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Recent sightings

• 22 April 2013

  Things are looking up...

  Following on from my last slightly cautious blog about the arrival of spring I can now safely say that things have definitely picked up at Radipole and Lodmoor. My walk to work yesterday morning was greeted with the sound of recently arrived Reed Warblers which were obviously keen to advertise their presence after their rather long northward journey from Africa. Likewise Sedge Warbler were doing the same under probably hundreds of Sand Martins and Swallows which were frantically feeding overhead. All very spring-like and very nice!

  Other migrants on the move in recent days have included the first Whinchat of the spring, the odd unconfirmed reports of Cuckoo and Redstarts have featured a little more than in past springs. A Hoopoe was a nice surprise for a birdwatcher who was driving past the reserve last Thursday. It flew over Weymouth Way into the north end of the reserve. Wheatears have also been showing off, some of which were posing rather nicely for a photo...

   

  Marsh Harrier action has led to some confusion in the last few weeks. Back in March things were looking as though Radipole was the chosen spot to set up home for the summer but things have dramatically changed with Lodmoor now being the favoured site but the appearance of another bird during the week might spice things up a little. Took this photo a couple of days when we both managed to surprise each other as our paths crossed!

   

  To finish some very exciting news! You may have noticed that there’s lots of reed missing up near the North Hide? Well... it will be reappearing very soon in the form of a new roof for the Discovery Centre!

   

  Posted by Luke Phillips

• 12 April 2013

  A 'spring' update

  Is this weekend the end of the cold weather? I’d rather not risk saying it is but at least the Weymouth reserves feel a little more spring like. There’s been some real spring highlights over the last few weeks, perhaps best of all being up to six Garganey which have been seen well from the North hide at Radipole most days. This was taken when a few were hanging around the buddleia loop a few weeks ago.

  

  Yesterday a stunning Osprey flew over the Discovery Centre and was enjoyed by loads of visitors at the time. As usual, it didn’t hang around and was keen to carry on its northward migration which meant no time to get a photo but this picture I took last week whilst I was counting migrating birds of prey in Gibraltar. Ospreys were quite numerous compared to past years so we might see a few more over Radipole and Lodmoor in the coming weeks.

   

  Warblers are now turning up in good numbers. Chiffchaffs being most numerous but Willow Warblers now seem to be a little more obvious. Goldcrests are on the move and if your lucky you might spot a Firecrest which have also been migrating through. This was one trapped, ringed, and safely released at our office garden adjacent to Radipole yesterday morning. Stunning little birds!

   

  There’ll be a chance to learn more about ringing and the chance to get close to other wildlife tomorrow at Radipole. The current weather forecast isn’t too promising but as it stands there’ll be a ringing demonstration from 9am near the North Hide but rain looks to set in from mid morning so come along early to beat the weather. If the rain comes in early we’ll have to abort! But for the rest of the day there’ll be displays in the visitor centre and pond dipping and possibly more!

  Lots more things to blog about over the coming weeks including pics from some of our events which have been a roaring success over Easter but here's a taster of whats been going on!

  

  Posted by Luke Phillips

• 18 January 2013

  Let it snow...

  This is my fourth winter at the Weymouth Wetlands and I’ve come to realise that snow in Weymouth isn’t as common as it is back in my homeland of South Wales. However, when it does snow in Weymouth the place comes alive with birds. You would have almost certainly noticed that we had snow last night so birding expectations were high this morning. Got to the Discovery Centre just before 9am when it was still sleeting hard so birds were understandably scarce. I said to Danny that as soon as the weather eases we’ll be inundated with birds. My prediction was right and from about 10am birds were pouring through. I managed to keep a rough count of most species, totals went like this..

  Skylark – 1658

  Golden Plover – 1420

  Starling – 180

  Redwing – 175

  Fieldfare – 47

  Those were the main ones but small numbers of Meadow Pipits and finches also passed through as did a single Woodlark which was a pleasant surprise.

  Most birds were flying over Radipole mostly heading west. This is all triggered by snow covering their usual haunts which forces them to move on to find unfrozen fields where they can feed. In past cold winters certainly species such as Redwings have really struggled and have had to resort to using gardens to feed. Thankfully this winter we’ve not had extremely cold weather which has allowed birds to feed reasonably well hence the relatively small numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare today, but the snow does affect certainly species which is reflected in the morning’s totals.

  I love days like today, its amazing to see so many birds flying over a town. If the weather stays cold we can expect to see more bird movements over the next few days. We’ll keep you posted!

   

  Posted by Luke Phillips

• 16 January 2013

  A big birdy told me...

