I arrived at the bill at 10:30. All the spaces near the obs were full so I had to park at the Bill and quickly walk back. Simon was on site when I arrived. Just as I asked him if he'd had any luck, the call went up. I rounded the corner and a few seconds later locked eyes on the GREENISH WARBLER! Result! The supercilium was very distinctive, and the bird was larger and more 'angular' than I had expected. I managed a few record shots and a bit of video of the bird before it disappeared into the back garden of the Obs.
GREENISH WARBLER - Portland Bird Obs
Checking my phone, I saw that a pair of Pied Flycatchers had been seen at Portland Castle. Having only seen one last year plus the fact that I'd never got a decent shot of one, I decided to have a look on the way back. It didn't take me too long to locate one of the birds which showed well at times, and even fed on the ground at one point. I'm pretty sure that I actually had a second bird at the same time, but I'm not 100% sure.
Pied Flycatcher - Portland Castle
The final stop of the day was, somewhat ironically, Abbotsbury. Steve showed me to the route to Helen's Hide. From here I picked out a couple probable Common Sandpipers on the adjacent banks. Eventually, both flew out to the wooden posts in front of the hide, confirming their ID. After quite a wait, I picked up a third sandpiper with short wings, a pale-based bill and yellow legs. It wasn't until it flew closer that I could ID it as the SPOTTED SANDPIPER. It showed well alongside 2 Common Sandpipers both on the deck and in flight, allowing some good opportunity for comparison. The bird eventually took to feeding on the bank just below the hide, perhaps a little too close for my phone-scoping efforts:
SPOTTED SANDPIPER - Abbotsbury Swannery
I headed home after this to get on with the work I should have been doing today, always worth it though!
No comments:
Post a Comment