Dorset Walks

Walks on Portland - wildlife highlights for 2016

last year's walks . . .

Friday December 30th Kingbarrow Quarry - Admiralty Quarries In absolutely gorgeous weather, warm sunshine and no wind, we walked east from the hotel to the edge of Kingbarrow Quarry. From here we could just about make out the resident little owl sat on a rock in the sun, no doubt dozing comfortably. Next was the High Angle Battery and then through Admiralty Quarries to the lookout near the Incline Road engine sheds. The view was beautiful even though the fog on the mainland meant that we could see no further than Worbarrow Bay. Below us on the East Weares some of the introduced British Primitive Goats could be seen. Our route back took us past Fancy's Family Farm where we added significantly to the day's mammal list.	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio click for larger image
The day's list: birds: Little Owl, Chaffinch, Cormorant, Buzzard, Kestrel, Great Blacked Gull, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit, Raven, Stock Dove, Wren, Robin, Magpie, Chiffchaff mammals: British Primitive Goat, Dwarf Goat, Normal Goat, Tasmanian Wallaby
Friday December 23rd Tout Quarry - Bowers Quarry - Inmosthay Our target today was a) to find the huge "cylinder stone" on the Westcliffs and b) to remain upright in spite of the ever-increasing wind from Storm Barbara. From the cliffs we could see a number (8) of gannets blown close inshore and a larger number (13) of fulmars settled on the cliffs. We soon found the stone in question, which already had a visitor who proceeded to tell us all about its history as an artistic sculptural installation dating back a mere 30 or so years. Walking back along Wide Street we found a remarkable of plants in flower, listed below. The day's list: birds: Gannet, Cormorant, Razorbill, Kestrel, Mediterranean Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Fulmar, Meadow Pipit, Raven, Stock Dove, Wren, Magpie, Jackdaw plants: winter heliotrope, bristly ox-tongue, smooth sow-thistle, tall fescue, yarrow, alexanders, dandelion, gorse, red valerian, field speedwell, carline thistle, black knapweed, hawkweed ox-tongue, daisy, annual mercury, annual meadow-grass, cocksfoot, red dead-nettle, red clover, ragwort	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Friday December 16th Eastcliffs - Cheyne - Southwell Stood in the Heights Hotel car park in completely calm conditions we were very surprised to see very rough waves breaking onto Chesil Beach. Reaching the Eastcliffs we were amazed at the size of the breakers coming in from a southerly direction. Out on the Shambles Bank standing waves of enormous height were appearing every minute or so as the swell hit the shallow water. On the right is the satellite photo of the North Atlantic for today showing the storm in mid-ocean which presumably was the source of the waves. On the cliffs the male peregrine was on his usual perch, with both ravens nearby. Less expected was the very bright male pheasant in the field just east of Southwell village. The day's list: birds: Gannet, Cormorant, Common Scoter, Kestrel, Peregrine, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Fulmar, Rock Pipit, Guillemot, Razorbill, Raven, Pheasant plants: winter heliotrope, bristly ox-tongue, sea spleenwort	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio North Atlantic Satellite image - click for larger version
Friday December 9th Hamm Beach - Ferrybridge With Portland Harbour finally starting to fill up with wintering seabirds we decided to have a look at the southern section, taking advantage of the shelter the island provided from the southerly wind. One of the best birds seen in this area recently was the male goldeneye, which we were pleased to find very quickly along with red-breasted mergansers and a great crested grebe. Less expected (although uncannily predicted by one of us) was the kingfisher that we watched fishing from the rocks overlooking the shallow edges of the harbour. Moving on to Ferrybridge we found all the usual birds such as oystercatchers and bar-tailed godwits but surprisingly not a single brent goose. More waders were found at the edge of the car park where there was a flock of dunlins and turnstones along with a beautiful