6 Oct 21

Portland Bird Observatory, Culverwell, Hut Fields, Portland Bill, The Slopes and Obs Quarry

A change of scenery today, with a trip down to the Bill. And as you can see by the list of birds seen below, it was a pretty good visit.

Birds Recorded:
Gannet
Cormorant
2 Kestrel
1 Oystercatcher
Black-headed Gull
Mediterranean Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
1 Little Owl
2 Skylark
20+ Swallow
100+ Meadow Pipit
Rock Pipit
6 Pied Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
2 Stonechat
3 Wheatear
Blackbird
2 Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Raven
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
150+ Linnet
40+ Goldfinch

A Kestrel over the hut fields

Along the shoreline a lone Oystercatcher

The Mediterranean Gulls around the Bill looked like white confetti on the surface. I don't think I have ever seen so many.

Just a handful of the Great Black-backed Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls taking to the air just south of Culverwell.

Here are a few more gulls on the rocky outcrops just up from the Bill.

And a close up of a few of them on one of the rocks.

In the Obs Quarry one of the Little Owls.

A male Stonechat on The Slopes

And one of the 3 Wheatears I came across at The Bill.

One of the many Linnets around at the moment.

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
Presumed Migrant Hawker over the Hut Fields

Butterflies Recorded:
2 Large White
1 Speckled Wood

Moths Recorded:

Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata)

A Double-striped Pug. Not seen on my walk but on the garden wall when I got home.

Bees Recorded:
Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae)

Or
Hairy-saddled Colletes (Colletes fodiens)

Along the edge of the east facing cliffs I came across dozens of bees nesting in the soft soil.

My first impression was that these were Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae). However.......

...........there are no Ivy plants for a good 200 metres or so. Could these possibly be...........

...................Hairy-saddled Colletes (Colletes fodiens). One to check later.

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Cranefly (Tipula paludosa)

Cranefly (Tipula paludosa)

Plants:
Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa). Also known as Sloe

These berries on this Blackthorn are just going over.

General Shots:

The Obelisk and Portland Lighthouse

And another view of the Obelisk and Portland Lighthouse

Ted:

And a few photos of Ted.

Ships Today

This is the British Cable Layer "CS Sovereign" out in Weymouth Bay, with St Aldhelm's Head in the background. More on this vessel Here.

This is the Portuguese Tanker "Harbour Pioneer" on its way from Good Hope (Louisiana, USA) to Weymouth Bay. 

However at one point it did..............

................ an about turn before heading back to the bay. More on this vessel Here.

These are the sails of the Dutch Sailing Vessel "Rainbow Warrior" on its way from Poole to an unknown destination. More on this Greenpeace vessel Here.

5 Oct 21

Chesil Cove and West Weares

Today was another very windy one with gusts up to 32mph and with news of 2 Grey Phalaropes in Chesil Cove and the fact that it wasn't raining, I decided to drop in and see them.

It was quite awhile before I saw one and it needed the help of another birder to put me on track, after he had spotted one further down Portland's west coast. Thankfully it hadn't drifted or flown to far from the cove and I at least managed to see it, before it flew off south again.

On a sad note there were 2 dead Grey Seals (an adult and a pup) and a dead Basking Shark washed up in the cove.

Note

I initially thought the third body was a dolphin, but was told later that it was in fact a Basking Shark. And guess what, I was right. It transpires that the third corpse is that of a Risso's Dolphin. More on this Dolphin Here.


Birds Recorded:
Cormorant
1 Buzzard
1 Kestrel
1 Grey Phalarope
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
2 Rock Pipit
1 Pied Wagtail
Carrion Crow
2 Raven

One of the two Grey Phalaropes along West Weares.

A Great Black-backed Gull circles the..........

........washed up bodies of a Grey Seal (left) and a Risso's Dolphin. The body of a Grey Seal pup was further along the beach.

General Shots:

Looking along Chesil Beach. Quite large waves, but nothing on the scale of these Here and Here.

A Sea King Mk5 comes into land behind the Cove Inn. At the landing strip I might add. More on the HeliOps at Portland Here.

Ted:

Ted enjoying fresh sea air

Ships Today

This is the British Replenishment Ship "RFA Tiderace" just Portland. More on this vessel Here.

