Bath Birdwatcher

  Chisel Beach from Portland  (Bath Birdwatcher) Mary and Tony were kindly invited by Hazel and David to join them in their caravan at Wyke Regis from Wednesday 23 rd July until Monday 28 th July. On the First day a steam special was due to visit Weymouth and as we are both lovers of steam engines we decided after lunch to go and see it but before that we had seen a Greenfinch that sits and sings on a nearby arial, Herring Gull, Swift and Woodpigeon. We went to a bridge just north of Weymouth station to watch the train but as with all these specials it was running about 30 minutes late, we were watching close to Radipole Lake and had a view through the trees to a part of the reserve where a Marsh Harrier was quartering and a Moorhen was by the reed bed. The special train arrived being pulled by a class 47 diesel with a Black 5 at the rear 45212, it had turned earlier so the steam engine was on the front for the return trip.   Black 5 No 45212 - Weymouth (Bath Birdwatche...

Portland Harbour (Bath Birdwatcher) Mary and Tony have recently returned from a few days in Weymouth staying with our best friends David and Hazel, in their caravan close to Ferrybridge. Although they have a sea view of sorts you need to walk 50yards up the site for views over the fleet and from here you can see the Little Tern colony, gulls and larger waders but its such a short walk to a point where you get perfect views of the Fleet and also Portland Harbour that it's not worth spotting from this point. After arriving and unloading the car we had lunch and after we did some spotting from the caravan and Little Terns were flying noisily around along with 2 Ravens and lots of passing Herring Gulls and Starlings. We then drove to Portland for a walk around the harbour spotting  Mediterranean Gulls at Ferrybridge. Walking around the harbour we added Carrion Crow, Oystercatcher, and Little Egret to the weeks list. It was very chilly and silly me didn't take warm enough clothing ...

  Portland Obs & Lighthouse (Bath Birdwatcher) At this point last year my total was 136 sightings against 140 this year and was hoping this quarter would bring many more year ticks and with a bit of luck some lifetime ticks or as we call them lifers. July Our 1 st trip of the month was a visit to Chew Valley lake where 49 bird 8 butterfly and 3 moth species were seen the highlights were 2 ticks Spotted Redshank and Kingfisher. Also of note was an Essex Skipper butterfly and a Shaded Broad Bar moth. Next trip was a half day on the 13 th to Newton St Loe taking in the lanes as well as the lakes nothing new was seen but Yellowhammers in the lanes and Little Grebe with chicks was great to see. The highlights of the day was 9 species of butterfly with White Letter Hairstreak a standout and a Scorched Carpet moth a close 2 nd .  Scorched Carpet moth (Bath Birdwatcher) On the 25 th we joined a Bath Nats walk on Lansdown mainly searching for butterflies and 15 species wer...

  Portland Obs & Lighthouse - Bath Birdwatcher On Monday 31 st July Mary and Tony were due to go with Hazel and David to their caravan in Weymouth but Mary had been feeling unwell for a few days and did not feel she would be able to keep up with the rest of us so agreed I should go and she would stay with her sister while I was away. The caravan is sited on the edge of Weymouth a 10 Minute walk from Ferrybridge and the   Chesil Wildlife Centre. The Fleet and Portland Harbour being visible from the caravan. Traveling down on Monday 31 st we decided after settling in to have our first walk to Ferrybridge. Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Starling and Goldfinch soon being seen. The choice of time was not conducive with birding as it was high tide so any species of wader had flown off to find other feeding opportunities all except a few hardy Oystercatchers. Walking by the fleet and looking towards Chesil Beach we could see Little Terns my 1 st year tick of the week. Great Black Back...