grey plover. Heading back to our coffees at the hotel we had to make a unscheduled stop when a flock of six goosanders appeared fishing close in off Hamm Beach. The day's list: birds (26 species): Great-crested Grebe, Little Egret, Shag, Cormorant, Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Goosander, Kestrel, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Oystercatcher, Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Dunlin, Turnstone, Kingfisher, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Starling, Rook, Carrion Crow, Raven, Linnet	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Grey Plover - click for video
Friday December 2nd Blacknor Taking advantage of the recent spell of calm weather we walked out to the very exposed heights of Blacknor Point, taking in the WWII searchlight site on the way. A pair of peregrines were found as soon as we reached the cliffs, also taking advantage of the calm weather by sitting out in unusually exposed positions on the sheer cliff-face. A pair of kestrels were soon added to the list, with the female seen to take and eat a small dark animal, probably a field vole. Carefully walking round Blacknor Fort we finally found the day's main target when a fulmar passed below us to join another circling round their main colony on the cliffs near Bower's Quarry. Sadly they were all much too far away to photograph so the bird pictured here is from a previous visit. The day's list: birds: fulmar, oystercatcher, cormorant, meadow pipit, stonechat, peregrine, kestrel, great black-backed gull, goldfinch, diver spp, pied wagtail plants: wild cabbage, bristly ox-tongue, red fescue, hogweed, alexanders, cow parsley
Friday November 25th Chesil Cove A beautiful sunny day but the cold easterly wind suggested that we ought to look for the very smart male black redstart that has been seen recently down at Chiswell. We never found it but one of the group did see a female bird. The "highlight" of the morning came when the strandline produced a pair of long-deceased wings, which on closer inspection turned out to be from a bittern! The day's list: bittern (dead), cormorant, shag, meadow pipit, rock pipit, black redstart, stonechat, raven, kestrel, great black-backed gull, buzzard, common gull, sparrowhawk	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Friday November 18th Penn Weare With a viciously cold north-westerly wind blowing across the hotel car park we decided to walk the old railway line under the Eastcliffs. It was much warmer in these sheltered conditions but we did have to put up with a few sharp showers. The male peregrine normally makes us walk all the way to Grove Point before he shows himself but today he was much more co-operative and gave us good views sat on the cliffs above the cutting at Shepherd's Dinner. The female was at her usual perch but unusually flew to join her mate on the cliffs. The best bird of the morning though was a a very close black-throated diver flying north along the shoreline. The day's list: blackbird, great tit, robin, peregrine, chaffinch, kestrel, black-throated diver, buzzard, common gull, chiffchaff	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Friday November 11th Tout Quarry - Inmosthay In beautiful calm and sunny weather we walked out to the Westcliffs to check on the state on the rockfall. As the photos below show it has not changed significantly since we checked back in February. As last week we found a surprising number of plants still in flower. Not many birds were about but we did find a female black redstart in Tout and several flocks of starlings were moving north overhead Looking across into Kingbarrow Quarry we could see what might have been a little owl, or a stone. The day's list: birds: stonechat, robin, dunnock, linnet, chaffinch, kestrel, black redstart, blackbird, buzzard, starling others: bunny, red admiral flowers: tall fescue, dandelion, gorse, fuchsia, wood sage, wall rocket, field speedwell, carline thistle, small scabious, rough hawkbit, bristly ox-tongue, yarrow, marjoram, storksbill, herb robert, daisy, burnet saxifrage, smooth sow-thistle, red valerian, red clover, viper's bugloss ferns: maidenhair fern, wall-rue, hart's-tongue	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio November 2016

