Falmouth, Dozmary Pool, East Budleigh and Blashford Lakes

My plan for the morning was scuppered as soon as Liam and I managed to lock ourselves out of his flat the previous night, leaving my car keys, phone and other essentials out of reach. After an aimless stroll around Falmouth, producing three Blackcaps and a Rock Pipit, things were sorted out mid-morning and I made tracks. My first stop-off was Dozmary Pool, where the adult drake Lesser Scaup showed distantly. So far, so good. Next was East Budleigh - I spent a quite pleasant but slightly awkward hour hanging around the village. A nice set of garden birds included a male Blackcap but sadly no Italian Sparrow. I may have to return. Time was running out in order to get to Blashford Lakes for the gull roost. Arriving on site to see Franko and Dom P scanning from the mound behind the Tern Hide, the target gull had not been seen and the light was fading. It was a huge relief when I picked the 2CY 'THAYER'S GULL' out on a distant island on Ibsley Water. I'd like to see it better, so may double in up with the sparrow for another trip southwest. Many Pintails and a handful of Goosanders and Goldeneyes were present on the lake, but was concentrating too hard on the gulls to count them, and three Yellow-legged Gulls were in the roost.

adult drake Lesser Scaup

2CY Thayer's Gull in the melee

November 18th-22nd 2014

November 22nd 2014

Leith Hill (brief)

Pheasant	Present
Carrion Crow	Present
Goldcrest	Present
Blue Tit	Present
Coal Tit	Present
Wren	Present
Blackbird	Present
Redwing	Present
Brambling	Present
Chaffinch	Present
Greenfinch	Present
Goldfinch	Present
Siskin	Present

 
Canons Farm

Pheasant	1
Black-headed Gull	Present
Herring Gull	Present
Feral Pigeon	Present
Woodpigeon	Present
Little Owl	1
Green Woodpecker	1
Great Spotted Woodpecker	2
Kestrel	1
Ring-necked Parakeet	Present
Magpie	Present
Jay	Present
Jackdaw	Present
Carrion Crow	Present
Goldcrest	2
Blue Tit	Present
Great Tit	Present
Skylark	20
Long-tailed Tit	Present
Nuthatch	1
Treecreeper	1
Wren	Present
Starling	Present
Blackbird	Present
Fieldfare	100
Song Thrush	6
Redwing	200
Robin	Present
Dunnock	Present
House Sparrow	Present
Pied/White Wagtail	1
Meadow Pipit	5
Chaffinch	Present
Greenfinch	4
Linnet	20
Goldfinch	1
Yellowhammer	4

November 21st 2014

Banstead Woods

Red Kite	1
Black-headed Gull	Present
Herring Gull	Present
Woodpigeon	Present
Ring-necked Parakeet	Present
Magpie	Present
Jay	Present
Jackdaw	Present
Carrion Crow	Present
Goldcrest	2
Blue Tit	Present
Great Tit	Present
Long-tailed Tit	Present
Nuthatch	Present
Wren	Present
Blackbird	Present
Fieldfare	30
Song Thrush	Present
Redwing	300
Robin	Present
Dunnock	Present
Pied/White Wagtail	1
Chaffinch	Present
Bullfinch	2
Greenfinch	2
Lesser Redpoll	3

November 20th 2014

Sheepcote Valley

Sparrowhawk	1
Water Rail	1
Black-headed Gull	Present
Herring Gull	Present
Feral Pigeon	Present
Stock Dove	1
Green Woodpecker	1
Kestrel	1
Magpie	Present
Jay	Present
Jackdaw	Present
Carrion Crow	Present
Goldcrest	3
Blue Tit	Present
Great Tit	Present
Skylark	10
Chiffchaff	2
Wren	Present
Starling	Present
Blackbird	Present
Song Thrush	4
Robin	Present
Stonechat	3
Dunnock	Present
Pied/White Wagtail	3
Meadow Pipit	20
Chaffinch	Present
Greenfinch	Present
Linnet	8
Goldfinch	Present
Corn Bunting	5

November 19th 2014

Leith Hill

Pheasant	Present
Woodpigeon	Present
Tawny Owl	Present
Green Woodpecker	Present
Great Spotted Woodpecker	Present
Kestrel	1
Jay	Present
Jackdaw	Present
Carrion Crow	Present
Raven	1
Goldcrest	Present
Blue Tit	Present
Great Tit	Present
Coal Tit	Present
Marsh Tit	2
Long-tailed Tit	Present
Nuthatch	Present
Wren	Present
Blackbird	Present
Fieldfare	Present
Redwing	Present
Mistle Thrush	1
Robin	Present
Dunnock	Present
House Sparrow	Present
Pied/White Wagtail	Present
Meadow Pipit	1
Brambling	Present
Chaffinch	Present
Bullfinch	1
Lesser Redpoll	Present
Common Crossbill	12
Goldfinch	Present
Siskin	Present

