Well that didn't turn out quite as expected. On Friday evening I was checking my emails to find that I had one from Birds of Poole Harbour to say that the Puffin Cruise we were booked on for Saturday evening had been cancelled due to the forecast wind strength, direction, and the tide. Damn - we'd been looking forward to it too. Our plan had been to stay over in Bournemouth/Poole and make a weekend of it - we love the area and have had some time to explore while our daughter was at Arts University Bournemouth.
We hatched a new plan and tried to contact the hotel we'd booked (non-refundable) to see if we could check in early. They didn't respond immediately and by the time they did we'd booked a place we know for an early lunch-come-dinner. In fact, they declined our request to have an early check in (we explained that we didn't actually need the room but would appreciate having a key for late arrival) and so we opted to spend the later part of the day at RSPB Arne and stay on to (hopefully) see nightjar.
Saturday morning arrived and we eased into the day knowing that we just had to get to Poole in time for our early lunch - a pub / restaurant / hotel on Pinewood Road called 'Inn in the Park'. We were about 10 minutes early and so quickly strolled down the Branksome Dene Chine Road to see if we could see/hear any firecrests - given the short time available we dipped on that, as I had last time I was there. Worth a try though.
After a very nice lunch we jumped back into the car and made for RSPB Arne and arrived to find the car park quite full but the overflow still empty and closed. We popped on our walking boots and set off to make a circuit of Coombe Heath. As we climbed onto the heath proper, we started to appreciate why the boat trip had been cancelled - a stiff blustery wind blew although it was still quite warm. There were few birds around on the heath and it was only at the watchpoint looking over the estuary that we started to see gulls, common tern, little egret etc. Of course, my objective up hear was to catch up with a Dartford warbler but it was starting to sink in that the weather might not be conducive. We spotted some meadow pipit and then dropped down to the screen overlooking the inlet - the tide was out but on the turn. The only birds to add were shelduck and some distant Canada geese. A horsefly buzzed passed and landed on the fence - a big brute.
We climbed up to the heath and as we reached the end of the tall gorse I heard an encouraging call - a Dartford warbler - it only called once but as I turned round I saw it hop across the branch of a small bush - I raised my bins and caught it just before it flew off and away from us - a year tick but only the briefest of views. Perhaps I'd get another. We looked back down the slope to see a spoonbill fly across and down the channel - it landed and was visible but distant. We moved on spotting more mipits but nothing of any consequence. The mipits were busy provisioning their nest and were very keen to lead us away - we took our cue and moved on.
It was approaching time for the Visitor Centre to close and so we dropped in to have a cup of coffee as it was going to be a long day. As we sat the rain started, and then stopped as fast as it had started - that was as much as we'd get. As they started to close up, we set out again and headed to the Middlebere Lookout. On the way we stopped at a gate and joined a lady listening to calls above our heads - spotted flycatchers. We saw some birds flitting about, but these were mostly chaffinch and not the source of the calls - again we only had the briefest of views and then the individual flycatcher we'd located was gone.
We looked out from the screen to find that the water had risen and that there was virtually nothing on the water - across the water were four curlew and to our left were a lovely coloured male linnet on a wire fence, with a female. We stopped for a while but eventually decided to make another circuit of Coombe Heath. From the bottom path we stopped to listen to a calling Dartford warbler but it never showed - it was eventually drowned out by a calling chiffchaff in a tree to our right.
We retraced our steps and started our circuit in the opposite direction to before and had another encounter with the mipits. At the viewpoint we didn't have any repeat of Dartford warlber and on the estuary found a sleeping spoonbill and five warders which from distance I'd guess were black-tailed godwits - without a scope I couldn't be sure and it will have to go down as unknown. As we walked a woodlark rose, sang and dropped.
By the final viewpoint we decided to sit and look at the view - we watched a fox on the far side, sika deer and a bird that dropped in behind us. It looked a little strange for mipit but I'm assured that it is what it is - I recorded the call - the photos have very dark to black legs which I found strange - live and learn.
We eventually repaired to the car and ate our sandwiches, waiting on the sun to start dropping. Time passed slowly and so we jumped out the car and made our way along Hyde's Heath Trail and found our first stonechats of the day. The light was getting low, and the photos were never going to be anything but records shots. Where were they on Coombe's?
We reached the spot we would later be looking for nightjars and looked around for any roosting birds - as expected with no success. Three grey herons flew by and the odd swift fed over. We'd return later but for now we headed back to the car park. We walked along the road and heard some commotion as three ravens approached. I took a photo of one of the ravens and realised that it was in fact two ravens mobbing a buzzard. It then became apparent that it wasn't just any buzzard, it was a honey buzzard! Amazingly I got a photo although in the moment I couldn’t remember if I had.
A car passed by and flushed the buzzard from a tree ahead and they stopped and jumped out a couple of times to try and relocate the bird - unsuccessfully.
We met the couple from the car coming the other way and confirmed all our suspicions of the buzzard's ID. I knew I recognised the chap and confirmed that he was indeed also a member of the Banbury Ornithological Society - who'd have thought it.
We met again at the spot we’d wait for nightjars, chatting as the sun set. It was getting late - the sun had been down for a good ten minutes when our companions went for a walk further along the trail. We waited and watched as they returned not ten minutes later - they stopped and pointed as a nightjar started to 'chur'. A bird left the trees and I photographed it against the sky - it was the start of a number of birds calling, leaving the trees and fluttering around - frustratingly it was so dark that getting a focus lock was damn near impossible on the moving subjects - it was hard to keep our eyes on them at all. One of the birds fluttered to and onto a tree branch, picked out by Charlotte - I took a couple of photos not expecting much.
It was now 10.15pm and we had to leave to check into our hotel back in Bournemouth. A tawny owl was seen in the reserve car park. Despite the wind it had been a good day with two year ticks, woodlark and honey buzzard.
We started Sunday with a cooked breakfast in the hotel and then made our way over to Weymouth and the RSPB Lodmoor reserve. It was a nice reserve but mainly dominated by the viewpoints by the coast road and the colony of terns - there was one sandwich tern amongst the commons.
We then made for RSPB Radipole where we managed to get a brief glimpse of two flying bearded tits. The wind was playing havoc and we left without any decent views or a photograph.
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