Dorset birding (2 Viewers)

[scary-canary]

Longham Lakes

Peregrine showing well on the quarry this afternoon. 19 wigeon, 4 pochard and small flock of long tailed tits. 8 herring gulls on the lake.

 

[Paul Corfield]

Took a walk around Longham Lake this afternoon. Not much going on really. Watched a Great Crested Grebe come up with a lovely big Perch which it played with for a while and I think it lost it in the end. Got half way along the quarry fence and looked back to see a hawk hunting far off in the distance by the pylons and was hoping it would be the Peregrine spotted by Scary Canary but it was just a Kestrel. Managed to digiscope a couple of photos which turned out ok. First one was from around 200m away and the second around 120m. Plenty of large pools filling up on the quarry side and a number of Heron at them. Some Gadwall and Pochard on the lake along with all the usual other ducks etc.

Paul.

 

[scary-canary]

Longham, Sunday 25th November

Nice pictures Paul.
I had a quick walk round the lake on Sunday morning - good numbers of wildfowl - 20 pochard and 30+ wigeon plus at least five adult lesser black backed gulls. One redwing over Hampreston fields.

 

[James Lowther]

Pretty good day today

painstaking examination of seemingly half the swans on the fleet finally allowed me to track down the 3 whoopers opposite herbury, viewable from just past moonfleet manor

this means my fairly respectable dorset list (216) is now exactly 90% of my unremarkable UK total (240), which i'm pretty pleased about!

There were tonnes of other birds on the lagoon as well (coots, brent geese, mute swans, wigeon, shelduck etc..) plus a few red-legged partidge in the fields around langton herring.

Later on single red-throated and black-throated divers at portland harbour were both late year ticks. Other decent birds there included great-northern diver, male and female velvet scoters, loads of med gulls, black redstart and dartford warbler, but i missed out on the goosanders which have been seen recently, and which would have been another good dorset tick!

James

 

[scary-canary]

Saw the cattle egret at Upton today - quite distant for my camera - this pic is cropped and proves (to me) that the teleconverter doesn't focus sharply at distance!! Still it's a record shot.

 

[Nina P]

I did try and post yesterday to say I had my first sighting of redwing for this winter, a flock of three flew over my car as I was driving towards Wingreen Hill, very clear sighting from Tollard Royal over the Chase. Great sight of a winter occasional for me, but have heard Fieldfares around my garden, perhaps winter is on it's way.......Brrrrr.

 

[Saerwen]

Saw a first for me yesterday in Studland Bay - two velvet scoters. It was well worth going out on a pretty horrible morning.

 

[scary-canary]

At least 50 brambling, probably many more along the Badbury Rings road today. Quite flighty. Also redwings there

Al Longham lakes good numbers of pochard, plus gadwall, wigeon, tufteds and great and little grebes.
Good views of green woodpeckers and a chiffchaff in the reedy stuff near the dam wall on the hampreston side.
I missed the med gull and the sparrowhawk but did meet Dominic Mitchell, who is the keeper of the site list. Nice bloke.

 

[scary-canary]

Longham lakes today

Very cold today. Highlights were 6 pochard, grey wagtail, two great black backed gulls in with lots of herring gulls, three grey herons, but no wigeon at all today.

 

[scary-canary]

Beautiful day for birding today, although very cold.
Longham lake was partly frozen, good numbers of duck including 30 pochard, five teal, several wigeon plus the usual gadwall, gc grebes and coots.
Lots of long tailed tits present toy and a fine male bullfinch feeding along the green lane shoreline hedge. Fox hunting in the horse paddocks.

A trip to Holes bay produced greenshank and spotted redshank plus lots of black tailed godwits, two avocets, several pintail and other duck.
Adult yellow legged gull on the roof of kerry foods.


Nothing at all at the sandbanks ferry/harbour mouth.

