Greater Yellowlegs at Titchfield Haven

My only previous Greater Yellowlegs was seen distantly on a Scottish trip, so much so that my photos looked like they had been taken from back in England. When another was found in neighbouring Hampshire today a short-range twitch seemed on. Brett phoned to suggest sharing a lift and a couple of hours later we were arriving at Titchfield Haven, hustling for parking and shelling out for permits at the reserve centre where I bumped into Paul, last seen when we went Cuckoo-dipping to Cornwall. We all made our way briskly to a packed Meon Shore hide but the haste proved unnecessary as the rare American visitor was asleep some distance away.

It remained so for some time before eventually making its way on to the mud and heading towards us. After some aggro with a Black-headed Gull it flew off calling to a pool nearer the road, and the hide emptied out as birders followed in its general direction. We stayed put, chimping to see what sort of shots we had got. A couple of minutes later, Brett was just remarking on the Greenshank-like call given by the Yellowlegs when a Greenshank-like call rung out from nearby. I looked up and there it was, on the nearest island not many yards out from where we stood. Cue smoke from the motor drives...

After an extended display of feeding and preening, the Yellowlegs took off, did a wide circuit of the lagoon, climbed in height and headed off to the south and out of view. Birders were still arriving as it was in the air but we couldn't get them on to it, and it wasn't seen again before dusk.

 

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



Island hopping

Spent the last two days of the long Easter weekend enjoying the dry weather on two of Dorset's finest pieces of birding real estate - Brownsea and Portland - and bulking up the photo list for the year which had been reduced to a slow crawl in recent weeks. Highlights from the trip with the family to Brownsea below, Portland to follow.

Avocets enjoying a private moment on the lagoon

Bar-tailed Godwit close in front of the hide

Here a winter plumaged Black-tailed Godwit for comparison

And a breeding plumaged Blackwit

Greenshank

Distant flock of Grey Plover (#138)

Three species of shank in this photo - (L to R) red, green and spotted red - believe it or not, we haven't had Redshank yet this year (#139)

Spotshank moulting to breeding plumage

The Black-tailed Godwit flock against Poole's urban backdrop

Many twitchers spent the weekend in Bedfordshire looking for what may be the last Lady Amherst's Pheasant surviving in the wild in Britain following their introduction in the 1900s. So if that's tickable, why aren't the Brownsea peacocks? 

Peacocks doing their bit to get themselves added to Cat C

Sandwich Terns are returning but not yet settled on the tern islands (#140)

Shelduck are also pairing up - this a male

This young colour-ringed Spoonbill was the only one on Brownsea on Sunday

Spoonbill

No visit to Brownsea would be complete without Red Squirrels

They seemed to be everywhere on Sunday

Spotted Redshank

Ducking

Garganey is our only summer migrant duck, arriving in small numbers from wintering quarters in Africa, and as well as one of the first spring migrants, it is also one of the most attractive. We had several at Swineham last year but none so far this, so news of one at nearby Longham Lakes saw me heading there yesterday. The bird, a handsome drake, hugged the edge of the South Lake, keeping company with a family of Mallard, the female of which tweaked his tail a couple of times when he got too close to her newly hatched ducklings.

Drake Garganey, Longham Lakes (#137)

I stayed with this bird for a couple of hours as it fed in lakeside vegetation

This one even does impressions: here, the Sydney Opera House...

...and here Mick Jagger

Eventually it did flush when a stoopid poodle type almost jumped on it...

...fortunately it did a circuit and gave a close flypast

A more intimate shot in the vegetation

It was feeding intently but remained alert to passing joggers and dogs

The Garganey was close enough to hear it's distinctive call which is likened to a finger being run across a comb - and a bit like a Ptarmigan being played at the wrong speed, I reckon. Probably the smartest duck of the week, and also the closest, but a good selection of commoner species at Abbotsbury were also pretty obliging during my visit on Good Friday.

Drake Pochard

Drake Shoveler

Drake Wigeon

Drake Teal