Three Counties Birding

Sunday 31st

A HAPPY NEW YEAR

There's nothing to report today, we went to Weymouth, but more in hope than expectation. It was raining and blowing strongly when we left home, and it was raining harder and blowing a gale when we arrived back at home.

We wish all of you who read this Blog, and we know some do, a very Happy New Year for 2007. Lets hope that the wind and rain eases overnight, because we'll be out and about early(ish) to get the 2007 list off to a flying start.

The challenge for 2007 is to photograph as many species of bird that we can. By photograph, we mean an image from which the bird can be identified. We have no idea how many we'll get, but 125 should be possible, maybe more. We shall see.

Brian & Ann

Saturday 30th

Ivy Lake, Near Ringwood

As practice for New Year's day birding, this morning we went to Ivy Lake for a walk around the reserve. On the walk around Ivy Lake we saw a large Tit flock which comprised mainly Long-tailed with Great and Blue Tits as well. We heard Nuthatch and saw a Treecreeper, and a large Siskin flock, a couple of Jays and Redwings. Birds on the lake included Great-crested Grebe, Cormorant, Tufted Duck, Teal, Wigeon, Pochard, Gadwall, Grey Heron and a Kingfisher.

There were also some fine Hazel catkins, already fully open. By the time we got to Ivy Lake, the light had gone, so digiscoping was difficult, the photographs were taken at ISO 800, and even then the shutter speeds were nothing to write home about.

Great-crested Grebe

Hazel Catkins

Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th December

GARDEN BIRDS

A couple of weeks ago I drafted a piece asking where all the garden birds had gone, I didn't get around to posting it, but two weeks later I have my answer, they're back.

I assume that because of the unseasonally warm weather there has been sufficient food in the surrounding countryside for them, but after two successive mornings of albeit slight frosts over the weekend, they felt the need to return to feed in the garden.

The cock Pheasant now considers that he owns our garden and spent a large part of both mornings patrolling the patch, House Sparrow numbers have soared, there must be thirty or more of them around now, up to four Great Tits and three Blue Tits have returned to the seed feeders, and after being decimated by whatever the disease was in the autumn, the Greenfinches are back in small numbers, two Goldfinches were on the seed feeders, but only single Chaffinches come in to the garden.

Yellowhammers are flying around, a female Blackcap skulks in the back hedge, where six Fieldfares made their presence heard on Saturday, and a Song Thrush is either seen or heard most days. The Sparrowhawks are never far away, although we rarely see a kill in or around the garden, and not long before midnight on Sunday a Tawny Owl hooted from down in the village.

Collared Dove

Dunnock

Digital slr Scoped

Greenfinch

"The Boss"

Saturday 16th December

MILFORD ON SEA TO HURST CASTLE

It was a glorious morning after a slight frost early on, so we drove down through the Forest to Milford on Sea, where from the sea front car park we walked out to Hurst Castle and back.

We saw most of the usual waders, including Turnstones, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwits, Oystercatcher, Grey Plover, Dunlin, Curlew and Greenshank. As well as waders there were Brent Geese, Red-breasted Mergansers, Rock and Meadow Pipits and a Red-throated Diver which flew west past the castle. A Mediterranean Gull was flying around the car park at Milford when we arrived back at the car.

Photo opportunities were very few, everything was too far away for the digital slr, but I feel bound to post some photos!

Cormorant

Kestrel

BLACKWATER ARBORETUM

On the drive home we called in at the Arboretum at Blackwater to see if the Hawfinches were coming in to roost in the conifers. They were, and were very easy to see, but not that easy to count, but we reckoned that there were at least six of them.

There were a good selection of other woodland birds, Green, Greater-spotted and thanks to a fellow birder, a Lesser-spotted, Woodpeckers, Siskins, Treecreeper, and a very vocal Tit flock. A Crow was noisily harrassing a small raptor all around the arboretum which eventually settled in a tall conifer, it proved to be a Merlin.

My photo of the Lesser-spot is definitely for record purposes only.

Sunday 10th December

WEYMOUTH & PORTLAND

We expected the forecast rain and high winds, but a white frost and clear skies greeted us this morning. The colder weather attracted a larger number of birds to the garden feeders than of late. Fifteen Lapwings flew over, a female Blackcap was in the back hedge, and three male Yellowhammers, the first of the year in the garden, were in the back hedge.

By the time we arrived at Portland it was windy, and the cloud had arrived, but at least it stayed dry until lunch time. A Shag was feeding close to the shore at Portland Castle, where we had close views of at least two of the reported ten Great-northern Divers, although neither was close enough for a decent photograph.

A Purple Sandpiper showed well below the Obelisk at Portland Bill, where numerous Auks, mainly Guillemots, flew past. Calling in at Chesil Cove on the way off the Island, a Black Redstart was on the rocks between the sea wall and the car park. By the time we arrived back at Weymouth the wind speed had increased and the rain had set in, so we came on home.

Shag

Great-northern Diver

Purple Sandpiper

Black Redstart

Saturday 9th December

KEYHAVEN

It was a gloriously sunny morning so we went to Keyhaven for a walk along the sea wall. There had obviously been some very high tides during the week, and the water birds were generally way beyond camera range. I'd taken some shots of a Little Egret, but we've had loads of them, and just as I was wondering what photographs I could post on the Blog today, we came across a very confiding Kestrel.

Later, walking east from Milford on Sea we saw an equally obliging Meadow Pipit. On the way home we called in at Eyeworth Pond in the New Forest where as well as the usual ducks, including Mandarins, there were a pair of Goosander. Unfortunately it was almost dark, so the photo of the redhead is little more than a record shot.

Kestrel

Meadow Pipit

Goosander

Friday 4th December

PHEASANT

The Village where we live is surrounded by a Shoot. One of the local Pheasants knows where it is well off, protected from the guns and feeding under the seed feeders. The female half of the Blog took these pictures this afternoon.

Ivy Lake Near Ringwood

We were out and about quite early this morning, and after a wet night it was a lovely sunny day. first stop was at Blashford Lakes, where we looked at Ibsley Water and walked around Ivy Lake.

There were good numbers of water birds, but although we didn't see the long staying Great-white Egret, there was a Black-necked Grebe on Ivy Lake. It was too far away for a decent photo, but here's a selection of photos taken around Ivy Lake.

Ivy Lake

Fungi

Black-necked Grebe

Lichen

Cormorants

Spindle

Moss

More Fungi

Treecreeper

Posted by Frampton25 at 08:41 PM | Comments (0)