Start of 2015

2015 promises to be a very exciting year for me (at least the second half of it does!) as I leave school and then embark on 7 months of travelling, before finishing up at my new home in Brisbane, Australia. In April I am visiting Scotland for the first time, which will hopefully give me the opportunity to see some of the country's amazing wildlife, followed by leaving school in June (after my A-levels!). I have booked a bus trip from San Fransisco to New York from mid-July to mid-August, which is hugely exciting as I will finally get to visit the amazing country that is the USA, somewhere I have always wanted to go to. After this, I will be volunteering for three months in northern Kenya, which will be followed by a short time in Queensland before I finish the year with about two months in one of my favourite places in the world, New Zealand. I'm hoping to visit Tasmania in early 2016 before I start at the University of Queensland in Brisbane at the end of February. I really can't wait!

In the meantime, however, I have to get on with finishing my A-level exams in Dorset. I have set myself the challenge of seeing 500 species of bird this calendar year and so I have been taking as many opportunities as I can to go birding in pursuit of this number. In this post, I'll go through the birding highlights of my year so far.

I made a brief visit to Portland Harbour on the 2nd of January, where the highlights (in very dull light) were my second-ever Red-necked Grebe, about five Slavonian Grebes, three Common Eider and four Great Northern Divers. I finished the day with a year total of 50- only 450 to go!

I had a great day of birdwatching around the Portland-Weymouth area on the 5th. I started at Maiden Castle near Dorchester, where I managed to find my main two targets, Golden Plover (about 1000 seen) and Corn Bunting, almost immediately, along with several other birds that were new for the year, such as Lapwing and Stonechat. I then visited Weymouth's fantastic Radipole Lake RSPB. Here, I added a number of waterfowl species to year list, including the reserve's resident Hooded Merganser (personally, I feel that this is a wild bird, so I'm counting it). A Cetti's Warbler was a fantastic bonus!

Hooded Merganser, Radipole Lake RSPB. What an awesome bird!

I then returned to Portland Harbour, and this time I found the Black-necked Grebe flock off Sandsfoot Castle along with the usual selection of Slavonian Grebes, Great Northern Divers, Eiders, Red-breasted Mergansers, etc. 

Slavonian Grebes off Sandsfoot Castle

I then headed to Portland Castle and this time the regular Black Guillemot was showing fantastically well, sat on buoy relatively close to the shore.

Black Guillemot off Portland Castle

Ferrybridge was bizarrely devoid of any waders at all, other than a number of Oystercatchers. I don't think I've ever been here before without seeing Dunlin!

I continued on to Portland Bill. A great number of seabirds were passing in the windy conditions, with thousands of Guillemots and Razorbills and dozens of Kittiwakes and Gannets. Sadly I was unable to find any Fulmars nor the Great Skua seen earlier in the day. After a prolonged search, I eventually found the fantastic six Purple Sandpipers showing brilliantly as they fed perilously close to the rough sea with a group of Turnstones.

Purple Sandpiper, Portland Bill

I then walked up to the Obs Quarry and was extremely fortunate to find the Little Owl showing brilliantly there.

Spot the Little Owl!

Little Owl, Obs Quarry, Portland

A brief search around Nothe Fort as it was getting dark sadly produced no Black Redstarts, but it was great to see three Great Northern Divers offshore and about 15 Chiffchaffs that have chosen to winter in the coniferous trees around the car park. This brought my 2015 total to 84.

I continued to add to that total over the next few days around Sherborne and Hilfield, with the highlights being a fantastic Barn Owl at Hilfield LNR and a flock of several hundred Fieldfares on Hilfield Hill. A rather quiet visit to Lodmoor RSPB on the 17th was made worthwhile by the sight of two Marsh Harriers that flew low over my head (they were too fast for a photo though!). Despite a lack of any other birds of any great interest, I really enjoyed watching some of the more common species at close quarters.

Gadwall, Lodmoor RSPB.

Tufted Duck, Lodmoor RSPB

Lapwing, Lodmoor RSPB

On the way home, it was very pleasing to find a pair of Wigeon very close to Hilfield, at Up Cerne, along with a number of Little Grebes and Teal.

On the 24th, I had another great morning around Weymouth. Starting at Portland Castle, I quickly found a Black Redstart and finally two Dunlin were at Ferrybridge. At Radipole Lake RSPB, I was incredibly fortunate to come across to groups of Bearded Tits. These really are such awesome birds and on this occasion I managed to take a couple of photographs of them for the first time.

