Dorset birding (8 Viewers)

[Nigel G]

Hatch pond Bitterns

On Friday lunchtime I called in at Hatch Pond in the hope of seeing the bittern that has been reported serveral times recently. Of course there was no sign of it but I was soon approached by an angler who was desperately seeking someone with a camera to record the 20lb Common carp he had just caught. Happy to oblige I went over to the car only to remember that I had left the camera at home having down loaded some shots that morning. Having already said yes to the fisherman (and being a kindred spirit in angling terms) I couldn't disappoint him so I went home, retrived the camera, returned and the first pic below is one of a very happy man. (The fish was safely returned immediately after it ws photographed).

Anyway, was passing Hatch Pond again on Sunday so checked again. Found 2 other birders under the pines who hadn't seen it either that morning or in the last 20 or so attempts - sounds like me. Had a quick swing round the reeds with the bins and there - just possibly - was a vague shape that could conceivably be a bittern. So returned to the car, grabbed scope and camera and confirmed it was indeed the head and neck of a bittern which proceed to show occassionally over the next half hour. Pushed for time I settled for the sighting and accepted a decent photo was out of the question. However on driving past the front of the pond (were people feed the ducks) it occured to me that it just might possibly be a better angle if indeed the bird was still there.

Triumph - not only was it still there but standing in broad view and very aminable to being photgraphed. And then, with the camera still mounted on the scope and lined up on my bittern, whilst looking through my bins I realised a second bittern had just materialised in the reeds to the left of the first one - grabbing the shutter release cable I managed to fire of 3 shots and the last of the 3 below proves that, for the moment at least, there are 2 bitterns at Hatch Pond. A truely red letter day.

 

[Saerwen]

I'm green with envy, having spent fruitless hours staring at those reedbeds. But there are compensations: watching the grebes displaying to each other as though they'd been parted for months rather than 5 minutes, and meeting and chatting to some lovely people.

 

[Wendy Morris]

Another Dorset birder here, I'm up near the Somerset border. Only just seen this thread, but will return in future to see what's on.

Interested to see about the Rock/Water Pipits at West Bay, as I was a little confused by them back in the beginning of January. Saw them (I'm sure it was Rock) by the new breakwater and along the east beach towards the caravan park.

Hi Nina, do I recall your name fom the old beeb boards?

 

[scary-canary]

Of course there was no sign of it but I was soon approached by an angler who was desperately seeking someone with a camera to record the 20lb Common carp he had just caught. D

I saw the bittern on sunday and it really did perform well. Pretty impressed by the carp photo too. Can't see the cormorants getting far with that one.
Chris

 

[colonelboris]

Interested to see about the Rock/Water Pipits at West Bay, as I was a little confused by them back in the beginning of January. Saw them (I'm sure it was Rock) by the new breakwater and along the east beach towards the caravan park.

Ah - Since that post, I've been back home and had a look at the photos on a machine that can render the photos properly and it's a rock pipit. As you say, it was on the breakwater by the harbour.
Here's a photo of it (photo no. 2): http://www.tonykeenebirds.co.uk/bbirds/rockpipit.html

 

[Frampton 25]

.. but no stonechats. i reckon the have deserted the heath - at least the bit I watch.

There have been two pairs of Stonechats which we've seen all winter along the Salisbury road from Blandford. One pair are in the roadside hedges adjoining the steam fair fields at Tarrant Hinton, the other pair are beyond Tarrant Hinton, between Turnpike Cottage and the Critchel turning.

 

[Frampton 25]

We spent today in the Weymouth and Portland area. The highlights were nine Purple Sandpipers between the Obelisk and Pulpit Rock at Portland Bill; the Little Owl showing well in the Observatory Quarry; a Razorbill in close off the sailing Academy in Portland Harbour, and singing Cettis Warblers and squealing Water Rails at Radipole and Lodmoor.

The water level at Radipole is unusually high at present.

 

[James Lowther]

a little tour of east dorset today

Merley Park
hoped to get Mandarin on my Dorset list but turns out the lake is fenced off..

Hatch Pond
after a long wait was just about to shoot off, had a last scan of the reeds and there sits the bittern, perched on reed stems like a giant er.. little bittern
showed very nicely for about twenty minutes but felt compelled to share my scope for long periods with an old duffer who wasn't too sure what he was looking at


also saw 4 snipe at the top end

Lytchett bay
hoped to see spotted redshanks here but had to abandon the plan as the footpath completely flooded!

Sherford Bridge
hoped for lesser spotted woodpecker but no joy
lots of woodlarks around in morden bog south of here last weekend though

Arne
firecrest near the church in the village,
7 very lazy spoonbills on the "sandspit" from the hide
black-necked grebe off Shipstal point (but no long-tailed ducks)
marsh tit and GSW on the feeders at the car park

Warmwell cress beds
hoped for green sandpiper or water pipit
saw bugger all

anyone else seen owt good?

James

 

[Buzzard1905]

popped down hatch pond yesterday morning hoping to see the bittern,ive seen the one at radipole lake but wanted to see the hatch pond one no luck though but did see two goldfinches which ive never seen before so that was good for me,also saw a cormorant,great crested grebe,and a few teal

 

[nepp]

Recommendations in East Dorset?

