A trip down to Chiswell this morning to see what was about in the wake of Storm Eleanor. With wind speeds up to 91mph it didn't come as surprise to see the waves crashing into Chesil Beach. All along the top of the shingle hundreds of empty whelk cases and a few dead fish, including a Dogfish being consumed by a Great Black-backed Gull. Out to sea on the flotsam were dozens of Black-headed Gulls, several Mediterranean Gulls and a few Herring Gulls. Further out to sea were up to 8 Gannets.
Storm Eleanor stirs up the surf on Chesil Beach
Before the sun came out
Blue skies over a stormy beach
This adult winter Herring Gull has its eye on something!!
From here I drove to Redcliff view and walked down to Bincleaves Cove. Portland Harbour was still quite choppy here and though there were 3 Great Crested Grebes and a lone Great Northern Diver, I couldn't locate any Black-necked Grebes.
Also here were 3 Oystercatchers and 5 Cormorants. Along the cliff top here were Blue Tits, Blackbirds and a nice surprise a Green Woodpecker.
As I walked back along the path towards Nothe Cove I came across a Dunnock singing its heart out. It must be Spring!! At Nothe Cove were 2 Gannets just out to sea, whilst in the cove were 2 Cormorants, 3 Oystercatchers and a Razorbill which popped up by the promenade below me. I turned to photograph it and it dived down. Incredibly it never came out and despite scanning the cove for the next 10 minutes I never saw it again. really odd!!!
On the beach in Nothe Cove a very distant and enlarged shot of an Oystercatcher coming into land.
And just off the cove one of the 2 Gannets on the look out for fish below the surface.
My next port of call was Ferrybridge to check on the Tiki our little Shetland Fishing Boat. Our boat was fine but just 50 metres away there were 2 burnt out boats and 2 badly damaged boats. Checking the Dorset Echo it appears they were subject to an arson attack back in November last year. More on this story Here.
Not what you want to see when your boat is just but a few metres away.
Some serious damage here. So pointless......
In Small Mouth were at least 35 Red-breasted Merganser, whilst in the Fleet, as the tide was dropping, there were 18 Dark-bellied Brent Geese and 5 Dunlin.
A few of the Brent Geese on the shore-line
I'm not surprised these 3 Dunlin were taking shelter. The wind was absolutely buffering me.
Thankfully auto focus comes in very handy especially when you're eyes are watering.
Birds Recorded: 1 Great Northern Diver, 3 Great Crested Grebe, Gannet, 8 Cormorant, 18 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 35+ Red-breasted Merganser, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, 1 Razorbill, Wood Pigeon, 1 Green Woodpecker, 2 Rock Pipit, 1 Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow and Chaffinch.