1 Sep 22 - Autumnal Waders

I'm writing this Blog Post almost a year after the event, which has the benefit that when it ends up appearing on the Blog that it will not be too long before it will be time for the 2023 Autumnal Waders to appear in Brands Bay. At the end of August, there can be small parties of migrant Waders which hang around in Brands Bay. If they are not disturbed, they can sometimes be found feeding on Redhorn Quay, which is the sandy spit which forms the edge of the inner bay. On the high tide, they will sometimes provide some good photographic opportunities.

Ringed Plover: Adult

Ringed Plover: Adult

Ringed Plover: Juv

Turnstone

Curlew Sandpiper: Curlew Sandpipers are a scarcer migrant & they have been less than annually seen in Brands Bay in the last decade and far scarcer in previous decades. This Juv Curlew Sandpiper had been hanging around with the Wader flock for a few days, but it didn't come close today (30 Aug 22)

Despite the relative scarcity of the Curlew Sandpiper, the star of the show was the Sanderling flock.

Sanderling

Sanderling: Smarting themselves up for the camera

Sanderling

Sanderling

Sanderling

Sanderling

Sanderling

Sanderling

Sanderling

I'm looking to the 2023 Autumnal Waders.

27 Aug 16 - Luck Of The Irish

When the recent Royal Tern was first found in County Mayo, Ireland in mid August, I was initially uninterested in a trip across the water to see it. Firstly, it was found mid week & there was no chance I could get a couple of days off work to go over. I thought about the possibility of a weekend trip, but that would have been a knackering weekend. The decision was made for me as it flew out to sea the following morning & wasn't seen again. Fast forward a week & it reappeared further South at Beale Point in County Kerry, where an Elegant Tern had hung around for a week & a half in Sept 13. Again I couldn't go as it had reappeared mid week, but there was a few days to see if it would settle down like the Elegant Tern. I was now a little bit more interested in going over given it was a Bank Holiday weekend in a few days. It seemed to settle down in the Beale Point area, before developing a pattern of moving between Beale Point/Littor Strand on the South side & Carrigaholt on the North side of the estuary. Whilst only about three miles across the Shannon estuary, it looked like it would be a minimum of an hour & a half to get between the two sites (assuming you heard it had been seen on the other side). When it was still there on the Thursday, I half-heartedly made a couple of phone calls to see if some of my mates fancied a long weekend in Ireland. This was followed by a call to Dave Gibbs, who I had twitched the Dutch Hawk Owl with. I had expected he would already have been over & was expecting he would be able to provide some more details on the trip. He hadn't been, but was also interested in a weekend trip as was his mate, Paul Chapman. We quickly agreed that if it was there on the Friday morning, we would head over that evening. That was a full car load as the others were taking a Moth trap as well. Having seen on the pager, that it was that still there on the Thursday evening, then I figured it would be seen the following morning & booked to take the car over on the Friday evening. I also packed some stuff for the weekend so I could head straight off to the Bristol area to meet Dave & Paul, rather than risk returning home that evening. With a local folk festival that weekend I didn't want to risk getting caught in a local Dorset traffic jam. Fortunately, the Royal Tern was seen the following morning & so we quickly firmed up the plan to head to Ireland for the weekend.

It was a quiet drive through to Dave's after work on the back roads to avoid the A303 & M4/M5 Bank Holiday jams, leaving time for some food before heading off to collect Paul & drive to the Fishguard ferry. When we arrived, the ferry office lady informed us, it would be cheaper to added Dave & Paul to my carload, than for them to go as foot passengers: good customer satisfaction. I was pleased to see how easy it was to take the car over. This would be my eighth trip to Ireland. However, I've always gone over as a foot passenger & hired a car over there so it was my first time to take my car over. This has worked well in the past, but meant I had been about the last vehicle to leave the port. Once we were on the ship, we quickly grabbed pillows & sleeping bags from the car to try & get some sleep on the journey across. It was nearly three in the morning now & this would be my only chance of sleep. As we headed for a quiet area of the ship, we bumped into Ewan Urqhart & his mate, Justin who had already found padded benches to sleep on. After finding & reserving one of the last padded benches, there was time for a few words with Ewan before heading back to get some sleep. I first met Ewan on the Mourning Dove twitch to Rum & have kept in touch since as he is a great guy. That's the positive side of twitching: the chance to catch up with old Birding friends. After a couple of hours of sleep, interrupted by waking up & trying to find a more comfortable position, I finally woke up & couldn't get back to sleep. Still a couple of hours sleep was useful, given I was the sole driver. There was time for another chat with Ewan & Justin and an exorbitant cup of coffee, before we were called to return to the car deck.

