27 Aug 24 - It's That Time Of Year Again

It's that time of year again when the Autumn Lady's Tresses are appearing on the short grassy slopes of the Purbeck coastline. It's the last of the British Orchids to flower, but it's also one I enjoy seeing. I saw just under two hundred today on the Southern slopes of Ballard Down, without making any attempt to thoroughly count them.

Autumn Lady's Tresses

Autumn Lady's Tresses are a species I always associate with Autum migrants: so where are the birds?

30 Aug 18 - The Autumnal Orchid

It's that time of the year again when the last local Orchid, Autumn Lady's Tresses appear. They are one of my favourite local Orchids. If it is a slow day of migrant Birding, then they help to keep me going. These photos are from another colony I found on Ballard Down within my Studland patch. There were 53 in a quick scan, but I'm sure a more careful scan would have produced more. But as this colony is next to some good-looking bushes, then after a few photos I was back to looking for migrant Warblers.

Autumn Lady's Tresses

Autumn Lady's Tresses: There seemed to be a better percentage of taller Autumn Lady's Tresses this year, so perhaps they have benefited from the warm weather

30 Sep 15 - September: A Great Month On The Studland & Ballard Down Patch

The month started as August ended, with a good selection of common migrants, especially at Greenlands Farm, and smaller numbers on Old Harry & at South Haven. The first highlight was a skulky Pied Flycatcher at Greenlands Farm on 2 Sep.

Spotted Flycatcher: One of eight I saw on Greenlands Farm on 2 Sep 15

Wheatear: Greenlands Farm (7 Sep 15)

I visited Old Harry on 3 Sep. There were a few common migrants, but none of the hoped for Grasshopper Warblers: which I still needed for the patch Year List. As I was getting back to Studland village, Graham Armstrong rang me to say he was watching a Great White Egret at the South Haven Houseboats. It was quickly flushed by a fisherman & later appeared in Brands Bay. It has now settled down into a routine of being seen erratically around Littlesea, Brands Bay, Brownsea & may or may not be the GWE that has been seen in the Arne area. As such it is tempting to believe it is the long staying GWE that overwintered around Studland, but visited Middlebere & Brownsea on some days.

Great White Egret: Brands Bay (16 Sep 15)

The next highlight was on 8 Sep: a long overdue Grasshopper Warbler near the front wood at Old Harry. This took the patch Year List to 169.

Grasshopper Warbler: The first of two seen in September, with the other individual being in Brands Bay on 16 Sep. This is the Old Harry individual (8 Sep 15)

Grasshopper Warbler: Old Harry (8 Sep 15)

Rock Pipit: This showy individual was photographed after seeing the Grasshopper Warbler (8 Sep 15)

I managed to get out for a few hours on nearly a daily basis somewhere on the Studland/Ballard patch & this persistence was finally rewarded on the 11 Sep with finding a Studland Tick: a Red-backed Shrike from The Rare Gate at Greenlands Farm. Frustratingly, it didn't stick around for long. Within a few minutes, it flew across the field & out of sight behind a bush. Despite looking for a further five hours, I was unable to relocate it.

Red-backed Shrike: Year Tick no 170. Greenlands Farm (11 Sep 15)

The Rare Gate at Greenlands Farm: These private fields visible from this gate have had Rose-coloured Starling, Hoopoe, Wryneck & now Red-backed Shrike

Up to 3 Ospreys were appearing in the Brands Bay up to 12 Sep, although my last sighting was on 10 Sep.

Osprey: Adult. This was my last Osprey sighting. Brands Bay (10 Sep)

Kingfishers are a more regular species around Brands Bay & Studland at this time of year. There are usually one or two which appear to set up wintering territories, but they tend to be most obvious in the Autumn. This year is no exception with almost daily sightings in Brands Bay, especially in early September.

Kingfisher: Brands Bay (6 Sep 15)

The first of the Winter visitors appeared back in Brands Bay, including the first handful of Brent Goose, as well as, up to twenty Pintails & Wigeon.