Bearded Tit, Radipole Lake RSPB. This is definitely one of my favourite birds I have seen anywhere in the world.

This Reed Bunting was also a first for me in 2015.

I heard that a Greenland White-fronted Goose was showing well in front of the North Hide, so I rushed over there to find it. This is the first-ever record at Radipole and is presumably the same individual that I saw at Abbotsbury in November.

Greenland White-fronted Goose, Radipole Lake RSPB.

This Marsh Harrier was also showing fantastically from the North Hide

The next day, I visited Arne RSPB at Studland, with high hopes of finding some of Poole Harbour's fantastic specialities. Sadly, the luck really wasn't with me as I missed a huge number of great birds, including Spoonbill, Dartford Warbler and Hen Harrier. I suppose I have become rather complacent to feel disappointed to feel disappointed by a visit during which I 'only' saw a pair of Peregrine Falcons, a Merlin, two Marsh Harriers and an enormous flock of Avocet!

This Green Woodpecker was one of seven new species for me in 2015 that I saw at Arne on the 25th.

Arne is teeming with magnificent Sika Deer. This species was originally introduced to Brownsea Island for hunting purposes in the 19th Century from East Asia, however, amazingly, several individuals managed to swim across Poole Harbour to Studland, where there is now a thriving population, which is spreading rapidly throughout south Dorset.

Part of Arne's huge wintering Avocet flock. It's such a privilege to be able to see so many of this species that was once extremely rare in the UK. The grey birds are Black-tailed Godwits.

I then headed to Brand's Bay, hoping for Dartford Warblers, seaducks and some of the wader species I had missed at Arne. Sadly a distant flock of Pintail was the only new bird for the year, while seeing a Marsh Harrier was a fantastic bonus. I later discovered that I had missed a Hen Harrier flying over the bay by about five minutes!

Finally, I visited Middle Beach at Studland, hoping to find some seabirds offshore. I wasn't disappointed, with about 11 Slavonian and 6 Black-necked Grebes seen, along with a Great Northern Diver and 10 or so Common Scoter, which brought the year total to 108.

On the 30th, I revisited Winterbourne Abbas Cress Beds, which had brought me my first-ever Jack Snipes exactly a month ago. Sure enough, on this occasion, I was just as lucky, as three Jack Snipe were flushed along with about 20 Common Snipes by a passing Buzzard.

The next day, I paid a very quick visit to Yeovil's Ninesprings Country Park. This park is known for only one thing in birding terms- its 30-strong flock of Mandarin Ducks that spend the winter here. These birds were incredibly tame, but they are truly feral individuals. Needless to say, seeing these fantastically brightly-coloured ducks in a rather dingy park on a cold and grey Yeovil day made for a rather surreal combination!

Mandarin Ducks, Ninesprings Country Park, Yeovil

On the 16th February, I made a quick detour to Lodmoor RSPB to look for the two Spoonbills found there the previous day. I quickly found them and I enjoyed the great experience of watching this awesome species for a decent amount of time. Sadly I had failed to bring my camera with me.

I headed up to London later that day. I had seen that the bird I most wanted to see in the UK before I move to Australia had been showing well in Lincolnshire for about two weeks. When I discovered that to get to where it was required just a 45-minute journey on the train to Peterborough, followed by a short taxi journey to the Deeping Lakes Nature Reserve, I knew it had to be done. My Dad and I got up early the next day and were at the reserve by 8.20. Ours hearts were pounding as we headed towards the hide from which it had been seen regularly for so many days, knowing that with our luck it was almost certain that it had moved on overnight. 

The feeling when I found the bird roosting on the island in front of the hide was initially one of extreme relief, followed by complete joy. Finally, I had seen this incredibly awesome species, and there it was, fast asleep just in front of me!

Long-eared Owl!!!!! 

We watched the bird for about an hour, as it occasionally preened itself, on several occasions showing its awesome bright-orange eyes. After dipping on the bird so many times (at Exminster Marshes RSPB, Portland Bill five times, Steart and most painfully at Elmley NNR on the Isle of Sheppey), it was enormously pleasing to finally see the bird and to see it so well was an amazing privilege. Without a doubt, it is one of Britain's most awesome birds and I will certainly never forget this sighting.

The experience was added to by the presence of several other species that are scarce in the south-west. A magnificent drake Goldeneye was just in front of us, between us and the island that the Owl was on.