We were promptly off the ship at 06:30 & quickly heading West. We made good time as traffic in this part of Ireland always seems to be incredibly light (or maybe I'm just used to clogged up UK roads). Fairly quickly we were close to Waterford, where we had to turn off to take the road across towards Limerick. I opted for the slightly shorter route through Tipperary rather than the longer, but potentially faster, motorway option. On a couple of occasions, I caught up with Justin's car as he was held up with slow traffic, before he finally managed to pull ahead & we lost him. A UK Audi had been tailing me for over a couple of hours: a novel concept as normally they race past my car at the first opportunity. I assumed that this belonged to another Birder, but had no idea who it was. After about three hours of driving, we were close to a decision point: do we head for the Beale/Littor Southern side of the Shannon or take the ferry over to look from the Carrigaholt area. With no news, it was time for a call to the helpful lads at RBA. Perfect timing as they had just had a call to say it was currently at Carrigaholt. We were five minutes away from the ferry & would just be able to catch it. We rang Ewan, who had already gone past the ferry with the news, but they decided to keep going to Beale. That would be good as we knew we would get a call if it crossed South again. We made another call to Richard Webb to let him know the news. He was in a car were well behind us on the road with Lee Evans: they decided to go for the ferry option as well. The Audi pulled up behind me in the ferry queue & out jumped Vaughan Watkins & his better half. I had last see Vaughan when he organised the plane charter for the Chestnut Bunting twitch the previous year. Vaughan had assumed I was a Birder & knew where I was going & therefore was following us. There was a fifteen minute delay to the ferry leaving, allowing Richard & Lee to make the ferry along with the Garry Bagnell's car load. Another thirty minutes of driving & we pulled up at Carrigaholt where there was already a few Irish Birders along with Will & Pete from RBA. But the news wasn't good. The ferry delay had cost us views of the Royal Tern. We waited for another hour & a half, but there were no further sightings. It had been sitting on the beach, but flew off on the rising tide. It could have come down further along the bay in a distant collection of Gulls & Terns. But there were other Brit Birders looking from that area & no news. I rang Ewan to keep him up to date with the negative news as it was likely to be back at the main high tide roost on the Southern side of the estuary as it would be high tide in a couple of hours. It was negative news on that side as well, but Ewan said they were covering Littor Strand where the Tern roost was & Matt Denes (another member of the Chestnut Bunting planeload) was at Beale Point. But this time all the other Brits had disappeared, leaving just us & some Irish Birders who understandably were going to stick it out at Carrigaholt Holt, rather than leave their county & head to County Kerry. They convinced us the high tide roost was probably the best option & so we headed back to the ferry.

The Tern roost at Littor Strand (27 Aug 16)

I was just pulling up at the ferry to find a long queue when Ewan rang to say it was at Beale Point. I rang Richard Webb, only to find he was three cars ahead of us in the queue. Fortunately, we all got on to the ferry & we quickly on the South side. I was about the last to get off the ferry & had been left behind on the road. Still luck was on our side as there was a further phone call from Ewan, just as we were reaching the Beale area to tell us to head for Littor Strand as it had been booted by a dog walker & was going in that direction. That turning was only a mile away & we were the first from the ferry to arrive there. Richard's car had gone past the Littor turning & was heading West for Beale Point, until I gave him the latest news. We had a quick quarter mile walk along the beach to where Ewan, Justin & Matt were watching the Tern roost at the end of the beach. I tried to scope the roost as I walked along, but with no joy. As I reached the others, I realised it had been sitting by a small channel & had just been out of sight. Time to enjoy the Royal Tern & get some photos as the other Brits carloads started arriving. They had all been planning on a day trip to Ireland so had tighter time pressures than we had. After an hour of roosting & preening, it finally flew back West. At last I had seen a British & Irish Tick in 2016. With the Pasty-pouched (Dalmatian) Pelican & the Purple Swamphen both Pended, then there is at least no doubt about whether the Royal Tern should be accepted. Pity it wasn't in the UK, but maybe one will turn up & stay around for more than a few hours in the future.

Royal Tern: Heavily cropped shot with the Canon 7D & 400mm lens. Littor Strand (27 Aug 16)

We headed down to Beale Point in case it had reappeared there, but no joy. It was more disturbed now with several horse riders as well as dog walkers & little chance it would be seen there. Time to head off towards the Dingle Peninsula for the evening & the following morning with an important cafe stop en route as by now it was mid afternoon & we hadn't had much to eat all day.

Two happy Birders ready to find a cafe: Paul Chapman (left) & Dave Gibbs (right). Littor Strand (27 Aug 16)

After the following morning on the Dingle Peninsula, we decided to return to the Littor Strand area for the high tide roost. There had only been one update that morning to say it was on the Carrigaholt area. As we got close to the roost, Paul picked it up in flight flying towards us, before landing in the roost: perfect timing. It was there only for about fifteen minutes, before one final fly past, followed by disappearing down channel towards Beale Point. This appears to be the last sighting of the Royal Tern in the Shannon estuary.

