This morning looked perfect for a fall of sorts, Wheatear and Chiffs galore was the expectation but sadly the reality was that birds were sparse and birding tough going. Still, there was a reasonable selection on offer with 1 Wheatear on Hartland Stud and 2 along Soldiers Road where both Greenfinch and Meadow Pipit were battling for airspace as they displayed and sung around each other. Within the Corfe River Valley a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was heard drumming and a possible Continental Stonechat was on top of Hartland. From Middle Beach 4 Black-necked Grebe a Great Northern Diver, 1 Gannet, 2 Auk sp, c20 Med Gulls, 8 Sandwich Tern 3 Sand Martin and 1 Swallow were all out on/over Studland Bay. On Hartland there was a nice contrast of winter and summer with both the Great Grey Shrike and what’s likely to have been Wednesdays Hobby over Hartland Moor. At South Haven, Studland a Little Ringed Plover was on a small patch of flood near the car park with a freshly arrived Willow Warbler and 16 Sandwich Tern gathered on the beach with a single pale-bellied Brent Goose. At Lytchett Fields both the Green-winged Teal and Lesser Yellowlegs were on the fields with 105 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Greenshank, 1 Swallow over and 7 Chiffchaff around the site. Up on Old Harry and Ballard there were just 2 Willow Warbler and 5 Blackcap. Night recording over Stoborough picked up a few straggling Redwing and Song Thrush, 2 Water Rail, Coot and Moorhen.
With the wind easing off today it made for easier birding, so much so that the first rarity…
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