November 18th 2014

Blashford Lakes HWT

Mute Swan	Present
Greylag Goose	Present
Canada Goose	Present
Egyptian Goose	Present
Wigeon	Present
Gadwall	Present
Mallard	Present
Pintail	1
Shoveler	Present
Pochard	Present
Tufted Duck	Present
Goldeneye	3
Goosander	2
------------	2
Cormorant	Present
Grey Heron	Present
Little Grebe	Present
Great Crested Grebe	Present
Black-necked Grebe	1
Buzzard	1
Moorhen	Present
Coot	Present
Lapwing	Present
Green Sandpiper	2
Black-headed Gull	Present
Franklin's Gull	1
Common Gull	Present
Lesser Black-backed Gull	Present
Herring Gull	Present
Yellow-legged Gull	2
Great Black-backed Gull	Present
Green Woodpecker	Present
Magpie	Present
Jay	Present
Jackdaw	Present
Goldcrest	Present
Blue Tit	Present
Great Tit	Present
Long-tailed Tit	Present
Treecreeper	1
Starling	Present
Blackbird	Present
Song Thrush	Present
Robin	Present
Dunnock	Present
Pied Wagtail (yarrellii)	Present
Meadow Pipit	Present
Greenfinch	Present
Goldfinch	Present
Siskin	1

Franklin's Gull

Sheepcote Valley

Black-headed Gull	Present
Herring Gull	Present
Feral Pigeon	Present
Woodpigeon	Present
Kestrel	Present
Magpie	Present
Jackdaw	Present
Carrion Crow	Present
Goldcrest	1
Blue Tit	Present
Great Tit	Present
Skylark	10
Wren	Present
Blackbird	Present
Song Thrush	8
Redwing	1
Robin	Present
Stonechat	1
Dunnock	Present
Pied/White Wagtail	1
Meadow Pipit	5
Chaffinch	Present
Greenfinch	Present
Goldfinch	Present
Reed Bunting	2
Corn Bunting	3

Blashford Lakes, November 3rd 2014 14:40-17:15

Mute Swan	Present
Greylag Goose	Present
Canada Goose	Present
Egyptian Goose	3
Wigeon	Present
Gadwall	Present
Pochard	Present
Tufted Duck	Present
Goldeneye	Present
Great Northern Diver	1
Cormorant	Present
Grey Heron	Present
Little Grebe	Present
Great Crested Grebe	Present
Black-necked Grebe	1
Moorhen	Present
Coot	Present
Lapwing	5
Black-headed Gull	Present
Franklin's Gull	1
Mediterranean Gull	1
Lesser Black-backed Gull	Present
Herring Gull	Present
Yellow-legged Gull	1
Kingfisher	1
Magpie	Present
Jackdaw	Present
Blue Tit	Present
Great Tit	Present
Nuthatch	1
Treecreeper	1
Wren	Present
Blackbird	Present
Song Thrush	Present
Robin	Present
Dunnock	Present
Pied/White Wagtail	Present

Junco junkee

I got a good flight view of the junco on Tuesday with Ian but really wanted to get a prolonged look at it on the deck, so I discussed the possibility of going today with Phil - he was up for it so it looked like it was on. Phil also needed the Hume's Leaf Warbler; seeing as this was the furthest site he was keen to do this first so we we followed the satnav there from 5.30am. A big yellow M at Weymouth drew us in to an assortment of breakfast delights as the sun rose. We had a look for the wafty Hooded Merganser from the car park but didn't have any luck, instead seeing groups of Black-tailed Godwits and Common Snipes which wasn't too bad a start.

Richard's Pipit at Wyke Regis

 Wyke Regis was very popular today with hopeful birders popping up around every corner. My friend the Richard's Pipit showed well in the bridging camp and we were amazed to see a good seven hundred or so strong flock of Brent Geese - one being a 'Pale-bellied' that I picked out. I pointed out a couple of Med Gulls and each time I looked I saw more and more. The last time I had a rough count it reached around or beyond ninety birds. But I didn't have time for precise counts. There was lots to do. Notwithstanding an hour or so of staring at bushes in the company of several other guys we did not hear nor see the warbler which was especially annoying as I had no problem seeing it in far more calamitous weather on Tuesday and it was reported both before and after our hunt.

Brent Geese, including 'Pale-bellied' (centre), Wyke Regis

 It was past ten and we needed to go. Discussion settled on heading for the junco. The car park was far more suitably packed than Tuesday morning (when Ian and I were one of two cars there for quite a while - and the other car was a dog walker). We joined the main line of tripod legs and enjoyed great views of the DARK-EYED JUNCO after about twenty or thirty minutes of trying to see through the hordes of kip-kippy Crossbills. We got a couple more looks before a little bit of a gap then we watched it foraging under a carpet of twigs before flying out and feeding right out in the open on a fallen pine - gorgeous! It shuffled over to the other side of the trunk and, realising that daylight was running out and that we planned to visit three more sites...we got out of there.

Dark-eyed Junco at Hawkill Inclosure

male Crossbill at Hawkhill Inclosure

 First: Blashford Lakes. Phil wanted the Ferruginous Duck. We looked and saw lots of Tufted Ducks and Pochards but not the quarry - as apparently lots of other people already had. A singing Siskin was nice.

Ok, it was decision time. We could either race over to Wyke Regis for another go at the Hume's for Phil, getting to the bird's roost spot just before dusk, or go a few miles to get Blue-winged Teal for me. Phil selflessly decided to go for the latter... both were probably doomed to failure. There were lots of birders at Longham Lakes but apparently no-one gave a rat's arse about the Blue-winged Teal, they were all after the pair of Smew that had been found. I couldn't quite understand this because there are several Smew knocking about the area and the Lakes would be doing well do have a patch crew that big. Anyway, we saw the said pair of Smew which were very nice, and I caught a redhead Goosander fly in just before dusk. A Kingfisher flew about, there was a good variety of common wildfowl, a lone Lapwing and that was all. Day over. Thanks Phil for a good day out!

Smew (drake above, redhead below), Longham Lakes