Saturday 8th February: Sisters Weekend
I travelled to Dorset by train on Saturday morning for a weekend with Sue and Nicky. Sue was keen to get some more ticks on her annual list, so I managed to take my scope with me in my bag with the tripod on my back - a first for me, and worth the effort since it gave us some very good views of some brilliant birds before the rain set in for the rest of the weekend!
We took the dogs for a walk overlooking The Fleet and Sue added Red-breasted Merganser, Mediterranean Gull and Brent Goose amongst others. A fabulous Great Northern Diver was a new tick for all of us and we eventually had good scope views, although it took a while - they're called divers for a reason!!
In the afternoon we visited Lodmoor nature reserve in Weymouth. There were plenty of ducks about, allowing Nicky to practise her ID skills and a beautiful Black Swan gave us some great close views. These birds are not on the official British list, as they are not deemed to be a self sustaining population. However, it is interesting that I have seen this species in three different locations this year, in Sussex, Essex and Dorset - and later that day there was a report of 3 birds at Hayle estuary in Cornwall. In the past we have seen a pair with eight cygnets in Chichester. Surely it is only a matter of time for the status of these birds to be upgraded from 'escapes?
The real highlight at Lodmoor, and another new tick for us all, were a pair of Spoonbills - the first Nicky has ever seen. Again the telescope enabled us to see the birds much more clearly, with the custard-tipped 'spoons' of particular interest. As we headed back to the car, a couple of Marsh Harriers put on a lovely display over the reedbeds in the fading light.
We took the dogs for a walk overlooking The Fleet and Sue added Red-breasted Merganser, Mediterranean Gull and Brent Goose amongst others. A fabulous Great Northern Diver was a new tick for all of us and we eventually had good scope views, although it took a while - they're called divers for a reason!!
In the afternoon we visited Lodmoor nature reserve in Weymouth. There were plenty of ducks about, allowing Nicky to practise her ID skills and a beautiful Black Swan gave us some great close views. These birds are not on the official British list, as they are not deemed to be a self sustaining population. However, it is interesting that I have seen this species in three different locations this year, in Sussex, Essex and Dorset - and later that day there was a report of 3 birds at Hayle estuary in Cornwall. In the past we have seen a pair with eight cygnets in Chichester. Surely it is only a matter of time for the status of these birds to be upgraded from 'escapes?
The real highlight at Lodmoor, and another new tick for us all, were a pair of Spoonbills - the first Nicky has ever seen. Again the telescope enabled us to see the birds much more clearly, with the custard-tipped 'spoons' of particular interest. As we headed back to the car, a couple of Marsh Harriers put on a lovely display over the reedbeds in the fading light.
Comments