Royal Tern: Littor Strand (28 Aug 16)

Royal Tern: Littor Strand (28 Aug 16)

Royal Tern: Littor Strand (28 Aug 16)

With no sign of it reappearing, I left the others to try getting some photos of the other Waders on the beach closer to the car.

Dunlin: Littor Strand (28 Aug 16)

Sanderling: Littor Strand (28 Aug 16)

Sanderling: Littor Strand (28 Aug 16)

That was until an ignorant dogwalker decided to walk her dog right past where I was clearly photographing the Waders & boot them all. Good to see the dog was on a lead which is slightly better than most Studland dogwalkers. But when you walk past a birdwatcher with a camera standing back to avoid disturbance & right up to roosting birds, it makes very little difference if the dog is on a leash or not. It wouldn't have been difficult to walk a few meters away from the water's edge, but clearly some Irish dogwalkers are just as ignorant of wildlife as their UK counterparts.

Sanderling: Littor Strand (28 Aug 16)

Sanderling: Clearly, being a selfish idiot with a dog isn't restricted to the UK. Littor Strand (28 Aug 16)

Before leaving the area for the last time, we quickly tried Beale Point again, but there was no Terns there. So we decided it was time for us to head in the direction of the Rosslare ferry, with a few Birding stops en route. We had planned to stay over that evening in Ireland & catch the ferry on the Monday morning. I've tried this option on my last two Irish trips & enjoyed the seawatching on both crossings.

13 Sep 15 - June & July: Summer Doldrums On The Studland/Ballard Patch

June is typically the most quiet Birding month on the Studland/Ballard patch. All the migrants have moved through Dorset, barring the odd straggler. Additionally, most species are busy breeding, but when the females have eggs or chicks in the next, the males don't tend to sing as much as they do when initially defending territories. An established male which starts to sing more frequently again is often a sign that the pair are planning another brood. So the territories are often a lot quieter than earlier in the spring.

I managed to make a few visits to Brands Bay in June, where I was not too surprised to find a couple of distant Brent Geese in the back of the bay on 7 June. Unfortunately, too far out for photos. Most recently years we seem to have one or two that failed to make it back to the Siberian breeding grounds. Looks like they were just late stragglers in departing, as I haven't seen these since or heard of them elsewhere in Poole Harbour.

Brent Goose: Photo from the annual Poole Harbour Pelagic (1 Jan 15)

The bigger surprise was finding a party of ten Bar-tailed Godwits over summering in Brands Bay. Five were seen in mid May with ten present at the end of May. Some were seen in early June, but all ten were present again on the 21 June. Some of the party stayed around until the end of August. This is a common Winter species in Poole Harbour which erratically appear at Studland when their preferred low tide feeding areas along Shore Road & the Arne to Newton Bay are disturbed. In the Spring & Autumn, Brands Bay are more frequently home to migrating individuals, but typically they have departed by late May. So it is unusual to find them oversummering on the patch. Generally, there is a reasonable flock of Black-tailed Godwits which never make it up to the breeding grounds or are very late departing, but these Bar-tailed Godwits have made checking the Waders more interesting this Summer.

Bar-tailed Godwit: Dakhla, Western Sahara (10 Feb 14)

Another unusual species for the patch was a single late Whimbrel in Brands Bay on 14 June. They are regular Spring & Autumn migrants through the patch, but generally have moved through by the end of May.

Whimbrel: Brands Bay (21 April 14)

With the combination of the Turkish Birding trip in late June/early July & tidy up jobs for me following major work on the house while I was in Turkey, then I wasn't out on the patch as much in July as I would have liked.

South Haven: How I like to see the beach as I arrive in the early morning: empty. South Haven (26 July 15)

South Haven: Who would have thought July is meant to be our Summer. South Haven (26 July 15)

Birding in July revolved around early visits to South Haven (hoping to add a Little Ringed Plover to the patch Year List) & low tide visits to Brands Bay. Last year Graham Armstrong saw Little Ringed Plovers on several dates, thanks to early morning visits to South Haven in July. Unfortunately, Graham had the only LRP sighting in late June: a mid week individual when I wasn't around. I managed to connect with a few early returning Ringed Plovers, Sanderlings & Dunlins, but no LRPs. Having seen only one Little Ringed Plover on the patch in Brands Bay on 17 Aug 2009, then this wasn't a species I expected to add to the Studland Year List. But I plan to spend more time in future years, visiting South Haven before the grockles descend so hopefully I will have more luck in the future with this scarce patch species in the next few years.

