6 Dec 17

Church Ope Cove and Pennsylvania Wood

With the prospect of catching up with the Yellow-browed Warbler I found yesterday, it was off back to Church Ope Cove in the hope of relocating it. It was a bit of waiting game but eventually it turned up in Pennsylvania Wood. In fact myself and another chap saw a "warbler" half-way down Pennsylvania Wood which started to sing. A very sweet song, which I wished I'd recorded now.

Yellow-browed Warbler is a bird I have never heard singing before and having listened to this audio Here, (courtesy of Xeno-canto), I'm pretty certain that is exactly what we heard, which must be a first!! I know Chiffchaff's will give the occasional burst of song but a Yellow-browed Warbler Wow.

There is something to be said when listening to birds singing. When you get to know the songs of regular songsters, anything sounding remotely different is bound to get your notice. The Radde's Warbler and Greenish Warbler were great examples for me this year. Having not heard them before, I knew they were something "different" and so they proved to be the case.

Also about in the wood were 20+ Long-tailed Tits, which made it pretty difficult to identify anything, especially as they and other "followers" were high in the canopy against a grey dull cloud cover. Eventually the counts were 20+ Long-tailed Tits, 2 Goldcrest, 1 Firecrest, 2 Great Tits, 3 Blue Tits, 2 Robins and 3 Chaffinches.

Having spent a good hour or more in the woods, it was back down to Church Ope Cove where I came across another Firecrest in amongst a very small flock of 5 Long-tailed Tits.

On the beach there were 9 Rock Pipits and the usual posse of Wrens feeding in amongst the stones and pebbles. Also about were the resident pair of Pied Wagtails and the Grey Wagtail.

On the way back I came across 4 White-tailed Bumblebees on a Hebe.

Here are a few photos from today:

A female Pied Wagtail........

.......and her mate.

This Grey Wagtail is enjoying the small black flies in amongst the seaweed.

One of the 9 Rock Pipits here today.

And a White-tailed Bumblebee on a Hebe.

The view across Church Ope Cove, plus Ted.

Birds Recorded: 1 Kestrel, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, 30+ Wood Pigeon, 2 Meadow Pipit, 9 Rock Pipit, 2 Pied Wagtail, 1 Grey Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Yellow-browed Warbler, 4 Goldcrest, 2 Firecrest, 30+ Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch.

Also 4 White-tailed Bumblebees.

A few Ships from today

This the Norwegian Tanker, Kronviken on its way to Ust-Luga, Russia from Montoir, France. More on this vessel Here and Port Ust-Luga Here.

The French Cargo Vessel, MN Pelican on its way to Bilbao, Spain from Pool, Dorset. More on this vessel Here.

I think this is HMS Diamond, which was off Portland.