Standard Fair - Part 3 (Days 4 + 5)

Day 4 brought absolutely appalling conditions, with frequent rain and a wind of around 40 mph!

Despite this, I was determined to get out there, so while the rest of the group sheltered at the Obs and the museum, I walked all the way to the South Light.  I was rewarded in this area with a single Purple Sandpiper and the first Woodpigeon of the trip! 

The geos (deep coves) along the west coast were full of birds sheltering from the easterly wind, including loads of Thrushes and the first Siskin.

My walk took me up one of the moorland hills, where I was hoping to find a Dotterel, seen yesterday.  Here you can see part of the airstrip.

Just a few Golden Plover, and a soaking later, nothing of note.

After lunch the rain had eased, so we all ventured out to the south of the island once again. 

On the way to the South Light, we suddenly flushed a bird from the roadside, which flew up over a fence and out of view.  It was a Quail, my first sight of one!  The stripy plumage could be seen, as well as the dumpy shape.  It also made a quiet 'pittering' call on flushing.  It was seen by someone else the next day.

A search of the South Harbour produced an out-of-place Tufted Duck, a fly-over Grey Plover, and the only Cormorant of the week!

It was still pretty wild out there.

On our way back, a Woodcock flew across the road.

There were still a load of Geese around, including plenty of Barnacle Goose.

We were just going to have a quick look at Pund, when we learnt of an Olive-backed Pipit nearby.  Once at one of the geos on the west side of the island, we found out it had not been seen for a while. 

Nevertheless, while we stood there the Dotterel flew over calling.  A bonus!

We made another attempt at heading back to the Obs, only to be intercepted by the minibus full of people zooming along, a sure sign of a twitch occurring! 

It turned out it was for a Barn Owl, which is a Fair Isle mega (first record for 56 years)!  It's another species for the list, so myself and Dave joined them, and we headed back to the area near where the OBP had been.

No problem finding it, as it hunkered down on the cliff.

Yet another example of the desperate situation the birds often find themselves in when they reach this relatively resource-poor speck of land.  The bird was found dead the next day, unsurprisingly.

Day 5 was an amazing contrast to the day before, with the sun out, and light winds!  Surely there'd be something to find.

The day started well, with the Sparrowhawk I first saw yesterday being trapped, an oddly rufous female.

As soon as we left the Obs, it was clear there were birds everywhere, particularly Thrushes.  The first birds we saw were 3 Ring Ouzel.  We went on to see at least 9 more scattered about, with an estimated 34 seen island-wide.

As we continued south, in quick succession we had a Gadwall fly over (FI rarity), a Common Buzzard appear over a distant hill (another FI rarity), and watched the spectacle of two Merlin squabbling over a seized Wheatear.

As we got to Pund to look for a reported Little Bunting, three Geese flew over calling.  Bean Goose!  Their orange legs being the key giveaway, as well as their rather nasal call.

It wasn't long before another odd call had us looking up.  This time it was the Dotterel once again, associating with a single Golden Plover.

Our mood at missing the Little Bunting was improved slightly on the way back by a late Willow Warbler, a brief Black Redstart, and an in-hand Garden Warbler.

 

During lunch, a Yellow-browed Warbler again showed from the lounge window, and I watched a Redstart feeding on the short grass nearby, while I waited for the others.

After lunch, we learnt of a nice bird right in the south of the island, so headed there first.

Almost immediately on arrival, I found the Great Grey Shrike, sitting up as usual.  It was always fairly distant sadly.

We continued round along the only roads, doing a circuit.  As we did so, a Short-eared Owl flew into view.  It eventually circled up to a great height and headed off south.  Next stop, North Ronaldsay!

Soon after, a single Jackdaw was seen, yet another on the list of quality Fair Isle birds!

The main area of freshwater on the island was the tiny seasonal pool of Da Water.  At our first proper look at it today, we found the Gadwall that had flown over earlier, a pair of Whooper Swan...

...plus a very out-of-place male Long-tailed Duck.  Notice, this bird has quite a nasty wound around its throat, possibly a result of fence-strike.

 

 

We had one last look at Pund, only to discover that the Little Bunting, and a Olive-backed Pipit had both just been there!  We saw neither! 

 

Just another Short-eared Owl, this time sitting about on the ground.

 

 

 

Rather frustrating, but we must remember how good a day it'd been.  Maybe we can rectify these misses tomorrow?



Leach's don't suck

A lot to catch up with, as my lack of photo-taking has put me off putting together a post earlier.

18th:

Today I was 'in transit' in Surrey after my Norfolk trip, and I did a recee for my leading of a walk round Tice's Meadow for the Guildford RSPB group the next day.

The place was looking quite a mess, thanks to ground works to divert the River Blackwater creating a scar through the site, plus the electricity company had felled a load of trees and branches under their cables, and just left them. 

Nonetheless, it was nice to see the local Peregrine come in with a kill of a Starling, which may well have occurred there and then, but I happened to miss it!  The birds in the workings had been unsettled for quite a while before.

