It was another grey and murky day, and one where yet again I was patiently waiting for the log man to turn up. This time he did, so hopefully we shall have a nice warm Cottage over the Winter months.
Consequently there was no walk today, other than up and down the back garden and the only highlights were a Collared Dove and 8 Goldfinches around the feeders.
There are now 2 Robins in the garden. I'm not sure how that's going to work, especially if the weather takes a turn for the worse. Robins can be quite territorial, if food is short. Best I keep the feeders topped up.
Birds Recorded: Herring Gull 1 Wood Pigeon 1 Collared Dove 1 Dunnock 2 Robin 1 Blackbird Magpie Carrion Crow 5 House Sparrow 8 Goldfinch
One of the two Robins in the back garden
There's a bit of hierarchy going on here with the two Goldfinches above. What a fuss especially when there are two other perches below free below them
It was a day wasted, when I waited patiently for the local Log Man to turn up. Unfortunately and despite ringing him and texting him, I had no reply, so no log fire tonight to warm the Cottage up.
So with no sightings and photos today, here are a selection of thrushes which can be seen in the UK.
Its that time of year when its worth doing a sea-watch and a trip to the harbour to see what's about. Unfortunately with a drop in the wind, there was very little in the cove, so it was an about turn and drive to Portland Beach Castle.
Birds Recorded: Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Pied Wagtail
General Shots:
Looking west along Chesil Beach
And looking south along the West Weare's
Chesil Beach with the sun slowly setting
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Portland Castle Beach
Having blanked at Chesil Cove, it was good to see a wide variety of bird species in and around the harbour, with the pick of the bunch being a Grey Heron on the Portland Marina Breakwater, 5 Red-breasted Mergansers just off the beach, 2 Oystercatchers on the outflow pipe, 5 Mediterranean Gulls in the marina and a Black Redstart on the Portland Marina breakwater
It was a very late afternoon walk around Hamm Beach just as the sun was setting.
Main highlights here were:
2 Great Northern Divers - just north of Portland Marina 1 Little Egret - Feeding in the stream
6 Brent Geese - just off the beach when I arrived 5 Turnstone - on the waters edge 1 Meadow Pipit - by Hamm Beach Road 1 Pied Wagtail - by Hamm Beach Road 1 Robin - by Hamm Beach Road 2 Stonechat - by Hamm Beach Road 2 Black Redstart - by Hamm Beach Road
Birds Recorded: 2 Great Northern Diver 1 Little Egret Brent Geese 5 Turnstone Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull 1 Meadow Pipit 1 Pied Wagtail 1 Robin 2 Stonechat 2 Black Redstart Magpie Carrion Crow
A Little Egret flying into Hamm Beach and......
......straight into the stream to look for its next meal.
There was a lot of walking......
..........and paddling, but....
..........not a great deal of catching.
A compilation of video clips of the Little Egret before it flew off to another spot
Five Turnstones feeding along the shoreline
A Meadow Pipit next to Hamm Beach Road
And between Hamm Beach Road and the beach was this Robin.....
...........a pair of Stonechats (This is the female) and...........
............two Black Redstarts. The second bird was 50 metres further south along the boulders.
After a busy morning at home, I had planned on a walk in the afternoon. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas, as the rain moved in from 1:00pm onwards.
So the only bird watching was from the conservatory, with just 4 Herring Gulls, 2 Wood Pigeons and 3 Carrion Crows seen flying over the cottage, plus a lone Goldfinch on the Nyjer seed feeder. I'm not sure where all the House Sparrows have disappeared to though!!
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So as to brighten up today's page, below are a few Waxwing photos I have taken over the years. This year a single bird was seen and photographed in Weymouth on 7 Nov 22. Click Here. Hopefully there will be more to come this Winter.
It was a bright sunny day and though that breezy westerly is still with us, it was a pretty good day for bird-watching. So it was off to Chesil Cove and then Portland Castle Beach
Chesil Cove
First stop was Chesil Cove, in the hope of seeing a Sabine's Gull. No luck with this bird, but there were at least 6 Common Gulls, a few Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls.
Also here were a pair of Stonechats in West Weare's. And very confiding birds at that, plus a Grey Wagtail which was a nice surprise.
Birds Recorded: 1 Kestrel Black-headed Gull Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Common Gull 2 Rock Pipit 3 Pied Wagtail 1 Grey Wagtail 2 Stonechat Carrion Crow
Common Gulls
And another Common Gull, plus.......
............one more.
A male Stonechat
The female Stonechat
And the male again in flight.
A short video of the male Stonechat
General Shots:
The sea is just about calming down.
A washed up tree
Also washed up were these Common Goose Barnacles (Lepas anatifera), plus many...
..........Cuttlefish bones. I say bones, in fact they are the internal cartilaginous shells. More on Cuttlefish Here
Ted:
Many Ted's again. He just loves running past the camera.
Portland Castle Beach
Next stop was Portland Castle Beach to see what was in Portland Harbour.
The best highlight here, was when I was sat on one of the boulders overlooking the harbour, and a Kingfisher flew in and sat right in front of me. When it realised I was in front of it it was gone.
Other highlights here were a Great Northern Diver, 40+ Cormorants fishing just off the beach, a Grey Heron on Portland Marina Breakwater and 7 Red-breasted Mergansers close to the Mulberries
Birds Recorded: 1 Great Northern Diver 40+ Cormorant
A Record Shot of a Great Northern Diver and a.......
..............record video of it as well.
A Fishing Frenzy. There were around 40 Cormorants fishing along the beach at Portland Castle. In amongst them was a female Red-breasted Merganser and plenty of gulls.
And after such an effort to catch a meal, it's time to dry out those wings. And thank you to my good friend Ed Wilson, for pointing out that the bird on far left is a Shag. I certainly missed that one.
Here's another female Red-breasted Merganser and........
...........in flight.
An adult Winter Black-headed Gull
In the water, between me and the outlet pipe, was this concrete structure, which was suddenly a blaze of colour when this.......
...........Kingfisher flew in and landed on it.
I managed to zoom in with the camera for this shot, before it suddenly realised I was looking at it, and made a hasty retreat.
General Shots:
My view across Portland Harbour from Portland Castle Beach
Ships Today:
This is the British Fishing Boat PW214 "Thomas Andrew" in Portland Harbour. More on this vessel Here.
This is the Panamanian Bulk Carrier "Wisdom of the Sea 1" anchored up in Weymouth Bay. More on this vessel Here.
