#ferrybridge

Lake at Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve, with Ferrybridge Power Station in the background, Yorkshire, England

01/01/20-Blog 2: Portland Harbour and Bill and bird year ticks on the way there 

Following on from my last post: https://dansnaturepictures.tumblr.com/post/190001247972/01012020-blog-one-birds-seen-from-the-bedroom we came to the isle of Portland this afternoon and between visiting the harbour, the bill and some birds seen for the first time this year on the way from the car it became arguably my best ever New Year’s Day for birdwatching. I ended the day on 49 birds seen, my highest ever after one day by a mile 11 birds ahead of my 2016 New Year’s Day total my previous highest which had stood for a few years. We saw so many incredible species and one was even a new bird for us. 

Soon after getting into Dorset from the car we saw our first Lapwings and Pheasant of the year. When near to Portland and driving past Weymouth’s Radipole Lake as predicted and as we did the last time we came to Portland on New Year’s Day in 2014 we saw our first Cormorants and Great Black Backed Gulls of the year on the reserve. Just before stopping at Ferrybridge to use the toilets we saw our first Red-breasted Mergansers of the year a bird I expected to see today. Then we saw a bird when parked up there we really did not expect to see today when half a dozen or so Skylarks flew in and went around on the ground in front of us. This was a fantastic bird to see on New Year’s Day one you really don’t expect to see this early in a year and they looked very beautiful a nice surprise moment of the day this year. I took the first picture in this photoset of one. 

More surprises were certainly waiting as we looked over the sea at Portland Harbour the area shown by two landscapes I took the second and third pictures in this photoset. I got a decent few more year ticks here. As we looked over we were thrilled to see very close to us a cracking Great Northern Diver it shown in the fourth picture in this photoset I took. A very early highlight in my year we really did get wonderful views of this special bird one I love so much and one we only saw for the first time in 2019 last month. Today was probably my greatest ever view of one beating my previous close views of them six years ago today and an early January visit in 2016 here, a Hayling Island view of one in late 2017 quite close too. We soon saw a Shag here for the first time this year too one we have been regular with here. 

We also spoke to a very nice gentlemen a birdwatcher who was looking out to sea and he said he’d also seen some Black-throated Divers out to sea a bird we had never seen before and he described them to us and where they were on the water. After he’d left we were thrilled to spot these birds! With views in our telescope and through my bridge camera you could really make out what they were and that they were something different. They were tucked away behind fortification really to begin with but they really drifted left and revealed themselves. I was so happy to see these such beautiful birds too and unique. I really did think it was time for me to see one with how many Great Northern and Red-throated I have now seen in my life and I think this year I would have hoped to see one but to do it on day 1 was unbelievable. It took my bird life list to 267. You never know when you will see your first new bird in a year I had to wait until late April last year but I have struck early seeing my first new bird on New Year’s Day since I was at this harbour six years ago. I took the fifth picture in this photoset of these Black-throated Divers. 

We then moved onto the bill where birds I expected to see today though not all of them I had seen on 1st January before Raven, Rock Pipit and Gannet were seen for the first time this year for me among other common birds as mentioned in my wildlife sightings summary today. I took the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth pictures in this photoset of views here. 

Then the day really wrote it’s name as one of my greatest for birdwatching ever. We caught up with the same gentleman we saw at the harbour who said about the Black-throated Divers and we asked about Purple Sandpipers we had heard were about here. He was looking for them too and whilst we were looking at the first Gannet he called us over and showed us one of these remarkable birds in among a flock of my first Turnstones this year and Rock Pipits. Another delightful bird to see today, one I had not seen on a New Year’s Day before and a definite target later on for us. 

As we walked around the MOD area to look over the sea on the other side of the buildings we saw a small bird and checked it and we were absolutely thrilled again to see it was a Black Redstart. We had just about managed to see one when we were last here in November so it was not totally unexpected but still not a given. It was my third time of seeing them this winter and only my eighth ever so a really brilliant bird to see. I took a record shot the tenth picture in this photoset of it. I had seen one as a year tick the same day as Purple Sandpiper before in early 2017 at Portsmouth. 

A bird I had seen here in November and on Sunday in the New Forest so knew we would definitely be looking for here today was Short-eared Owl. Just when we thought just before darkness this day couldn’t get any better we caught sight of one flying over the fields. Then another Short-eared Owl joined it. It was exceptional to watch this extraordinary bird again one of my B list favourite birds for the third time this winter and I have now seen three of them in four days. I feel extremely lucky. I do feel generally extremely lucky that I started my year as I did today. Another joyful start to my year with bedroom birdwatching and another really fun, productive and exciting walk on the first day of the year around Lakeside my local country park as I mentioned in my last post. Then we really did see some of what’s gonna be our best birds this year in Portland and many ones we would have targeted later on. No matter what happens, this has been my dream start to 2020! Hope you all had great days too.