22 May 23 - Spring Spotted Flycatchers

Spring Spotted Flycatchers are normally scarce at St Aldhelms with typically only one or two seen on a good day. So, it was surprising to hear Phil Saunders had a big fall of at least twenty-three on Sunday 21 May 23. I was out the following morning & saw at least eleven Spotted Flycatchers between the Renscombe Farm car park & Trev's Quarry: this included eight flying North. Steve Morrison had seen another ten at the Head itself at the same time I was seeing my Spotted Flycatchers, so overall there were similar numbers to Phil's day. On both days, there were a number of individuals flying strongly North & rapidly leaving the Head, so it was clear that the fall was continuing for a second day with a good turnover of individuals.

Spotted Flycatcher: One of the eleven Spotted Flycatchers by Trev's Quarry

There was also a Marsh Harrier over in the late morning. I picked it up in the field North of Trev's Quarry at 11:08. It was still hunting over the fields near the car park as I got back to the car, but it quickly rose in height presumably to get a good view of the surrounding area. It dropped back to ground height & disappeared off North West at 11:33.

Marsh Harrier: Marsh Harriers are a scarce species with only one or two records a year at St Aldhelms

There was a third fall of Spotted Flycatchers on the 23rd with another thirteen individuals between the Renscombe Farm car park & Trev's Quarry, including another four flying North. During this period, the winds were North Easterly which were helping to provide a headwind & encouraging the fall.

Spotted Flycatcher: One of the thirteen Spotted Flycatchers at the top of Pier Bottom (23 Sep 23)

On the 23rd, a full-sized replica of a 16th or 17th Century Spanish Galleon, the El Galeon Andalucia, was seen heading East past St Aldhelms. Despite being a replica, it clearly has an engine as well, as it was motoring East without any sails up in a North Easterly wind.

El Galeon Andalucia: This is full-sized replica with a modern engine as well (23 May 23)

30 Aug 18 - Another Sign Of Autumn: Spotted Flycatchers

Another great time in the Autumn for me is when the Spotted Flycatchers are on the move in numbers as there are usually one or two that are happy to pose for photos. This individual was on the top of Ballard Down.

Spotted Flycatcher: Juv: It was good to be able to look down on this individual. Generally, I've only managed to photograph Spotted Flycatchers above my head

Spotted Flycatcher: Juv. Given the fresh plumage this individual is going to be only a month or two old

Spotted Flycatcher: Juv

Spotted Flycatcher: Juv

Here is another Spotted Flycatcher, which is one of several seen at Greenlands Farm on the Studland patch a few days earlier.

Spotted Flycatcher: Juv. It's a pity this individual was sitting deep in the shade for this photograph (25 Aug 18)

Spotted Flycatcher: Juv (25 Aug 18)

Spotted Flycatcher: Juv. It finally came out of the shade, but wasn't as close (25 Aug 18) 

1 Aug 18 - The Start Of The Autumn Migration

I doubt that you will get a clear date for the start of the Autumn migration from any group of South Coast UK Birders, as it will depend on their Birding preferences. Many will say the end of June or start of July when the first returning Waders appear. But that's subjective as the first heading South are likely to be failed breeding Birds. By the second half of June I was seeing good numbers of Curlews back in Poole Harbour. Around that date, I found a local Great White Egret which could have been a non-breeding individual or a post breeding individual wandering across from the continent or down from the Somerset Levels. Perhaps the date be based on returning Waders from further afield? Maybe, it should it be around the start of July when the Swifts start to depart & the first Sand Martins start gathering to head South. Alternatively, should it be when the Passerines start moving towards the end of July. Personally, I like to work on the start of Aug as that is when the Passerines start moving, although I do enjoy the arrivals of the early Waders. On the first of Aug I was Birding around Littlesea as I was still trying to find the Purple Heron. I had no joy with the Purple Heron, but I was happy to find both a Pied Flycatcher & a Spotted Flycatcher at Littlesea. Both were skulky & not easy to get views of them which is typical when they are on their breeding grounds. So, they were still behaving as if they were on their breeding grounds. Both species are migrants through the Studland area. Spotted Flycatchers are relatively regular and Pied Flycatchers are always scarce with just a small handful of records mainly in the Autumn. So, it was good to see that the Autumn Passerine migration had started.

