Port and Wey

25 Jan 24

Lower Horse Paddock, Higher Horse Paddock, Broadcroft Butterfly Reserve, Broadcroft Quarry Lane, Bumpers Lane, Silklake Quarry, The Cuttings Quarry, Rufus Castle and Portland Museum

Yet another very dull, murky and uninspiring day and it was no surprise that there was very little about other than 3 Stock Doves and a pair of Stonechats in the butterfly reserve. Sea watching is definitely the better option at this time of year.

The only other bit of interest was that I came across a few Alexanders in flower, which had attracted a few flies.

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

Three Stock Doves feeding on spilt grain..............

.................in the butterfly reserve, where previously there had been a couple of horses, temporarily fenced in by an electric fence to keep the grass levels down.

Wow, was it something I said!!

The male Stonechat and his mate........

................still present on the reserve.

And the pair together.

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
fly sp.

And my fly sp. on..........

..................a flowering Alexanders

Plants:
Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum)

And here are more flowers on this Alexanders.

General Shots:

It's certainly a murky view to the south.

And the sun behind the clouds, showing what look like sunspots maybe!! Word of warning "Never ever look at the sun directly with the naked eye or with a camera etc. This photograph was taken by viewing the fold-out viewer on the back of the camera.

Ted and Theo:

Speedy or what.

Ted and Theo having a good old buzz. No dogs were harmed in this video

24 Jan 24

Portland Bird Observatory, Obs Quarry, Portland Bill and Hut Fields

With very little to report on the mainland, it's great to do a seawatch on your doorstep. Today was a good day with some excellent highlights:

Fulmar - Two headed around The Bill towards the West Cliffs
Gannet - Fifty plus birds noted to the east of The Bill
Purple Sandpiper - Three parties noted of 8, 5 and 5
Razorbill/Guillemot - Many fishing with the Gannets

Birds Recorded:
2 Fulmar
50+ Gannet
Cormorant
Shag
1 Buzzard
4 Kestrel
18 Purple Sandpiper
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
50+ Razorbill/Guillemot
Stock Dove
Wood Pigeon
2 Rock Pipit
Robin
Blackbird
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
3 Raven
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
30+ Goldfinch

There were plenty of Gannets in close today.

And also many auks bobbing about on the sea.

A Shag passes by.

And a very "rufous coloured" male Kestrel which allowed me to approach within 20 feet, before it flew off to another rock.

And it was a good day for Purple Sandpipers with three parties.......

............of 8, 5, and 3 noted along the rocks to east.

And the local Rock Pipits are very photogenic as well.

General Shots:

The Obelisk with a very watery sun.

Ted:

Careful Ted, they are a lot bigger than you!!!

Ships Today:

This is the British Fishing Boat NN733 "Le Belhara"......................

...............on its way back to Weymouth Harbour. More on this vessel Here.

23 Jan 24

Wakeham

What a miserable day and one where I chose to stay at home to catch up on some household chores. So as per usual.

2023

A female/juvenile Black Redstart at Church Ope Cove

2022

Linnets

2021

A Blue Tit feeding along Wakeham Railway Cuttings

2020

A Turnstone at Hamm Beach

2019

A female Stonechat at Church Ope Cove

2018

Portland Lighthouse

22 Jan 24

Portland Bill

It was another trip down to The Bill today to see what was about, with the most obvious difference from yesterday being the lack of any movement on the sea with just 4 Gannets, 5 Cormorants, 2 Shags and zero auks noted.

The only explanation I can think of is that the visibility for sea birds was pretty poor yesterday, hence any movement was close to shore. However today with wall to wall blue skies and lovely sunshine, any sea movement was further out with better visibility.

However there were some good highlights with 8 Purple Sandpipers and 2 Turnstones feeding together on the sheltered stone platforms to the east of the lighthouse. Also along this stretch were 2 Rock Pipits and a female/juvenile Black Redstart.

And as I was leaving to go home I came across two Oystercatchers feeding in the wet grassed area behind The Pulpit Inn.

Birds Recorded:
4 Gannet
5 Cormorant
2 Shag
1 Kestrel
2 Oystercatcher
8 Purple Sandpiper
2 Turnstone
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
2 Rock Pipit
1 Pied Wagtail
1 Black Redstart
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow

Below are a few images and a video of the 8 Purple Sandpipers and 2 Turnstones feeding on the ledges to the east of the Lighthouse.

Below are two photos of a Herring Gull and one of a Great Black-backed Gull

Below are few photos and a video (slo-mo) of a very busy fem/juv Black Redstart

General Shots:

The Pulpit

And the Red Crane getting a good battering

Ships Today:

This is the Cypriot Container Ship "Samskip Endeavour".....................

........................ on its way from Rotterdam to Dublin. More on this vessel here.

21 Jan 24

Portland Bill

With Storm Isha fast approaching, it was a trip to The Bill to see if anything was passing close-in. There certainly was, with 100+ Gannets heading south along Portland's east coast and then out into the English Channel, with other birds of note being 30+ Cormorants, 5 Shags, a lone Mediterranean Gull and 30+ Guillemots. Oddly enough there were no Razorbills seen!!

Birds Recorded:
100+ Gannet

30+ Cormorant

5 Shag

1 Mediterranean Gull

Herring Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

30+ Guillemot

2 Rock Pipit

Carrion Crow

Jackdaw

Raven

100+ Starling

Below are a few Gannet photos.