Drake Goldeneye at Deeping Lakes NR. This fantastic duck was very common at the reserve, with about 30 seen. 

Nearby, a pair of Goosanders paid a quick visit. 

Goosanders, Deeping Lakes NR

I also saw my first Kingfishers of the year, a species that is always a great pleasure to see, and my first Greylag Geese (I have never been able to understand why this bird is so rare in Dorset, but so common seemingly everywhere else in the UK!). In amongst the numerous Greylags was this bird:

Pink-footed Goose, Deeping Lakes NR

This was a great way to end an excellent morning, and much to many of the reserve's wardens and other visiting birders, our taxi soon arrived to take us back to Peterborough station (I can imagine that there can't have been many other birds who've arrived there in a black cab!). Now it is 117 down, 383 to go in my pursuit of 500 this year! 

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!

Weymouth/Portland area- 22nd November

On the 22nd, I decided to try to see as many bird species as possible within a 12 mile radius of Weymouth, which would include Portland Bill to the south, Maiden Castle to the north, Abbotsbury to the west and Ringstead Bay to the east. Sadly, I ran out of time to search the latter two places properly, but I had some great success in the areas I did visit. 

I started at 10 30 at Maiden Castle. Here, I hoped to pick up some farmland species that may be difficult to find later on in Weymouth. The first bird of the day was Carrion Crow, shortly followed by a flock of approximately 300 Golden Plovers flying overhead and a number of the more regular countryside species, including Buzzard, Fielfare and 200 or so Lapwings. The highlight here for me was finding ten or so Corn Buntings, nowadays a very rare bird in Dorset.

Corn Bunting, Maiden Castle

This plump bird was once abundant in Dorset, but due to changed farming methods, the species has declined enormously and now has a very small and fragmented range in the county. Thankfully, the bird seems to be doing well around Maiden Castle.

My next stop was Lodmoor RSPB in Weymouth. I hoped to pick up heaps of wetland birds here, and I was not disappointed. A number of the more common waterfowl put in an appearance, along with three Common Snipes and, best of all, a Marsh Harrier. I had also managed to find the potentially-difficult Goldcrest here and my first Cetti's Warbler for a couple of years. A single Mediterranean Gull was present along with several Common Gulls.

I then travelled to Ferrybridge in search of the waders which had been virtually completely absent from Lodmoor. Sadly, someone had decided to start digging for fishing bait right in front of the visitor centre and had consequently flushed all waders and geese from the area. I managed to find some (very) distant Dunlin, Brent Geese and Red-breasted Mergansers, along with a single Redshank and a couple of other new species for the day. I knew this was basically my only chance at picking up such waders as Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Grey Plover and Knot, but sadly there was no sign of any. On the other side of the road, I picked up my first Turnstones and Rock Pipits, along with a fantastic hovering Kestrel. Four distant Grebes in Portland Harbour were most likely Little Grebes, but they were far-too-far away to eliminate something more interesting. 

Portland Castle was next, where a Great Northern Diver was swimming around offshore, along with a Shag. Divers are among my favourite birds and it was a real pleasure to watch this great species. Sadly I was unable to locate the Black Guillemot that had been seen there earlier in the morning. Two great Black Redstarts made for a fantastic sight, which more than made up for missing the guillemot.

Black Redstart, Portland Castle

The trees behind the castle were bizarrely empty compared to last weekend, when they had been teeming with not only Black Redstarts, but also Chiffchaffs, thrushes and finches. Today they were virtually empty.

I then continued on to Portland Bill. Immediately, I found a Peregrine Falcon soaring above the rocky cliffs- this was a good start. I walked down to the Pulpit Rock, in search of Purple Sandpipers, which can often be found around this area during the winter months. I quickly found several waders scurrying about the rocks, though they turned out to be Turnstones.

Turnstone, Portland Bill

Though often ignored, this really is a remarkable species, with a breeding range extending across the entire Arctic, from Alaska and Canada to Scandinavia and Greenland and everywhere in between. It then travels south for the winter, commonly as far as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. What an awesome bird!

After a long search, I eventually found a single Purple Sandpiper, and quickly four more appeared.

Purple Sandpiper, Portland Bill

Watching these birds as they fed perilously close to a large swell was an awesome experience. They would regularly have to fly rapidly away from their perch to avoid being swept away by the powerful waves that were breaking over the rocks. Like the Turnstones, their camouflage is truly remarkable- they are almost impossible to spot against the rocky background. This was only my second sighting of this Arctic-breeding species and it was awesome to watch the birds from such a close distance.

