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.

16 Sep 15 - Was Last Week The Warm Up Act?

A recent Post covered a big movement of 888 Siskins moving North across South Haven on NE winds on 9 Sep 15. The winds then swung more Easterly (or South Westerly) which are poor winds for Vis Mig at South Haven. But the Siskin Vis Mig continued further East at Christchurch Harbour (CHOG) with 920 East on the 11 Sep & 820 East on 13 Sep. The forecast for this morning was light NE winds. I hadn't really picked up on the weather for a Vis Mig watch as I was more concerned about a wet front arriving from the sea. I had expected that front to have arrived by breakfast time. But I headed out, half expecting to be quickly retreating to the Brands Bay to shelter from the rain, whilst checking the rising tide. But it was dry, with threatening clouds. I started with a seawatch hoping that something might be moving/relocating after the SW gales from the previous day. But it was a long shot. However, I noticed a few parties of Siskins started to appear from 08:30 with good numbers of Swallows also moving. So given the light NE winds, I switched plans to a Vis Mig watch. By the time I had got to the Vis Mig viewpoint at 09:20, I had seen 135 Siskins going North. Time to watch & count properly. It started off steadily. Parties of Siskins coming over every few minutes & heading North. The Swallows were moving on a much broader front, with the bulk moving over the water on a 1/4 mile either side of the Vis Mig viewpoint. I clearly under counted the Swallows as my scans of the water, broke off every time I heard Birds overhead calling. Even so, in the two hours I was counting I saw 1232 Swallows moving North.

Siskin: A typical part of one of the many flocks moving this morning

But the clear highlight of the day was the Siskins. In the two hours from 09:20, I had a stunning 2071 Siskins heading North. At this point, I retreated to the car as it started to drizzle. With the threatening clouds, I was expecting worse to come. But it cleared after twenty minutes, so I headed out again, but got side tracked with a mixed Tit & Warbler flock, which also contained a Spotted Flycatcher. As I was generally Birding, I had another 217 Siskins heading North. The final total for the morning was 2423 which appears to be a new UK day record for Siskins.

Siskins: Unfortunately, they are mainly moving about 50 metres from the best viewpoint. So to try & get closer for photos, means I'm not going to be able to see all the movement. Hopefully, I will get a chance for better photos, when I get some Vis Mig company from Graham Armstrong

It's well known to Vis Miggers that Birds will coast into the wind providing it's not too strong, i.e. the follow the coastline & fly into the wind. They get lift in the same way that aeroplanes do. So that explains why I need a Northerly based wind for South Haven to work. Birds happily head into the wind along the North-facing Studland Peninsula.

Siskin: I need to get a NE wind when Graham is also at South Haven to do the counting, while I try & improve on the photos. Also a day with blue skies, rather than 7/8 grey cloud cover will be a big improvement

After my good Siskin movements last week, I have been thinking about where these Siskins had originated. First I had a play with the interactive analysis maps function on the excellent Vis Mig site. A quick play gave this excellent analysis map of the movements of Siskins since the start of August to 16 Sep. Think this link should work, even if you aren't logged onto the Vis Mig site. This shows the biggest movements have been in Dorset, followed by Sandwich Bay, Kent. But why should Dorset & Kent be so good. Clearly, these counties are both great & related: I now live in Dorset, but was born in Kent. But that seems to be purely coincidence & had to be ruled out. I needed some better theories. There seemed to be three options: 

• Siskins moving out of the SW & coasting
• Siskins moving South & hitting the coast, followed by coasting into the wind
• Siskins arriving into Dorset via Normandy.

The latter isn't as daft as option as it sounds, as that is the route many Chaffinches take each year. A significant percentage of the Chaffinches moving South along the European coast, then seem to track up through Normandy, across to the Dorset coast, with many ultimately ending up in Ireland. But not having any feeling for which option was most likely (but quietly liking the French Connection), I asked around. Looks like that isn't the answer. 