Pintail: Brands Bay (6 Sep 15)

More interesting visitors to Brands Bay were a Black Tern on 18 Sep & a Little Tern on 21 Sep. Neither lingered for more than five to ten minutes. But as I only see each species about once every couple of years somewhere in the Studland/Ballard patch, even a few minutes of views were good to see: especially as I had already seen both species earlier in the year.

Black Tern: Record shot from Brands Bay (18 Sep)

One of the most exciting Bird spectacles on the Studland/Ballard patch are the Vis Mig movements. This is best watched at South Haven, when Hirundines, Finches, Thrushes, Wagtails & Pipits & other species move North on light North based winds. Even after a few years of Vis Mig watching at South Haven, it isn't always certain whether the next day will have a good movement until the Birds start moving. But generally, Oct & early Nov are the main months for Finch movements. Therefore, I was a little bit surprised to find Siskins moving on 9 Sep & 16 Sep. Not only were they moving, but they were moving in stunning numbers. On 9 Sep I saw 888 Siskins moving North by 09:50. The following week produced a new UK total of moving Siskins with 2423 moving North, with 2071 Siskins moving in a two hour period from 09:20. This record didn't last long, as the following day over 5000 Siskins were seen flying over that morning. My first Redpolls for the patch Year List (number 171) passed over South Haven on 16 Sep. Their numbers as migrants will build up in Oct & Nov, but they are never guaranteed on any reasonable Vis Mig day.

Siskin: Just 24 of the 2423 Siskins seen on 16 Sep

The second half of Sep turned into a fairly similar pattern. Common migrants & the same species on most visits to Brands Bay, with a few days with reasonable Vis Mig movements. A call from Paul Morton who is the main man running the Birds of Poole Harbour charity, sounded interesting. He had been up at Ballard Down from pre-dawn, recording calls of Vis Mig migrants & had a Woodlark. Woodlarks are barely annual at South Haven, but Ballard Down seems to get a few more records. Presumably they don't move North or perhaps they pass high overhead at South Haven & we miss them. But more intriguing Paul said the Woodlark was in one of the fields to the East of the Glebelands estate & was occasionally singing. I decided to leave South Haven as it was too still for any Vis Mig & quickly walk up from Studland village. Paul had heard it several times, but not seen it. As I might not get to see one later in the year, I hung around on the down & finally heard it singing. It wasn't easy to pin the field down, as it didn't sing for long. After an hour, I had worked out the field & was scanning it with bins & scope, when I finally picked up a couple of Larks. Just as I got the scope on one, it flew up & started climbing & I confirmed it was a Woodlark (species number 172). Even better it started singing & was joined by a second individual. I had only given myself a 50-50 chance of seeing Woodlark for the Year List, so this was a nice bonus.

Woodlark: No photos from Ballard Down, so a recent photo from the Hartland Moor part of Poole Harbour (3 Sep 15)

The last noteworthy Bird was a Cetti's Warbler found by Graham Armstrong on 28 Sep at South Haven. Cetti's Warblers are a common breeding species around the top of Poole Harbour especially the Swineham & Wareham Valley areas and Lytchett Bay. But they rarely seem to wander from the traditional haunts & they are a major rarity at Studland. Up to about 2000, there were three records of four Cetti's Warblers & there has probably only been one or two records since. Therefore, I was keen to look for this as it wasn't just a patch Year Tick, but a Studland Tick. A couple of hours were spent at lunchtime, but I failed to even heard it. Plan B was to return in late pm to the South Haven boardwalk where I immediately heard it singing. Only a few metres into the reeds, but not visible. It moved around & sang occasionally, but finally ended up singing more from the Northerly most end of the South Haven pool. Finally, I saw a movement at the base of some reeds. Raising the bins, I was surprised to find it was a Water Vole. I had heard there had been recent sightings of droppings here, but this was a Studland Mammal Tick. I watched it for a couple of minutes before it swam off. Great to see this sadly uncommon Mammal which have declined a lot since my teenage Birding days. Finally, the Cetti's sang again & I could see it sitting in one of the trees by the waters edge. Species number 173 & more importantly, it took the Studland/Ballard patch list to 219, excluding Crap (Feral) Pigeon & Nightingale (which I've only heard). It would be great if I could make this 220 before the end of the year.