I still had several easy species to pick up from the Bill, so I soon had to drag myself away from the Purple Sandpipers and continue my search. Finding a Stonechat proved to be easy, the others, however, proved to be much more difficult. I ended up wasting a considerable amount of time in finding Raven and Gannet and sadly no Fulmars had appeared. My next stop was the Obs Quarry, where I was extremely lucky to have a brief view of one of the Little Owls- my second sighting of this species in as many visits to the Bill after dozens without seeing them. I had no such luck during my search for Short-eared Owls in the top fields behind the observatory- my first Skylarks of the day being the only compensation- it didn't really make up for it... I then decided to head to Radipole, stopping off at Portland Castle and Ferrybridge again on the way. At the castle, I eventually found the Black Guillemot and a huge number of Ringed Plovers had returned to Ferrybridge. Sadly I had missed Sanderling, Grey Plover and Knot though... Arriving at Radipole, new birds for the day continued to appear, including a Shoveler and dozens of Black-tailed Godwits at the visitor centre. The Hooded Merganser was unfortunately hiding, so I quickly moved on, further into the reserve. A number of very common birds were still missing from my day's list, but sadly only one of them- the Greenfinch appeared. I didn't care at all though, as I chanced upon a flock of 35 or so Bearded Tits, undoubtedly one of Britain's coolest birds. Genetic testing has shown that they have no close relatives anywhere in the world, and the species is consequently in a family of its own. Sadly, they were moving too fast for a photograph, but I happily settled for watching this great species really close. Rushing back to the carpark, I happened to find a Water Rail creeping about some reeds- what an awesome few minutes it had been! Sadly, the Hooded Merganser was still absent and with darkness fast approaching, I hurried to Abbotsbury hoping to add a couple more species to the tally. It was virtually completely dark by the time I arrived, and as a result it was impossible for me to try and pick up any Pochard or Pintail in amongst the large flocks of waterfowl at the swannery. A large number of Pheasant  and a single Sparrowhawk were my only consolidation...

 Shoveler (top) and Shelduck, Radipole Lake RSPB

I ended up seeing 80 species, which I felt was not too bad. Had I started earlier in the day (thus avoiding some of the traffic) and allowed myself some more time, I think that 100 species could have been feasible. I missed a number of very common species, including Song Thrush, Redwing and Great Crested Grebe and with a bit more luck, finding twenty more species shouldn't be too hard. I shall try again at some point....

 Here is a list of species seen.

15-16th November

On the 15th, I was lucky enough to find a distant Greenland Greater White-fronted Goose from the coast path behind Abbotsbury Swannery in with a flock of Canada Geese, along with a singe Scaup in among a large flock of Pochards, Tufted Ducks and Mallards. This was my second sighting of both species and made for a nice bonus on a great walk.

Greenland Greater White-fronted Goose, Abbotsbury. What an amazing thought it is that this bird has travelled to Dorset all the way from the High Arctic.

The next day, we got up early and travelled to Portland, in search of a rare Siberian vagrant. After a short wait, the Dusky Warbler appeared in a small bramble patch off Avalanche Road. We had great views, but the bird was extremely mobile and far too fast for the camera. This species breeds from central Siberia eastwards and should be well on its way to Thailand right now, however this individual has become rather lost to say the least. I suspected that the bird may appear similar to a darker, browner Chiffchaff, though I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this bird was much more distinctive than expected. Its behaviour was very similar to that of the Pallas's Warbler that I saw several weekends ago, moving frantically about the brambles, occasionally pausing to do some fly-catching. It was a really great bird to watch and a very pleasing new species for me. In the same brambled area, there were two Chiffchaffs and several Redwing flocks flew overhead.

We then moved on to Portland Castle, hoping for some Divers to be showing well offshore. Sadly our search was in vain (except for a group of c.14 Red-breasted Mergansers), though finding eight Black Redstarts behind the castle more than made up for it.

Black Redstart, Portland Castle

This is one of my favourite bird species, really invoking memories of the south of France and Morocco and they appeared well and truly out of place hopping around the dingy wasteland behind the castle on this cold and rainy November day. I have never seen such a large number together in the UK and watching them made for a really enjoyable experience. Nearby were approximately 12 Chiffchaffs and several more Redwings, as well as my latest-ever Wheatear, beating the bird I saw at Portland Bill 16 days ago. Soon, the rain became unbearably heavy and we had to head home, very pleased with the morning.