Sanderling: They were present on most early morning visits to South Haven in July, providing I got there before the dog walkers, joggers & fishermen. South Haven (31 July 15)

Sanderling: They are fairly approachable if you are careful. South Haven (31 July 15)

Brands Bay continued to attract up to seventy Black-tailed Godwits on July visits. Additionally, up to seven of the Bar-tailed Godwits stayed around the whole of July. They seemed to be feeding in other other local sites as well as their numbers varied visit by visit. But as the tide started rising, they tended to return to Brands Bay to roost. Although I guess they may have also moved to Brownsea on the higher tides. After the excitement of the Hudsonian Whimbrel in Pagham, I was grilling the Whimbrel in Brands Bay more carefully this Autumn, but unfortunately, it didn't appear in the bay, after it finally departed from Pagham. However, up to six Whimbrel were feeding in Brands Bay in July.

Reed Warbler: Walking out to the beach across the South Haven boardwalk is always pleasant in the Summer as there are several pairs of Reed Warblers breeding around the boardwalk. There are probably around ten pairs around the Studland patch. In comparison, Sedge Warblers are sadly only migrants through the patch. South Haven (10 July 15)

The highlight of June & July was the appearance of three Common Sandpipers in Brands Bay on 18 July, with a further five on the 25 July. This was the only Studland/Ballard Year Tick in June & July & took the total to 155 species. I was confident I would see Common Sandpipers for the Year List. They are scarce in the winter & erratic in the Spring. However, they do hang around more in the Autumn between late July & early Sep & Old Harry, Brands Bay & South Haven are all likely sites.

Rabbit: Another treat in the Summer around that patch is the appearance of a new generation of Rabbits, some of which are approachable with care when it is quiet. South Haven (31 July 15)

Grayling: They seem to have had a good Autumn on the Studland heaths Brands Bay (18 July 15)

9 May 15 - Sanderling

I popped down to South Haven in the early evening to see if the were any interesting Terns feeding off the Poole Harbour mouth. There was only a few of the local breeding Sandwich Terns & Common Terns. However, there was this lone gorgeous breeding plumage Sanderling at Pilots Point. It's not uncommon to see Sanderling around South Haven providing you can get out before the hordes of dogwalkers feel the need to let their animals run riot on the beach & flush every Bird in sight. But normally they are in a Winter plumage or transitioning to Summer plumage at this time of the year. But it's not often I see a Sanderling looking this smart.

Sanderling

Sanderling

Sanderling

Sanderling

17 Sep 14 - More From Brands Bay

After a lot of waiting in recent weeks, the winds had finally swung to the NE & so I tried South Haven for a Vis Mig watch. But the wind strength was to great for more than a handful of Meadow Pipits to be on the move. There was also some Hirundines moving on a very broad front, mostly over the harbour. However, counting this movement was compounded by a significant number of Hirundines feeding in the same area. But I did see my first Sanderlings of the Autumn.

Oystercatcher: There are good numbers centred around Brownsea, but there are always a few to be found at South Haven

Sanderling: This is a wintering species around South Haven & the Poole Harbour mouth

Had hoped that the Great White Egret would be in Brands Bay, but had to make do with about 20 Little Egrets feeding: including this bird which was just in front of the hide.

Little Egret: Up to 1987, the annual total of Little Egret in Dorset only exceeded 3 in 1 year, when 11 were seen in 1970. However, this is the commonest Heron in Poole Harbour with a recent daytime roost count of 122 on Littlesea. There are probably over 200 in Poole Harbour at the moment

Little Egret: Showing the characteristic yellow feet

It was all fairly quiet & settled in Brands Bay, until an Osprey flew over. At that point, everything went up, despite the reality that the Osprey is unlikely to have a go at the Birds in the bay. Normally, when I photograph flying Birds, I set the focus area on the Canon 7D to a wider area (shown by squared brackets). In my hurry I set it to the widest setting (shown by rounded brackets). This is a autofocus setting I've not tried before for flying birds & won't try again. The Osprey flew closer to the hide than I've every seen them do in the past & the autofocus just kept focusing on the background sky, not the very large Osprey in the middle of the viewfinder. Eventually, after several failed attempts, I switched back to the squared brackets setting & it immediately found & focused on what was now a more distant Osprey. Good job it was only an Osprey & not anything rarer. But it's the first time, I been really unimpressed with the 7D.

Osprey: Despite being a regular passage species with at least 4 around in early Sept, they are most common around the Wareham channel, Arne & Middlebere and are noticeably less common around the Studland area. This is about my 6th sighting of the Autumn around Studland, which is my best year for Ospreys at Studland

Osprey: The heavy white spotting on the upperparts confirms this is a juvenile/1st Winter bird