Port and Wey

5 Mar 25

Blackdown Wood

With thick fog covering most of Portland, Weymouth and the south coast, I took Ted for a walk in Blackdown Wood.

Blackdown Wood

The weather here was clear, windless and very sunny. It was a good choice of venue as I ticked off Green Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and Redpoll for my 20025 UK Bird list.

Plus I came across my first Brimstone butterfly of the year.

Mammals Recorded:
1 Grey Squirrel

Birds Recorded:
1 Buzzard
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
1 Green Woodpecker
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
Dunnock
Robin
1 Stonechat
Blackbird
1 Chiffchaff
2 Goldcrest
12+ Coal Tit
Great Tit
Blue Tit
1 Nuthatch
2 Treecreeper

Wren
Magpie
Rook
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Raven
Chaffinch
Redpoll
Siskin
Goldfinch

A Common Buzzard passes overhead.

Just the one Stonechats seen. This is a female.

A record shot of a Goldcrest, plus.......

.........a record shot of a Coal Tit. There were at least 12 noted around the wood.

A song/call I can't recall ever hearing before. I can only surmise that it is a Coal Tit, but I can't find any match on Xeno-Canto here.

UPDATE

And the reason I couldn't find it, is because it's a Treecreeper. Many thanks to Ed Wilson for identifying the song.

A Treecreeper singing courtesy of Xeno-Canto here.

A Carrion Crow scours the wood.

A distant Raven calling in the wood.

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

A very busy Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

Butterflies recorded:
1 Brimstone

My first Brimstone butterfly...........

...............of the year.

General Shots and videos:

In the distance Hardy's Monument

The woods

And again

And another, with the sunlight coming through.

A 360° of part Blackdown Wood from within. And yep that's Ted in the video.

Ted:

A few photos of Ted enjoying his walk in the woods. He is in all of them. Honest!

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Littlesea

And as Dawn was heading to her Caravan she came across this Green Woodpecker on the road.

4 Mar 25

Lower Horse Paddock, Higher Horse Paddock, Broadcroft Butterfly Reserve, Broadcroft Quarry Lane, Bumpers Lane, Silklake Quarry, Wakeham Railway Cuttings (east) and Wakeham

I can get use to this weather, with wall to wall blue skies and sunshine.

Highlights today were two pairs of Stonechats on the butterfly reserve and now two Song Thrushes singing. One on the reserve and the other at the southern end of Broadcroft Quarry Lane.

Also noted were two unidentified Bumblebees.

Birds Recorded:
1 Kestrel
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Dunnock
Robin
4 Stonechat
Blackbird
Song Thrush (2 singing)
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
1 Raven
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch

A male Kestrel over Penns Weare. (In slow-motion)

I'm not sure why this Herring Gull was trying to get close to me. It took off from the higher horse paddock, flew just a few feet over my head and...........

..................landed about 3 metres away from where Ted and I were standing. All the Herring Gulls that frequent the horse paddocks normally fly off, as soon as they see you. Not this one!!!

A pair of Stonechats in the butterfly reserve.

A slightly closer view of the male and.........

...............female. Another pair were also present close-by.

A male Blackbird having a good wash. In the background you can hear Goldfinches, a Chaffinch, House Sparrows and Herrings Gulls.

The Starlings are............

.............just starting to lose their winter colours and into their Summer colours.

A male Chaffinch on the right is putting on a show to the female on the left.

Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc.
Feral pigeon

Bees Recorded:
2 bumblebee sps.

Ted:

Thirsty work all this running!!

Ships Today:

This is the British fishing boat "Mako My Day" fishing just north of Church Ope Cove. More on this vessel here.

This is the Madeiran Bulk Carrier "Bolten Singapore" on its way from Liverpool to Portland Harbour. More on this vessel here.

3 Mar 25

Wakeham

It was an afternoon spent tidying up the back garden and moving the netting off the area where I 'm hoping there will be plenty of wildflowers this Spring. We shall see!

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch

A male Starling...........

.................singing from the top of my neighbours Sycamore Tree.

Goldfinches on another Sycamore behind the garden.

Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc.
Feral pigeon

General photos:

The wildflower patch is looking good.

Ted:

Ted on his "throne"

2 Mar 25

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadows, Wakeham Railway Cuttings, Penns Wood and St Andrew's Church

Yet another very sunny day, but that overnight frost and cold easterly did bring the temperature down a bit. Main highlight was a Great Spotted Woodpecker in Penns Wood, where I did wonder whether I heard the overwintering Firecrest calling. If it was it only called once and I didn't hear it again.

In the more sheltered spots the flowering Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) were host to both Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax), and Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax), several unidentified flies and a few female Yellow Dung Flies (Scathophaga stercoraria).

Despite it being decidedly chilly I did come across my first Honey Bee of the year on an Alexanders in Wakeham Meadow.

Other things of interest were two juvenile Wall Lizards in the grounds of St Andrew's Church where the Snowflakes (Leucojum Vernum) are still in flower.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Long-tailed Tit
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch

With the sun out and wall to wall blue skies there were many birds singing like this Dunnock.

And it wasn't just the Dunnocks, but Robins as well.

Here's another

One more

And last one with a..........

........video of it singing in Penns Wood.

This male Blackbird was keeping an eye on his...........

.............nest in the middle of this Ivy.

Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc.
Feral pigeon

Reptiles Recorded:
2 Wall Lizard

Two juvenile.............

.............Wall Lizards in the grounds of St Andrew's Church. Both have had close shaves with a "predator" with the end of their tails missing. Having seen and photographed a Robin catch and eat a juvenile Lizard in the grounds here a few years back, I suspect these two have had a close encounter with the same bird possibly.

Bees Recorded:
1 Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

My first Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) of the year................

................on this flowering Alexanders

Hoverflies Recorded:
5 Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
1 Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)

A Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax).

And if I have this right a Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax) with a fly sp. at the back of this Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum)

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Many unidentified flies

Grass Fly (Thaumatomyia notata) - Possibly
3 Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)

Four mystery flies on and around the Alexanders. The one on the far left could be a Grass Fly (Thaumatomyia notata)

A female Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria) and........

...........another.

Plants:

Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum)
Snowflakes (Leucojum Vernum)

The Snowflakes (Leucojum Vernum) are still going strong in the grounds of St Andrew's Church

General Shots:

The grounds of St Andrew's Church

Church Ope Cove.

Ted:

That's more like it Ted.

1 Mar 25

Lower Horse Paddock, Higher Horse Paddock, Broadcroft Butterfly Reserve, Broadcroft Quarry Lane, Silklake Quarry, Bumpers Lane and Wakeham Railway Cuttings (east).

It was a late afternoon walk around the "block" with the main highlights being 4 Stonechats in the butterfly reserve, plus singles of Chiffchaffs at three different locations.

Birds Recorded:
1 Cormorant
2 Buzzard
Herring Gull
22 Wood Pigeon
1 Meadow Pipit
Dunnock
Robin
4 Stonechat
Blackbird
1 Song Thrush (singing)
3 Chiffchaff
Long-tailed Tit
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
19 Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch