my body and brain slumped in unison and one crumpled, exhausted twitcher retired to the car for a lie down. Unfortunately the car was one of those tiny Peugeots which could not be laid down in, so I had to settle for a power nap before heading back to Stirling.

Tree Sparrow