Friday 28th March: Dorset birding

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 En route to Cornwall, it was great to spend a day out birding with sister Sue. The trip got off to a great start, with a pair of showy Firecrest at point blank range in the garden, frequenting a camellia bush outside their patio doors. The male was possibly attracted by the light as Keith took a photo on his mobile phone, but it flew in aggressively towards the window flaring its magnificent flame crown as it approached. Tim managed a reasonable shot through the glass as it peered in the window.

Firecrest

Next up, we were told that Blue Tits had been investigating their nestbox with camera, bringing in some nesting materials. Keith viewed  the scene on the computer, and as we studied the moss gathered to date, right on cue, a bird suddenly appeared on camera, where it paused awhile, rejigging the soft furnishings, before departing.

Soon we set out for a day of birding, heading over to Portland. On the way, we were chuffed when a Dotterel was reported at Ferrybridge, a familiar site to us all, and on the way to Portland. On arrival, it was easy to identify the location of the bird by the gathering of birders and photographers on the shingle beach. It had helpfully settled itself close to a line of seaweed, where it posed contentedly for a few minutes, before snuggling down on the shingle, where you could barely discern the head as it blended successfully with the shingle beach. Fortunately it soon stood up again, and it was possible to just make out the beginnings of a summer moult into a rufous breast, together with a prominent eye stripe.

Dotterel

We continued from here up to Portland Bill where we enjoyed a pleasant stroll around the headland. At sea we could observe the comings and goings of both Guillemot and Razorbill from the cliff face ahead of us. Walking round the headland, a pair of Great Black-backed Gulls posed on the rocks, and a melee of Rock Pipits flew and chirruped noisily about the landscape. Surprisingly, a very confident Raven swaggered across the cliff top directly in front of the cafe, completely unfazed by the proximity of humans. 

Raven

And as we walked past the beach huts, a female type Black Redstart landed briefly on a roof before melting away out of sight.

We ate lunch overlooking the sea on a sheltered rock ledge out of the wind, before heading off to Middlebere for the afternoon. We hoped for Ospreys here, which had returned to the area just days beforehand, but our luck had run out for the day, and the best we could muster was a soaring Marsh Harrier that flapped its way slowly across the muddy channel, with just a smattering of Curlews providing any other interest.


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