Pied Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher

Robin: Juvenile. A locally breed individual close to where the two Flycatchers were feeding

Robin: Juvenile

Red-eyed Damselfly: Pair. Preparing for next year's generation (3 Aug 18)

Water Strider: The large size & upturned spurs at the end of the abdomen confirms the identification (3 Aug 18)

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.

1 June 15 - May Ends With An Interesting Bird On The Patch (But With A Twist)

May was always going to be an interesting month for the Studland/Ballard Year List as it is one of the best months of the year. The month started with crap weather on the first weekend: well it was a Bank Holiday. Due to the poor weather, I didn't head out until the Sunday afternoon to check out the rising tide at Brands Bay. It all looked fairly normal with a reasonable selection of Waders when I got to Brands Bay on 3 May. A quick scan with the bins & nothing jumped out. I repeated the scan with the scope & started counting the Black-tailed Godwits. Halfway through & there was a small-medium sized Wader with them & a quick check confirmed a near winter plumage Curlew Sandpiper, with just the hint of a few red marks on the flanks as the Summer plumage started to appear: wow. Although Curlew Sandpipers are annual in Autumn & more erratic in Spring in Poole Harbour, this was only my second Studland record (after a juvenile in Autumn 2011) & there are surprisingly few Studland records. So it was a species I didn't think I had any chance of adding to the patch Year List. Also present were 3 Grey Plovers, 11 Whimbrels (only the third time this typical Spring & Autumn Wader had reached double figures); 213 Black-tailed Godwits, 9 Bar-tailed Godwits and 25 Dunlins. The other good species was a single migrant Little Tern: my second sighting of the Spring (not bad for a less than annual Studland species). I was about to give up as the tide was fairly high, when a final scan produced my second Studland Year Tick: a Hobby hunting along the edge of Rempstone. This is a guaranteed species for the patch, but good to see it fairly early in the Spring.

Curlew Sandpiper: A record shot. It was initially fairly close, but by the time Warren arrived it had moved to the back of the bay. True to form for Spring Curlew Sandpipers, it wasn't present the following day, unlike all the other Waders present (3 May)

Unusually, the Bank Holiday Monday had the best weather of the weekend. Decided to try the Old Harry option. Overall it was fairly quiet, but the highlight was a Lesser Whitethroat. I was surprised to have missed this species earlier in the Spring, as there are normally one or two present in April. This was the only species of note, although there were eleven migrant Wheatears present. But the sun had brought out a good selection of Butterflies including: two Clouded Yellows, two Painted Ladies, a Peacock, a Red Admiral, four Holly Blues, three Orange-tips & a Large White.

Orange-tip: Male. One of my favourite Spring Butterflies & one I failed to photograph last year (4 May)

Clouded Yellow: Surprisingly approachable as I found it just as the sun went in (4 May)

Clouded Yellow: Or a Spring Snowman (as Peter Moore described my back of the camera photo) (4 May)

Painted Lady: Looking a bit tatty, so I wonder how far it has travelled since it hatched out (4 May)

Buff-tailed Bumblebee: A fairly common Bumblebee around the Studland patch (4 May)

