Birding The Nothe

Diary 2003

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30 September: A stiff southerly wind this morning produced the seabird goods in the form of a dark Arctic Skua in the bay: an excellent year-tick, and the second skua species of the year. Also present were two Common Scoter, a Razorbill, the first Shags of the autumn, and an overflying Peregrine. Year list to 105 spp.

A Wall Brown - the second record - finds a French loaf to its taste, 29 September 2003. Perhaps a continental immigrant?

29 September: A visit on a warm late morning produced some excellent butterfly records including the first record of Small Copper, and the second record of Wall Brown - two were courtship-flighting on the landslip making this also the first multiple and potentially the first breeding record. 44 Small White were a record max. and two Clouded Yellow were also of note. Two Buzzards reported on 26 September were both the third record and the first multiple record for the site, and new for the year. Year list to 104 spp.

Meadow Pipit on the south slopes, 28 September 2003

28 September: A fine autumn morning with plenty of Meadow Pipit movement - 49 counted included a dozen or so feeding actively on the southern slopes. 10 Chiffchaff and 11 Pied Wagtails were year maxima and a Kestrel over the fort - a regular but scarce autumn sighting - was a year-tick. Year list nudges up to 103 spp.

Dawn over Purbeck, 25 September 2003

25 September: A lovely dawn but little movement in the light south-easterly wind.

23 September: Clear and cool this morning, with much movement overhead and plenty that got away, ie three small waders somewhere up there near the edge of space. House Martins considerably outnumbered Swallows, with 32 in the first hour or so the best numbers since 23 Sep 2000, and Meadow Pipits - with 46 noted - the best numbers for two years. Nine Pied Wagtails were also a year max.

22 September: Showers and the first signs of a good Atlantic south-westerly this morning failed to bring much into the pier apart from a few Gannets past. But two Kingfishers there were perhaps surprisingly the first multiple record.

Rock Pipit, 20 September 2003

20 September: Quite a busy morning, with, for example, Robins reaching a year max of 16, and Rock Pipits going into double figures for the first time this autumn, but without any real sense of movement. Great Tits reached a record max of 11, a Garden Warbler was the first of the autumn, as was a single Kingfisher by the pier, and a Little Egret flew north. Red Admirals were all over the trees again with a count of 86 not quite reaching the record levels seen earlier in the month.

Turnstones on the pier beach, 17 September 2003

18 September: Very promising overcast conditions failed to produce any migrants apart from a Wheatear on the south rocks. However two Curlew on the south shore were the first multiple record for over three years, and and the first I can actually remember landing here. Turnstones reached double figures for the first time this autumn.

17 September: Quietly does it again, though Meadow Pipits continued to move in small nos. Red Admirals showed a good count of 46 in the warm sunshine.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth - 2003 has been a superb year for them in Dorset and apparently all over Northern Europe.
First record for The Nothe was on 9 September 2003

15 September: Not a lot happening on this fine clear morning, though there was a year max of nine Chiffchaff on a typical date. The first real Meadow Pipit movement, and a few Grey Wagtails were going over.

13 September: A change to SE wind and high pressure produced some interest, with 37 spp. including a 1st-w Mediterranean Gull in Newton's Cove settling all too briefly before flying off east. Two Little Egrets were on the south shore, again chased off by the early dog-walkers. Odd flyovers included the first Sparrowhawk of the autumn, three Rooks, and two Yellow Wagtails which were a welcome year-tick. A better Swallow passage, with over 50 through in the first two hours. Year list to 102 spp.

10 September: A showery morning produced a few Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs and a single Whitethroat. Seawatching looked potentially good, but the wind was too far round to the west, and there were just three Gannets close in to the pier.

9 September: The Rose-ringed Parakeet was again present first thing this morning and more Swallows were going through. The first record of Hummingbird Hawkmoth and second of Comma were both reported from the Tavern lawn buddleias at lunchtime.

Rose-ringed Parakeet, 8 September 2003 - the second record, and first to settle

8 September: A Rose-ringed Parakeet first thing was probably the same bird as seen earlier this year, but was still only the second record, and the first to land. Countable or not, it is a handsome creature! A juv. Arctic Tern was with seven Sandwich and two Common Terns in Newton's Cove, and there were a few Swallows starting to go through.

