Today I ventured a little further away from home and caught a ferry from Sandbanks to Studland. It's not a place I've been before, but I was hoping to see a Sand Lizard, a reptile I've have never seen before either.
First stop though was the ferry, which to be honest is a pretty good deal if your driving, with a charge of £5 each way. The only mute point was the car parking the other side.
The Ferry
Unless you are a National Trust member (£70 per annum), which entitles you to free parking, it's going to cost you £5 for two hours parking.
Reluctantly I paid it, but not before I had stopped off earlier on the Ferry Road and had a walk down to Brands Bay.
Brands Bay
Of all the places to stop, this pull-in was a stroke of luck. For no sooner had Ted and I got out of the car and walked about 20 feet, a Nightjar took off in front us and then mimicked an injured bird, to keep it away from its nest. Needless to say when made a big excursion and also on the way back to the car.
After that dramatic start to our day, we ended up at the National Trust Car Park Here and a walk along the sand dunes at Shell Bay in search of a Sand Lizard. It took awhile, but eventually today's goal was achieved when one scurried across in front of us.
Birds Recorded:
Cormorant
Little Egret
Grey Heron
Canada Geese
Oystercatcher
Whimbrel
Black-headed Gull
Common Gull
Herring Gull
Sandwich Tern
Wood Pigeon
1 Nightjar (My 150th bird species this year)
Swift
House Martin
Swallow
2 Stonechat
1 Dartford Warbler
4 Willow Warbler
Great Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Linnet
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Bullfinch
Herring Gull
Sandwich Tern
Wood Pigeon
1 Nightjar (My 150th bird species this year)
Swift
House Martin
Swallow
2 Stonechat
1 Dartford Warbler
4 Willow Warbler
Great Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Linnet
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Bullfinch
Little Egret
Grey Heron
A Nightjar feigning injury to draw me away from its nest.
It then takes off and.........
..........flies back to the nest, once Ted and I had departed very quickly.
Two juvenile Stonechats
A Willow Warbler
1 Sand Lizard
Sadly no photos of the Sand Lizard, but here is its trail it left in the sand.
Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
Emperor Dragonfly
hawker sp.
Butterflies Recorded:
2 Large White
4 Meadow Brown
8 Gatekeeper
8 Grayling
1 Painted Lady
A Grayling and a master of camouflage
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)
Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
Red-legged Spider Wasp (Episyron rufipes)
A Common Wasp raiding a spiders web of its food.
A Red-legged Spider Wasp has just taken its prey down into this hole it has just made and is.........
...........now starting to fill the hole in.
Nearly there.
Just a bit more.
All done!!
Common Sea-lavender (Limonium vulgare) and a.................
............close-up of its flowers. More on this plant Here.
General Shots:
The bird hide at Brands Bay
Shell Bay
Ted:
Ted is certainly enjoying his day out.