 

The other highlight was at least 2 Yellow-legged Gull in amongst 70 or so Lesser Black-backed Gull.  A walk to Tongham GP added a calling Kingfisher and a flock of Fieldfare.

19th:

The walk proper went really rather well, with no rain till we were back at the cars!  There had been no real action, until not one, but two Peregrine came in and sat on the islands.  One even had a bath, and was a great hit amongst the punters (of which there were 25 or so - a good turnout)!

No Yellow-legs this time, but a couple of Snipe, and fly-over Siskin and Redpoll put in appearances.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the walk, and were delighted to be introduced to a site many had never visited before.

On the way back to Dorset, I thought it was a good opportunity to try for the current 'big thing' in the rarity world, down at Sandy Point, Hayling Island (okay, so it wasn't quite on route!).

On arrival at the seafront, the Semipalmated Plover was roosting with a flock of Ringed Plover and Sanderling, with a large group of birders in attendance.  I struggled to find a space to view, and as I got on the bird, the flock took flight!  They whizzed off towards Black Point, so I headed round there.

I kept a vigil on the best wader roosting area for some time along with a few others, but the bird was not re-found.  A shame, and I don't think I'm going to get an opportunity to go back.  That is unless I go through with my plan to start national (but strictly mainland) twitching!  I'll need to get rid of my gas-guzzler of a van first though!

20th:

After work, I thought it might be worth popping down to the Bill, as there was a bit of a south-west hooly blowing up.

As is often the case with seawatching, I saw something good on arrival, a Great Skua, before the rest of the time produced next to nothing!  Luckily, right at the end I managed the Portland tick of a Little Gull heading east, closely followed by a Red-throated Diver.

On the Obelisk I found a curious Silver-fish (sometimes called a Bristletail) Petrobius maritimus.

 

21st:

 

I took a bit of a lazy option today, and just did a short walk around the Blacknor/Bower's Quarry area in the afternoon.  A few Black Redstart had been reported from around the island in the morning, so it wasn't a surprise when I stumbled on a calling female amongst a load of boulders on the coast path.  Always a great bird to find.

 

23rd:



I again did the walk round Blacknor, but this time ventured as far as Tout Quarry, and managed to look down into Chesil Cove, that had had a Storm-petrel earlier in the day.

The Cove was virtually empty, bar a distant feeding flock of 80 Mediterranean Gull, and it was great to have a female Merlin whizz by, heading on south along the cliffs.

Blacknor Point was chat heaven today, with now 2 Black Redstart, along with a couple of Wheatear, and at least 6 Stonechat.  Clearly there'd been an influx of these too.

26th:

Chesil Cove was again the destination this afternoon, what with the weather as it is.  I first tried watching from the top of the West Weares, but saw virtually nothing.  That is apart from the Great Skua which flew right over my head being mobbed by Gulls!  The rather reddish-brown body indicated a juvenile.

Watching from within the Cove itself made things easier, but all I got was a higher count of Gannet than before!  Right at the end, a juvenile Little Gull struggled south.  On the walk, a couple of Wheatear really looked miserable as they got blown around by the wind.

Today:

Today was the day when the storm really began to make it's presence felt, hence, seawatching was again the only option.

I made sure I was in position at the Bill at dawn, in preparation for a spectacle.  A couple of Great Skua (one of which was chasing GBB Gulls), and a single immature Pomarine Skua raised my hopes.  But, other than a trickle of Kittiwakes, Auks, and Gannets, nothing else was seen!  Also a Wheatear that was attempting to feed by the Obelisk, despite having the flushing public and the strong wind to contend with!

Imagine my frustration when I later learned of a Leach's Petrel that was briefly present with this feeding flock of mostly Gannet, numbering about 120 at it's height.

I really wanted to try something else, so I imagined the East Weares would be nice, calm and sheltered, so headed there. 

Well, somehow the westerly even gusted through here, but I did see my quarry, earlier found by Keith Pritchard.  Two fabulous Ring Ouzel were feeding on Cotoneaster berries on the cliff-face, the juvenile of which was ringed.  My latest ever.  Funny how I've now seen the first, and (possibly) last RO's of the autumn, but none in between (exactly 2 months apart)!

After lunch, I headed out to my favoured spot on the West Weares looking down into Chesil Cove, as the wind increased yet further.

On arrival, I found a Leach's Petrel struggling along close inshore (though bear in mind I wasn't actually that close to the shoreline).  Perhaps the bird that had passed Abbotsbury 2 hours earlier.  That may not sound correct, but the poor thing really was pondering along.

 

As always with this sought-after species, it was great to watch, but not easy to get any footage in the wind!

 

 

I didn't really have any further opportunity to scrutinise the Cove, as soon after, it started belting down!  I had no shelter whatsoever, but had no option but to leg it home.  I had to walk against the wind, and in truly horizontal rain.

 

I was completely soaked through by the time I got home, but pretty happy with the days birding nonetheless!

