Winterbourne Abbas (disused) Cress Beds

On the penultimate day of the year, I headed down to Winterbourne Abbas in search of a Jack Snipe that had been reported from its watercress beds two days earlier. I found what turned out to be the cress beds- which bore far more of a resemblance to an overgrown river, owing to the fact that the beds have not been worked since the 1960s- right away. It was a very small area, sandwiched between a small crossroads and the A35 and with most of it frozen, I really had no confidence in finding the bird.

A small, unfrozen, patch of open water in the middle had at least 10 Mallards swimming around on it. Nearby, a Little Egret was feeding right by the roadside in a small stream. I was beginning to feel that it might not be worth staying, when our of the corner of my eye, I saw a species of Snipe take flight briefly and then immediately re-land. Sadly my view had been far too brief to identify which member of the Snipe family it had been. Then, another wader appeared, flying rapidly over the road and landing in amongst the Mallards. It was a Green Sandpiper, a really fantastic bird to find at this site so close to my home. It showed very well for a short time, before being spooked by a trio of Carrion Crows. The same Crows, however, also spooked another Snipe and fantastically my views of this bird during its short flight were sufficient to confirm its identity as a Jack Snipe, a noticeably smaller and much shorter-billed version of its Common cousin. Its flight bears far more resemblance to that of a Woodcock- unlike Common Snipe, it was not really in any way erratic. I was so pleased with seeing this species so close to home- it was a first for me and it leaves Lapland Bunting as the most common Dorset bird that I have seen nowhere in the world.

It was over yet, however. Soon, another Jack Snipe made a short flight towards the back of the cress beds, followed by another which bizarrely headed up high over the A35 and into the distance, allowing great views as it went. On top of that, a Common Snipe flew in the same direction, meaning that I was able to enjoy a great comparison between these two suprisingly-different-looking species. Another unidentified species of Snipe was also seen landing in the beds. To complete a very pleasing selection of birds on this small patch of overgrown river, a Kingfisher was also seen very well diving down from a perch into the area where the Snipe had landed. It was a fantastic trip to an area that seemed unlikely to hold any birds and I will be back on the second to see what I can find then. Seeing at least three- I wouldn't mind betting that there were more!- of a new species less than 15 miles from home along with a couple of other uncommon birds was absolutely brilliant and shows that there's a lot out there if you look!

Brean Down 14th December

As we were on our way to Bristol on Sunday afternoon, we decided to make a small detour to Brean Down on the north Somerset coast. The previous day, three species I had never seen before had been present in the area, along with a couple of other scarcities.

As soon as we arrived, it became apparent that an enormous number of birds were feeding in the area of Brean Down Farm. There were hundreds of Redwings and Fieldfares and a number of the other thrushes. Unfortunately however, there had been no sign of the Lapland Bunting nor of the Jack Snipes seen the previous day and the Twites had flown off earlier in the morning. It was not looking good, but thankfully the Snow Bunting was apparently showing well. Our search appeared to have been in vain before we had a brief view of it flying low over the saltmarsh. This was my third Snow Bunting ever, and as always was a great bird to see.

Soon, I found two Water Pipits feeding on the marsh, along with a large number of Starlings, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits. Just offshore were numerous Shelducks, Wigeons and Oystercatchers. After continued searching, I came across several Reed Buntings- sadly none of them were Lapland Buntings! Soon, a flock of Linnet appeared. The Twite would almost certainly be with them, though the views were far-too-brief to be able to find them, and the flock quickly moved off far into the distance. As we headed back to the farm, a flock of four finches shot past me along with another Water Pipit. Raising my binoculars, I realised that they were all Twite. This species is a relatively common breeding bird in the moorlands of Scotland and northern England and Wales, normally wintering along Britain's east coast. It is a scarce species in the southwest- a truly mega rarity in Dorset and just about annual in small number on the north Somerset coast and in Avon. Though certainly not the most exciting species to look at and despite my views being really rather poor, it was still very satisfying to see this new bird for me. Needless to say, photographing the birds was impossible. I'll have to wait for a Jack Snipe and Lapland Bunting!

7th December

Amazingly, I saw my second new bird of the weekend this morning- what a great couple of days!

About a week ago, a Barred Warbler had appeared in a mist net at Portland Bird Observatory. This was a remarkable record. This species is a scarce passage migrant to the UK, breeding from central and eastern Europe to central Asia and wintering in tropical East Africa. Around 100 are seen in Britain each year, virtually all of which are first winters in September-October along the east coast. As far as I know, this individual is the first to be recorded in Britain in December, when it should be enjoying the warmth of Kenya... I know where I'd rather be! I had hoped that the bird would stay at Portland until the weekend, however it disappeared for four days, before reappearing yesterday evening. Thankfully, it was still there this morning:

Barred Warbler, Portland Bird Observatory. What an awesome bird!

The Obs at Portland has started to put apples out for the Blackcaps that spend the winter there and quite remarkably, the Barred Warbler has taken a liking to them too. This bird was noticeably chunky- much, much larger than the female Blackcap that was also feasting on the fruit. Its size, combined with its really rather evil eye, combine to give this bird a rather fearsome appearance- certainly not an appearance normally associated with the warbler family. What a beast! The odds on me seeing a Barred Warbler feeding on apples about ten yards away on a cold and windy December Dorset day must have been pretty slim...

Also at the Obs was the corpse of a Hoopoe that had sadly been found dead the previous day, most likely having been killed by a cat. Seeing this magnificent bird so close up was incredible- its wing feather patterns are absolutely remarkable, but it really was sad to see such a resplendent beast lifeless.

My next stop was Portland Castle, where I was lucky to find a female Eider hiding incredibly effectively on some seaweed-covered rocks just offshore:

Female Eider, Portland Castle. Not the best picture, but it was so well-camouflaged that this was the only time I managed to find it in the camera!

This was only my second Eider ever, and my first in about ten years. Alongside it were several Red-breasted Mergansers and I also had distant views of a Black-throated Diver flying over the harbour from Hamm Beach. It was a good morning!

Another Siberian vagrant...

I saw my fourth Siberian vagrant of the autumn this morning, with a Richard's Pipit at Redcliff Point near Weymouth.

 This species breeds in Siberia, Mongolia and northern China and normally spends the winter from India to Malaysia, however, like a number of other Siberian birds, it is showing an increasing tendency to appear in Western Europe in autumn and to overwinter in the Middle East, North Africa and Iberia. This was a great new species for me and a very unexpected one to see so late in autumn. It really is not the most exciting bird in terms of looks, but it is truly remarkable that it has travelled so far to end up in a field near Weymouth. What an awesome bird!