Otmoor Birding

On 22nd May I led a small group of U3A members from Bourne End to Otmoor for a birding trip.  We saw over 50 species and heard several more.  The highlights were right at the end of the visit when we had excellent views of a Turtle Dove and distant views of a Common Crane.

There were plenty of other birds to see at this fantastic site.  They included Curlew, Snipe, nine species of Warbler, Marsh Harrier and Raven.  Unfortunately the Bittern did not show.

Common Crane miles away!!

Note the colour rings.  Apparently ringed on the Somerset Levels some years ago.

Turtle Dove - Conveniently perched close to the footpath.

Whitethroat - Plenty singing but this one showed really well.

Four Spotted Chaser 

White-winged Black Tern in Bucks!!

A White-winged Black Tern turned up at Foxcote Reservoir in North Bucks on Sunday 19th May.  Unfortunately I could not get there that day, which was a bit annoying as it would have been a new Bucks tick for me (Only one previous sighting in the county).  The bird was not present at Foxcote the following morning.

Fortunately the bird was relocated at Willen Lake the following day, so I made my way there and joined a few other birders who were admiring the bird.  A stunning bird and my 249th Bucks species and well worth the trip😃.

White-winged Black Tern - Willen Lake

Ring-necked Duck - again!

I first saw this bird in November 2018 when it was at Radipole Lake, Weymouth, (see blog ) just a few hundred metres from Lodmoor!  The bird, now a first summer, seems to move fairly regularly between the two sites and is hanging out with Tufted Ducks.  Maybe the pitter-patter of tiny hybrid ducklings will be heard soon!

Asleep with several Tufted Ducks.  The Ring-necked Duck is immediately to the right of the Cormorant.

The peaked head shape is shown well here.

A poor photo but the only one I got when the bird briefly raised it's head! The distinctive bill markings can be seen.

Nearby this Crow was tucking into a rather large dead Eel! 

Portland Birding

A 3-4 hour tour around a few of the birding spots on Portland starting at Ferrybridge where the tide was very high.  Initially I thought that the waders had all been forced to leave but I then saw a flock of about 50 Dunlin circling and then about six Whimbrel which were feeding extremely close to the cafe.  More distantly a number of Little Terns could be seen flying around the colony.

One of the Whimbrels that was close to the cafe.

A different Whimbrel with a stronger marked head. It seems to eating a crab in lower photo.

Skylarks are often seen rather distantly but this one was close to the Whimbrels.

Then onto Portland where I tried walking Barleycrates Lane where I soon found a female Redstart in the paddocks.  A female Wheatear was perched on some huge blocks of granite and when I return a male was present which was in song!  Unforrtunately they were both too mobile to photograph but then two Whinchats flew into view and I just about managed to get a record shot before they flew off.

Along the western side of the Bill dozens of Swallows were passing, all heading north, so I decided to try the end of the Bill to see what was around there.

Whinchat

The Bill was a bit quiet.  Not too many birds on the land, apart from a presumed resident Stonechat, Raven, Rock Pipits, Linnets, etc.  On the sea were plenty of Guillemots, some Razorbills, a few Shag and a single Gannet.

A passing Shag.

A Guillemot leaving the breeding colony 

Fulmar - presumably breeding nearby.

Stonechat   

Lodmoor Birding

A morning visit to Lodmoor RSPB Reserve, Weymouth in bright conditions but with a brisk cold NE wind.  I was hoping that the Curlew Sandpiper from the previous day had stayed on but that was not to be.

Plenty of singing Warblers were around with Reed, Sedge, Cetti's, Willow, Blackcap and Whitethroat seen or heard.  A single Bearded Tit flew overhead "pinging" but landed well out of view.  The Marsh Harriers were busy flying over the reedbeds and a variety of ducks were seen in the open areas of water.  Apart from the waders shown below, a single Common Sandpiper was feeding along the water line.

Several pairs of Oystercatchers were breeding around the site.

A fenced island and tunnels protecting pairs of Common Terns and Oystercatchers.

Black-tailed Godwits - About 15 birds were present.  A few rather distant birds were almost in summer plumage.

Dunlin - Six rather distant birds were present.

A Marsh Harrier quartering the reedbeds.

Moorhen and it's only chick which was trying madly to keep up.