22 Sep 23

Ferrybridge Sandflats

After a quick visit to 109 Watersports in Wyke Regis, to see if I could get a bracket to fit on my kayak to support an electric outboard for trolling, I took Ted for a walk along the Sandflats at Ferrybridge.

The water level was dropping fast, and as it did so wave after wave of small waders came into feed on the receding tide.


Birds Recorded:
1 Cormorant
2 Little Egret
1 Kestrel
4 Oystercatcher
50+ Ringed Plover
20+ Dunlin
5 Sanderling
6 Bar-tailed Godwit
1 Curlew
32 Turnstone
Black-headed Gull
Mediterranean Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
2 Sandwich Tern
1 Swallow
2 Carrion Crow
50+ Starling
8 Linnet

A lone adult Cormorant sat on a buoy in The Fleet

This Little Egret was taking shelter on the eastern side of Chesil Beach to avoid the strong gale force winds from the north west.

This Little Egret flew across Portland Harbour and was really struggling to make any headway in the wind.

This Kestrel had finished eating something it caught on the ground..........

.........and then was up again looking for its next meal.

An Oystercatcher

Here are two more Oystercatchers with a juvenile Ringed Plover top left and a Turnstone in the centre. The latter possibly a juvenile.

A juvenile Dunlin on the shoreline.

Here are.........

.............three of the.............

.............six Bar-tailed Godwit here this afternoon.

Here is a short video of one of the Bar-tailed Godwits feeding

Ever wanted to know how Turnstones got their name........

...........well there you have it.

Here are few more Turnstones feeding above the shoreline

An adult Winter Mediterranean Gull has a peak to see what Ted and I are up to.

What an odd looking juvenile Sandwich Tern and then I counted the legs.

Here is one of the two Sandwich Terns diving to catch a fish.

General Shots:

The Chesil Beach Wildlife Centre, where sadly the cafe has now closed due to rising car parking charges by Dorset County Council. What used to be £1.50 for an hour in the Summer is now £3.00. No wonder nobody wants to park here. More on this story here.

The view looking northwest from the Wildlife Centre

Ted:

There's nothing like a good run, is there Ted.