12 Oct 15 - Equalling The Studland & Ballard Patch Year List Record

With a run of favourable winds at South Haven, I've been Vis Migging there for eight mornings so far this month. This has produced some great movements North of Finches with good numbers of Siskins, with over 500 moving for the last three mornings. Most of the other 'standard' Finches have been on the move, including nearly 600 Goldfinches on 10 Oct. Crossbills have been regular visitors this Autumn with 1 on 1 Oct, 17 on 3 Oct & 13 on 11 Oct. There has been a regular movement of Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits, with the occasional more interesting species including Grey Wagtails, Yellow Wagtails & Tree Pipits. Swallows & House Martins are still on the move: numbers vary from day to day with up to a few hundred on some mornings, but very few on other days. There have been a few more interesting, but expected species moving as well, including small numbers of Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Skylarks, Chiffchaffs, Goldcrests, Great Tits, Jackdaws & Starlings. We also get a few Sparrowhawks moving North each Autumn & this year is no exception, with three in the last two days. More interestingly was a migrant Buzzard on 2 Oct (typically there is about one migrant an Autumn).

Sparrowhawk: Old Harry (4 Sep 15)

Today, was the start of the annual Thrush movements with 41 Redwings & 41 Song Thrushes heading North, with another 41 unidentified Redwings or Song Thrushes. Handfuls of the first Fieldfares & Blackbirds were also on the move today. Hopefully more Thrushes will be seen over the next few days.

Yellow-browed Warbler: Having to use my library photos as I accidentally dropped the new Canon 7D & 400mm lens & both are currently with the repairers getting some essential TLC. Durlston (24 Oct 14)

But the highlights of October so far have been on 2 Oct & today. On 2 Oct a Yellow-browed Warbler joined the Chiffchaffs in trying to cross the harbour mouth. It gave up & returned to the nearest trees, where it was heard calling a couple of times, before disappearing back into the bushes surrounding the South Haven pool. About an hour later, a Hawfinch went over giving its 'seep' flight call. Both were patch Year Ticks.

Tree Sparrow: Dungeness (8 Mar 14)

Then today, two Tree Sparrows joined the Finch movement North. This was followed about thirty minutes later with three more probably Tree Sparrows which circled, before heading back South again. Later a male House Sparrow went North, which is even rarer as a Vis Mig migrant here than the Tree Sparrows for me (only my third, compared to my fourteenth Tree Sparrow). The Tree Sparrows took the Studland/Ballard patch Year List to 176 which equally my best ever patch Year List in 2009. With eleven weeks left of the year & two pretty certain species expected in the next few days: Ring Ousel & Brambling, then I shouldn't have any problem beating the 2009 record. I'm looking forward to the next few weeks.

Another record occurred overnight with the Blog passing 100,000 page views.

15 Sep 15 - A Blast From The Distant Past

Seventy-five years ago on 15 Sep 1940, the Germans launched their heaviest day of raids over London & the South East in an effort to break the Royal Air Force. They were poised to invade the UK, but needed air supremacy first. In return the RAF launched all the available fighter squadrons, until there were no more fighters available to take off. It was the pivotal point in the Battle of Britain. The German attacks continued throughout the day. The losses for the day were 29 RAF fighters destroyed & significantly more German planes, but much less than 175-185 claimed destroyed planes. The aftermath was Hilter continued to attack London & the South East, but a few days later, the plans for the invasion were put on hold. Fortunately, the planned invasion never happened.

To celebrate the Seventy-fifth anniversary of what is now called Battle of Britain day, there has been the largest gathering of flying Spitfires, Hurricanes & the only flying Blenheim since the Second World War, at Goodwood airfield in Sussex, involving around 34 aircraft. From here they took off to fly ten different routes to other important Battle of Britain airfields. One route was scheduled to fly from Goodwood, via the Solent, Bournemouth, Studland, Swanage, Weymouth, Exeter, Yeovil, Bath & Colerne. Given this flight would go right over the Studland patch, then obviously I was out at the high hide vantage point in the hope of seeing the flight. In the end it was a little bit disappointing as there was only a single Spitfire, the Seafire Mk XVII, SX336, on this route. But I guess the main Battle of Britain was fought in the South East & it is only right that they saw the bulk of the historic planes.