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio February 2016

Friday November 4th Weston Craft Centre - Avalanche Hump A very wet day so we spent more time standing under sycamores than actually walking, Noticed a surprising number of plants still in flower and a few insects still flying. The day's list: birds: stonechat, robin, dunnock, linnet, chaffinch, kestrel, chiffchaff, blackbird, song thrush, redwing others: grey squirrel, red admiral, wasp, greenfly flowers:Annual Mercury, Bristly Ox-tongue, Ragwort, Cotoneaster, Ivy, Melilot, Purple Toadflax, Mayweed, Smooth Sow-thistle, Spear Thistle, Red Clover, Viper's Bugloss	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Friday October 7th Kingbarrow In a north-easterly wind the birding wasn't easy today but there was plenty about with a constant stream of pipits, wagtails and finches heading south over the island. Quite a few song thrushes were bombing about as well, along with several wheatears. Birds of prey were plentiful today with the star sighting being a hobby passing through. We also had a very interesting chat with the Dorset Wildlife Trust team that were busy clearing the scrub from Withies Croft, a site we will visit often from now on to see how it develops. The day's list: red admiral, bunny (killed by a bull terrier!), hobby, buzzard, kestrel, skylark, stonechat, chiffchaff, pied wagtail, meadow pipit, stock dove, wheatear, linnet, goldfinch, siskin, song thrush	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio click here to see the full video on YouTube!
Friday September 30th Portland Bill For once we achieved our stated target and had good, if brief, views of the long-staying wryneck in the Obs Quarry. Two little owls were also there, and far more amenable to being watched than the wryneck. We also found lots of meadow pipits on the Eastcliffs, along with a few rock pipits and wheatears. The day's list: wryneck, little owl, gannet, shag, kestrel, skylark, stonechat, meadow pipit, rock pipit, raven, wheatear, linnet	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Wryneck (photographed last week)
Friday September 16th Suckthumb Quarry - Coombefield On a bright, sunny but fresh autumn morning we explored the paths between Weston and Southwell in search of some of the rare migrants such as wryneck and ortolan bunting that have been seen there recently. We didn't find any of course but we did see lots of common migrants such as whitethroat, blackcap and wheatear. The highlight though was the lovely small copper pictured here. The day's list: birds: house martin, buzzard, kestrel, chiffchaff, whitethroat, blackcap, wheatear insects: red admiral, small copper, speckled wood, silver Y	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Small Copper
Friday September 2nd Barleycrates Lane - Westcliffs We absolutely never cancel a walk but the weather was so miserable on the Westcliffs today that we did cut short our walk and retire a bit early to the much drier surroundings of the Heights Hotel for a coffee. However this was not before we had seen a few birds including kestrel and peregrine. Not a single photo was taken so the image on the right is one from a previous September! The day's list: kestrel, peregrine, dor beetle (dead), pygmy shrew (also dead), autumn ladies tresses (at the hotel)	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Autumn ladies tresses
Friday August 26th Grove Point One of the group had never seen an adder so we went straight to the engine sheds at The Grove and showed her the huge female adder that has been there for at least ten years. Nearby three of the ten Portland goats were sunning themselves on the old firing range. We then had a really very pleasant walk in absolutely gorgeous weather enjoying unusually clear views across the bay to the Isle of Wight. The day's list: birds: swallow, buzzard, kestrel, peregrine, willow warbler, fulmar, stock dove insects: large white, green-veined white, meadow brown, holly blue, common blue, wall, red admiral, painted lady, speckled wood plants: autumn ladies tresses (at the hotel), longleaf, red bartsia	© Kay Mantripp/Nature Portfolio Adder
Friday August 5th Penn Weare Our final search to find a Portland dark green fritillary was unsuccessful again but we were pleased to see lots of fresh chalkhill blues and even fresher common blues. We were also delighted to prove breeding for both peregrine and kestrel and most likely fulmar as well. The morning's highlight though was a huge privet hawkmoth caterpillar that lumbered across the path in front of us. The day's list: birds: swallow, buzzard, kestrel, peregrine, sparrowhawk, fulmar, raven insects: marbled white, meadow brown, chalkhill blue, common blue, gatekeeper, red admiral, painted lady, privet hawkmoth, mint moth, silver y, rose chafer, bloody-nosed beetle plants: maidenhair fern, clematis, pyramid orchid, carline thistle, buddleia	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Privet Hawkmoth
Friday July 29th Broadcroft Quarry Another fruitless search for dark green fritillaries but still a very pleasant walk in beautiful weather. The list below shows the great variety of butterflies that were out today but can only record a fraction of the huge diversity of flowers that were out today in this fabulous reserve. The day's list: birds: swallow, buzzard, stock dove reptiles: slow-worm, adder, common lizard insects: marbled white, meadow brown, ringlet, small skipper, large skipper, small blue, chalkhill blue, common blue, gatekeeper, red admiral, peacock, six-spot burnet moth, great green bush-cricket, grey bush-cricket plants: hawkweed ox-tongue, great hairy willowherb, wayfaring tree, yellow-wort, clematis, ivy broomrape, broad-leaved eyebright, pyramid orchid, stemless thistle, carline thistle, buddleia	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Ivy Broomrape