Hi
Coming over from Ireland for the next bank hol weekend and staying near Lulworth. Got the book "where to watch birds in Dorset etc".
Is the bittern still about at Hatch Pond? Where else do you recommend I visit?
cheers and thanks

 

[Saerwen]

We stopped off at Hatch Pond today en route to the supermarket, and no sign of the bittern, although the great crested grebes have young and there's a cetti lurking.

Arne's always worth a visit - we saw a pied flycatcher in the oak wood behind the farm last week and there's Middlebere on the opposite side of the 'lake'. A cuckoo was calling from there on Monday.

Higher Hyde Heath is a lovely Dorset Wildlife Reserve, near Bovington where we've seen tree pipits, nesting little grebe, dartford and other warblers, grey wagtails and a cuckoo in the heath on the opposite side of the road.

Durlston Country Park has nesting guillemots and razorbills (with a webcam in the visitor centre) but can get busy especially at the weekend. Puffins usually nest along the coast, near Worth Matravers which has some excellent walks and a good pub.

There's a smashing walk on the edge of the Wareham Forest at the Sherford Bridge just off Morden Park Corner on the Sandford road. Although mostly coniferous, the forestry commission has planted the land alongside the river with deciduous trees which is attracting blackcaps, chiffchaffs and willow warblers.

Hope the weather keeps fine for you and have a great holiday.

 

[James Lowther]

Hey Nepp,
the bittern has not been reported for a long time and as it's a wintering species in dorset is probably no longer around. There are lots of good spots in dorset at this time of year though. Depending on what you want to see you could do a combo of portland bill, ferrybridge, radipole lake, lodmoor, maiden castle car park for corn buntings, wareham forest, arne, hartland moor and middlebere, maybe even lydlinch common (see below, it's quite far though).


as for my sightings today...

headed down to portland bill for an early seawatch hoping to see skuas. Pretty much the first two species seen were bar-tailed godwit and whimbrel, both of which were to feature prominently over the morning, with flocks of up to 40 of each and many smaller parties. Apart from the waders, seawatching produced two close arctic skuas early on, 3 or 4 distant pomarine over the course of the morning, a slow but steady stream of manxies, two puffins (later seen copulating off pulpit rock), and most bizarrely an "eared" owl (couldn't honestly say which species) coming "in-off".

Then headed down to ferrybridge where little tern was an easy year tick, with at least 12 birds (including another copulating couple..) sat on yellow buoys and fishing in the channel behind the bridge. Several sandwich terns also, which occasionally perched alongside the littles on the buoys to vividly demonstrate the massive size difference.

In the afternoon i drove up to lydlinch common to look for nightingales. Despite the noise of traffic and the frankly nasty heat, a number of birds were singing. Unfortunately, barring a blur of movement in the middle of a bush as a previously hidden songster buggered off into the heart of one of the large and inpenetrable blocks of hawthorn scrub, no sightings were possible today. despite the early date, the vegatation is already very dense. Looks like nightingale will only make it into the "heard only" appendix of my yearlist.... However as partial compensation, several singing garden warblers were seen well. Other species heard at the site included cuckoo and lesser whitethroat.

Off to morden bog tomorrow, hoping for hobby, tree pipit and cuckoo alongside the resident species.

james

 

[scary-canary]

med gulls

A pair of adult med gulls coming to bread on bournemouth beach on Monday lunchtime (today) and a common tern fishing from the pier.

 

[scary-canary]

In fact they were an adult and a second summer med gull. Still present last Friday (June 29th) near Harry Ramsdens, Bournemouth

 

[rmgwildlife]

Has anyone seen anything interesting at Arne recently?? I've seen plenty of white deer!! but as for birds, not a great deal during the last couple of weeks

 

[James Lowther]

Spent a few hours at the hide at middlebere today. Tide was very high to start with with just a large flock of 120+ black-tailed godwits with one grey plover roosting on the opposite bank of the channel, plus the odd greenshank flying around the marshes, and two stock doves which landed on the fence a few yards in front of the hide to keep me occupied.
Things started to hot up a bit as the tide receded with a large flock of 70+ curlews flying down the channel, 4-9 yellow-legged gulls (i'm not too hot on ID of subadults) flying in, a moulting adult spotted redshank and 6 greenshank appearing out of nowhere on the far bank (the spotshank eventually coming across to feed on the near mudflats), a couple of whimbrel, more curlew, a common redshank and a juvenile med gull all making an appearance.
not too bad all in all

earlier this week managed both roseate tern (monday) and arctic tern (tuesday) with the common terns at lodmoor. Both birds took a lot of patience and concentration to pick up so don't give up too quickly if you try for them yourself!

James

 

[scary-canary]

Quail at Tarrant Rushton

Beautiful afternoon at Tarrant Rushton airfield today. Quail still singing . Park at the main gate and follow the track/road round past the pigs until you are facing the big black hangar. The quail was close to the edge of the field, where the footpath splits. Of course I didn't see it, but it will be worth watching for when they cut the corn. Then there might be a chance. Lots of stock dove, yellowhammers and skylarks too.

 

[James Lowther]

well done with the quail Scary canary, i've missed out twice!!!

was it by the big black building in the middle of the airfield rather than the one by the pigs then??

 

[scary-canary]

well done with the quail Scary canary, i've missed out twice!!!

was it by the big black building in the middle of the airfield rather than the one by the pigs then??

Yes. About a twenty minute walk from the entrance gate.

 

[scary-canary]

At least four ravens at Tarrant Rushton airfield today. First time I've seen them there, in the grass near the big barn in the middle. Is this unusual?