 

I really can't imagine what tomorrow will bring with the winds set to strengthen.  Sadly, I'm working the morning, so I'll probably miss it all!

August Ouzel? Awesome!

Although I was working this morning, I did my best to get out there and flog those bushes and fields, what with all the action from yesterday and elsewhere in the country.

First thing, I did my usual little loop covering Barleycrates, Reap Lane, and the Hump.  Not a great deal about initially compared to yesterday, just a few Wheatear and fly-over Yellow Wagtail.  The Gulls were all flocking in the fields attempting to gorge themselves on the bountiful Flying Ants.

The area around the barns at Reap Lane always looks promising, and yesterdays (or possibly new) Pied Flycatcher was still in the Sycamores, though today it was joined by a Spotted Flycatcher.  They may be relations, but they didn't get on, as they chased each other through the branches!  Sunrise over the barns.

The Hump and Suckthumb area was largely disappointing, though a Peregrine flew over, as did 2 Tree Pipit, and I did get a glimpse of a Phylloscopus that appeared to have a particularly bright supercillium.  A few plays of the call of Greenish on my phone fell on deaf ears.

Whilst working at Fortuneswell, a Grey Wagtail flew over calling. No doubt one of the birds the Saunders' had over Ferrybridge. 

After that, I sneaked a peak at the Verne Common area.  I had just set foot in the bushes when two Tree Pipit called very close.  One was sitting on the roof of a house, and the other appeared to be down in a concrete basketball court!  The first ones I've seen on the deck this autumn.  A Lesser Whitethroat flitted through the railings of the same compound.

Just a few steps later, and another Pied Flycatcher showed itself, though only another Lesser Whitethroat could be found on the rest of the site.  A Whimbrel called from somewhere in Portland Harbour.

I had a quick unenthusiastic look for a Wryneck that had been found very nearby, to no avail.

After work, I was very determined to take a look at the plethora of monster moths at the Obs, but no sooner had I got there, then I was off again on news of the Ortolan being seen once more! 

I entered a very promising weedy field on the edge of Southwell to search for the bird, only to realise that many of the 'weeds' were in fact a tick!  The pretty Round-leaved Fluellen was once common when farming was without chemical-usage, but has since become quite rare.  Nice to see so much of it here (note the leaf-mines, which are probably the work of a fly larvae rather than a moth).

No sign of the bird unsurprisingly, but nice consolations were a Portland tick of a Greenshank flying down the East Cliffs, and the enormous numbers of hirundines in every direction, no doubt taking advantage of those bird-fodder, the Flying Ants.  All three species were found, as well as a few Swift still about.

I finally found the window of opportunity to admire the moths.

The rarest species was this rather dower looking Tamarisk Peacock, which is a rare migrant with only a few records nationally, most of those in Kent.

 

The star as far as I was concerned though was this Convolvulus Hawk-moth, which is a species I've always wanted to see.  They're called that because the caterpillars feed on Field Bindweed (of which the latin name is convolvulus).

 

Although this Bedstraw Hawk-moth is the best looking of all these species, it does feel a bit like cheating to have it brought in from elsewhere.  This is why I only count moths on my list if it's been trapped at the site that night (or preferably, if I was involved in the trapping session!).  Can't deny it's a looker though!  Thanks to Debby Saunders for bringing it in.

 

 

The other lifer was a bit of a tarts tick, as Nutmeg is supposed to be a common species. Still didn't come across one in my three years of trapping in Surrey!

 

 

The other highlights in the traps were this beautifully fresh Marbled Green.

 

 

This first of the year Feathered Gothic (named after the 'feathered' white lines on the wings, and not the antennae, though they are striking!).

Plus this cool Dor Beetle Geotrupes stercorarius.

 

Afterwards, I took a quick punt at seeing the Nightingale in the Obs Quarry, though the vigil produced no movement in there whatsoever.  So, there was nothing for it but to head home.

 

I thought it was worth just popping into the Hump once again, just in case I got lucky with this promising Phyllloscopus I saw earlier.  By Avalanche Road I found my third Pied Flycatcher of the day. 

 

There was a fair amount of activity around the Hump, seemingly more than during my earlier visit.  Accompanying a Robin on one of the fences was, yes, another Pied Flycatcher!  And shortly after, a constantly calling female Redstart was found.  Maybe the one I had a few days ago with a male?  All that calling was no doubt in pining for her mate that had left for Africa without her!

 

On walking down the housing-edge footpath of Barleycrates Lane, I heard an unfamiliar tacking.  I probably would have twigged what it was, had it not been for a strange call I'd just experienced from a juvenile Blackbird hidden deep in a bush!  Although the bird was largely sillouetted, the pale-fringed body feathers ID'd it as a Ring Ouzel, the first here this autumn!  You may think this is a little depressing, seeing this late-autumn species now, but I say bring it on! 

 

 

 

It only allowed for the one rushed shot once it had popped up into the sunlight.

 





Two days off in a row now, and I intend to make the most of them.