April

What a month April has been Jackie and I managed to add 21 species of bird to our year list and a few of them have been cracking species not all have been in Dorset.  In fact our first visit out was over the border to Blashford mainly because we missed the Little Ringed Plover on the home patch and there is usually one or two at Blashford plus a Little Gull had been reported.  We met our friends and went to the Tern hide, it didn't take long to find the Little Gull feeding out over the lake and, whilst Jackie was checking through the wildfowl, I started looking for the LRP and found it on the gravel bank out to the right of the hide.  I found it because it made a little short run as it is their habit and the movement attracted my eye.  I pointed it out to Jackie and the others and shortly after we were treated to the male display flighting around its territory. 

Little Gull © Nick Hull

After saying goodbye to to our friends Jackie and I decided to pop just up the road and have our picnic lunch at Ibsley Bridge. Whilst tucking into my sandwich I heard a very brief 'Chee-chee Chee' sound from the reed bed across the road then nothing.  Then I heard it again but this time it was a longer more varied song.  Jackie and I jumped out of the van and had a good listen to a fairly early Sedge Warbler.  Well that was April fools day completed for us.

On the 4th Jackie and I were volunteering for the early shift looking after the Carey Ospreys, it was a little drizzly and damp couple of hours but it had its dry spells and it enabled us to get Osprey onto our list. Since then CJ7 has laid four eggs again and 022 has been his usual good self providing the fish and supplying nesting material and chasing off crows etc.  Though a local Tawny Owl knocked him off his roosting perch the other night.

Osprey 022 doing his bit while CJ7 stretch's her wings and takes a break 
Shot taken from BoPH webcam

A visit to Durlston Country Park on the 7th added a few seabirds to our ever growing list with Razorbill, Guillemot and Fulmar with the added bonus of a Cirl Bunting putting in a brief appearance having a bath in the pond. A slow drive across Hartland Moor on our way home gave us two Wheatear, one of which had the look of a Greenland race but we couldn't be certain as it was little too distant.

Cirl Bunting © Nick Hull

On the 9th we took our Granddaughter up to Garston Wood to see the Bluebells and woodland botany though we heard a Tawny Owl hoot a few times we failed to locate where it was and when leaving we had a couple of Red-legged Partridge in the field opposite.

Red-legged Partridge © Nick Hull

On the 11th saw Jackie and I on the Somerset Levels where we heard a number of Bittern booming but we unfortunately didn't get to see one on this occasion but we added House Martin to Jackie's list as she missed them at Longham last month. We had a visit to Sharpham to see Ring-necked Duck where we found a male tucked up with a few Tufted Duck at the edge of the reedbed.   On the 12th we spent the morning at Ham Wall listening to Bittern and seeing the usual regular species lots of Blackcap and good numbers of Reed Warbler singing.  

We left The Levels after having lunch as the weather turned wet and headed for home, when we were nearing Poole news came our way that the Hoopoe was still at the Hartland Stud so Jackie and I took a little detour and arrived in time to see it feeding under the pine copse which made a nice finish to the days birding.

Hoopoe © Nick Hull (from my archive)

Another bird that had turned up and was showing well was a Red-spot Bluethroat at Swineham Point which we thought we may have missed by going to Somerset but it was still present. So on the 13th Jackie and our daughter Rowena went to take a look at this northern European gem. When we arrived there were around eight birders/photographers present waiting patiently for the bird to reappear.  It wasn't long before it popped out from the hedge and started feeding along the path edge and gave very good views. I managed a few shots but it was a little difficult as I had people in front of me and I only had a small gap to get onto the bird. None-the-less a successful local twitch and well worth seeing this stunning bird.

Red-spot Bluethroat © Nick Hull

Next day we had booked on a Bird of Poole Harbour boat trip around the harbour visiting Brownsea Lagoon before going around the back of Brownsea and across the central harbour and up the Wareham Channel before returning to the quay at Poole.  Common Tern, Spotted Redshank and Bearded Tit were added to our year list and we had good views of two young White-tailed Eagles and one of which flew across the channel and I managed a few shots of the bird in flight which in fact was the first time to have and eagle in flight that wasn't a mile or so up in the sky.