4 Oct 21

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadow, Wakeham Railway Cuttings, Perryfield Quarry Butterfly Reserve, Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church, Church Ope Cove, Penn's Weare, Penn's Copse, Rufus Castle and The Museum

Hurrah!!!! At long last the rain stopped and having been stuck indoors for the past 2 days, it was good to get out.

Main highlight was a Great Spotted Woodpecker heading towards Easton. Other highlights were 8 Chiffchaffs and 5 Blackcaps noted on my walk, with 3 of the Blackcaps and 4 Chiffchaffs found along the Wakeham Railway Cuttings.

At the cove the sea was pretty rough, but it did mean a few sea birds were in close, including 20+ Gannets, a Common Gull and a nice surprise was two Mediterranean Gulls heading down the coast.


Birds Recorded:
20+ Gannet
6 Cormorant
1 Sparrowhawk
2 Mediterranean Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
1 Common Gull
Wood Pigeon
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
Meadow Pipit
Rock Pipit
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
5 Blackcap
8 Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch

An immature Gannet. One of many along Portland's east coast.

And there were quite a few Cormorants as well.

Mediterranean Gull in slow-motion

Butterflies Recorded:
1 Red Admiral

Just the one butterfly seen today, this Red Admiral at the cove

Moths Recorded:

A moth sp.

I will check, but just run out of time to research it. Perhaps a Carpet moth!!

Bees Recorded:
1 Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

Just one bumblebee seen today as well. This is a Buff-tailed Bumblebee.

Wasps Recorded:
wasps sp.


Ichneumon Wasps and Bugs Recorded:
Ichneumon sp

bug sp.

Top an Ichneumon wasp sp. maybe. And a bug on the leaf below

Hoverflies Recorded:
1 Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)


Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Kelp Fly (Coelopa frigida)


Slugs and Snails Recorded:
White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
Garden Snail (Cornu aspersa)
Black Slug (Arion ater)

A brown coloured Slug sp.

A Black Slug (Arion ater)

I guess this brown-coloured slug is another Black Slug (Arion ater)

General Shots:

Church Ope Cove and a lot of.........

...........seaweed has been washed up.

Ted:

A few photos of Ted enjoying his walk.

And here he is at Rufus Castle checking out Penn's Weare below.

3 Oct 21

Wakeham

What started off bright, turned into a day of showers along with gusts up to 30mph. So another day spent at home.

Here are a few photos of waders I have seen on Portland and Weymouth:

A Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Two Green Sandpipers and a Least Sandpiper on the right.

A Kentish Plover and a Ringed Plover on the right.

A Lesser Yellowlegs with two Teal behind.

Purple Sandpipers

A Ruff

In the centre a Stilt Sandpiper. The other birds around it are Black-headed Gulls, a Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Canada Geese.

A Turnstone

Oystercatchers

2 Oct 21

Wakeham

What a complete washout of a day. When the rain finally stopped it was too dark for a walk. So instead here are a few images of one of my favourite bees to be found only in the Autumn.

Ivy Bees (Colletes hederae). 

This bee was first seen in the British Isles in Dorset in 2001, having arrived from continental Europe.

It is a real stunner of a bee and a species that is solely dependant on Ivy flowers. In some ways, it is a "seasonal" bee as it appears in September  before disappearing in November.

1 Oct 21

Ferrybridge

Today I spent a few hours sea fishing at Ferrybridge. No fish caught, but it was good fun anyway.

It was an extremely windy day and not easy for birdwatching. Anything passing by, was moving through at a fair old pace.

My view of Portland Harbour as I was fishing

Birds Recorded:
Cormorant
Kestrel
Oystercatcher
Mediterranean Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
Meadow Pipit
Pied Wagtail
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Starling
Linnet
Goldfinch

Ted:

Not a happy Ted; he's definitely not into fishing. However when I moved to another spot, his luck was in as Dawn turned up and took him for a good walk.

Ships Today:

On the left is the Liberian Oil Products Tanker "Fredericia" on its way to one of the ships in Weymouth Bay. More on this vessel Here. On the right is the Bermudian Passenger Ship "Arcadia" anchored up in the bay. More on this vessel Here.

This is the Bermudian Passenger Ship "Aurora" anchored in Weymouth Bay. More on this vessel Here.