Blackcap - Seven Springs
Willow Warbler - Wolsley Centre
Stephen Williams
Fourteen members met up at the new Headquarters of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust at the
Wolseley Centre in rather wet conditions. We all had cups of tea and cake in their nice cafe
hoping the rain would ease! We walked to the bird hide, got a
Reed Bunting and decided that their "Swan Lake" would be better
titled "Canada Goose Lake" ! We hoped for a Kingfisher on the
River Trent which didn't materialise due to a wood chipper being
used by SWT staff, but saw and heard many Chiffchaff and our
first Willow Warblers of the year. A solitary Swallow flew over us.
We went on to Seven Springs car park to have our lunch and an
obliging Blackcap sang for us in a nearby bush (see photo). The
rain stopped and we walked along the beautiful Abrahams Valley
deeper into the forest and got a Tree Pippit showing nicely. Total
group species seen were 35.
Over the weekend of the 19th-22nd May, 13
members enjoyed a weekend’s birding in Dorset.
We stayed at the Castleton in Swanage, a new
hotel for us but it didn’t disappoint. We were
extremely well looked after by Katherine and her
staff.
We met on Thursday, late morning, at Ham Wall
RSPB reserve on the Somerset Levels and
highlights here included long flight views of
Bittern, Great White and Little Egret, Marsh
Harrier, Hobby, Cetti’s Warbler and a brief
glimpse of a Glossy Ibis. After having a late
lunch, we carried on to Swanage, checked in at
the hotel, and then went out for our evening
meal. After eating we drove to Studland where
we heard and saw two or three Nightjar plus
Stonechat, Little Egret, Kestrel plus a few Sika Deer.
On Friday after an excellent breakfast, the group travelled up to the New Forest. Rain in the morning changed
our itinerary for the day and we started off at Eyeworth Pond near Fritham where highlights included Redstart,
Mandarin Duck, Spotted Flycatcher, Grey Wagtail and a small group of Fallow Deer. We then moved on to
Bolderwood where we had our lunch, and the best birds were Goldcrest, Blackcap and Raven. Our last
destination for the day was Acres Down and we walked across the heath to the raptor viewing point. It was
sunny, but a little windy and the only raptors we saw were Common Buzzard. Other highlights included
Stonechat, Bullfinch and Tree Pipit. Having seen Nightjar well the previous evening, we had our evening meal
followed by a get-together for a few drinks back at the hotel.
On Saturday, after another hearty breakfast, we travelled the brief distance to Durlston Country Park on the
outskirts of Swanage. The weather was fine but with a strong onshore breeze. On the walk down to the
lighthouse we had excellent scope views of a Green Woodpecker together with Whitethroat, Chiffchaff and Rock
Pipit. Highlights along the clifftop walk included Fulmar, Razorbill, Guillemot and Shag plus some of the group got
very excited when they found a Lulworth Skipper butterfly. We drove the short distance to Arne RSPB reserve
at the other end of Purbeck and had our lunch. On the recommendation of a volunteer we walked a new piece of
heathland that the RSPB have purchased recently. We had excellent views of Dartford Warbler carrying food to
a nest, together with further Stonechat, Spotted Flycatcher, Common Buzzard, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk.
Sadly, we were unable to find any Woodlark that had been reported there. Our final destination on the Saturday
was a new reserve for all of us, RSPB Lytchett Fields on the edge of Poole where highlights included Little
Egret, Oystercatcher, Shelduck, Stock Dove and Linnet. We didn’t have a great deal of time there as we were
booked into a pub some distance away for our evening meal. Our meal was followed again by a little social
gathering back at the hotel.
On the Sunday morning after yet another excellent breakfast, paying our dues and saying goodbye to the hotel
we drove towards Weymouth and our first port of call was Portland Bill.
After a long time trying to sort out the parking charges at the carpark there, we walked to the cliffs and added
Kittiwake and Gannet to our list of seabirds and other highlights included Wheatear. We travelled back towards
Weymouth and stopped at Ferrybridge where we had our lunch followed by distant views from the Visitor Centre
of Little Tern from the colony which is on the beach there. The majority of the group then moved on to RSPB
Radipole Lake in the centre of Weymouth. Highlights here included Black-tailed Godwit, Common Sandpiper,
Bearded Tit in flight, Cetti’s Warbler and Sand Martin.
We had a great weekend, excellent accommodation, good food and good company. The weather kept mostly
fine if not a little windy at times. Our final list of birds was 101.