Male and female goldeneye at poole park lake

No sign of the bitterns at hatch pond but one very pale pochard asleep, plus
cettis warbler calling.
Finished the day with a great view of kingfisher from the Longham Bridge Hotel.

 

[scary-canary]

Longham Lakes

Still good numbers of ducks on the lake - but today's highlights for me were house sparrows near the houses on green lane - they were a patch tick. Whooppeee!
Still waiting for the really big one. (snipe maybe!!)

 

[scary-canary]

Yule (bird)log

Happy Christmas to everyone!

 

[scary-canary]

Lonhgam lake

Flat calm at the lake today and very quiet birdwise. One redwing with blackbirds and song thrushes on the fields.A few tufteds and gadwall with lots of coots plus two teal on the quarry. Some big gulls, gbb, lbb and herring hanging around.
Long tailed tits in the hedge.
Happy new Year. I'm aiming for a British year list of 200 next year so i might need some advice on tougher Dorset stuff, like barn owl, long eared owl, little owl, woodcock etc - if you have any good site - especially for that elusive dipper (I've tried Maiden Newton and near Weymouth without success) you could PM me. Thanks
Chris

 

[scary-canary]

Longham Lakes today

Very windy today and most ducks on the flooded river near Hampreston fields.
Two new birds for me today - a male goosander on the quarry and an egyptian goose seen flying over Haskins and away from the lake towards Hampreston church. According to The Birds of Dorset that's quite an unusual sighting for the county but i don't know if they have increased recently?

 

[MSA]

Hi Chris

There's been an Egyptian Goose near East Holme for much of the winter, but it wasn't seen on yesterday's Birdrace - wonder if it was that bird? Still a good sighting!

FYI, Dipper is a very tricky Dorset bird, but look at the Lyme Regis thread, as they do occur in the western extremity of the county.

I'll pm you re Woodcock and Little/Barn Owl when I get chance (need some info from someone else first). Are you keen to get them in Dorset, or would Hampshire be OK?

Cheers

Mark

 

[scary-canary]

Hi Chris

There's been an Egyptian Goose near East Holme for much of the winter, but it wasn't seen on yesterday's Birdrace - wonder if it was that bird? Still a good sighting!

I'll pm you re Woodcock and Little/Barn Owl when I get chance (need some info from someone else first). Are you keen to get them in Dorset, or would Hampshire be OK?

Cheers

Mark

West hants would be ok but it's a big county and i wouldn't want to travel miles and miles from Wimborne to "twitch" woodcock or little owl! Thanks for your help.

 

[Nina P]

Woodcock, little owl and barn owls are in the surrounds of Horton.
Barn owl spotted 8.30 pm Wed 9/1/08 on Horton to Blandford road just before the waterworks. Virtually opposite the Horton Inn! Horton Fields, I have seen little owl in broad daylight last year, where they are building new Barn Conversion homes, currently the fields are flooded but on the telegraph wire next to the clearest post at 9am. Woodcock are to be seen on the road from Horton to Woodlands via Haythorne around 4.30am.
These I can say that I have seen on several occasions, the Barn owl has been around the Horton Inn for over 8 years! Going back to my mobile days and hubby and I were playing darts for the Horton Inn at the time, now recent sightings are from our trips to the Drovers Inn on wednesday evenings for the Pub Quiz that they have started up during the winter.
Take your pick of what you are after, but these are frequent spottings so you should stand a good chance.
Happy birding folks

 

[James Lowther]

whitesheet plantation is good for roding woodcock

that's just outside wimborne

 

[scary-canary]

whitesheet plantation is good for roding woodcock

that's just outside wimborne

Out on the heath? or along the track by the car park entrance?

 

[scary-canary]

Woodcock, little owl and barn owls are in the surrounds of Horton.
Happy birding folks

Nina
I meant to write to you last year after a nice Pm you sent me. Pleased you are still birding and thanks for the advice. i'll certainly give the owls a go.
Chris