During the following week, there were good numbers of Skuas on the move along the Dorset coast, although the numbers seen off the nearby Durlston & St Aldhelms Head viewpoints, suggested they weren't moving as close to the Purbeck coastline, as they were in the Portland/Weymouth area. In the Spring, the Skuas are moving East and generally don't come into Studland Bay. Therefore, on 9 May I decided to start at South Haven, rather than try & find a distant Skua off Ballard Down. It was hazy & still conditions, but I was hoping there might be an interest Tern in with the Common Tern & Sandwich Tern flock. There were only a few Terns feeding off the harbour mouth, but as I scanned I was really surprised to find a Bonxie flying around close to the harbour mouth. Not a species on my expected radar as I've never seen one off there before. All my previous Bonxie records have been off Middle Beach or Old Harry/Ballard Down. It was even more surprising as there wasn't a wind to push it in. I'm assuming it drifted in the previous evening in the mist. It was initially being hassled by a Great Black-backed Gull, but quickly dropped to the water once the GBBG moved off. I rang the news out to local patch watcher Graham Armstrong, but before he arrived it was back up & flying further out, before settling very distantly on the water. After a few minutes on the water, I had lost it as it drifted East in the current. This is a species I expected to get, but during an Autumnal gale when the Skuas are more likely to be pushed into Studland Bay. So it was good to get a Spring Skua on the list. More predictable for the patch Year List were two Swifts heading North through Brands Bay. An evening visit also produced my first Nightjar of the Spring churring & calling in the evening air. Both of these species are guaranteed to see in the Spring, so there no real surprises that either were seen.

Gadwall: A regular species around Studland in small numbers, but rarely seen as close as this one. Brands Bay (9 May)

Reed Warbler: A handful of pairs breed at South Haven, with one or two more elsewhere around Studland (17 May)

South Haven: Amazingly this was taken about 10:00 when less than ten people had walked past to the beach in the previous two hours. The previous day's cold winds had stopped most of the grockles getting out early: a rare treat for this normally heavily over-disturbed boardwalk (17 May)

South Haven: Looking North from the boardwalk. The Ferry & harbour mouth are just beyond the trees, with the ferry offices being the buildings on the left (17 May)

A week later on 16 May, the cold wind of the previous day had dropped & it was more pleasant being out Birding. The highlight was a Spotted Flycatcher: a guaranteed Autumn species, but one that is more erratic in the Spring. But it was the first of about a half dozen I saw this May.

Cuckoo: Godlingston Heath (17 May)

The final new species for the patch Year List was a late Yellow Wagtail heading North over the harbour mouth on the 23 May. This brought the patch Year List up to 154. I had set a target of 155 for the end of May, so I'm still tracking fairly close to the target. Despite a lot of searching I failed to add any more new species in the rest of the weekend.

Spotted Flycatcher: Studland Church (24 May)

I wasn't able to get out for more than a few hours on the final weekend of May. This was for a visit for a couple of hours to Brands Bay for the afternoon rising tide. A selection of typical late Spring migrants were present. Due to the overcast conditions, there were a few Swifts & House Martins feeding low on the Insects over the mud. I was about to leave, when more Swifts & House Martins appeared close to the hide. As I scanned through them, I briefly picked up a Swift with a white rump. Although I should have been really excited, it initially appeared to only have white on the left side of the rump. A few minutes later, I picked it up again & realised the white did extend right across the rump, but was fairly narrow. Hopes it might not be a Swift with a rump briefly picked up, but I could see the size & structure looked good for a Swift & I had been able to discard Little Swift & Pacific Swift on size, structure & the extend of white in the rump. Realistically, that only left an aberrant Swift with a white rump or a White-rumped Swift. Not having seen the latter species, since seeing a few individuals in the late 80s in Kenya, I was struggling to remember the features. Fortunately, modern technology allowed me the option of 'phoning a friend'. A quick call with my mate Marcus Lawson, pointed out the features I would need to see to clinch a White-rumped Swift. But it's structure looked good for a Swift & the same size & shape as the other Swifts. I didn't see any white edging to the inner secondaries either. I hadn't really focused on the throat area, so couldn't say how much white there was in the throat area. So there was nothing positively pointing to anything else than a Swift with a white rump. In total, I only had four short, but reasonable, views. There were no further sightings in the next hour, so it was time to go. Just a few final minutes to make a few phone calls to the locals I had told of this interesting Swift, to confirm it wasn't going to be a drop everything occasion. Presumably it still was feeding somewhere locally as the Swifts & House Martins were spread over a wide area. This is only the second aberrant Swift with a white rump that I've seen, so it was a good opportunity to learn. In comparison, I've seen five Alpine Swifts & three Pallid Swifts in the UK, so it is rarer than some of the rare Swifts for me.

