With a firecrest hotspot right on our doorstep, it was about time I visited the Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens in search of them.
As we approached the gardens, I saw several jays flying over. I could hear that there were dozens of crests and long-tailed tits flitting around the trees, but it took some time to get my binos on any. When I did, I was disappointed, yet again all of them were goldcrests! I also found long-tailed tits and wrens but no firecrests.
When we got to the ponds, it was clear that there were several crests around. Once again they all turned out to be goldcrests! I was really starting to wonder if they had been misidentified. Then, I found a lone bird flitting in a holly bush. There it was. A magnificent firecrest, a new bird for me. As I watched, six or seven more appeared offering breathtaking views. Seeing the superb bird, Britain's smallest, in the incredibly magical Abbotsbury gardens was a great sight. I saw another three as I headed to the exit of the gardens, as well as a nuthatch, a treecreeper, ten or so stock doves over and later, as we drove home, a sparrowhawk over.
Tuesday 30 October 2012
Thursday 25 October 2012
Portland 25th October
A truly extraordinary day at Portland today-
We went down to Portland today with the hope of finding a real rarity. We arrived very early, when it was still dark, and started by having a look around the trees in the Obs car park. I could see several small green birds flitting around, most appeared to be goldcrests, but there were also some chiffchaffs as well. Then, a bird with a particularly prominent eye stripe appeared at the top of a bush. We unfortunately did not get great views, but saw enough of it to know that it was a yellow-browed warbler, my first and an Asian vagrant which has arrived in extraordinary numbers this year.
We then walked up through the top fields. There were hundreds of thrushes- predominantly blackbirds and my first redwings of winter, along with mistle and song thrushes. Huge flocks of woodpigeon, starling, linnet and meadow pipit dominated the skies. There were also high numbers of kestrels and one buzzard. We had a quick look in a small forested area for any scarce warblers. Unfortunately there appeared to be no warblers there, so we moved on. A woodcock took flight from the field we were walking through. We then headed down to the Bill Quarry. I saw my first black redstart of the year in the QIDIC MOD area, always a great bird to see and something of a Portland speciality. Out to sea, I saw three common scoter fly past and an unidentifiable auk species. A peregrine falcon flew over the cliffs and there were dozens of gannets out to sea.
We decided to have one last look in the top fields. There was a large crowd of birders gathered and we heard news that an Isabelline Shrike had been seen less than 50 yards up the path. We arrived, and the bird appeared immediately. An adult male Daurian Isabelline Shrike, arguably the most stunning British bird I have seen. It was no more than 10 yards away from us, regularly sweeping down to the ground in pursuit of insect prey. This bird has got extremely lost heading to its wintering grounds in Pakistan and Iran from its breeding grounds in China. Its extraordinary sandy colour made an extreme contrast to the muddy autumnal Portland landscape. It really was a magnificent bird and a seriously rare one as well.
As if it couldn't get any better, as we headed back to the car, some birders said they had found a Siberian stonechat with the common stonechats in the field. We had a quick search for it, finding a very late whinchat along with the stonechats. Then, a paler-looking bird, almost the colour of a wheatear on the back appeared in a clump of brambles. It had far more white on its throat than most stonechats and more of a white eyebrow. Checking the book, it turned out to be a female Siberian stonechat, a seriously rare bird verified by Martin Cade, the PBO warden. Although not the most exciting to look at, it is a very bird in Britain, only recently separated from the European stonechat and an Asian vagrant.
That ended an extraordinary morning, with three Asian vagrants, all of which were new to me. Portland really is an incredible place.
We went down to Portland today with the hope of finding a real rarity. We arrived very early, when it was still dark, and started by having a look around the trees in the Obs car park. I could see several small green birds flitting around, most appeared to be goldcrests, but there were also some chiffchaffs as well. Then, a bird with a particularly prominent eye stripe appeared at the top of a bush. We unfortunately did not get great views, but saw enough of it to know that it was a yellow-browed warbler, my first and an Asian vagrant which has arrived in extraordinary numbers this year.
We then walked up through the top fields. There were hundreds of thrushes- predominantly blackbirds and my first redwings of winter, along with mistle and song thrushes. Huge flocks of woodpigeon, starling, linnet and meadow pipit dominated the skies. There were also high numbers of kestrels and one buzzard. We had a quick look in a small forested area for any scarce warblers. Unfortunately there appeared to be no warblers there, so we moved on. A woodcock took flight from the field we were walking through. We then headed down to the Bill Quarry. I saw my first black redstart of the year in the QIDIC MOD area, always a great bird to see and something of a Portland speciality. Out to sea, I saw three common scoter fly past and an unidentifiable auk species. A peregrine falcon flew over the cliffs and there were dozens of gannets out to sea.
