Well the expected rain never materialised, so I decided to have a walk along the West Cliffs, in the hope of seeing my first hirundine of the year. My route was going to be from the Business Park, through Sweethill Farm and then along the cliffs.
However on bumping into a chap I met a few years ago, he informed that a Ring Ouzel had been seen in the Crown Estate Fields. As it was just off my planned route I decided to have a look. In fact my initial view of it ended up being from the entrance of the Portland Bird Observatory, quite a detour from my walk, but well worth it.
My view of the male actually got better as a female Ring Ouzel was seen with it and both were heading off to the Top Fields, the same fields I had just come down from. To cut a long story short I relocated both of them at Helen's Field and ended up with some really good views of the male. The female was a little trickier to see.
Other highlights were dozens of Chiffchaffs passing through, if I said 20+ it could well have been double that.
And the one that got away!! I heard two Pied Wagtails in one of the Top Fields, and as I went to look at them close-up with the binoculars, they both took off and headed north towards the farm. One of them was distinctly lighter in colour and I wondered whether it was a White Wagtail, as two had already been seen during the morning.
I did eventually catch up with them, but as a crept along a hedgerow, when I arrived at a gap they had gone. Oh well hopefully I will get to see one in UK, one of these days.
So having taken up so much time watching the Ring Ouzels and a potential White Wagtail, I ran out of time to walk along the cliff tops. Maybe tomorrow.
Mammals Recorded:
Bunny
Birds Recorded:
1 Buzzard
Kestrel
Pheasant
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Skylark
Meadow Pipit
Pied Wagtail
1 White Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
Stonechat
Blackbird
2 Ring Ouzel
20+ Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch
Through the binoculars it looked very much like this Buzzard was eating a dead bunny
This male Kestrel was very vocal and very busy flying from one wall to........
..........another.
Whilst all the while this female was watching him and then.......
............decided she wanted to stand on the wall.
A very colourful Pheasant
I'm not sure what all the commotion was about........
.........but there was a lot of noise and a bit of dive-bombing going on here by these Herring Gulls.
One of many Meadow Pipits seen flying or resting up in the Top Fields.
A White Wagtail maybe. I'm managed to take a couple of record shots, but........
One of the Ring Ouzels coming into land on this bush.
Those wings are really pale almost translucent.
This is the male.
And another slightly closer shot of it.
I eventually found a good spot behind a wall and managed to video the male Ring Ouzel calling to the female close-by.
3 Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Ted:
Ted getting muddy.
Still he's enjoying his walk.