Grey Squirrel: South Haven boardwalk. The habitat isn't great for Grey Squirrels so I am guessing that fairly quickly it headed back to where it came from (6 Sep 15)

Another unusual Mammal sighting in early Sep on the patch was a Grey Squirrel at South Haven. Grey Squirrels are resident in the woods around Littlesea, Studland Village, the edges of Greenlands Farm & Old Harry. However, the appearance of one on the South Haven boardwalk was noteworthy as this is only my second sighting in the South Haven area. The previous record was of one running along the road to South Haven. But it's that time of year when young Grey Squirrels get kicked out of their family territory & wander around looking to find a new home. So they have a habit ofappearing  in unusual locations.

Autumn Lady's Tresses: Old Harry (8 Sep 15)

All good slide shows seem to end on sunset. Instead here is a dawn photo of the Isle of Wight from South Haven.

Island of Wight from South Haven: Dawn on 27 Sep 15

Looking forward to October which is traditionally a great month of Birding on the patch.

14 Sep 15 - August Was A Great Month For The Studland Ballard Patch

I've managed to get out on most days in August, apart from the first few weekdays. The month got off to a good start with a party of 24 Crossbills watched flying across Brands Bay (from Littlesea) & continuing over Goathorn on 1 Aug. They were my first of the year for the Studland/Ballard patch. Hopefully, I will see more over South Haven as we get into the Vis Mig season in October & early November.

South Haven: Proof I've been getting out early on the patch: the sun rising over Christchurch. South Haven (17 Aug 15)

I've made a lot of early morning visits South Haven this Autumn in the hope of an interesting Wader, such as a Little Ringed Plover or Little Stint. The site has occasion early morning Autumn records of these species, but I've had no success so far. However, I have managed to see a general selection of commoner migrant Passerines, along with some better migrants. The first highlight at South Haven was on 7 Aug, when Graham Armstrong found a Pied Flycatcher while we were chatting & watching the edge of the bushes by the South Haven pool.

Pied Flycatcher: This Pied Flycatcher stayed around for two days at South Haven (7 Aug 15)

The following morning saw me catching up with the first of a number of August Sedge Warblers at South Haven. Unlike Reed Warblers, they do not breed at Studland. But I typically expect to see them on a few occasions, mainly during the Autumn migration. More suprisingly was hearing a calling Water Rail. This was presumably a migrant, as I haven't heard any others calling since late Winter. Another patch Year Tick was a Green Sandpiper flying over South Haven on 9 Aug. This was the first of three that I bumped into on the patch (11 Aug Brands Bay & 25 Aug South Haven). Green Sandpipers are probably just about annual on the Studland patch, but my serious patch watching over the last eight years has only produced a single in Aug 10 & three sightings involving two individuals in Aug 11. Perhaps this is a good year for Green Sandpipers. Sadly, despite the big Wood Sandpiper invasion along the South Coast this Autumn, I haven't been lucky to bump into any Wood Sandpipers. But will as many historical records of Wood Sandpipers as Melodious Warblers on the patch, then it isn't too surprising that nobody has seen or heard a Wood Sandpiper at Studland this Autumn. It remains a patch tick for myself & the two other most regular Studland Birders.The next highlight was a major rarity for the Studland/Ballard patch: a Melodious Warbler on 11 Aug. There are only a handful of records for Poole Harbour and only one (Aug 01 at Swineham) has been seen away from the Studland/Ballard patch. This was the second or third individual of the Autumn for the UK (there was another seen in Cornwall on the same date).