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Female Gatekeeper

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Great Hairy Willowherb

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Yellow-wort

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Female Common Blue

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Pyramidal Orchid

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Lesser Centaury

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Carline Thistle

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Ivy Broomrape

Friday July 15th Westcliffs - Tout Quarry - Inmosthay Another cold and breezy start at the Height's Hotel but even so the weather was kind enough to allow a walk along the Westcliffs to see the progress of the cliff fall. After this we walked into Tout Quarry and fortunately the sun came out and we stated seeing insects, including the first chalkhill blue and graylings of the year. The day's list: birds: raven, kestrel, wren reptiles: common lizard insects: marbled white, meadow brown, ringlet, small skipper, large skipper, chalkhill blue, grayling, red admiral, chalk carpet, crescent plume, Crambus perlella, Ichneumon suspiciosus, summer chafer, swollen-thighed beetle, bloody-nosed beetle, harvestman plants: Autumn gentian, melilot, buddleia, eyebright, pyramid orchid, squinancywort, purging flax, common centaury, field madder, ploughman's spikenard, marjoram, wild thyme, small scabious, stemless thistle, restharrow, whitebeam

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Bloody-nosed Beetle

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Chalk Carpet

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Crambus perlella

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Ichneumon suspiciosus

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Ringlet

Friday July 8th Eastcliffs at Southwell With a cold breeze blowing low cloud across the Height's Hotel car park we decided to decrease latitude and altitude by dropping down to Southwell where it was much brighter. Walking along the cliffs we found a huge range of wildlife including some good birds (a family of peregrines), rare reptiles (wall lizards) and some very beautiful insects (see photos). The day's list: birds: raven, kestrel, peregrine, rock pipit, gannet, cormorant, swallow, linnet, goldfinch, guillemot reptiles: common lizard, wall lizard insects: marbled white, meadow brown, gatekeeper, ringlet, small skipper, large skipper, lulworth skipper, common blue, rose chafer, swollen-thighed beetle, bloody-nosed beetle, Roesel's bush-cricket, speckled bush-cricket, great green bush-cricket, crescent plume-moth, cinnabar moth, clay (moth), carder bee plants: melilot, buddleia, weld, agrimony, rock samphire, eyebright, spear mint, pyramid orchid, sea spleenwort

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Marbled White

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Conopid Fly

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Speckled Bush-cricket

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Lulworth Skipper

© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio Crescent Plume-moth

Friday April 8th Barleycrates - Reap Lane It's never a good idea to name your target so it wasn't really surprising when we failed to see wheatear or ring ouzel in spite of much searching at one of the top sites on the island. We did see several swallows as well as our first house martins and willow warblers of the year so it was certainly not a waste of time. The day's list: birds: raven, kestrel, willow warbler, chiffchaff, skylark, meadow pipit, stonechat, wren, house martin, swallow, linnet, goldfinch, great tit, fulmar insects: small white, buff-tailed bumblebee, red-tailed bumblebee, carder bee	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Friday April 1st Portland Bill Starting at Portland Bird Observatory we arrived just in time to see the Warden, Martin Cade, remove a robin and a chiffchaff from the mist-nets. Moving on the the Observatory Quarry we enjoyed excellent views of the resident little owl whilst being serenaded by several skylarks singing overhead. Next we crossed the Admiralty Slopes to the Westcliffs where we found the ledges well-occupied by all the expected resident seabirds. The day's list: birds: raven, rook, kestrel, sparrowhawk, buzzard, chiffchaff, skylark, meadow pipit, sand martin, swallow, linnet, goldfinch, little owl, guillemot, razorbill, shag, cormorant, gannet, kittiwake, fulmar insects: peacock	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Friday March 25th Broadcroft - Silklake Our main target today was the rare Widow Iris that grows in Broadcroft Quarry. After a long search we managed to find a patch of them but sadly all the flowers had gone over. So we carried on looking for migrants and eventually found a chiffchaff - just the one! Our searching also turned up the first lizard of the year and a very attractive patch of coltsfoot. The day's list: birds: raven, kestrel, sparrowhawk, buzzard, chiffchaff, wren, song thrush, stonechat, starling reptiles: common lizard plants: widow iris, leyland's cypress, coltsfoot, willow, reed, primrose, spanish bluebell	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio
Friday February 19th Tout - Inmosthay - Kingbarrow We started with a walk along the Westcliffs to view the current state of the landslip which for some years has meant that the cliff-top path has had to be diverted. The birdlife was very active here this morning with a pair of kestrels and no less than four ravens indulging in some spectacular aerobatics just above our heads. As if this wasn't enough a peregrine glided past as well. We then walked through Tout Quarry, through the tunnel to Inmosthay and on to Kingbarrow before returning to the hotel. The day's list: birds: raven, kestrel, peregrine, jackdaw, carrion crow, meadow pipit, chaffinch plants: maidenhair fern, horseshoe vetch	© Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio

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