Friday, 28 December 2012

Last bit of birding this year

We visited Portland Harbour again yesterday in search of the black guillemot reported there yesterday. Driving to the harbour, I saw at least 120 golden plovers and a little egret feeding in the flooded fields near Maiden Castle. 

Unfortunately, we failed to find the guillemot, but in the harbour there were 8 black-necked grebes, 4 Slavonian grebes, 3 pale-bellied brent geese and 4 great northern divers (one of which flew over the road at Ferrybridge and down Chesil Beach!) as well as lots of red-breasted mergansers and dark-bellied brents. A quick look in Weymouth Bay revealed a dozen or so guillemots and 10 great crested grebes.

The highlight of the day, however, was my first barn owl of the year, which was sitting on top of a roadside fence post near the village of Sydling, just south of Hilfield. 

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