Dassault Falcon 20 G-FRAU: This went overhead just before I saw the Spitfire

Seafire SX336 Mark XVII: This is the Navy version of the Spitfire known as a Seafire (short for Sea Spitfire) which was adapted for use from Aircraft Carriers

Seafire SX336 Mark XVII: This particular Seafire was built at the Westland factory in Yeovil in 1946 & was flown by the Fleet Air Arm. Four years later it was being used for ground instruction use. It was rescued from a scrap yard in 1973 & has been brought back to flying condition by 2006

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)

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)

11 Sep 15 - The Rare Gate At Greenlands Farm

Just under two weeks ago, we had a fun Bird Race around Poole Harbour. The rules were similar to the Jan Dorset Bird Race, but with an added rule that teams should actively pass on news of good Birds, so it is a friendly & great day of local Birding. I teamed up with Peter Moore & we ended up with a day total of 114. But well behind the team of Nick Hopper & Paul Morton, who ended up with a record breaking 130. I won't go into the full details of the day as Peter had already provided a great write up of the day along with photos in his usual humourous style. But why did we end up with an average total for the day. A few factors including no planning or stakeout of sites (away from my current obsession with the Studland patch) & Peter getting side-tracked with photos for his photo year list. Peter would also be right in saying we spent too long looking for a Wryneck that had been found by Mike Gould & Tom Carley on Greenlands Farm: in my defence it is likely to be the only one I see on the Studland/Ballard patch this year. After unsuccessfully looking for the Wryneck for too long after we arrived at Greenlands Farm, we had a second look as we were leaving. Fortunately, as I was checking a party of Spotted Flycatchers, it popped up nearby. I had just enough time to get another team (the other Steve Smith & Terry Elborn) onto it, while Peter was photographing it, before it flew over our heads & disappeared into a large patch of Gorse. The Wryneck appeared in one of the fields visible from what I was beginning to suspect should be called The Rare Gate. I've just realised I don't have a photo of The Rare Gate, but I do have the views into the private fields visible from it.

Looking right from The Rare Gate: The Wryneck appeared in this line of trees. In April 14, I found a Hoopoe in this field

Looking left from The Rate Gate: This is the field where Mike & Tom found the Wryneck. Going back to 3 Oct 2010, I found a distant, but good looking candidate for a Rose-coloured Starling from the Brands Bay hide. It disappeared before any of the Harbour Listers arrived, but we relocated it & had cracking views, an hour later in this field. There are great photos of the Rose-coloured Starling on Nick Hopper's Blog

After the Wryneck, I was starting to feel this is a key gate to lean on whilst scanning these private fields. So after a morning of Birding around South Haven & Brands Bay, I decided I couldn't neglect the Easterly winds & should give Greenlands Farm a go. Arriving at the gate, I scanned the field edges. It looked fairly quiet, then a pale fronted Bird caught my eye. It looked interesting, but was just at the range that the bins were struggling & I hadn't got the scope with me. Half obscured it looked like it might just be a Shrike, but more realistically a Spotted Flycatcher or Song Thrush could have fitted the bill & were much more likely. I just couldn't see much on it as it was partly obscured & too far away. I turned to the SX60 to grab some photos, but that failed. Next plan was the Canon 7D & 400mm lens. It didn't have the same magnification, but it is so much easier to find distant Birds with it.

Red-backed Shrike: Now you know how I was struggling with the bins & no scope

Zooming into maximum crop, it was now looking like a Shrike. Moving left a little & it was a much better view. Some more photos & zooming & result, a Red-backed Shrike.

Red-backed Shrike: Juvenile. I had thought it was a female from the back of the camera views, but looking at it on the laptop I guess the pale mandible makes it a Juvenile

This was a Studland patch Tick & only my second in Poole Harbour. I think this is only the third record for Poole Harbour since the start of the millennium. Life isn't easy when your patch isn't on the East Coast. I started ringing around as it was still a Harbour Tick for several of the locals. While I was on the phone, I saw it fly across the field & disappear behind a tree. I assumed it had just gone up into the tree & would reappear a few minutes later. When it didn't, I moved to check the next field along the track, but still couldn't relocate it. Over the next nearly five hours, I spent a lot of time checking the adjacent fields, some of the time with assistance from Neil Gartshore & Jol Mitchell. In addition, we scanned the back of these private fields from the Brands Bay hide, as they all back onto the bay. Sadly, it wasn't relocated. I now have a really good excuse to spend even more time in future visits leaning on The Rare Gate.

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

16 Aug 15 - Just Like Buses

I have Birded the Studland/Ballard patch for quite a few Autumns now & I have never seen a Fritillary within the patch. So I was quite surprised to find this Silver-washed Fritillary feeding on Buddleia as I walked through the Glebelands estate on Ballard Down. Even more surprising was to see it then chase off a second tatty individual. I must have been past this patch of Buddleia on a number of occasions in August over the years.

Silver-washed Fritillary: Glebelands estate

Having walked all over Old Harry & the top of Ballard Down, my next stop was the Greenlands Farm area. I was even more surprised when I saw another Silver-washed Fritillary here. This was quickly followed by another two individuals. This was a corner of Greenlands Farm where I have spent even more time Birding in August. So by the end of the morning, I had seen five Silver-washed Fritillaries at two widely separately parts of the Studland/Ballard Down patch. Asking around, it turns out that local Birder, Graham Armstong, had seen them at Greenlands Farm in the past. However, the Glebelands site doesn't appear to be have been known about. It just goes to show that no matter how well you think you know your local patch, you can always be surprised.

