A Day In Devon - A Game of Two Halves

With a whole bag full of new species for the Year List, I set off for Devon before daylight and with the promise of decent birding weather. First stop was

noted as a catchment for rarer birds, there was the prospect of at least half a dozen additions?

Within one hundred yards of the car park the first of these manifested itself in the shape of a Rock Pipit* so surely this was 'game on'? Next was a job for the Opticron 'Mighty Midget' telescope, for which I have to thank Kieth at In Focus for putting my way, and a thorough scan

across the vast bay. Particular attention was paid to the area of Langstone Rock as it was here the Bird Alerts were reporting 3 species of Scoter. Of these I could see only one at this distance, but closed to find it was the best of the bunch

a Surf Scoter*. It should be pointed out that the whole day was not one of good photography, in fact the camera was hardly used, so most of the images in this post are from the archive. A female (similar to the 2 birds left of picture) seen fairly well through my own optic, but even better via that of a charming couple from North Derbyshire - Thanks to them! In addition between us we picked up on over a dozen Great Crested Grebes, Razorbill, Guillemot and Gannet, plus Red-throated Diver and Slavonian Grebe which already grace the list.

Shortly before leaving my new found friends spotted 3 Eider* cruising across the bay comprising of a single male and 2 females (foreground). There was no sign of the Velvet Scoter or the male American Wigeon which both, annoyingly, put in appearances after my departure. It was a 15 minute drive to the next site, where the only birder to be found reported that the target was a mile away and mostly out of sight. However, luck was with me as the

Glossy Ibis* flew a little nearer giving reasonable views through the 'scope, but again misfortune didn't allow me to see the Long-eared Owl which is believed to have been photographed earlier?

The next path was via Dartmouth, home of the Britannia Royal Navy College the tower of which can just be seen peaking above this hillside.

Certainly one of my favourite towns in the county, this shot shows the Inner Harbour,

this the course of the Ferry and

the Outer Harbour.

One of two crossing the River Dart, this is the Higher Ferry.

Cirl Bunting* was next to be added, and after the short drive to the quaint village of

Aveton (John) Gifford (John Gifford is a mate so couldn't resist the pun) Bewick's Swan* quickly followed. 2 things surprised me about this bird, firstly that it is a juvenile and there were no adults with it, plus its tiny size. Dinky to say the least.

Having missed a couple of things en-route it was good to strike lucky with a bonus by way of 2 Greenshank*. However, time was getting on and there was one more call to make to see a juvenile Spotted Sandpiper on the estuary of the River Ply, Plymouth. This is when I got hopelessly lost in the conurbation of the city, and by the time I pulled myself out of that mess the light would have precluded any sort of view of the Sandpiper. Return to Base!

The Year (January) List now stands at 158

Home Again - Blackmore's Night

Well at last I'm heading towards home, but get the feeling that the visit may be short lived. Having done no birding in what might be considered my local area, there was much to catch up on but armed with information provided by John Gifford, Sheila Edwards and Paul Harris how could I fail????

Leaving Parley Court at 08:30 the first destination was the

east side of Poole Harbour here looking towards Sandbanks and the most expensive real estate in the world. There were good numbers of

Red-breasted Merganser* both male

and female on the sea, while 'scoping from Evening Hill

towards Brownsea Island a number of

Spoonbills could be seen distantly in the lagoon.

From there it is just a short drive to the Sandbanks/Studland Chain Ferry where there was a 'point blank' encounter with a

Razorbill. Unfortunately as I raised the camera it dived, for what seemed like ages, a long way off in mid-channel.

Nothing else of note was seen before arriving at the Studland side, but parking close to the Ferry it wasn't long before finding a Red-necked Grebe* in Shell Bay, as reported yesterday.