  I had a slightly bizarre encounter with one of our wintering Bitterns yesterday afternoon. One of the great things about working at  Radipole is having to walk through the reserve every time I need to get to the office. This enables me to sneak in a bit of extra birdwatching and in the past its lead to encounters with Great White Egrets, Glossy Ibis and Yellow-browed Warblers. A very strange sound caused me to look round on yesterday's commute and lead to the discovery of a Bittern flying along side me. Nice in itself but the fact it was calling made the meeting much more interesting.

   

  Bitterns are famous for their booming call which is made early spring by males to attract a female. Sadly this sound has yet to become a familiar one in Weymouth but I’m sure things will change in the future. The sound I heard yesterday was a weird grunt rather than a boom which it made every few seconds whilst flying over the reeds. I’ve heard this once before at a lake in South Wales but I’ve got no idea why it was making this noise. I can only speculate that it was either annoyed by something and was just muttering to itself or it was telling me to blog as we’ve not posted for a week or two. If the latter I’d better also update you the recent sightings in Weymouth. The Bearded tits at the North hide are still putting on daily performances; up to 15 have been seen in the last few days. Marsh Harriers are still putting in appearances; I believe up to three birds have been seen at both Radipole and Lodmoor. Perhaps the most significant sighting was of two Otters which for the observer was a real delight as it was her first ever sighting of these elusive critters. She saw them last week but there are still signs such as spraint (poo!) and footprints appearing regularly.

  Posted by Luke Phillips

• 18 December 2012

  Beardies on the boardwalk

  If there’s one species of bird which Radipole is famous for it must be the Bearded Tit. Not a day goes by that a visitor doesn’t come into the Discovery Centre and ask us about them.

  Back last winter you may remember us mentioning some reed cutting in preparation for thatching the roof of the Discovery Centre. New reed growth often results in a healthy crop of seed heads, which are a favourite food of our little bearded friends. The reed bed adjacent to the North hide board walk was one of the areas cut, which as you may expect, now looks rather lush. The Bearded Tits have discovered this and have moved in en mass.

  A very brief look this morning revealed at least 15 and we were only there for a short length of time. So if you’re keen for a good view, get yourself up there soon! Ten minutes effort got me these few photos, which I thought were ok.

   

  

  They have been so confiding recently that a local birdwatcher, one of our volunteer hide openers, managed to film several video clips. Check out this link:

  http://dorsetwalks.com/blog/12-12-09.php

  Other stuff about recently includes the regular Marsh Harriers at both Radipole and Lodmoor, Bitterns likewise plus growing numbers of wildfowl. Water Pipits have featured on the sightings board a few times in the last week but they aren’t easy to find! Like the Bearded Tits, the Reed Buntings have also been feasting on the seed heads as this photo perfectly demonstrates.

  

  Posted by Luke Phillips

• 9 November 2012

  Is it a otter? Is it a Bearded tit? No! It's a man on a big machine!

  Recent visitors to either Lodmoor or Radipole may have been wowed with some wonderful wildlife in the past few weeks. There was a spectacular purple heron at Radipole a few weeks ago, looking a bit wacky and alternative. These relatives of the grey heron are ever so slowly moving up into the UK and have even started breeding on some RSPB reserves in the East.

  

  As Luke mentioned in the last blog there is a pretty impressive starling murmeration over at Lodmoor (don't walk around with your mouth open whatever you do!!) I always think the best thing about watching huge flocks of birds is the noise as they pass overhead - have a listen. Other sightings have included plenty of squealing water rail, kingfisher, returning teal, shoveler and gadwall and it's the best time to see the wonderful bearded tit on the reserves as they fling themselves around the reed beds. It's also the middle of the best time to spot otter at Radipole - see our events page for details on evening walks. If you are visiting during the day, pop into the Discovery Centre ask to have a whiff of the otter spraint and then with your new found knowledge go off sniffing your way around the paths and see how many otter signs you can find.

  Probably the most obvious sighting recently has been a lonely man chugging his way round the waterlogged ditches in a rather bizarre bit of floating machinery.

  

  The aim of this is to keep the wateways clear from vegetation, not just so visitors can get better views but also to keep the reed beds healthy so that it continues to play host to all the amazing wildlife we have here. Both at Radipole and Lodmoor new sightlines have been cut by the machine opening up forgotten pools, ditches and water ways that were previously hidden away, it looks really great and is the perfect place to spot things like water vole, otter, bittern and water rail.

  Posted by Robert Farrington

• 6 November 2012

  The Starlings are back in town!

  As the nights draw in and become colder, going out in the evenings might not be top of your agenda but if I was to tell you that an evening visit to Lodmoor could produce one of nature's most spectacular shows... a Starling murmuration... you might think twice!