Immature White-tailed Eagle crossing the Wareham Channel © Nick Hull

On the 18th we had a little drive and birding trip in the Lower Frome starting at Stokeford where we had or rather heard our first Cuckoo of the year. From here we went up to the view point on Creech Hill where we had three Red Kite drift by and a Peregrine whoosh by very close and fast as it headed along the ridge.  Whilst all this was happening we were listening to a Whitethroat singing from the roadside hedge.

Very close and passing very fast Peregrine Falcon © Nick Hull

A walk with friends on 20th in Wareham Forest around the Morden Bog area added Tree Pipit to our list and we had good views of two Woodlark which flew in and were searching for food on a recently felled area.  

Our last two species added to our year list in April was Whimbrel on our home patch of Lytchett Bay (25th) and screaming Swift over Rowena's house in Parkstone on the 27th.

Other Wildlife

This month we have been recording as many of the early emerging inverts and many have been in our own  wildlife garden.

Holly Blue have been seen in the garden and around Lytchett Bay more or less daily. They seem to be on a good year.

Holly Blue © Nick Hull

Another, in fact Jackie's favourite butterfly, I caught up with on the Approach Field where I saw two and managed to get a shot of this very fresh individual.

Small Copper © Nick Hull

We have been getting regular visits to the garden of Large Red Damselflies which are usually the first to emerge.

Large Red Damselfly © Nick Hull

I also recorded a two new bee species for the garden a Hairy Yellow-faced Bee Hylaeus hyalinatus. There has been at least two visiting and resting in the sun on the stones of our rockery.

Hylaeus hyalinatus Hairy Yellow-faced Bee © Nick Hull

The other I found feeding on a Dandelion, a Buffish Mining Bee Andrena nigroaenea found in the Lytchett Bay recording area but never in the garden so it was a very nice addition to the garden list.

Andrena nigroaenea - Buffish Mining Bee

Nocturnal Migration

As usual since 22nd March I have been recording nocturnal migration over Lytchett Bay and my home. There hasn't been any major rarities but it started with lots of Redwing and good numbers of Song Thrush with a few Fieldfare moving over heading back to Europe to their breeding grounds. A species that is extremely rare on the Lytchett Bay recording area is Coot but I record them every year flying over the bay and the first one recorded this year was at 21:41hrs on 23rd March.  I had a solitary Little Ringed Plover pass over at 21:21hrs on 25th March.  A bird that doesn't get seen very often on the patch is Barn Owl but I often record one calling at night over the bay and as usual I recorded them this spring. I've also recorded a few small flocks of Avocet leaving the harbour.  I  recorded our first returning Blackcap at 04:57hrs on 1st April. A Grey Plover past over on 2nd April, the first Little Grebe past by on the 7th April followed by another on the 9th.  At 21:03hrs on the 8th I recorded for the first time ever Redshank, Spotted Redshank and Greenshank in a single flock passing right over the house so I've added the recording below.

On the 10th I had a little surprise, though I have recorded them before but they're not at all regular or perhaps they are but have past outside of my recording range a small flock of Common Scoter past by follow shortly after by a noisy flock of Sandwich Tern. Two days later at 21:50 and again at 01:21hrs two more skeins of Common Scoter moved over presumingly north but both were a little distant, now were they high up going over or a couple of kilometres away across the harbour.  On the 9th I recorded the first Common Sandpiper and on the 14th a Lapwing passed by and the first Whimbrel past on 16th at 02:40hrs. On the morning of the 27th not technically nocmig as in was just at the start of the Dawn Chorus I found the signature of a Reed Bunting singing on the sonogram amongst all the other morning songsters.

Jackie · Redshank-Spotted Redshank-Greenshank

Not a bad month wildlife watching ending the month seeing 118 species bringing our year list to 163 species.