Dorset Walks

Walks on Portland - wildlife highlights for 2015

last year's walks . . .

Friday December 18th Southwell As often happens when we go out looking for a particular bird, the short-eared owl that has been seen at Sweethill for the last few days didn't show up. But we did see a few birds and quite a list of plants still flowering in the unseasonably warm weather. The day's list: birds: raven, kestrel, sparrowhawk, buzzard, chiffchaff, guillemot, stonechat, robin, wren insects: honey bee plants: red valerian, bristly ox-tongue, common hogweed, winter heliotrope, greater periwinkle, wild parsley (not flowering)	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Monday November 9th Penn Weare The path under the Eastcliffs gave us some shelter from a very windy day, but the weather still kept most of the small birds well-hidden. The peregrines weren't bothered though, and both male and female gave us excellent views. The day's list: birds: shag, raven, kestrel, peregrine, water rail (heard), gannet, chiffchaff, stonechat, robin, wren insects: red admiral plants: maidenhair fern ships: RFA Fort Rosalie, Weymouth Lifeboat	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Friday October 30th Southwell A damp but very warm day that coincided with a large number of migrants landing on the island. Most were goldcrests and chiffchaffs but there was also one very special rarity from Siberia - a Pallas' warbler. So we drove off to Southwell on our own mini-twitch to see if we could see this little eastern gem. Of course we never found it but we did get a very good view of a short-eared owl, which definitely made up for not seeing the rarity. The day's list: birds: shag, raven, kestrel, buzzard, short-eared owl, brambling (heard), chaffinch, goldfinch, chiffchaff, blackcap, goldcrest, song thrush	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Friday September 11th Westcliffs - Tout Quarry The car park at the Heights Hotel was the best place today to witness a remarkable migration of swallows and house martins, coming through at a rate of about 2,000 birds an hour. After a quick look at the autumn ladies tresses on the hotel lawn we had an unsuccessful search for migrants on Old Hill. Then a careful look at the recent cliff-fall on the Westcliffs and onto Tout Quarry where several wheatears were the first grounded migrants seen. Walking under Wide Street into Inmosthay we had the find of the day - a previously unnoticed and very large colony of maidenhair fern. The day's list: birds: gannet, raven, kestrel, wheatear, sand martin, house martin, swallow, goldfinch plants: autumn ladies tresses, maidenhair fern, ploughman's spikenard, carline thistle, burnet saxifrage, Japanese knotweed	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Friday September 4th Topfields - Culverwell After last week's successes around the west side of the Bird Observatory recording area we decided to look at the northern edge starting at Southwell Business Park and walking through the Topfields towards Culverwell. Two species dominated today, robin and wheatear, both of which were to be seen pretty much everywhere we looked. Just a few common butterflies were out but some of the speckled woods were particularly fresh. The day's list: birds: raven, buzzard, kestrel, stock dove, wheatear, robin, blackbird, whitethroat, stonechat, willow warbler, swallow, linnet, goldfinch, great tit, blue tit insects: common darter, meadow brown, gatekeeper, holly blue, small white, speckled wood, red admiral plants: autumn ladies tresses, fumitory, flax, hoary plantain, centaury	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Friday August 28th Westcliffs - Topfields - PBO A breezy day with a rogue shower that caught us out as we were at the most exposed part of the walk, but mostly pleasant to be out after a week of heavy rain. A few migrants were about but it was the numbers of birds of prey that stood out - mostly made up of adult birds with their recently-fledged young. The day's list: birds: raven, lesser black-backed gull, oystercatcher, buzzard, kestrel, peregrine, stock dove, wheatear, whitethroat, stonechat, meadow pipit, swallow, linnet, goldfinch, great tit butterflies: meadow brown, gatekeeper, common blue, small white	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Friday August 14th Ferrybridge Today was so wet that we decided to search the Ferrybridge mud-flats from the comfort of the Chesil Beach Centre. Whilst sipping coffee we watched the rare sight of an adult curlew sandpiper feeding just outside. Families of dunlins and ringed plovers were running around on the shoreline whilst out on the mud-flats common terns arrived and left. The day's list: birds: pied wagtail, common tern, swallow, ringed plover, dunlin, curlew sandpiper, turnstone, sanderling, ruff, bar-tailed godwit, redshank	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Friday August 7th Tout Quarry A beautifully warm, calm and sunny day to explore the quarry just across the road from the hotel. The first few yards of our walk produced several graylings and dozens of chalkhill blues. We soon added common blue to the list and then a host of species quickly followed, with the highlights being wall brown and small blue. We finished the morning with no less than 14 species of butterfly, all in a very small area in the northern end of the quarry. The day's list: birds: kestrel, raven, buzzard, willow warbler, whitethroat, goldfinch, linnet butterflies: common blue, chalkhill blue, small blue, small skipper, small white, large white, marbled white, meadow brown, ringlet, gatekeeper, wall, grayling, painted lady, red admiral other insects: summer chafer, six-spot burnet, mint moth Pyrausta aurata plants: autumn gentian, wild carrot, wild thyme, carline thistle, viper's bugloss, burnet saxifrage	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Female chalkhill blue

