Dorset birding (1 Viewer)

[scary-canary]

waxwings in hospital car park

Spent a very chilly lunchtime looking for the two reported waxwings in the RBH car park in Bournemouth with my usual lack of success. No sign and no berries either. probably moved, but i am sometimes astonished by the lack of information that the bird information services carry to go with these reports. Would it be so hard to give a better description of which part of the car park they were and what they were feeding on? And did they fly off?

GRRRRRRRRR.
Still need waxwing for the year, having dipped the muscliff one twice

 

[Flemingo]

A cold, cold, cold New Year's Day. Out with wife and kids so able to do a little birding at Upton Park, Hatch pond and around Cole Hill. The list so far:
1 buzzard
2 magpie
3 rook
4 crow
5 jay
6 jackdaw
7 blue tit
8 long tailed tit
9 coal tit
10 robin
11 blackbird
12 song thrush
13 mistle thrush
14 redwing
15 nuthatch
16 curlew
17 redshank
18 Black tailed godwits
19 avocet
20 mute swan
21 teal
22 mallard
23 shoveler
24 wigeon
25 gadwall
26 moorhen
27 coot
28 little grebe
29 chaffinch
30 greenfinch
31 black headed gull
32 common gull
33 great black backed gull
34 lesser black back
35 herring gull
36 pintail
37 woodpigeon
38 starling

 

[Flemingo]

Quick lunchtime outing to ferndown common
39 kestrel
40 sparrowhawk (new for this site)
41 stonechat
42 goldfinch
43 goldcrest
44 great tit
45 dartford warbler

 

[Flemingo]

Good grief -2c when we set out to Hengisbury head. Highlight was while sheltering from the wind behind the road train shelter at the far end. also sheltering there in the few scrubby bushes against the wall of the shelter was a lone dartford warbler. Glad to have binoculars that focus down to 6ft! It seemed to be quite happy feeding in front of us.

46 oystercatcher
47 shelduck
48 heron
49 little egret
50 ringed plover
51 snipe
52 meadow pipit

 

[Flemingo]

Ha! seen the bitterns at Hatch pond Pool. Why on earth would they choose to winter in such a small area surrounded by housing and industrial units??? Happy they do though.

53 bittern
54 great crested grebe

 

[scary-canary]

Ha! seen the bitterns at Hatch pond Pool. Why on earth would they choose to winter in such a small area surrounded by housing and industrial units??? Happy they do though.

53 bittern
54 great crested grebe

Looks like we're neck and neck so far - I'm on 55 for the year having spent the afternoon at Blashford lakes. Got nice views of bittern there too.

 

[Flemingo]

Another cold day. first 4 at studland bay and the rest at longham lakes. The goosander was a fly over. The smaller lakes are well and truly frozen now with the edges of the main lake icing up. (The grey wagtail was feeding on the ice)

55 mediterranean gull
56 black necked grebe
57 red breasted merganser
58 common scoter
59 tufted duck
60 goosander
61 grey wagtail
62 canada goose
63 pochard

Scary- I haven't been to Blashford as yet as I'm working on my Dorset list. Would you like to help me to steal the lakes into our county one night?! So near yet so far.

 

[John P]

Would you like to help me to steal the lakes into our county one night?! So near yet so far.

You've already had Hengistbury and Stanpit, isn't that enough?

 

[Flemingo]

A small group of us already have plans to extend Dorset's borders as far west as the Isles of Scilly. Dorset county council are in the process of doing a feasibility study.

 

[scary-canary]

Dorset county council are in the process of doing a feasibility study.

If their usual speed is anything to go by Scillies will have sunk by the time the council comes to a decision...

 

[Flemingo]

If their usual speed is anything to go by Scillies will have sunk by the time the council comes to a decision...

No doubt they would be very pleased that the study stopped the purchase and highlighting how useful such studies are!

 

[MSA]

I take it you guys know about the White-fronts at Longham?

7 or 8 White Fronts at Longham field behind the gravel pit roughly sz051981.
Same field as 45 Canada geese and 1 or 2 Greylag. Easily scopable from the footpath along northern edge.

From an email yesterday.

 

[Flemingo]

I take it you guys know about the White-fronts at Longham?

Damn! I was there yesterday looking at the very field and all saw was the Canada:C

Anyone know what the birders are looking at on the road past Bradbury rings on the way to Blandford? One of our (non-birding) receptionists said that she had seen several groups over the last couple of weekends

 

[scary-canary]

White fronts still at longham at lunchtime, but very tricky, hiding on the bend in the river. Also 77 wigeon on the lake, my record count!


I guess the groups of birders along badbury rings road could be looking for brambling, it was a good site for them there last year.

 

[Flemingo]

White fronts still at longham at lunchtime, but very tricky, hiding on the bend in the river. Also 77 wigeon on the lake, my record count!


I guess the groups of birders along badbury rings road could be looking for brambling, it was a good site for them there last year.

Thanks. I'll try to see the White fronts at the weekend.

Anyone know if Bramblings have been seen around badbury rings?

 

[Flemingo]

A pleasant afternoon at Longham lakes. I have changed my route to start at Hampreston church. It's nearer to Colehill and its a much pleasanter walk. As a result I added another 5 birds to the Dorset year list and managed to see 44 species in just over an hour. Spent a happy period convincing myself that a single grey goose was a juvenile White front before sanity finally set in. ( In my defence I'm not well and it was hiding down by the river bank!) The small lakes are all frozen with no birds at all and the main lake is 50% frozen so the duck are all concentrated at the North end. Hopefully the thaw will set in over the weekend.

64 Canada goose
65 Greylag
66 Chiffchaff
67 Fieldfare
68 Stock dove

 

[scary-canary]

Lovely afternoon at Longham lake

Lots of gulls on the ice - lbb, gbb, common , herring and bh but nothing unusual - no meds or yellow legs as far as i could see.
counted 78 pochard and 84 wigeon but there was probably more of each. Also got a site tick - snipe, with seven in total and five in the air at one time.
No sign of any geese at all today.

 

[Flemingo]

Must agree with you Scary, it was a lovely afternoon. Went to Stanpit with the family this afternoon. Despite my worries I don't think they behaved any worse than the rest of the people there! Never been before. Amazed at how close the waders on the marsh were. Lots of Black tailed godwits, dunlin one Knot and a very tame Little stint. Spent about 5 minutes feeding 10 feet away. (Family trailing behind at this stage so was lucky). Also great views of a pair of Bearded tits. Added another 6 to the Dorset year list.

69 Little stint
70 Bearded tits
71 Grey plover
72 Water rail
73 Dunlin
74 Knot

 

[Flemingo]

Just checking my list and I seemed to have missed some

75 lapwing
76 wren
77 pied wagtail
78 collared dove
79 cormorant

and 62 should have been brent goose

-not that anyone cares!!

 

[scary-canary]

Just checking my list and I seemed to have missed some

75 lapwing
76 wren
77 pied wagtail
78 collared dove
79 cormorant

and 62 should have been brent goose

-not that anyone cares!!

No one cares what goes on on this thread... I'm just happy to have someone else posting on it regularly!