Osprey mania…I hope so.
When I left you last week, Ospreys had been
seen at Carsington on 3 different days (up to 8th April), so it
probably was not a surprise to turn on my phone when we arrived in Bournemouth
to get a message about another sighting, this time in an old tree in Fishtail
Creek on Monday 9th
April.
The brief sighting, by 2 of the Full-time
rangers was unfortunately too far away for a phone photo by Sophie.
Anyway, I was able to link Sophie with a CBC
recorder Clive Ashton via Gary Atkins, by the wonders of steam telephone, so
that’s another possible sighting in the CBC archives.
Our journey to Bournemouth was pretty dreary
apart from a Red Kite near Oxford – not a lot.
Tuesday added the bird of the holiday. On
West Cliff, overlooking the prom, we came across a really exhausted -looking Wheatear. Considering it had no doubt flown across the channel, and originally
from Africa, not surprising it was just munching some seeds with a couple of
Goldfinches.
Many of my Wheatear
sightings have been of exhausted birds. I can recall single birds at Lodmoor
(Weymouth), and appropriately Wheatear field at Attenborough gravel pits. It’s
a privilege to see them, because once they have recharged their batteries they
will be on their way to the hills.
We dropped in to Hengitsbury Head near
Christchurch, but after a coffee and scone, we decided that a £4 parking fee
for 2 hours was not likely to give us much return bird wise!!! I knew that
Dartford Warblers bred close to the visitor centre, but the rain and the cold
drove us back to our hotel, parked and had an enjoyable wine and Pizza lunch on
the pier.
Wednesday was the best weather, made even
better from knowing what Derbyshire residents were having to endure. We decided to do
the bus tour to and from Swanage.
A walk to Peveril Point, producing a preening Rock Pipit, Chiffchaff and Linnet, justified 90 minutes sitting by the harbour with
Prawn sandwiches and wine. (and why not!!).
Ed:
Lunchtime wine on 2 days, and dinner I assume? Just remember
that when the Doc asks, “how many units do you drink a day?”
Our next excitement in Swanage was debating with fellow
tourists and the locals, as to which end of the bus stop the queue starts. You know the experience? The answer dictated
whether we were 4th in the queue, or 27th.
A no-brainer…we got on another bus going a different route, and sat comfortable
on the top deck, in the front row for the 80-minute journey back to the hotel!!
Thursday 12th April A chance
for a bit of birding, and a cracking start, because within 3 minutes of leaving
our hotel, 3 Jays chased each other across a tree
laden roundabout.
Spurred on we went to Middlebere, near Arne,
and from the car, spotted a pair of lovely male and
female Stonechats
on the gorse, during a slow crawl down the road to Arne.
Pleased to find that Arne now has a shop and
a café since our previous visit in 2016, with a nice choice of snack foods.
Only the spring vegetable soup let them down, as the flavour was very weak.
To-day Sunday 15th April was my monthly Markeaton BwB walk, and 11 people enjoyed the 90 minutes’
walk, with 23 species to show for it.
A pair of Mallards with 8 ducklings was a
sign of the time of year, and the pair of Mandarins on the duck pond got the
bird of the day vote. Whilst
Nuthatches couldn’t get the seed I was laying down quickly enough, the group
were pleased to identify a male Blackcap and a Chiffchaff, signs of
the migration happening. (assuming that they did not winter with us!) And 3-4 drifting buzzards demonstrated the
benefit of always looking up. And I'm on 134 to date!
Let’s hope the migration signs continue, and
my next birding session for birders is the Yellow Wagtail walk at Carsington on
Tuesday 24th April at 6pm, in conjunction with Carsington Bird
Club.
Ring Carsington to book.
Happy Birding.
Dear Bedraggled of Bournemouth,
ReplyDeletePleased to hear that you enjoyed your visit there on the whole.
Bird activity is on the increase here - Razorbills are back on the sea at the foot of the cliff and with the help of a couple of birders, I spotted a male Blackcap on the cliff walk. At this time of year, there is often a male Wheatear in Valley of Rocks in superb breeding plumage - clearly the Devon air agrees with him - perching on a convenient vantage point. And for the first time ever we have had a male Linnet on one of the feeding stations in the garden.
Taking another look at your blog before I sign off......'tree laden roundabout'? - a touch too lyrical perhaps.
I always enjoy hearing about your gastronomic exploits but its not often that you stray into the slightly risky territory of alcohol! Trust your Editor to pick you up on the number of units you drink in a day. Bless!
When I am asked this question I am sometimes afflicted by a little known medical condition known colloquially as Merlot amnesia - no further comment necessary or possible.......