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio carline thistle

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio grayling

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio small blue

Friday July 31st High Angle Battery At last a calm sunny day so in these beautiful conditions we walked east along New Ground to the Victorian gun emplacents. Butterflies were out in enormous numbers, mostly gatekeepers but also lots of chalkhill blues as well. We were particularly pleased to be able to compare three species of skipper at close quarters. However the rarest sighting was a winged female Roesel's bush-cricket. A returning migrant willow warbler was an expected sighting but the young wheatear was very early. The day's list: birds: kestrel, raven, wheatear, willow warbler, stonechat butterflies: common blue, chalkhill blue, lulworth skipper, small skipper, large skipper, large white, marbled white, meadow brown, ringlet, gatekeeper, peacock other insects: summer chafer, small green lacewing, Roesel's bush-cricket, six-spot burnet, silver y, mint moth Pyrausta aurata plants: meadow vetchling, pyramid orchid, wood sage, viper's bugloss, burnet saxifrage

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Roesel's bush-cricket

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio small skipper

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Lulworth skipper

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio large skipper

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio female chalkhill blue

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Pyrausta aurata

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio gatekeeper

Friday July 24th Portland Bill In outrageously wet weather I decided to brave it out and do a seawatch at the Bill. Actually I stayed in the van and did the seawatch from the car park but with gannets diving into the sea just off the rocks it was a good place to be. Unusually there were waders passing as well with a whimbrel over the Common and turnstones and dunlins flying east past the Bill. The clear highlight though was a dark-phase arctic skua chasing what looked very like a black tern. The day's list: birds: gannet, arctic skua, fulmar, shag, dunlin, whimbrel turnstone

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio

Friday July 17th Eastcliffs at Southwell Cool and breezy for the third week in a row but the westerly wind allowed us to walk in comfort under the shelter of the Eastcliffs. As usual at this site we started off looking for reptiles and soon found a good number of wall lizards including a large adult male along with several adult females and a few juveniles. Switching to butterflies we had most success in the more sheltered spots and were pleased to see a number of fresh common blues, most of which were very small. The chalkhill blues were of course all very fresh, this being the first day of the year that this species has been out in numbers. We did not expect to see many birds but the sight of the adult pair of peregrines sat right next to each other was completely unprecedented, as males of this species normally keeps well away from the much larger female. The day's list: birds: kestrel, peregrine, buzzard, raven, linnet butterflies: common blue, chalkhill blue, lulworth skipper, small skipper, large white, marbled white, meadow brown, ringlet, gatekeeper, red admiral, painted lady other insects: swollen-thighed beetle plants: Portland rock sea-lavender, pyramid orchid, wild thyme, viper's bugloss, melilot, strawberry clover, fennel