This was the response from the ever helpful Clive McKay who is the UK Trektellen coordinator. I hope Clive won't mind me repeating his comments here:-

I’ve been posting on the vismig group since July about the large number of Siskins moving over the summer this year – starting in Scotland. The story is pretty straight forward – last autumn/winter was the best coning year for spruce in N Britain in so called “living memory” of various folk that I’ve spoken to (i.e. since at least since the last big cone crop up here in 2010/11). The forests appeared gold last winter rather than green - cones rather than leaves. So an “irruption” of northern birds south was on the cards, as last happened in 2011. Numbers this summer were higher than in 2011, so a big movement seemed likely. But with lots of winds in the easterly quarter recently, it seems the moving birds have been slipping through inland on a  broad front in small numbers, rather than being concentrated on the east coast. East coast sites require westerly winds to “work”, and I’ve been frustrated that there have been very few potentially good days at Carnoustie – as I was hoping to break my UK Trek British record of 2,200 from 7 Sep 2011. No record breaking counts at the east coast sites so far, but numbers have started to appear at the south coast (including CHOG and Sandwich) and your birds fit in well with this pattern.

This has been nicely confirmed by Paul Morton, the main man behind the Birds of Poole Harbour website. Paul is one of the Sound Approach team that has been doing night time recording over his garden & elsewhere. Every now & then he has put interesting recordings on the Birds of Poole Harbour website. Nick Hopper, the other member of the local Sound Approach night time team, has been recording at Portland Bird Observatory & his recordings appear on the Obs website. Paul has said this evening that he has been leaving the kit to carry on recording for a couple of hours after dawn, which seems to backup Clive's comments:-

The other thing I've noticed this year is the number of Siskin moving over my house so early in the autumn which I assume are birds making their way to the coast, and are then counted by the 'vis-miggers'. After a nights sound recording in the garden I often leave it running into the first couple of hours of daylight and when I listen to an hours worth after dawn Siskin calls almost become white noise with birds passing over (often distantly) every few minutes.

I must admit I didn't think I would get an answer to the question as to where the Siskins are coming from, so it is great to get this feedback from Clive & Paul which seem to support it.

Goldfinch: This cheeky Goldfinch tried sneaking through in one of the Siskin flocks

Unlike the first Vis Mig watch, there was a good selection of species on the move today. During the two hour Vis Mig watch, I saw the following species (all of which moved North): Sand Martin 10, Swallow 1232, House Martin 2, Tree Pipit 9, Meadow Pipit 291, Grey Wagtail 15, Pied Wagtail 1, Chiffchaff 6, Carrion Crow 6 (local movement? but the local Crows don't often cross the Harbour mouth), Goldfinch 3, Linnet 4, Redpoll 17 & of course, Siskin 2071.

Tree Pipit: Great to finally get to see a few Tree Pipits, they have been noticeable on the patch by their absence until late August. But when I checked back, most of my Autumn Studland/Ballard records are in September

One of the great local specialities of the South Haven site is seeing Vis Mig of species that normally seem to move in small hops between bushes. At South Haven, they run out of bushes & then have to cross the 200 metres to the nearest cover on the Sandbanks side. So we see Vis Mig of species that generally perfer to move in small hops like Warblers, Tits and Crests. I suspect this movement often gets missed at many Vis Mig sites. But it creates its own problem for us. The stronger species like the Finches, are mainly in flight when they past over the last bushes. Thus, they already have a good forward speed to cope with the more exposed winds at the Harbour mouth. Even if they stopped for a brief rest in the last bushes, they they are strong enough to be able to quickly get back up to speed to make it across. But the weaker fliers like the Warblers, Tits and Crests are always starting from the last bushes & trees. Thus, they are battling from a stationary position & also trying to climb to get over the Harbour mouth. Frequently, we see these species start & twenty or thirty seconds later, see the turn & rapidly head back into the bushes. So I end up having to keep a longer watch on them to see if they really make it or just turn back. Today was a typical day. There were at least ten Chiffchaffs trying to cross the Harbour mouth, with six ultimately making it across. But maybe twenty or more failed attempts.

Chiffchaff: They often make several attempts before the make it across

9 Sep 15 - Massive Siskin Movement

Over the last couple of weeks, a number of the Dorset Birders have been lucky to see movements of Siskins over their patches. In comparison, I've been disappointed that I have only seen a handful of Siskins passing through the Studland patch. Well it all changed at South Haven on 9 Sep 15, when I saw a massive 888 Siskins moving North by 09:50. The morning all started fairly normally. I checked the beach before the first dog walkers, runners & early beach bums descended on South Haven as the first Studland ferry of the day arrived from Sandbanks. Twelve Sanderling on the beach: nice, but not out of the ordinary. As I walked back towards the boardwalk, I was checking the area for migrants, but a single Willow Warbler was the only land-based migrant. I did see small parties of Swallows heading North for the harbour mouth & decided to try a Vis Mig watch as the wind was Force 2-3 NE: a light wind with North in it can be good to encourage Vig Mig species to pass North through the Studland peninsula. Ultimately, the Birds are heading East, but more Easterly-based winds & many Birds depart via Old Harry or Swanage & cut across Studland Bay towards Bournemouth (& therefore bypass South Haven completely).

