#further afield

21st September 2019-RSPB Weymouth reserves Lodmoor and Radipole Lake: Long-billed Dowitcher, egret fest, Yellow Wagtail, Clouded Yellow and more 

Today we made the most of what looks like the last of a few really sunny days in a perfect way. We headed to these reserves as I had seen a Long-billed Dowitcher had been reported here for a good while. I took the first, second and third picture in this photoset of a landscape, Black-tailed Godwit and another landscape looking over to the white horse at Osmington. It struck me when we drove in today that I have never photographed this amazing site, one that was a brilliant staging post as an indication we were there on our yearly summer holiday as a family to Weymouth as a child so I have so many memories locked up within it and it represents a time in my life that I always wanna remember and hold onto so great to photograph it today. In the sunshine today both reserves were teeming with butterflies and dragonflies with a good variety of species seen and many for this time of year. 

As we walked down alongside the lagoons it was great to see a good few Yellow Wagtails in among Pied as shown by the fourth picture in this photoset. It was actually only my fifth ever sighting of them but second this autumn after some at Pennington so I was thrilled to see these. 

We walked around the corner to an old power plant place just in case a Wryneck a man we spoke to said he’d seen there was around but we didn’t see it. I did take the fifth picture in this photoset of a Peacock butterfly there. On the way back from this point though with the sun really shining and it being a decent temperature I caught sight of the most special butterfly I saw today a Clouded Yellow. This is always a special moment and after seeing my first this year at Magdalen Hill in August which was a very quick sighting I was hoping to see one again this year. 

That was something by no means a certainty though as I only saw one last year, none the year before, one the two years prior in fact 2014 was the only year I recall seeing them more than once in. They do go on late in years though as I learnt with my Farlington Marshes sighting of one a year ago Monday and you don’t really look for Clouded Yellows they sort of seem to find you and they can pop up anywhere. It was a yellow day a bit then with this and the wagtails, with neither of them a common species really if I had have been told a year ago today I’d see both and neither would be a year tick on their respective lists I’d know I was onto something great. 

At Lodmoor, where we’d come back to later today after a walk round nearby Radipole, we saw at least three Great White Egrets one shown in the sixth picture in this photoset my joint highest in a day as well as so many Little Egrets flying nicely seen throughout the day with a good few Grey Herons about too. A really nice moment with these relatives today. It was very nice to be at Radipole shown in the seventh, eighth and ninth picture I took in this photoset today after not coming here since January one of my favourite nature reserves seeing some great stuff too as shown in my wildlife sightings summary below. 

When we came back to Lodmoor late on today we wandered up and were told that as the tide was lowering we had a good chance to see the Long-billed Dowitcher hunting having not seen it on the earlier walk around here. We waited for a while until the shout went out and it had been spotted far back on the lagoon, I looked and saw it scanning in the water walking quite fast far back. We enjoyed some brilliant moments with this bird, one of my most special seen this year. Only my second ever individual bird and third occasion ever of seeing one.

The first we saw was in the summer of 2013 at Lymington-Keyhaven nature reserve, before seeing the Lesser Yellowlegs at Lepe that winter before the new year. Both birds we saw again and were able to get onto our 2014 year lists as well. We didn’t see a Lesser Yellowlegs again until last October which was at Lodmoor and we saw that one in 2019 here as well in early March. So I just find it amusing that we’ve seen the Dowitcher here too now. What a two birds to see here this year. 

I have to make the most of further afield trips at this time of year with shorter and darker days and immediately it appears wetter ones to come and today’s was an amazing day birding and seeing some great insects and views too in top weather once more. I am glad I saw the tweet about the Dowitcher around last weekend to make today happen its what we came for a very enjoyable day. 

Nunc Stans - Further Afield

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