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Young linnet

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio wall lizard

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio female common blue

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio male common blue

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio male chalkhill blue

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Lulworth skipper

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio red admiral

Friday July 10th Merchant's Railway Yet another cool and breezy day but in beautiful bright sunshine so it didn't matter too much. Walking along the railway track we disturbed literally hundreds of marbled whites, with good numbers of meadow browns and gatekeepers and a few ringlets, small heaths and both small and large skippers. Just a few birds were seen, the highlights being a family of whitethroats and a close raven feeding on the grassy slopes. But for me the most memorable sighting was spotting a distant harebell growing on Verne Common. The day's list: birds: kestrel, whitethroat, raven, stock dove, wren, swift, goldfinch butterflies: common blue, large skipper, small skipper, large white, marbled white, meadow brown, ringlet, small heath other insects: silver Y, emperor dragonfly, summer chafer plants: greater knapweed, pyramid orchid, wild thyme, viper's bugloss, ivy broomrape, harebell, black mustard, red valerian, false brome	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Marbled White on Greater Knapweed - click for larger version
Friday July 3rd Tout - Inmosthay - Kingbarrow During 2015's first heat wave Portland was, as usual, very breezy and a bit on the chilly side. So we sought the shelter of Tout Quarry and were immediately surrounded by flowers and butterflies. The most numerous insects here though were the summer chafers which were bumbling around all over the place. Walking through the tunnel under Wide Street we entered Inmosthay Quarry where there were hundreds of Pyramid Orchids in full flower. The highlight here was a very early chalkhill blue, pictured right. Leaving Inmosthay we crossed Easton Lane and walked into Kingbarrow. An inquisitive hummingbird hawkmoth flew very quickly round us then disappeared even faster. The resident little owl was eventually found, looking very tanned this morning. Or more likely faded. The day's list: birds: kestrel, whitethroat, little owl, stock dove, robin, wren, swallow, swift butterflies: chalkhill blue, common blue, dingy skipper, large white, large skipper, marbled white, meadow brown, ringlet, small heath, small skipper, small tortoiseshell, speckled wood moths: cinnabar, speckled yellow, silver Y, hummingbird hawkmoth, scarlet tiger other insects: 7-spot ladybird, hover-fly, summer chafer plants: teasel, pyramid orchid, wild thyme, viper's bugloss, ivy broomrape, wild privet, broad-leaved eyebright	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Friday May 29th Old Hill - Kingbarrow Quarry - Waycroft Quarry - Admiralty Quarry - Independent Quarry - Little France Quarry In a vicious south-westerly we explored the sheltered paths under the northern slopes where we found lots of flowers but very few birds. Most notable here were the shining cranesbills (a species - not a description!). Then on to the steep gullies of Kingbarrow where there were many examples of over-sized plants taking advantage of the mild and calm conditions, such as the huge sow-thistles and enormous nettles (descriptions not species!) Finally we walked through Independent and on to Little France, finding an introduced shrub that was probably a type of cockspurthorn, a relative of hawthorn. Nearby was another exotic plant, possibly neapolitan garlic. The day's list: birds: buzzard, chaffinch, greenfinch, whitethroat, blackcap, stock dove, wren plants: Brackish Water Crowfoot, Bush Vetch, Cocksfoot, Cotoneaster horizontalus, Cotoneaster simonsii, Cow Parsley, Germander Speedwell, Great Mullein, Herb Robert, Maidenhair Spleenwort, Meadow Vetchling, Milkwort, Prickly Sow-thistle, Quaking Grass, Red Fescue, Rough Meadow Grass, Shining Cranesbill, Smooth Sow-thistle, Tall Fescue, Teasel, Three-cornered Leek, Upright Brome, Wayfaring Tree, Yellow Vetchling	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Monday April 10th Merchant's Railway - Naval Cemetery A cold east wind had us sheltering under the ramparts of the Verne Citadel, where the warm sun made for very pleasant conditions indeed. The birds thought so too and we soon had good views of several goldfinches and willow warblers and a brief view of a redstart. Reaching the north-facing slopes of the Verne Common another redstart was found, this time a beautiful male perched in the sunshine. Nearby was a pair of stonechats. The Naval Cemetery showed us the best views yet of a third male redstart along with a few more willow warblers. None of these were photographed but I did get this shot of a herring gull in the cemetery. The day's list: birds: chaffinch, goldfinch, willow warbler, redstart, dunnock, stonechat, wren insects: peacock, small tortoiseshell, buff-tailed bumblebee	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Monday April 3rd Portland Castle Thick fog at the hotel this morning but down at sea level visibility was much better. Initially there was very little to see and in particular the black guillemot we were hoping for was not visible at all. The mergansers were very smart though, including the pair in this photo. Then the sun started to break through and the migrants started to arrive. First were the swallows that appeared just in front of us heading north low across the waters of Portland Harbour. Then a couple of chiffchaffs turned up in the trees in the castle gardens. Finally we moved across to the Sailing Academy where we found 3 or 4 wheatears on the shoreline and a similar number of sandwich terns out in the harbour. The day's list: birds: grey heron, oystercatcher, sandwich tern, red-breasted merganser, swallow, wheatear, chaffinch, goldfinch, chiffchaff	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Monday March 2nd Penn Weare On a very blustery day we had a most pleasant walk along the old railway line in the shelter of the Eastcliffs. Both male and female peregrines were seen along with about 20 fulmars and some very rare ferns. The day's list: birds: gannet, shag, fulmar, great black-backed gull, common gull, oystercatcher, peregrine, sparrowhawk, great tit, goldfinch, chiffchaff, raven plants: maidenhair fern, sea spleenwort, harts-tongue fern, wallflower insects: buff-tailed bumblebee	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Friday February 20th Portland Castle - Officer's Field A report of an outstanding adult male black redstart had us hurrying down to Castletown and hunting out the no entry sign that it had been seen on. We soon found it and discovered that it was not on its own but had a female black redstart and a male stonechat for company. In the harbour we had grreat views of displaying mergansers and our old friend the black guillemot. The day's list: black redstart, stonechat, blue tit, great tit, pied wagtail, raven, kestrel, black guillemot, razorbill, red-breasted merganser, cormorant, shag	© Kay Mantripp/Nature Portfolio
Friday January 2nd Governor's Garden - Shepherd's Dinner After a freezing end to 2014 it was really nice to walk along the cliffs in warm sunshine today - we even saw a butterfly! The fulmars were out in force, with probably as many as 10 wheeling around under Grove Point. Other birds included a buzzard and a raven in Yeoland's Quarry and a very confiding pair of meadow pipits on the cliffs above Penn's Weare. The day's list: fulmar, kestrel, buzzard, raven, meadow pipit, peacock (?) butterfly	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio

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