25 Apr 2021

25 Apr 21 - Nice, But Not Tickable

Whilst out today on one of the quieter back roads in the historic Isle of Purbeck, I came across three male Reeves's Pheasants. Their status in this part of Dorset is a bit of an oddity. Clearly released, but they are either still being released or seemly surviving OK. I was seeing them erratically & occasionally from 2008 to 2013 in this area, but it's an area I've largely neglected for several years. The other interesting comment I can make is, I've never seen any females. Have they been released as well, but are more likely to be mistaken as a Pheasant by the Pheasant-shooting brigade in this area & shot. Perhaps they are just more skulky. Either way it's a shame as they look cracking.
Reeves's Pheasant: Male. Turn the sound on

16 Apr 2021

16 Apr 21 - Harbour Porpoises Upstaging Wally

I didn't think that it would be possible to improve on seeing Wally the Walrus lazing around on the Tenby Lifeboat slipway. However, I was wrong as the local Harbour Porpoises decided to compete. I spent some time scanning the wide bay with the bins & scope in the hope of picking up some Dolphins. Surprisingly, I didn't see any, despite the perfect, calm seas. The best I could find was a handful of Guillemots.
The Harbour Porpoise came closer than this lone rock just off the fort
Then I picked up the first of three Harbour Porpoises. Initially, there was a distant pair, but then I picked up a third closer individual. This started to regularly appear as close as eighty metres from the shoreline. This is easily the best views I've ever seen of a Harbour Porpoise. Harbour Porpoises are shy and unlike their cousins the Dolphins, they proactively avoid boats. They surface and descend in an unobtrusive manner, which makes it hard to pick up their low profile on the water. On this occasion, looking down from the coastal path about thirty metres above the water level onto glass-like seas made for perfect conditions to see & photograph one.
Harbour Porpoise
Harbour Porpoise
Harbour Porpoise: A head shot from the last photo showing its small eye
Harbour Porpoise
Harbour Porpoise
Harbour Porpoise
Harbour Porpoise
Harbour Porpoise
Harbour Porpoise: Another surfacing almost completed
This is another surfacing sequence from the three quarters of an hour that this individual spent surfacing close to the shore.
Harbour Porpoise: It was so predictable that sometimes I managed to start taking photos just before it broke the surface to get the rare head photo
Harbour Porpoise
Harbour Porpoise
Harbour Porpoise
Harbour Porpoise
Harbour Porpoise
Harbour Porpoise
Harbour Porpoise
Harbour Porpoise: They drop below the surface without revealing the tail stock
While it was great to see Wally the Walrus, I did come away being more impressed by the performance from this Harbour Porpoise.

16 Apr 21 - There's Wally

On 14 Mar 21, an immature male Walrus was seen on Valentia Island, County Kerry, Ireland, but it wasn't present the next day. Six days later it reappeared near Pembroke in South Wales and for the next few days, it was pinned down around Saundersfoot. Then it moved a few miles & settled down on the lifeboat slipway at Tenby. As a local celebrity, he had been christened Wally by the media.

Although England had relaxed its recent Covid restrictions, there was a tighter restriction stopping entry into, and travel within, Wales that was still in place. As a result, I clearly wasn't going to head off to Wales. I had been taking a very cautious approach to Covid and had turned down a number of popular twitches in 2020 that other UK Birders had attended due to my caution over Covid. My only twitch in 2020 was for the Yelkouan Shearwaters at Portland Bill which had turned up outside of lockdown & where I took the social distancing seriously & stayed well away from the Birding throng.

I was interested in seeing my first Walrus, but I clearly wasn't going to break any lockdown rules. Finally, the Welsh lockdown was lifted on Monday 12 Apr. Given Wally had been there for a few weeks, there didn't seem any point in taking a day off work to go to see it. Secondly, I thought there would be more people going to look for it from England and that was another potential crowd that was worth avoiding. As luck would have it, I had to support some evening work that week & by the Friday lunchtime, I had completed my hours from the week. I could head off from my home office at lunchtime.
Rock Pipit: This Rock Pipit looked far greyer than my local breeding Rock Pipits do at St Aldhelms, but on paper it should still be the nominate petrosus subspecies: regional variation I guess
It was a slow journey through parts of South Wales as I hit the late afternoon rush hour, but I arrived on a warm, sunny & still evening at Tenby. The locals were clearly out enjoying the end of the lockdown with a number wandering around Tenby with pints in the hand, from the pubs that were serving onto the street, with other locals just meeting up with friends in the open air. Fortunately, there weren't that many locals looking for Wally that evening, as most locals had had plenty of other opportunities in the last few weeks to see him.
The Tenby Lifeboat Station with Wally at the bottom of the slipway
I quickly found the coastal path that overlooked the lifeboat station & there was Wally, resting at the bottom of the slipway: a successful twitch. I found a viewpoint away from the small group of locals who were watching Wally & settled down to enjoy the evening. I could have got a bit closer, but I was keen to avoid people. I had the benefit of a scope & my Canon camera with a 100 - 400mm lens, whereas, most of the locals weren't Birders & only had their eyes, small bridge cameras or mobiles.
There was a small twitch of locals, who were easy to avoid
Wally spent the evening resting on the slipway, but he rarely stayed still & was constantly fidgeting to find a more comfortable position, before moving again after a few minutes.
Wally the Walrus
Wally the Walrus
Wally the Walrus
Wally the Walrus
Wally the Walrus
Wally the Walrus
Wally the Walrus
Wally the Walrus warning this Herring Gull to follow the best practice social distancing rules
The old lifeboat station: This is now a private residence & its conversion was covered by a Grand Designs program
After I while, I started scanning the bay for Dolphins. I didn't find any, but I did find three Harbour Porpoises: which will be covered in my next Blog Post.
The Harbour Porpoise came closer than this lone rock just off the fort
I have long wanted to return to Tenby. I remember visiting it for a day when I was a kid on a family holiday, but I couldn't remember much about the town. It was only about fifteen years ago, that my mother mentioned she had lived for a few years in her early school days in one of the small houses right next to the harbour quayside.
Tenby Harbour: This view would have been very familiar to my mother
Maybe it was this local Polar Bear that attracted Wally to Tenby: A reminder that I still need to head off North to see some real Polar Bears