After a couple of blank years (for me) it was nice to bump into this returning individual again on #BrownseaIsland whilst carrying out a bird survey with @studlandbirds.bsky.social. I imagine there aren't too many places in the UK where you can see Forster's Tern & WT Eagle on the same day 😃

Trying to 📷 today's agile, overhead Red-rumped Swallow at Radipole, Weymouth was always going to be something of a fool's errand. The autofocus on my Nikon P950 never seems to be quite up to the task (user blames tools 🙄). Cracker of a bird tho. Shout out to finder @remblax.bsky.social #DorsetBirds

A distant shot of today's lonesome Pale-bellied Brent Goose enjoying the sun (remember that?) + a snack on the Long Island, Poole Harbour sand spit. Nearby, 3 or 4 Firecrests were seen around the Middlebere cottages. Ace to hear lots of resident birds in full voice today. @harbourbirds.bsky.social

A smart adult Little Gull at Holes Bay, Poole this morning. One of my all-time favourite gulls, despite the dank and dreary weather. Again 🤨 @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

How it started 👍 How it ended 🤦‍♂️ White-tailed Eagle (adult) coming in to land at Arne Moors, Dorset. Also in the wider area: Goshawk, Merlin, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Kestrel. All told, a pretty decent morning for raptors. @harbourbirds.bsky.social #DorsetBirds

So, getting myself goretex'd up to the eyeballs for a 2nd look at the 'Ripley' Killdeer guaranteed not a single drop of the wet stuff. Hurrah! But, ever the whingeing birder, the direct sunlight conspired to thwart the hoped-for frame-filling photos 🙄😅 These were the best I could manage. #HantsBirds

It was an atmospheric scene from the Avocet Hide, #BrownseaIsland early this AM as I joined @studlandbirds.bsky.social for a wildfowl & wader counting session. Plenty of the usual suspects on the lagoon, plus a bonus Red-necked Grebe off south shore later. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social #DorsetBirds

At least 2 Bramblings in with the large mixed finch flock around stubble fields just N of West Morden Farm. Quite hard to pick out, plus they were fairly camera shy, as these record shots attest. Bitingly cold so I wasn't hanging around for better pics! 🥶. #DorsetBirds @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

@dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social #DorsetBirds

Pretty chuffed to find a drake Smew at Brand's Bay, Poole Harbour this morning. c 30 secs later @moorebirdsbybike.bsky.social picked up its redhead mate nearby! First drake in Dorset since one on this exact date in 2008, apparently 😯. Enjoyed/ticked by many local birders. @harbourbirds.bsky.social

There will be many better photos of the Tundra Bean Geese (at Arne Moors, Dorset) than these mediocre efforts. Nonetheless, having had my county list so rudely truncated a couple of days before Xmas due to the lumping of Teal & GW Teal, it was sweet to claw it back almost immediately 🖕😛 #DorsetBirds

A couple of pics of the WTE which overflew Lodmoor at around 12:20-12:25 today. No ring visible on either leg so I'm guessing that what I initially assumed to be ruffled feathers on the back is in fact a GPS/SAT transmitter, right? #DorsetBirds

Adult White-tailed Eagle just flew NE over #LodmoorRSPB reserve. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

A flat-out gorgeous visit to #BrownseaIsland this AM to survey the waders and wildfowl on the lagoon. Highlights: 980+ Black-tailed Godwits, 550+ Avocet, 300+ Euro Teal, 50+ Gadwall, plus loads more. Called into Poole Park on the way home to see some #plasticfantastic 😄 @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Just goes to show that decoy ducks can be handy at times 🤣 (Picture taken at Swineham GPs, Dorset back in Sept '25. Came across it again whilst tidying up my photo library this avo) #DorsetBirds

Initial vibe from this distant & fairly tatty Larid at #LonghamLakes this AM was of poss Caspian Gull. Pros: clean whitish head, dark 'beady' eye with little or no mask, neck shawl, pale underside to hand. Cons: stubby bill looks all wrong, barring on rump (tail shredded). Probs a pale HG or hybrid.

A still-fresh Comma butterfly was braving the chilly conditions at #Middlebere Nat Trust this AM. Later on at #ArneRSPB this Great Tit was drying off in the sun after a wash and scrub-up. Annoyingly my camera battery died shortly after finding a/the smart Brambling around the feeders there 🤦‍♂️

I've just been to the shoreline copse at Moonfleet. There is a Yellow-browed sp in there, flitting around in the canopy with 2 Goldcrest. Completely silent though, so I cannot be sure it's the Hume's. Seems likely though! Absolutely no phone signal down there.

Bittern seen in flight at 16:09h over #LodmoorRSPB. Dropped down into the reeds c50 m out from the western footpath and about halfway along. Plus the usual supporting cast of GWEs, Beardies, Cetti’s, Water Rails, Marsh Harrier, etc etc. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

The prospect of adding Goosander to my non-motorised list (+ some much-needed exercise!) lured me to undertake the 38mi round trip to Silverlake. 5 juv Goosander duly ✅. Several 100 large gulls would have merited close scrutiny, only I was w/o ‘scope 🙄. ☕️🍰 on the way home 😋🚴🏼‍♂️ #lowcarbonbirding

Baikal Teal still present among Teal flock in western embayment. @birdguides.bsky.social

My ongoing quest to see a Bittern at Lodmoor drew a blank for the umpteenth time. Compensation came in the form of this Glossy Ibis which came in to roost just after 6 pm, 3 Great Egrets, 1 Curlew Sand, 2 Hobbys dining on dragons, Marsh Harrier, several Beardies & 3+ Kingfishers. Nice! #DorsetBirds

Glossy Ibis dropped in to the Postbox Pool, Lodmoor at 18:04 @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social

