Peter Moore's Wildlife Blog

Sunday, 19 June 2022

A look back at April's year-listing by bike

Last year, April was the second most productive month (after January) for additions to my non-motorised year list (30 species) - so I had high hopes as the same month approached in 2022. At the start of the month I reprised the previous year's trip to St Aldhelm's Head with Phil Saunders, again meeting him at the Renscombe car park early doors in the hope of seeing a Grey Partridge or two.

Peregrine, St Aldhelm's Head, 2nd April

Sure enough, after a walk to the Head this species had been duly noted, along with a Wheatear on the way there and a Gannet before the journey back. We couldn't repeat last year's success with an 'in-off' Red-rumped Swallow, but Phil again delivered some quality picking up a migrant Osprey heading inland, phoning the news through to me just after we had parted company. Greenshank was added the following day at Middlebere to get the first weekend of the month off to a decent start.

Male Black Redstart, St Aldhelm's Head, 2nd April

Female Black Redstart, St Aldhelm's Head, 2nd April

Male Black Redstart, St Aldhelm's Head, 2nd April

Mid-week offered the opportunity to catch-up with the first minor rarity of the year - a Green-winged Teal at Lytchett Fields, which I saw at the second attempt having eventually timed an evening visit to coincide with the rising tide thanks to advice from Ian Ballam. After a Yellow-browed Warbler in March, this became only the second bird added to the 2022 year list which I had not seen in 2021. The Friday after this saw me take another evening walk to Swineham where a few Sandwich Terns were my first of the year - but the stars of the show were a couple of Bearded Tit, sightings of which have become scarce there in recent years.

Yellowhammer, St Aldhelm's Head, 2nd April

Skylark, St Aldhelm's Head, 2nd April

Linnet, St Aldhelm's Head, 2nd April

I had hatched a plan for the following day, 10th April, to make my first trip of the year by bike to Portland, where I hoped a Ring Ouzel would stick around as this was another species which remained stubbornly absent from my 'own steam' list in 2021. Leaving home in the dark, the 27 mile journey was trying to say the least, and on arrival I elected to leave the bike in safe hands at the Obs so I could travel light around the southern tip of Portland.

Green-winged Teal (drake), Lytchett Fields, 5th April

Sibe-y looking Chiffchaff at Swineham, 7th April

Curlew, Swineham, 9th April

I had anticipated a minimum of 5 new birds for the year from the trip and in the end managed 7 for the day - starting with the Ring Ouzel, which had indeed stayed overnight for me to view it distantly in the strips above the Obs; Willow Warbler; Little Owl; and a brief but productive seawatch adding Great Skua, Arctic Skua, Kittiwake and Manx Shearwater.

Red Kite low over Swineham, 9th April

Goldfinch, Swineham, 9th April

Egyptian Goose, Swineham, 9th April

A two week Easter break in Scotland (more on which in a later post) offered some respite from the rigours of year-listing by bike, but saw me fall badly behind the East Anglian birding velo-mafia in the Bubo non-motorised mini-league. This spurred me on to greater efforts to close the gap, adding Whimbrel, Reed Warbler and Cuckoo on my first visit to Swineham after returning home, then a few dashes of colour with a Frome Valley Mandarin and a Dancing Ledge Puffin on an evening jaunt with Steve Smith. A pair of roadside Tawny Owl on the way home from the latter were my first sight record of this species for 2022.

Ring Ouzel, Portland Bill, 10th April

Little Owl, Portland, 10th April

Great Skua, Portland Bill, 10th April

My first Sedge Warbler of 2021 appeared at Swineham on the final day of March: this year it was a whole month later on the final day of April, fitting the general pattern of migration feeling 'late' this spring'. Or perhaps 'normal', and only late by comparison to what we've come to expect in recent years.

Wheatear, Stoborough Heath, 26th April

Firecrest, Holme Lane, 26th April

Puffin, Dancing Ledge, 29th April

The final day of the month presented a dilemma when a Black Kite was reported just 4 miles away at Corfe Castle. This species is pretty rare in Dorset and tends not to hang around - could I make it by bike? I loaded the panniers, then realised there was a good chance I would not see it at all and switched to the car for the short drive to add it to my Dorset list - a 'brown' county tick, but still a good one. I later calculated that I might just have made it by bike - but the bird would have been spiralling much higher than it was when I saw it. So by the month's end the year list stood at 168 - just 2 short of the 170 I had reached by the last day of April in 2021. Just under 200 miles had been clocked up - respectable given the 2 week holiday away from home at Easter but a big year would require a good total in May. Come back soon to find out how that went...

Black Kite, Corfe Castle, 30th April

Lapwing, Piddle Valley, 30th April

Wednesday, 30 March 2022

Take these chains...

