28th June 2016

Had a look at Ninesprings this morning. Highlights included 3 Mandarins, Stock Dove (my first in south Yeovil), 1+ Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Grey Wagtail, several Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs, 1+ Marsh Tits, Nuthatch and 2+ Treecreepers.

Mute Swans - Ninesprings

 

Mandarin - Ninesprings

 Mallard - Ninesprings

 Goldcrest - Ninesprings

 This bathing juvenile was nice to see up close.

 Carrion Crows - Ninesprings

 Magpie - Ninesprings

Blue-Tailed Damselfly - Ninesprings

25th June 2016

Was in London today and had a couple of notable sightings; 10 Ring-Necked Parakeets over West Cromwell Road flying to roost, and unusually a calling Yellow Wagtail over Brompton Road around midday.

18th June 2016

Had a breif look at Sutton Bingham early afternoon producing singles of Little Egret, Grey Heron, Mute Swan and Mistle Thrush. Also a family of Blackcaps around the car park.

11th June 2016

Went down to Great Hill, south of Martinstown, Dorset yesterday evening to look for the woodchat shrike, but drove around unsure of exactly where the bird had been seen. Looked at some OS maps and returned this morning, and managed to get to the right spot by 7:45.

There were plenty of Yellowhammers and Whitethroats about, plus at least 2 each of Corn Bunting, and Red-Legged Partridge, and I flushed a Grey Partridge. Also had some Roe Deer and Hares. After an hour of waiting, the Woodchat Shrike showed and allowed fairly good views.

 

Woodchat Shrike - Great Hill

Corn Bunting - Great Hill

Yellowhammer - Great Hill

Red-Legged Partridge - Great Hill

9th June 2016

Had a look at Sutton Bingham this afternoon which produced a female Pochard and male Tufted Duck together. Also of note were singles of Kingfisher and Mistle Thrush and a couple of Common Whitethroats.

Pochard - Sutton Bingham Res

Tufted Duck - Sutton Bingham Res

Also found this distinctive-looking gull from the causeway. It had a caspian-like appearance, being larger than the other gulls with a obvious long bill, long neck, a white head, sloping forehead, a dark eye, a shawl of brown streaks on the nape and back of neck and extensive white tips to the dark tertials. Also it had a high tendancy to point its head and bill downwards.

I'm not sure if the time of year is a bit dodgy for caspian. I'm definatly no expert with immiture larids so I've decided to upload these record shots and get opinions from others whether it's caspian or just herring.. Unfortunetly I didn't get any in-flight or on-deck views of the bird.


Edit: Seems that it is likely to just be a Herring Gull afterall. I need to work some more on my larid ID skills!

1st June 2016

A look at the openspace this morning produced 4+ Bullfinches (I suspect there were up to 6), 2 each of Goldcrest, Chiffchaff and Blackcap and singles of Song Thrush, Greenfinch and Sparrowhawk.

Bullfinch - Yeovil Openspace

He's still here!

A look at Ninesprings Lake produced 4 Mandarins, a Kingfisher 2 Treecreepers, a few Jays and Chiffchaffs and singles of Song Thrush, Blackcap and Goldcrest. Also, present on the lake was a Little Grebe chick.

Little Grebe chick - Ninesprings

Mallard with chicks - Ninesprings

A rather bedraggled Mandarin - Ninesprings

Mute Swan - Ninesprings

Also heard a whitethroat in the scrub above the lake but failed to locate it. I've found this species to be almost as hard to find as lesser whitethroat in North Yeovil in recent years, so it would be good if they bred here.