Port and Wey: 25 Nov 22

Chesil Cove and Portland Castle Beach

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

1 Shag
1 Grey Heron
7 Red-breasted Merganser
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
1 Kingfisher
3 Meadow Pipit
2 Pied Wagtail
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
6 Goldfinch

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.