   

  It's been several decades since that last really impressive Starling murmuration in Weymouth with Radipole hosting a regular roost back in the early days of the RSPB’s management. However the last thirty years have seen starlings drop dramatically in numbers across the UK and starling roosts have also been diminishing. We assumed the sight of 20,000 Starlings swirling around in the skies above the Weymouth Wetlands would be a distant memory until a regular visitor to the reserves posted this amazing video on our Facebook page.

  http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?v=10151152619257017

  These Starlings would have mostly come from the continent where the weather is now getting somewhat chilly, especially compared to the UK hence millions of them migrate here to spend the winter. When I said earlier that Starlings are declining, I am largely referring to the UK breeding population. Along with House Sparrows, the Starling is in a steep decline with several causes affecting them. Farming techniques and lack of nesting opportunities are both big players but it’s certain that a combination of factors have been at play.

   

  If the roost continues through the next few weeks, RSPB staff and volunteers will hopefully be on site during certain evenings to help visitors to get the best possible views of this stunning performance. Keep an eye on future blog posts or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rspbweymouth to keep up to date!

  Posted by Luke Phillips

• 2 October 2012

  Pigs, snipers and Subbuteo

  Radipole is alive with wildlife at them moment. After spending 2 days down in the centre on the weekend I couldn't stop myself 'disappearing' out onto the reserve a few times a day to see what was around.

  The first thing that will strike you when you arrive is that the water infront of the discovery centre is very low, this is great for attracting in wading birds like snipe and black tailed godwit. In fact the second there was any mud in view the snipe arrived in force, a few flying with their zig zag pattern right infront of visitors in the window. This zig zag flight, as I'm sure you can imagine, means that snipe were particularly hard for wildfowlers to shoot, in fact only the very best shot could. These people came to be known as snipers, a term still used today (although I doubt all the 'snipers' in the army these days know the words origin).

  A Radipole Snipe by Camera Happy

  

  We had a bit of a suprise when a male goldeneye duck crash landed infront of the window with some tufted ducks. Although this pretty diving duck is quite common in Poole harbour we very rarely get them on the reserve, and especially not so close. When walking around the reserve at the moment, you cannot fail to see the large numbers of dragonflies zooming around, they are mainly a mix of common darters and  migrant hawkers (the larger ones). This abundance of dragonfly was also picked up on by two hobby who were zooming around the reserve all weekend picking off the darters and hawkers and then eating them on the wing. Another interesting yet useless fact is - the inventor of the table top football game 'Subbuteo' origionally wanted to patent his new game as 'the hobby' but was not allowed. he was a lover of birds and the hobby inparticular and so he named it after the falcons lating name 'Falco subbuteo'.

  Migrant Hawker

  

  We had a few reports of water vole plopping into the water and sightings of a water rail sculking in a newly cut channel of reed from our brand new structure on the reserve. I knew it would come in handy! Water rail can be very hard to spot, but the trick is to listen out for their call, they are nick named the pig of the reeds for a good reason; they squeal like a pig.

  Water Rail (sounds like a pig, doesn't look like a pig)

  

  Posted by Robert Farrington

• 23 July 2012

  We're soggy, but still smiling

  It's been a few weeks since the reserve and new Discovery Centre dissappeared under water. But against all the odds we have not only managed to clear the initial mess, reopen most of the trails, but also give the centre a deep clean completly clear the space and dry the space out. In short we will be open for the olympics!

  Sure we won't have the flashy cameras and all the other pleasures we were getting used to but we will be there with some exciting displays and will be running activities throughout the games. From pond dipping to pebble painting, we may even have some live reptiles making a guest appearance. The centre and reserve trails will be open every day of the Olympics, but remember that the Swannery carpark is closed as it is the drop of spot for the olympic park and ride and the hide is still not safe to open after the floods. The Bayside festival site on the sea front will be open too and Tom and Amber from the RSPB will be down there most days leading more activities there, so If you fancy a break from sailing in the up coming weeks drop in and see how we are getting on.

  Now the sun is out there is plenty to see out on the reserve too in the form of butterlfies and dragonflies and a whole mix of relived and thankfully dry creatures. Ever since the day after the flood, when I was picking them up out of puddles by the handful, I've been obsessed with spotting stickleback at Radipole. It is surprisingly easy, get yourself on a bridge or boardwalk over the edge into the water. it is really satisfying to see so much life in the channels when it was only 2 years ago that many of them were cleared. Lets hope it stays like this for a while yet!

   

  Posted by Robert Farrington