Onward to the Heath overlooking The Littlesea Lake and further afield to Bournemouth, where 2

Dartford Warbler were first located by their distinctive rasping calls. Knoll Beach produced a couple of small Grebes that were too distant to identify, while further on close to the Studland Car Park

2 Ring-necked Parakeet* looked as though they were awaiting my arrival. The waterbirds in the bay here were a little closer to the shore, where both Black-necked Grebe* and Slavonian Grebe* were seen along with a Great Northern Diver* and quite a few

Mediterranean Gulls*.

Driving past Corfe Castle, buily by William the Conqueror in the 11th Century, a short stop was made at the woodland close to Middlebere in the hope of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker but that was not to be so I continued on to the Watercress Beds at Tincleton where there were also 2

Green Sandpiper. It was here that I received information relating to 2 Bewick's Swans in that vicinity. This would have been quite a coup as there had been no 'wild swans' in the notebook since the first day in Norfolk, maybe staying further north in the mild conditions? Search as I may, they were never found but perhaps they will be relocated later.

During the search I slowed for this Pony & Trap, which makes for a really nice picture, while at Ilsington Farm there appeared to be dozens of

Yellowhammer.

Close to Dorchester I visited Monkey's Jump, with nothing to report, then just before Martinstown the Bat's Lane turn-off is usually reliable for Corn Bunting* where they seem to favour the 2 lone Ash trees half way along. There was a mixed flock in the trees, with just 3 being positively identified, but there were surely more than this?

Eventually, I arrived in Weymouth and made straight way for Lodmoor where 2 Long-billed Dowitcher have been seen in recent days, but there was no sign or report of them today. Undeterred,

Littlesea Caravan Park was my next port of call where there were some familiar faces from the past. These 3 lads from Shropshire were visiting Scotland the same time as me in 2009, where together we found a Parrot Crossbill much to all our delights. Today the news was not quite so good as they had journeyed south to 'twitch' the Dark-eyed Junco and had now been waiting 3 hours for the Hume's Leaf Warbler* without success. It had been last reported at 08:55 but nothing since, so I decided to cut my losses and have a look for the

Richard's Pipit* which has been in the fields close to the Bridging Camp since before Christmas.

It didn't disappoint today being located soon after arrival, and closing to photograph range. Returning to the Warbler, word was that it had been returning to a small stand of Sallows to roost at 15:00 precisely, which is exactly what it did. A short visit to drop a small token of appreciation into Paul Harris and a cup of tea with my friend Lesley Brown ended a darn good day, and by 17:30 I was tucked up in the old homestead and getting ready for another foray tomorrow. I'll talk again then!

The Year (January) List now stands at 151

A Day Out With the Country Set

Another fabulous dinner last night, this time at The Pig, Brockenhurst, such a renowned restaurant it had taken a full 2 months to get a reservation. Tonight we were in company with

Ray & Lydia (top left hand corner) who have recently visited India with Hugh & Janet (sitting either side of me), while others included Daryl (left foreground) Hugh and Janet's eldest son,

and his partner Cath (in white). Again the star of the show was a Pole, this time in the form of the Sommelier, who's knowledge of wine was well worth listening to! The food was also excellent, but if I had to choose between our 2 outings, it would have to be The Three Tuns, so much so that I will be taking them all for a revisit on my next visit.

Today's activities may cause some controversy among the readership, but after all this is the countryside, so feel that as I'm in Rome so will do what the Romans do! The annual Pheasant shoot kicked off with a

Merlin preceding us down the farm track, very much in hunting mode. The photo is from the archive.

The Guns meet to discuss tactics before the hunt begins.

Bare winter branches reveled a redundant Goldfinches nest,

as Redwings were also easy to see resting in the tops.

One Man & His Dog. It was at this point that the only Woodcock* of the day was flushed from cover, but quickly disappeared back into the wood.

There were a few Common Snipe about

and a Cormorant but it was now time for

lunch of cured ham & homemade pickle sandwiches, chocolate brownies with sloe gin - that'll do for me Tommy!

Back to the beat and a few

Roe Deer were seen along with a

Grey Heron,

Moorhen

plus one of several Common Buzzard seen during the day.

The Year (January) List now stands at 137