Pipit – Stephen's Wildlife

Durdle Door

I hope your week is going well. I took a break today from preparing Monday’s longer blog post and headed down to Durdle Door with Edd. We parked at Lulworth Cove and walked the 1 mile along the Coast Path to Durdle Door. We arrived at midday and the sun was peeping from behind grey cloud cover.

Man-o-war Bay is just to the east of Durdle Door in the direction of Lulworth Cove. The bay is named after the shape of thr rocks in the cove which are said to resemble warships of the 16th to 19th Centuries, known as Man-o-war.

As we were packing up I saw this rock pipit hopping along the path and I couldn’t resist switching lenses to my telephoto.

I hope the remainder of your week goes well and I’ll get back to finalising Monday’s longer blog post.

Saturday redeemed

Miggy, the cat, unimpressed with the flooded garden

It really did not look promising. The back garden was under water and the rain did not look like it was going to stop, ever. A pyjama day with the TV remote in one hand and a snack in the other was the most likely scenario. But, the forecast offered a glimmer of hope. Filled more with hope than confidence in the met office prediction my son and I headed out on a 20 minute drive to Stanpit Marsh.

We arrived and the rain stopped! A lot more of the nature reserve was under water than usual. It was difficult to see where the land finished and Christchurch harbour started. The light was both fascinating and challenging. There was cloud cover one moment followed by bright sunshine casting long shadows. Every photo needed a different set up and we were fighting with the controls all afternoon.

We were rewarded with a joyous two and a half hours of exploring the accessible parts of the reserve. We saw waders, egrets, herons, ducks, geese, pipits, wagtails, sparrowhawks, kestrels. It was noticeable too, I don’t think I imagined it, that the birds were noisier than usual.

Back at the car park we compared sightings with another birdwatcher. He used binoculars rather than a camera and was enthusiastic to hear what we had seen. He had seen a hen harrier, which we missed. We had both heard reports of a glossy ibis on the reserve, but neither of us got a sighting this time.

Satisfied, we got back in the car and headed home. We got as far as the first roundabout a few hundred yards and I had to turn on the windscreen wipers as the heavens opened again.

Pintail takeoff against a backdrop of redundant beach huts

Sparrowhawk causing panic among the smaller birds

Curlew landing – a very distinctive call

Male Kestrel – competing with the Sparrowhawk

Oystercatchers walking (do these birds fly?)

Oystercatchers flying (oh yes, they do – always together)

The Meadow Pipit

There are 2 million pairs of Meadow Pipit in the UK, but this is after a 40% recent decline. It breeds in upland moors and other open country. It can be seen perching on prominent plants.