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Apr 28 2013
Walk around Lyme Regis 28th April 2013
Walk around Lyme Regis 28th April 2013
We had something of a day off birding to go for a walk with the friends with whom we were staying. We all decided to take a walk around Lyme Regis and whilst this was not a birding walk we still did come across a Willow Warbler and, down at the Cob, a Rock Pipit.
Apr 27 2013
Visit to RSPB Shapwick Heath 27th April 2013
Visit to RSPB Shapwick Heath 27th April 2013
Having spent a bit of time at the RSPB reserve at Ham Wall I decided to forego lunch with the friends I was with and instead to have a quick look at the adjoining Natural England reserve at Shapwick Heath. I only had time to walk down to the first set of hides, stopping off at the pools on Meare Heath. I had a look for the Pied-billed Grebe but again I was out of luck. The largest presence was a fifty strong flock of Black-tailed Godwits. There was also a fairly large number of Gadwall and a single Little Egret.
Apr 27 2013
Visit to RSPB Ham Wall 27th April 2013
Visit to RSPB Ham Wall 27th April 2013
Part of our holiday involved staying with friends in Montacute in South Somerset and, as we had been reading a lot recently about the RSPB reserve at Ham Wall and the adjoining Natural England reserve at Shapwick Heath, this seemed like an ideal opportunity to check these reserves out. As we approached the sites our friends commented that the times they had been here before it had been more or less deserted so when we arrived at the car park and it was full to overflowing we realised that something was up – that something was an ongoing “twitch” The question was what species had been spotted ? Continue reading
Apr 26 2013
Visit to RSPB Arne 26th April 2013
Visit to RSPB Arne 26th April 2013
Our three-day stay in Poole had come to an end and it was time for us to move on to Somerset where we were to stay with friends. However we had another chance to drop in on RSPB Arne which was more or less on our way anyway. We hoped that going on our own rather than being in a group would enable us to see more birds. We took the Coombe Heath path again hoping to have a second go at finding a Dartford Warbler and we were only minutes away from doing so as we discovered when we entered one of the hides and a couple said that they had just seen one on a bush right outside the hide! I would have felt worse but we have done the same to others ourselves and there is always an element of luck in birding. Perhaps it will be our turn to get lucky next time. Continue reading
Apr 24 2013
Visit to Brownsea Island 25th April 2013
Visit to Brownsea Island 25th April 2013
This was our last day in Poole so it was with some scepticism when we looked out of the hotel window to find that the promenade was hardly visible never mind Brownsea island. Anyway we thought that we would take a walk along the prom to see if the weather would perk up. As we walked along we came across a small number of Turnstones scouring the water’s edge looking for morsels. we turned inward after a while and walked through a sort of park cum open space where there were plenty of birds but also plenty of dog walkers so that wasn’t entirely satisfactory. Anne decided to go off shopping so I wandered around a little more before deciding to go back to the hotel to pick up my camera in order to get some photos of the Turnstones. Continue reading
Apr 24 2013
Visit to RSPB Radipole Lake 24th April 2013
Visit to RSPB Radipole Lake 24th April 2013
After we left RSPB Arne we drove over to Weymouth to visit the Radipole Lake which has been modernised considerably since our last visit. They have got rid of the shop and now have a children’s activity centre and a toilet of their own. Previously you had to use the council toilets in the car park which were not always even open ! They still have the big panoramic window overlooking the lake. We walked around the entire site enjoying the walkways and new raised platforms that give you a view over the reedbeds. The singing of Reed Warblers and Sedge Warblers could be hear loudly coming out of the reedbeds and from trees Chiffchaffs called and we even heard a Cetti’s Warbler. Overhead Swallows swooped in large numbers Continue reading
Apr 24 2013
Visit to RSPB Arne 24th April 2013
Visit to RSPB Arne 24th April 2013
One of our key aims in visiting the Dorset coast was to drop in at RSPB Arne We were particularly interested in the lowland heath environment and were hoping to get a view of a Dartford Warbler. Well, we did not get a view of a Dartford Warbler but we did have a great walk and saw some unusual birds.
Apr 23 2013
Visit to WWT Slimbridge 23rd April 2013
Visit to WWT Slimbridge 23rd April 2013
We made a second visit to WWT Slimbridge on the morning of the 23rd before we drove down to Poole. This time we got much closer views of the Cranes and a chance to observe some interesting behaviour. As we watched the Cranes at the far side of the lake, one of them broke from the group and strode off purposefully to the right. As we homed in on this it was clear that the bird had something in its mouth and this turned out to be an egg. Slimbridge observers took this to be a Greylag Goose egg and it was certainly the right size for this. As it set off with this egg, it dropped in onto the ground and started to eat the contents. It proceeded to pick it up again and move further away with it and as it did so the yolk was clearly visible dripping from the shell. Continue reading
Apr 22 2013
Visit to WWT Slimbridge 22nd April 2013
Visit to WWT Slimbridge 22nd April 2013
We broke up our trip from Manchester to Poole with a stop for the night at the Tudor Arms Hotel in Slimbridge on the night of 22nd April. We arrived with a little time to spare so we had a chance to make a short visit to WWT Slimbridge. We arrived fairly late but we managed to get an hour and a half in before closing. Our first interest was to try to get views of the Cranes. We headed off to the Martin Smith Hide which overlooks the “Tack piece”, a small lake surrounded by fields with the River Severn in the background. We were instantly rewarded by views of three Cranes.
Apr 20 2013
Visit to Sale Water Park 20th April 2013
Visit to Sale Water Park 20th April 2013
We at last got a nice sunny day and despite it being a Saturday we had a fancy to take a walk over to Sale Water Park. We crossed Brook Burn and walked past the Heronry where we could see three or four bids on the nest – less than usual but perhaps we are a little late in the year for them. In any case there wasn’t the usual clacking of young birds. As we walked along this path we stopped to look at some flitting in the bushes and we could make out a Blackcap – our first “spring” Blackcap of the year.