Melodious Warbler: A record shot from Steve Morrison (who has allowed me to publish the photo on the Blog & who retains copyright). South Haven (11 Aug 15)

I spent time watching Brands Bay on nearly ever visit to the Studland/Ballard patch during August, as well as, looking for early morning Waders on visits to South Haven. Waders numbers for the patch increased steadily during the first half of August, with increases in Curlews, Black-tailed Godwits (up to 225), Redshanks (up to 70) & Dunlin (up to 70). Sightings of Ringed Plovers were regular throughout the month, but hitting double figures was a good day. However, Brands Bay had an exception total of 63 roosting & feeding on Redhorn Quay in steady rain on 24 Aug. This smashed my previous best Brands Bay total for Ringed Plover of 24 & is potentially a new Brands Bay maximum Autumn total. It also showed how much better Redhorn Quay could be for attracting Waders, if access to dog walkers, fishermen & walkers was restricted. On that day, I had nine species of Waders (Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Curlew, Whimbrel, Bar-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Redshank, Dunlin & Turnstone) feeding on the sand & muddy edge of Redhorn Quay on the high tide.

Whimbrel: Their favourite food seems to be small green Crabs around the edges of Brands Bay (2 Aug 15)

There were smaller numbers of Whimbrel (max 11 on 6 Aug), Bar-tailed Godwits (up to 7 still around until the last week of the month), Greenshanks (up to 3), Sanderling (up to 8 at South Haven), the first Knots of the Autumn (max 5 on 29 Aug). Common Sandpipers (max 7 on 15 Aug). Numbers of Common Sandpipers were higher than I've encountered in recent years, but not as good as historical records). But the best Wader has to be a Ruff which was roosting on the marsh on 18 Aug: this was only my second sighting for the patch.

Turnstone: Up to three were around the patch during the month, but individuals were only seen every few days. South Haven (21 Aug 15)

I was also keeping an eye on Terns throughout the month, which produced a couple of good Terns. The first was an Arctic Tern I found feeding in Brands Bay on 14 Aug. This was followed by a couple of Black Terns that Graham Armstrong found at South Haven the following day. I would expect to see Arctic Terns on one or two occasions most years, but Black Terns are a lot scarcer & aren't annually seen on the patch: so that that was a bonus species for the patch Year List.

Old Harry: I never tire of finding another angle or lighting for a photo of Old Harry (18 Aug 15)

Light to moderate Southerly winds on 20 Aug & regular Dorset sightings of Balearic Shearwaters at other coastal watch points, gave me the incentive to try some seawatching. I decided to try my luck from the high dune at Pilot's Point at South Haven, after the usual early morning Wader walk. I was surprised to find a Balearic Shearwater just off the end of the Pilot's Point breakwater on the first scan of Studland Bay: although it quickly disappeared off towards Old Harry. The following morning, I tried another seawatch from Pilot's Point with Graham Armstrong & we were rewarded with a couple of more distant Balearic Shearwaters heading East & a dark phase Arctic Skua which came into the immediate bay around the Harbour mouth. It circled, before flying high & passed over Sandbanks & into Poole Harbour. Both the Balearic Shearwater & the Arctic Skua were expected species for the Year List, but usually I end up having to carry out a lot more seawatching to see them. So it was great to have an easy time with these two species.

Littlesea in early morning light: from the high hide. I tried a Vis Mig watch on 28 Aug, but found it was too noisy as the sound of the passing cars was audible for a long time. There was little movement that morning with two Yellow Wagtails heading towards Greenlands Farm as the highlight (28 Aug 15)

Early morning mist over Greenlands Farm from the Littlesea high hide: (28 Aug 15)

I finally saw my first Osprey for the patch on 21 Aug, albeit that sighting was of an individual far up in the harbour. But it was only a few days later that I saw my first individual appeared in Brands Bay. Up to three Ospreys seem to be frequenting Brands Bay, although they are also spending time in the Middlebere and Rempstone Forest areas as well. There are two adults which often seem to follow each other around, as well as a juvenile bird. Whether they are related isn't clear, but they do seem to interact with each other. Unfortunately, I've not managed to get as good photos of the Ospreys in Brands Bay as I managed last year, but I have managed to get record shots of one of the adults & the juvenile.

