Spent an hour at Lodmoor then onto Radipole in the hope of seeing the Ross's Gull close-up, but no joy again. At both venues it was a case of "it's just left". I'm sure I'll get to see it close-up before long.
At Lodmoor there were 2 Spoonbills with one sporting an array of coloured plastic leg rings, whilst the other was ring free. I believe the ringed bird is from Holland. Also here were lots of Black-tailed Godwits, still in winter plumage and also Little Grebe, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Mallard, Teal, Water Rail, Moorhen, Coot, Lapwing, Snipe, 3 Turnstone, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Cetti's Warbler, Great Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling, Chaffinch and Goldfinch.
Here are a few images:
The dutch Spoonbill at Lodmoor today.
And here it is in flight.
3 Black-tailed Godwit huddle together from that biting easterly wind.
And a Snipe probes away in the mud.
A Grey Heron braves the freezing conditions.
And a Lapwing displaying to its mate.
Three Mediterranean Gulls in Summer Plumage, well almost.
At Radipole main highlights here were a Kingfisher and Marsh Harrier. Other birds recorded were: Little Grebe, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Mallard, Gadwall, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Water Rail, Moorhen, Coot, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Common Gull, Wood Pigeon, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Cetti's Warbler, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Starling, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, and Reed Bunting.
Now I hope I have this right as there weren't any other gulls around to make a comparison. To me it didn't look as big as I would have expected for a Great Black-backed Gull, so I'm going with a 1st winter Lesser Black-backed Gull. This was sat in the middle of the Swannery car park at Radipole.
Wakeham
A bitterly cold morning here on Portland with the thermometer reading 0.7°C and feeling a lot colder than that with that absolutely freezing easterly wind. For the first time in awhile the female Blackcap was here first thing this morning. In recent days she's not appeared until late morning early afternoon.
Here are a few images:
A Grey Heron at Radipole has the right idea and uses the reed bed for shelter.
A drake Shoveler and his "shovel-shaped" bill.
A nice posture from this Mute Swan.
A headless Cormorant and t=one in breeding plumage.
A not so brilliant photo of a Kingfisher. Try as I could there was no where to stand to get a clear shot of it.
A Kingfisher sat on a branch over the River Wey. Unfortunately this was the only viewing point I had.
A distant view of a Marsh Harrier circling over the reed beds.
Slo-mo of a Marsh Harrier coming into land in the reed beds at Radipole
A common Gull comes into land.
Wakeham
A bitterly cold morning here on Portland with the thermometer reading 0.7°C and feeling a lot colder than that with that absolutely freezing easterly wind. For the first time in awhile the female Blackcap was here first thing this morning. In recent days she's not appeared until late morning early afternoon.
She wasn't alone as a Dunnock and Blue Tit were also up early and feeding on the suet pellets.
Poor quality image I know, but a shot of the female Blackcap on the suet pellets early this morning.
I think she will be here in the back garden for awhile yet. The weather forecast for this week is heavy snow on Thursday, so watch this space.