Oiled Guillemots off the Stone Pier, 6 September 2003

6 September: Again quiet on the land, but Hobby flying rapidly to the south first thing was an excellent year-tick and only the second record. A Curlew low over the south rocks was the second this year. A oily-calm sea off the pier produced, sadly, two oiled Guillemots and one corpse. With an Arctic Tern reported off the pier on 4th, the year list passes the ton, to 101 spp.

4 September: A Little Egret on the shore was the best of the birds this morning, but more impressive were the record max 95 Red Admiral butterflies counted on the trees - rather eclipsing the previous max of 19 noted last week! Several trees held more than a dozen - an impressive sight. A Velvet Fiddler Crab on the pier - possibly dropped by a gull, but very much alive and pincing - was a first record.

3 September: Calm and overcast conditions promised a good morning for land migrants, but in the end it was the sea that stole the show with a Black Tern coming in off the sea, and lingering off the pier with the Common Terns for a while. A long-expected Nothe tick, and my 155th species for the site, the year list going to 99 spp. Migrants on land were varied but not numerous - singles of Redstart, Whitethroat, Wheatear and Chiffchaff were joined by two Spotted Flycatcher and four Willow Warbler. Nine Grey Wagtail over were the best numbers for nearly three years.

28 August: Masses of gulls in Newton's Cove on the offerings brought up by the continued easterly wind, but nothing untoward on the sea generally. The high tide had brought several Sea Slaters on to the walkway as well as masses of 'seaweed flies'. The land was better for birds today, though, with four Willow Warblers, and one each of Spotted and Pied Flycatchers, the latter a year-tick. Year-list to 98 spp.

Painted Lady : a record 31 counted on 24 August, mostly on Buddleia	Red Admiral : a record 19 counted on 25 August, mostly around the poplar trees, but beaten by a staggering record max 95 counted on 4 September

25 August: Much fresher this morning, and not so many insects about except for a record max 19 Red Admirals. Birdwise quiet generally, with just a Common Sandpiper on the shore, and single Willow Warbler and Spotted Flycatcher on the land.

Female Argiope bruennechi, the "Wasp Spider": note the distinctive 'ladder' on the web behind the right front legs.

24 August: Sunny, warm and muggy with few birds but masses of insects and Argiope bruennechi pictured above. A Clouded Yellow butterfly was new for the year as were several Migrant Hawker dragonflies, and a Long-winged Conehead bush-cricket. But most striking were the numbers of some lepidoptera, with uncountable nos of Silver Y moths in the long grass areas - a record max 82 noted on the usual circuit. Also in record nos were Small White (28), Painted Lady (31) and Rush Veneer moths (22). Birds quiet again, but four tit species were unusual, the first Turnstone was back at the pier, and the first Wheatear of the autumn was on the south rocks.

22 August: A quiet overcast morning, with a late Fulmar in Newton's Cove the only bird of note.

19 August: Nice fresh sunny morning with waders including a year max. of five Common Sandpipers and a year-padder in the form of a Ringed Plover flying over. The late auk run continued with both Guillemot and Razorbill off the pier. Quiet on the land with Coal Tit and Green Woodpecker still keeping the woodland theme going. Butterfly-wise, Green-veined White was a year-tick and 11 Painted Lady a record max. Bird year-list to 97 spp.

12 August: Any grouse present were wisely keeping their heads down this morning, as were most other birds in the heat - but a Tree Pipit was a predictable August flyover and a year-tick to take us to 96 spp. Insects were more in evidence, with what must be thousands of Syrphus balteatus hoverflies on the north side, and a record max 12 Silver Y moths.

10 August: Positively hot even at dawn on what turned out to be the hottest day on record in the UK. Two Common Sandpiper were flying about, with a juv Green Woodpecker on the south side. A flyover Grey Wagtail was perhaps surprisingly a year-tick - but it is usually a late-year bird here with most gone by around New Year. Year-list to 95 spp. The tavern lawns held several Rush Veneer moths, probably migrants, with a record max 10 noted.

7 August: Refreshingly cooler in the overcast misty conditions this morning after the hot days recently. A Dunlin on the pier rocks was a nice paddy sort of year-tick bringing the list to 94 spp, accompanied rather oddly by a Meadow Pipit. Two Coal Tit were on the top with five Willow Warblers, with two Common Scoter, three Gannet and a year max of 33 Common Tern off the pier. Most remarkable here and in the harbour were six Guillemot, equalling my personal max seen on the more predictable date of 29 Dec 2001.

5 August: Muggy with showers, and only a Whimbrel on the shore of note.

Link to Diary 2002