Osprey: Adult. Brands Bay (10 Sep 15)

Osprey: Juvenile. Brands Bay (6 Sep 15)

The next species for the patch Year List was a couple of Tree Pipit records (28 Aug Greenlands Farm & 30 Aug South Haven). The last day of Birding on the patch was the August Fun Bird Race on 30 Aug. One of the other teams found a Wryneck on Greenlands farm in the fields by The Rare Gate. The main rule of the Fun Bird Race is teams pass news of good Birds around during the day, to give other teams the chance to see them. Unfortunately, it had disappeared by the time Peter Moore & I arrived. But fortunately, I managed to relocate it when we looked again as we were leaving Greenlands & it stayed on view long enough for Peter to photograph it & for me to get one of the other teams onto it. Only my second Wryneck for the patch & a species I hadn't expected to see. They occur every few years somewhere on the patch, but there is so much habitat at Studland, they are normally difficult to relocate.

I haven't worked out the exact number of species seen on the patch in August, but it will be over 100 for the month, which just goes to show how good the patch is. The Wryneck was species number 168 for the patch Year List. This is only eight species behind my best patch Year List of 176 species in 2009. At the end of August 2009 I was on 167 species. Hopefully, I will see another twelve species this year & hit my target of 180 species for the Studland/Ballard patch. It hasn't been hard to see Butterflies in the last few months, for my other challenge of seeing at least one Butterfly in each month on the patch.

Silver-washed Fritillary: Male. My first for the patch. Glebelands estate (16 Aug 15)

I was pleased to find three new locations for one of my favourite Orchids: Autumn Lady's Tresses. In addition to Greenlands Farm, Graham Armstrong located a spike at South Haven & I found spikes at Old Harry & on Ballard Down to the East of the Glebelands estate.

Autumn Lady's Tresses: South Haven (21 Aug 15)

6 Sep 14 - Lady's Of The Autumn

I'm never been particularly excited about Flowers & when I've expanded my horizons beyond Birds, Butterflies & Amphibians (the latter two I got into even before Birds), I have preferred to look at Mammals & other Insect groups. Basically, I prefer things that move. There are a few exceptions in the Flower world that I have spent some time photographing, primarily Orchids & Sundews. At this time of the year, the Spring & Summer Orchids are more or less finished & then when you think it's all over, Autumn Lady's Tresses start appearing. They are easy to overlook, being no more than 3 or 4 inches high & that's the biggest ones. This is a species that really likes short grassland & the best thing is they like Birding sites. I first saw them at Dungeness around the moat at the end of Aug 1980. Since moving to Dorset, I've seen them in a number of Autumns, around Durlston, Winspit, St Aldhelms & Chapmans Pool. A few days ago, Graham Armstrong mentioned he had found them at Greenlands Farm & that was a good excuse to have a look around the Greenlands Farm part of the Studland patch.

Autumn Lady's Tresses: Greenlands Farm. There are just over 100 in a small patch (6 Sep 14)

The following day was the WeBS count. I check the Wytch channel from private fields on Fitzworth. Whilst walking up to my viewpoint, I found a few Autumn Lady's Tresses in the cow field. As I walked back, after completing the count, I ran into a larger patch of 40 within about a 10 metre radius of where I was standing. At this point, I rang Kevin Lane, who does the adjacent Fitzworth/Ower sector, who joined me as his count was over. We stopped counting when we passed 200 stalks & had still only covered a small percentage of the field. If the density was uniform across the field, there would be a few thouand in that field alone. Given there are several other equally similar looking fields nearby, the chances are these fields support a really good colony of Autumn Lady's Tresses. Unfortunately, these fields are strictly private, but they do occur at Durlston & I'm sure the Durlston rangers won't mind pointing interested visitors in the right direction to see them there.

Autumn Lady's Tresses: Fitzworth (7 Sep 14)