Managed to fire off a handful of pics of this Pale or Helice-form Clouded Yellow on Purbeck (Dorset) y’day, before it inevitably flew off at breakneck speed. Annoyingly, unable to discern extent of black markings on upperwing. Inseparable on underwing markings, me thinks? @ukbutterflies.bsky.social

As a relative neophyte to the moth-bothering business it was quite a thrill to be pointed in the direction of my first Convolvulus Hawk-moth y’day. This monster specimen - about the length of my little finger - was resting up on the patio wall of the Portland bird observatory. #TeamMoth

Cornwall - 17,000 Dorset - 0 😫

Just had a v close Leach’s Petrel past Chesil Cove, viewed for at least 5 mins. Looks to be heading towards the bill. (3 Stormies this morning) @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social

One of my target Odonata species on a recent trip to East Sussex was Willow Emerald Damselfly. Woods Mill nature reserve, home of @sussexwildlife.bsky.social, is reputed to be a good site for them. It took me over 2 hours to find a few individuals, but this male posed nicely on its favoured perch.

Pleased to find 6+ Southern Migrant Hawkers along the R Ouse near Southease (E Sussex) during a recent visit. Having fired off dozens of pretty poor flight shots it was good to eventually stumble across a v smart perched male. Boots were duly filled! @britishdragonflies.bsky.social

This odd-looking dark-ish juv tern (right hand bird) seen briefly & distantly on Brownsea today. Initial thoughts were of Black Tern, but lack of obvs dark patch on side of breast, head markings, + similar size to nearby juv Cmn Tern, all seem to suggest that species 🤔 @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

100s if not 1000s of Chalkhill Blues at a parched Martin Down NNR today. They seemed to be everywhere you looked! Elsewhere a showy Brimstone posed nicely for the camera 👇. Avian interest in the form of Turtle Dove & Quail - both heard only. @ukbutterflies.bsky.social

Definitely not the high point of my faltering wildlife photography career to date, but you get the idea! Not easy holding a heavy Kowa ‘scope in one hand while trying to take a photo with your phone in the other 😆 (Note to self: must ALWAYS carry #1 camera with me 🙄) @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Durlston Head sea watch. Single Cory’s Shearwater west 10:50-11:00. Also 18 Manx, 5 Balearic. I’m guessing that the Cory’s will have been picked up later passing Portland 🙂 @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social

Three species of hairstreak butterfly at @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social Alner’s Gorse reserve today, including this lovely fresh Brown Hairstreak (a male, I think, tho not 100% sure). @ukbutterflies.bsky.social

Good numbers of Purple Hairstreaks flitting around the Oak tree next to the bench at the end of Cordite Way (Poole Harbour). Some of them are feeding on the lower branches hence good photo opps for those who are of a mind to. 🦋. Nice views of adult WTE over towards Arne. @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Purple Duo! One more photo from Knepp y’day, and perhaps one that I’m unlikely to ever capture again. Both of the UK’s purple-named butterflies in the same camera viewfinder. Purple Emperor at lower left, Purple Hairstreak at upper right. 🦋🦋😍 @kneppwilding.bsky.social @ukbutterflies.bsky.social

Pretty damn awesome to witness the Purple Emperor bonanza at @kneppwilding.bsky.social yesterday in perfect conditions. 30+ sightings of 20 or more individuals. Seeing & hearing my first Turtle Doves for several years was a nice bonus. V impressed with Knepp Estate - the landscape & the ethos 🦋👍

3 steps backwards for every 1 step forward. Seems like 400 will soon become the new 500 😆

Initial thoughts re this handsome critter were of a clearwing species. However, I can’t seem to match it with anything in my moth guide, so perhaps belongs to some other family. Any ID help appreciated, thanks. Photo taken y’day at one of the Shropshire mosses. #TeamMoth

Oh my days. Wout van Aert. Super-domestique GOAT. No question. 🚵‍♀️🐐💪 #giroditalia

Pleased to find a new DW territory on one of my lower grade BTO Heathland Bird Survey squares this a.m. Pair with young on the only patch of suitable habo (as clocked on 1st visit). Backup cast of Tripits, Stonechats, Y’hammers Cuckoos & (early?) SS Blues 🦋. Nice work! @btobirds.bsky.social

Good hair day, bad hair day. Durlston Country Park, Dorset, 22.5.2025. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Fascinating to watch this Common Clubtail dragonfly slowly emerge from its nymph stage over the course of c1 hour on the banks of the R Thames. Pics taken at T0, T10, T30 & T50 mins. As per custom it flew off to tree tops shortly after last pic. Amazing spectacle. @britishdragonflies.bsky.social

Veggie lunch for one rather adorable Brownsea Island resident yesterday 🦌☺️. As always, a pleasure for us volunteers to chat with so many kind (and generous) visitors to the island. @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social #WildBrownsea

Very distant flock of waders on Brownsea Lagoon y’day. Taken at extreme 🔍! c6 apiece of Dunlin & Sanderling, 1 of latter in near summer plumage, and 1 (2nd from R) with yellow ring on R tarsus & metal ring on L tibia. Dutch scheme perhaps? @dorsetbirds.bsky.social #WildBrownsea #DorsetBirds

Duke of Burgundy, Cerne Abbas, Dorset 6.5.2025 @ukbutterflies.bsky.social

I was somewhat envious of the hundreds of cyclists taking part in the 100 km IoW Randonee charity bike ride round the island. Maybe next year… 🚴🏼‍♂️⛰😳🥵

Pleased to complete the full set of commonly occurring British frits with the addition of Glanville Fritillary; half a dozen seen on Afton Down (Freshwater Bay), IoW yesterday. Pix show, I think, female and male examples. Sadly couldn’t capture the lovely undersides 🦋 @ukbutterflies.bsky.social