We decided to have one last look in the top fields. There was a large crowd of birders gathered and we heard news that an Isabelline Shrike had been seen less than 50 yards up the path. We arrived, and the bird appeared immediately. An adult male Daurian Isabelline Shrike, arguably the most stunning British bird I have seen. It was no more than 10 yards away from us, regularly sweeping down to the ground in pursuit of insect prey. This bird has got extremely lost heading to its wintering grounds in Pakistan and Iran from its breeding grounds in China. Its extraordinary sandy colour made an extreme contrast to the muddy autumnal Portland landscape. It really was a magnificent bird and a seriously rare one as well.
As if it couldn't get any better, as we headed back to the car, some birders said they had found a Siberian stonechat with the common stonechats in the field. We had a quick search for it, finding a very late whinchat along with the stonechats. Then, a paler-looking bird, almost the colour of a wheatear on the back appeared in a clump of brambles. It had far more white on its throat than most stonechats and more of a white eyebrow. Checking the book, it turned out to be a female Siberian stonechat, a seriously rare bird verified by Martin Cade, the PBO warden. Although not the most exciting to look at, it is a very bird in Britain, only recently separated from the European stonechat and an Asian vagrant.
That ended an extraordinary morning, with three Asian vagrants, all of which were new to me. Portland really is an incredible place.
Sunday 21 October 2012
Hilfield 21st October
Today I started what will become a monthly bird species count at Hilfield. I decided that I would walk for two hours around Hilfield, counting all bird species I saw and the numbers I saw of them. I am doing this to get an idea of what species and how many of them are present each month of the year.
Although I didn't see anything especially unusual, there were still several birds of minor interest around.
The skies seemed to be dominated by corvids, with 100s of jackdaws, rooks and carrion crows; a remarkable tally of 10 jay 3 magpies. Woodpigeons were also of particular abundance. Besides those, other species with high tallies were herring gull, starling and pheasant.
More interesting birds in smaller numbers were: one buzzard, a goldcrest and two marsh tits.
Full numbers of the bird count are on the Hilfield bird count page.
Total: 26 species seen
I also saw a hummingbird hawk-moth, an increasing visitor to Hilfield.
Although I didn't see anything especially unusual, there were still several birds of minor interest around.
The skies seemed to be dominated by corvids, with 100s of jackdaws, rooks and carrion crows; a remarkable tally of 10 jay 3 magpies. Woodpigeons were also of particular abundance. Besides those, other species with high tallies were herring gull, starling and pheasant.
More interesting birds in smaller numbers were: one buzzard, a goldcrest and two marsh tits.
Full numbers of the bird count are on the Hilfield bird count page.
Total: 26 species seen
I also saw a hummingbird hawk-moth, an increasing visitor to Hilfield.
Sunday 7 October 2012
Hilfield 7th October
There were visible signs of migration at Hilfield today- with C.90 meadow pipits, C.40 alba wagtails, 3 jays, a combined total of about 160 hirundines (all house martins and swallows), a grey wagtail, a chiffchaff, two goldcrest, three herring gulls and 5 teal all over or in the garden and Hilfield.
Radipole 6 October
We went down to Radipole this afternoon hoping the find the purple heron reported from there earlier in the morning. We went straight to the concrete bridge, from where it had been seen. It turned out that it had been seen flying to the north of the reserve about ten minutes before we got there, so we walked on. Unbelievably, both people next to me caught site of it, but in the excitement failed to describe where it was! It was an incredibly frustrating bird to miss, a truly magnificent bird and a difficult one to see so I still have to wait for number 200!
Also on the reserve were approximately 25 gadwall, 3 chiffchaffs, a blackcap, several overhead snipe and 10 or so grey heron. The highlight however was a marsh harrier which put dozens of ducks in flight as it cruised over the reeds and pools.
Driving home, I caught sight of a strange-shaped raptor flying over the car. A closer look revealed that it was a hen harrier, only my third ever and an incredible bird to see. Britain's most persecuted bird of prey is an increasingly rare sight nowadays and is also a pleasure to watch. I also saw a first for me at Hilfield- a yellow wagtail that took off from the road. There were dozens of hirundines around as well and two snipe flying around. On top of Batcombe Ridge were two roe deer.
On the morning of the 7th, 3 jay flew over Hilfield and a grey heron that was being mobbed by the rooks landed by the lake, before flying into the woods, were it remained for a while.
Also on the reserve were approximately 25 gadwall, 3 chiffchaffs, a blackcap, several overhead snipe and 10 or so grey heron. The highlight however was a marsh harrier which put dozens of ducks in flight as it cruised over the reeds and pools.
Driving home, I caught sight of a strange-shaped raptor flying over the car. A closer look revealed that it was a hen harrier, only my third ever and an incredible bird to see. Britain's most persecuted bird of prey is an increasingly rare sight nowadays and is also a pleasure to watch. I also saw a first for me at Hilfield- a yellow wagtail that took off from the road. There were dozens of hirundines around as well and two snipe flying around. On top of Batcombe Ridge were two roe deer.
On the morning of the 7th, 3 jay flew over Hilfield and a grey heron that was being mobbed by the rooks landed by the lake, before flying into the woods, were it remained for a while.
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