25 Sep 14 - Migrants, Residents & Idiots At Studland

After a few grotty overcast days, the sun was out early & I was looking forward to getting out around the Studland patch. First stop was South Haven and a chance to look around for some migrants in the bushes. There were good numbers of Chiffchaffs and a few Goldcrests in the Tit flocks and the highlight around the lake area was this Spotted Flycatcher. There seems to have been good numbers of Spotted Flycatchers this Autumn, so hopefully they have had a good breeding season.

Spotted Flycatcher: I never get tired of seeing Spotted Flycatchers, especially as they tend to be erratic locally in the Spring & therefore the August & September tend to be the best months to see them

It's just getting to the time of the year to start checking the Heather Walk. This is a trail which heads off from the beach with some good trees in it. It is a good spot for mixed Tit & Warbler flocks & there is always a chance of a rarity in the flocks, although it's probably a bit early. In Autumn 2011 there were 3 Yellow-browed Warbler sightings over a 4 week period. Each of the birds looked different, but with no photos taken we will never know for sure.

Reed Bunting: There are usually a few around at the start of the trail. The first Reed Bunting for the Blog

Migrant Hawker: Female. Migrant & Common Hawkers have 2 spots on each of segments 9 & 10 (nearest the end of the abdomen), whereas Southern Hawker has bands on these segments. Migrant Hawkers have a prominent yellow triangle on segment 2. Additionally, the costa (leading edge to the forewing) is brown which separates this species from Common Hawker (which had a yellow costa)

Migrant Hawker: Female. Showing the brown costa & yellow triangle. This is easily the commonest Hawker flying locally at the moment. I've seen the occasional Southern Hawker in the last few weeks & yet to find a Common Hawker this year: it is definitely not common locally

Migrant Hawker: Female. Head on view

Migrant Hawker: Female. A nice face

The Great White Egret was on view again in the Little Egret roost at Littlesea. Although visible from the High Hide, it is too far at that point for photos. But the High Hide is about the only place to see this roost clearly. Still there have been plenty of photos of this GWE in recent posts.

The final site was Brands Bay, just as the tide was starting to drop. Highlights were 2 Greenshanks, a Whimbrel & a Knot. All seen until 2 idiot canoeists decided to come into the bay & explore all the side inlets. They must have been able to see the bird hide & the open windows. They must also have been able to see they were flushing all the Ducks, Waders & Gulls in the bay. But in a totally selfish way they insisted on flushing everything & then going to the back of the back of the bay, to flush many of the Birds a second time. I have nothing against canoeists in principal, but they need to consider that there are some bays such as Brands Bay, Middlebere & a few other bays around Poole Harbour, that get good numbers of roosting Birds & it is just irresponsible & selfish to disturb them. Non Birdwatchers probably only think these Birds are sitting around. Often they have been up half the night feeding or potentially migrating at this time of the year and are resting & sleeping whilst they wait for the water levels to drop again to be able to feed. If you are a canoeist and you see a large group of Birds in a bay, please turn back & don't disturb them. If they had done this a few days ago, it would have been even worse as they would have flush Birds into the back of the bay where another antisocial person, a hunter was waiting.

Irresponsible canoeists: Do you know these people. If so, perhaps you could ask them not to try & flush every single Bird in sight next time. I was fairly polite in this request & very polite at this time given the presence of a small kid with his dad in the hide