Portland and Lodmoor

After seeing the recent sightings at Lodmoor, I decided to head down there with my Dad. I don't normally twitch birds that aren't local, but the fact that Stilt Sandpiper is probably one of my favourite birds, and the fact that there were other birds on my target list there made me decide to go.

Unfortunately, about halfway through the journey, I found that the Stilt Sandpiper had not been seen since the previous day, but the Least Sandpiper was still around.

When I arrived at the train station, I immediately walked to Lodmoor. As soon as I arrived, I saw the Least Sandpiper, walking through the mud quite close in. First lifer! I watched it for a while longer, as it sometimes disappeared behind clumps of grass. The views were mostly good, though my scope wasn't very powerful. A Great White Egret also gave good views compared with the Little Egrets around it.

After this I had fish and chips, where I sat inside because it was raining. My Dad and I then got the bus to Portland.

View From the Observatory Front Garden

Our first stop was the quarry near the Observatory, where a Wryneck had stayed for quite a while. Almost immediately, my Dad spotted some movement in the grass that turned out to be the Wryneck. This was probably the bird I most wanted to see in Britain, and the views it gave weren't bad. Then, after a bit of waiting, the views changed from not bad to amazing! It sat out in the open very close by, and I could see all the details because the light was in the right direction. This was the second new bird for me, and probably one of my favourite I had ever seen.

The rest of the day was quiet, and in the evening my Dad and I went to where we would be staying: the Portland Bunk House. We would have stayed in the bird observatory, but it was full, and this place was the closest to it. It looked a bit better on the inside than it did on the outside, though I don't think I would ever stay for more than one or two days there.

Early the next morning, we headed down to the observatory to watch the bird ringing. A female Sparrowhawk was first, then a Goldcrest. 

Sparrowhawk Being Ringed

After reading the observatory books for a while I decided to go for a walk in the fields to look for a reported Ortalon Bunting. After some searching, I could not find it, so I decided to go to look at Ferrybridge then leave for home. On the way to the bus though, I saw a group of people looking in a field. I asked them if they knew where the Hoopoe was that had been in the area, and they said it had been reported in the nearby field, so I decided to wait here for a while. After a while, someone spotted the Hoopoe sitting in the bare tree next to the field! It was quite distant, but through the scope I could see it quite well. The 3rd lifer of the holiday, and another bird that might have been my favourite I had seen.

I then went to Ferrybridge, where there was only a Bar-tailed Godwit, some Ringed Plover and some Dunlin. I decided that it was then time to head home (after getting some more chips).