A recurring theme on this blog is my persistent neglect of family duty whilst going awol in search of birds. But with my eldest son on a tour of Europe, youngest on a Duke of Edinburgh camping trip and wife spending time with her beloved allotment, the boot was on the other foot last weekend, opening up the opportunity for a long bike ride.

Dipper, Maiden Newton

After an energetic January during which I cycled 300 miles in search of birds I've been slacking a bit, clocking up only 104 miles in February and, until this weekend, a mere 77 miles so far in March. With a couple of weeks in Scotland planned at Easter, I was keen to get a few more tricky species under the belt for the 2022 year list, and the fine weather was also not to be wasted. Plus I had just spent £238 on a new transmission system so it was time to give the 'as new' chain and gears a good thrashing.

Dipper, Maiden Newton

An early start on Saturday was therefore needed to head first for Maiden Newton, a regular site for Dipper and, at about 25 miles, the closest one to my home in Wareham, (extralimital records notwithstanding as they have been seen on rare occasions within a few hundred yards of home on the River Piddle). I went to Lyme Regis last June to see this species (along with the then resident drake Eider), an 88 mile trek that I promised myself never to repeat due to the extreme distance and the perils of travelling on the A35. Maiden Newton, by contrast, offered a much more civilised alternative, being accessible via quiet back roads to Dorchester followed by a stretch on national cycle route 26.

The 'Strawberry Line', as it's also known, is about as delightful a bike ride as West Dorset has to offer, with gentle gradients through sleepy hamlets and mostly surfaced cycle routes or quiet lanes, and only the last few miles to my destination deteriorating into a dirt track. The sun brought out Lesser Celandines on the verges and more fragrant plants in cottage gardens which in different times might have flown the Union Jack but now displayed the blue and yellow ensign of Ukraine. A Blackcap singing near Bradford Peverell became my first year tick of the day and as I approached the centre of the village a calling Grey Wagtail indicated the presence of the River Frome.

Yellow-browed Warbler, Bridport

It all looked a bit Dipper-less at first glance but within 20 minutes my target species sat up briefly on the wall in front of the Mill before darting back under it and heading off upstream. After such an early success - it had only just turned 0900 - a half-baked plan to continue west to Bridport to look for an unseasonal Yellow-browed Warbler started to solidify. I could really have done with confirmation of its continued presence before adding what would be a minimum of 20 extra miles to what was already going to be at least a 50 mile trip, but enquiries via Twitter produced no fresh news. I did hear from two locals though, Luke Phillips and Tom Brereton, who both thought it unlikely that the Warbler would have moved on - both top birders whose judgement I respect so that was enough for me to press on hoping for the best.

Yellow-browed Warbler, Bridport

The day was warming rapidly and a long climb up to the appropriately named Shatcombe Lane - I was certainly shat by the time I reached the top of the combe - forced me out of the saddle to push the bike. But once at the top I enjoyed a wind-assisted bimble across the plateau followed by a precipitous drop to Askerswell during which I matched my top speed for this bike of 36.7 mph. Stopping to check a stream on the outskirts of Bridport I met a jogger who guessed correctly that I was looking for Dipper but he said there hadn't been one there for years. I told him I'd seen one earlier 10 miles to the north east in Maiden Newton - 'that's a good run' he commented, and I didn't have the heart to explain that I had started the day 35 miles away in Wareham!

Continuing towards town it was straightforward to find the spot behind the Co-op where the Yellow-browed Warbler had been seen in previous days, but it looked like it might not be so straightforward to find the bird as a couple were there before me and hadn't been able to locate it. I stuck around its favoured area as they moved along the River, and within a few minutes located it in the outer canopy of a willow. I whistled to the couple, who had been joined by two other birders, and we all eventually enjoyed reasonable views. As well as an addition to the 2022 non-motorised year list, the Warbler was also an addition to the non-motorised life list and the first species I have seen this year which I didn't see in 2021.

Red-necked Grebe, Bincleaves

This was all proving too easy so I thought I would increase the difficulty level by detouring home via Portland Harbour where a Red-necked Grebe had been reported the previous day. The coast road would be the quickest route but also the most heavily trafficked. Google maps said it would be 23 miles following designated cycle routes, but these involved some serious detours, so I split the difference turning inland at Burton Bradstock to follow national route 2 before hurtling down into Portesham to rejoin the coast road to Weymouth. I felt pretty fresh when I left Bridport but the wind in my face and the steeply undulating route made it hard going on the return leg.

Red-necked Grebe, Bincleaves

I persevered, aiming for Sandsfoot Castle on the north shore of Portland Harbour which I knew would afford views of the Bincleaves area where the Red-necked Grebe had been seen, and I soon located it with a small raft of its Great Crested cousins. Closer views were obtained by heading back up to the Bincleaves coastguard building - my third good bird for the day safely seen and photographed.