Silver-washed Fritillary: Glebelands estate

I was also pleased to see this Wall at Greenlands Farm, which is an uncommon species which I've bumped into at a number of locations within the Studland/Ballard Down patch: but never in numbers.

Wall: Greenlands Farm

16 Aug 15 - Why Do I Live In Dorset

I moved to Dorset in Summer 1996 for the Birding. Initially the move was to allow me to spend more time Birding the Dorset coastline around Winspit & St Aldhelms Head. After a few seasons, I switched to Durlston for a few seasons. The last decade has seen me settle on Studland/Ballard Down as the main patch, with the Southern side of Poole Harbour providing some alternative Birding venues. Even on the dull days, then the patch can provide stunning scenery.

Studland & Poole Harbour from Ballard Down: Studland village is in the foreground, with the Studland peninsula heading off to the right with Sandbanks in the far right

The Studland peninsula: The foreground is the Glebelands estate with part of the Studland village at the back. The lake in the Studland peninsula is Littlesea. Behind the Studland peninsula is Brands Bay with the Goathorn peninsula enclosing Brands Bay. The urban conubation at the very back is Poole

Poole Harbour mouth: With Sandbanks on the far side of the harbour & the Eastern end of Brownsea to the left

Studland Bay: With Old Harry at the right foreground & Bournemouth in the far distance. The Poole Harbour patch continues along the shoreline to Branksome Chine

Poole Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in the world (behind Sydney Harbour). So far I've seen 260 species within the area covered by these photos. All but two of these, Bean Goose & Lapland Bunting, have been seen since I moved to Dorset. There are a handful of species that probably occur within the Poole Harbour boundaries occasionally, that I have still to connect with: Sooty Shearwater, Stone-curlew, Long-tailed Skua, Serin & Snow Bunting. There are still another fifty-five or so species on the Poole Harbour List that I have still to see. So plenty of reason to keep Birding the area.

9 June 15 - Flower Spectacles From Old Harry & Ballard Down

Following on from yesterday's Post of a few of the scenery views from Old Harry & Ballard Down, here are a few photos of the May Flower spectacles from the Old Harry & Ballard Down area. As with Yesterday's Post, this helps to offset a long & migrant free visit to Old Harry. Enjoy.

Wild Garlic & Bluebells: There are a couple of coppiced woodlands on Ballard Down. Coppicing is the traditional practice of carefully managing & cutting the trees to provide long wooden staves, without killing the trees. The understories of these coppiced woods are a mass of Wild Garlic & Bluebells. In May, these woods are very scenic, spoilt only by idiots on mountain bikes who feel compelled to race rapidly along the narrow tracks, without consideration for walkers or the National Trust notices to ask them not to take their bikes in there (10 May 15)

Cowslips: Next to the cliffs immediately South of Old Harry is a long open grass meadow, most of which is allowed to grow naturally. In part of this long clifftop meadow are several large patches of Cowslips (10 May 15)

Buttercups & Dandelions: Two weeks later, large parts of this open grass meadow were transformed by these Buttercups & Dandelions. Looking South towards the high part of the Ballard Ridge (24 May 15)

8 June 15 - Some Views Of Old Harry & Ballard Down

One of the great things of the Studland/Ballard patch is the stunning views of the place. The down side of this is by mid morning in May, the hordes of day trippers have normally descended, having already been beaten by the early mountain bikers, (who like to show how fit they are by shouting to each other as they race past). But if you get out early enough you can avoid most of the people & stand more chance of enjoying the Birds & other wildlife. So for a change, this is just a Post showing some recent photos of the Old Harry/Ballard Down part of the patch. Enjoy.

Looking back on Studland as the mist started to burn off around mid morning: From the top of Ballard Down (10 May 15)

The view looking North towards Old Harry along the cliff edge: Old Harry is further along & out of sight (10 May 15)

There were some positives from the early morning mist: To compensate for the lack of a migrant fall, the early morning mist also resulted in an absence of grockles till late am. At 10:00, this patch would typically be filled with walkers & cyclists (10 May 15)

By the following weekend, the sun was out, but there was a stiff cold Northerly wind, so it wasn't as pleasant out as it looked.

South Beach Bay & Old Harry: From the viewpoint above South Beach (16 May 15) 

The Needles end of the Isle of Wight: The Needles are about about 18 miles away (16 May 15)

Old Harry: (15 May 15)

It's not a bad patch even when there are few migrants around. On 10 May, there were few migrants around. On 16 May, the highlight was a single Spotted Flycatcher: the only new patch Year Tick for the two days.