We started at Abbotsbury Swannery, from which long-tailed ducks and scaup were reported three days ago. Unfortunately, the swannery was closed and there seemed to be no public access to the the beach opposite the fleet. We decided to scope the large flocks of ducks from as close as we could. Soon we were rewarded with two stunning long-tailed ducks out in the middle of the fleet. This was yet another new species for me, and a really superb pair of birds to see. Unfortunately I failed to find any scaups, but in among the more common wildfowl species I also found two pintail and a shelduck; while there was also a flock of approximately 250 lapwing, several snipe, both great crested and little grebes and Mediterranean gulls around the area.
We then headed to Portland Harbour in search of divers and grebes. We decided to have a quick look at Ferrybridge, and remarkably a snow bunting landed on the bridge as we crossed it, which we then followed as it landed in the shrubbery. It was remarkably tame, allowing views of up to four foot!
On the other side of the road, I found a water pipit, my first in Dorset, on the shingle beach of Portland Harbour, as well as a turnstone. On the far side of the harbour, I caught site of a pair of ducks flying just above the water. My first thought was velvet scoter, a very scarce bird inside the harbour itself. The birds soon landed and they fitted that species perfectly. The birds were confirmed as velvet scoter as they took off again, flying close enough to show off their white backs of wings. It was my second new bird of the day.
Several gulls and corvids appeared to be getting aggravated over Ferrybridge, and the reason for this was soon revealed. A short-eared owl, another first for me in Dorset, flew towards us, before landing in the grass right next to some windsurfers who seemed to fail to notice it! A rather breathtaking 10 minutes!
We walked around to Portland Castle, where my fourth black redstart of the year was on the rocks alongside several pied wagtails. Offshore, there was a guillemot and several red-breasted mergansers, and on the pier a remarkable tally of 15 grey herons! Then, a diver species appeared, but dived back under before a positive identification. It came back up and was confirmed as a great northern diver, my third new bird of the day.
An incredible morning of birding.
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