All that was required now to add them to the 2022 non-motorised year list was to complete the final 20 or so miles home. But first I would need refreshment, having guzzled the three flasks of water I had started the day with. I stopped at a convenience store in Preston and locked the bike outside, but on exiting the shop was dismayed to find the combination wasn't working and the lock had stuck fast.

A moment of panic where I thought I might have to phone home for a lift or somehow get back to Weymouth for the train, thus rendering the birds seen earlier in the day 'untickable', was followed by a moment of clarity where I realised that cutting the cable of the (ageing and inexpensive) lock would be the best option. All I needed was a bolt-cutter or a hacksaw! As luck would have it, a landscape gardener had pulled up next to me in a van and when I inquired if he possessed such a thing he whipped out a hand-held circular saw which dispatched the chain within seconds. We agreed it was a good job neither of us were actual bike thieves and, duly liberated, I was soon on the road again!

I reached home almost exactly 12 hours after leaving. 8 of these had been spent in the saddle, puffing my way to a total of 78 miles, gaining 5,695 feet in elevation to complete my second longest bicycle journey ever, and one of the most enjoyable. The non-motorised year list had risen to 141, two more than where it stood this time last year.

Grey Wagtail, Maiden Newton

Monday, 28 February 2022

A trip to the chain store

I implied in a recent post that I'd saved a load of money on fuel with all the cycling. This is of course true, but in the interests of full disclosure I should point out that it's not a totally cost-free option, at least not when done to excess. I bought the new bike in June last year - a mid-range model around the £600 mark - and have done about 2,000 miles on it so far. Apart from a bunch of inner tubes and a new rear tyre - the old one went bald at around 1,500 miles - the only maintenance had been a few broken spokes, fixed under warranty, and now hopefully remedied as I have a new front-handlebar bag which holds my travel tripod and dinky MM4 scope, thus spreading the weight which I suspect was putting too much pressure on the rear wheel.

Marsh Harrier - after illness kept me off the bike for 2 weeks I broke myself back into it gently with a trundle to Middlebere (10 miles round trip)

Funny looking Osprey at Middlebere

Friday saw me back in Wareham Forest where a few Crossbills kept their distance - here a male...

...and here a female

Firecrest in Wareham Forest on Friday

Firecrest

But recently there have been some grinding noises and unhealthy sounding feedback coming from the transmission so I booked it in to my local bike store for a service. A phone call soon after I dropped it off was the first sign of trouble. 'Has it had, err, a lot of use since you got it?'. Why yes I replied, about 250 miles per month on average. 'That would explain it then!'. Not only had my chain worn well beyond the normal extent to justify replacement but various cogs, cranks and sprockets (all very technical) had done likewise. The long and the short of it was that what started as a £40 routine service quickly escalated into a quote for £270 worth of parts and labour.

My first butterfly of the year was this tattered Red Admiral in Wareham Forest on 25th

First Adder of the year was at Durlston on 26th

This smart male Black Redstart was my main target at Durlston on Saturday 26th

I located him at Tilly Whim caves, a regular haunt

Fulmar giving great views at Durlston

Durlston Razorbills bobbing below the breeding ledges

A few Guillemot still in winter plumage

Fulmar

Although it's getting on for half the cost of the bike, there isn't much option but to get the work done of course, and it does come with the promise that the bike will run as good as new (which was very good) from the trustworthy team at my local bike shop. Plus, 2,000 miles in my car at 60mpg and £7 per gallon would have cost almost the same if one includes a bit of wear and tear on the vehicle. So in the round it's not a bad deal for the pleasure I've had from it over the last 8 months.

After the 12 mile ride to Durlston, another 5 took me to Studland where Ring-necked Parakeet was my next target

Just the one showed nicely near Fort Henry

Most of the Black-necked Grebes off Studland are now in summer plumage

A very smart plumage

Feeding on some kind of Pipefish

Black-necked Grebe (left) and Slavonian Grebe, Studland, 26th February

Slavonian Grebe still in winter garb

Slavonian Grebe

A bout of illness earlier this month somewhat curtailed my cycling efforts in the second half of February, but by the end of last week's half-term holiday I was well enough to put some miles back on the clock and add a few decent birds to the 2022 year list - highlights of which adorn this post. Friday saw me back in Wareham Forest where Crossbill and Firecrest were added.

Old Harry Rocks from Durlston

Med Gull at Studland, 26th February

Med Gull

Saturday morning's forecast also looked good so I headed for Swanage and Durlston Country Park to add a few seabirds and a lovely male Black Redstart to the list. I was feeling fresh enough after that for the climb up to Studland where I met up with the family for a late lunch and views of one of the local Ring-necked Parakeets. Sunday saw me back in Wareham Forest (for Dartford Warbler) before heading back to Swineham for one more look at the Tundra Bean Geese. This took my total mileage to just over 100 for February - my lowest monthly total since 2020. But just wait 'til that new chain arrives!