Siskin: Male. Clearly, I need to work on improving my flight shots of small Passerines

Siskin: Female or young bird 

As I walked back to the Vis Mig viewpoint, I saw two parties of 25 & 63 Siskins heading North. Perhaps I might finally get some Siskins. I started the watch at 08:20 & almost immediately I had parties of Siskins coming overhead. Many were parties of dozen to twenty individuals, with a few bigger parties of up to fifty or sixty. I find Finches are hard to count when they are close, as individuals move around a lot relative to the others. Also the shape of the flock often changes as I am counting. But the good thing about the South Haven Vis Mig viewpoint, is I can carry on watching flocks as they get 100-200 metres away. At this point, the flock is easier to count, albeit they are more difficult to identify down to a species at that range. But if I have already confirmed it is a single species flock, then counting is easier.

Siskin: Part of one of the many flocks that passed over

Initially, I saw 88 Siskins heading North up to 08:20 while I was walking around the bushes. I had 606 Siskins passing North in the first hour of the Vis Mig watch. The following thirty minutes produced another 194 as the movement started to quieten down. This was a total of 888 Siskins over. My only higher passage at South Haven was of 1092 Siskins North on 4 Oct 10. But that movement was spread over 3.5 hours. I can remember it quietened down in the last 1.5 hours, but we didn't have around 600 Siskins moving in a single hour. So this was a remarkable movement. Perhaps more so, considering it is the largest movement of Siskins so far on Trektellen in the UK this Autumn. What is also surprising is during the 1.5 hrs of proper Vis Mig watching there were only 44 other Birds on the move: 18 Swallows (with a further 74 before 08:20), 18 Sand Martins, 2 House Martins, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Pied Wagtail & 4 Goldfinches. Roll on the start of the main Oct/Nov Vis Mig season. Will there be any Siskins left in the South West by this point?

Peregrine: This Peregrine also flew over the harbour mouth but this will be a local movement, rather than Visible Migration (perhaps a circular route to bomb the Brownsea lagoon). Being a local movement, it does not count as far as Trektellen Vis Mig is concerned

HMS Tyne P281: As I was heading home, I saw the River Class Offshore Patrol Vessel, HMS Tyne, heading North towards the harbour mouth. Presumably a coincidence, rather than a reaction to the wind direction

24 March 14 - Birding Over The Border

While I was in India, a couple of Mealy Redpolls appeared at Blashford Lakes in the Avon Valley, which is just over the border in Hampshire. Quite a few local birders saw them about that time & after that the number of sightings reaching the pager dropped off & I never got around to making the trip to see them. Also, there is always that thought, if there are some on the Hants/Dorset border, then perhaps this is the winter when some will be pinned down in Dorset. Anyway, a recent report on the pager finally made me realise that they were still around & so I decided to head over there. Spent a couple of hours looking from the Woodland hide where small parties of Redpolls were being lured into with the promise of their favourite niger seed. Whilst, I had no joy with the Mealy Redpolls, there were good numbers of Redpolls, as well as a number of other common species to photograph. The woodland hide is a good trip providing you can get there & avoid the numbers of people who decend at the weekend, as there is a limited viewpoint for people with cameras.

Blue Tit

Chaffinch: Male

Chaffinch: Female 

Brambling: Male with black appearing around the face 

Brambling: The second male

Brambling: Female

Redpoll: Sexing Redpolls is difficult, but I think this is a male given the extent of the red & pink 

Redpoll: Another probably male

Redpoll

Siskin

Goldfinch

Bank Vole: They are superficially similar to a Wood mouse, but they are warmer brown, have shorter rounded ears, a broader head & a shorter, fatter tail 

Bank Vole: There were at least 3 close to the feeders

Grey Squirrel