Birding The Nothe Diary

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2004

JAN

FEB

MAR

AUG

OCT

NOV

DEC

31 March: Two birds this morning neatly illustrated the value of The Nothe's strategic position in attracting species from different habitats in the area. The first was a winter adult Kittiwake - from Portland Bill or further out at sea - in Newton's Cove and later at the end of the pier. Shortly afterwards a Canada Goose flew by heading SW - no doubt from Lodmoor or Radipole Lake. With steadily burgeoning numbers of the latter around Weymouth, it was inevitable that it would soon find its way on to my Nothe list - both a Nothe tick for me and only the second record. My 157th species for the site, with the year list going to 68 spp.

30 March: Clear and cold first thing with just three Rooks and a Sparrowhawk to report.

Wary Little Egret dog-watching on the south shore, 26 March 2004

26 March: Not much doing in the really cold north-easterly, although a few Meadow Pipits were going over, joined by another unusual spring Grey Wagtail. A Little Egret was briefly present on the south shore before the dog-walkers arrived, and year-tick of the morning was Jackdaw, with three over making their first spring appearance on a typical date. Year list to 67 spp.


Immature drake Eider in Weymouth Bay, 24 March 2004		Drake Red-breasted Merganser in Newton's Cove, 24 March 2004

24 March: A good morning for wildfowl in the cold northerly wind and sunshine: as well as year maxima of Mallard (21) and Shelduck (four, including two on the rocks), the two imm. drake Eider were back in the bay, and at last a pair of Merganser showed up in Newton's Cove. The latter were a good just-in-time year-tick - they usually show up in February for a few days, and push off fairly quickly. The Black Redstart was still present, and qualifies as the latest spring record. Year list to 66 spp.

23 March: Another spring record max 11 Chiffchaffs and a Small Tortoiseshell were enjoying the sunshine and shelter on the south side this morning.

22 March: Two Sandwich Terns were the first of the spring this morning, but with an earlier winter record this year weren't a year-tick; that honour went to a flyover Rook, which took the year list to 65 spp. The female Black Redstart was still present, equalling the latest record in 2002, and Wrens were much in evidence, with a spring record max 18 counted, including a record 13 singing males.

19 March: The wrong sort of gale this morning - a little too much westerly in it to bring birds into the bay. A few local stayers were stirred into flight, including the two immature drake Eider and two Common Scoter, but not worth getting wet for..

18 March: Foggy again, and with rather insistent rain, but birds still moving. Two fine male Wheatears were trying to find shelter on the end of the pier, while Chiffchaffs increased to nine - a record spring max - and several with black pollen. Six Goldcrests were the best spring nos since 2001. Today's year-tick was a Redwing, making a useful winter thrush double-whammy in consecutive days. Year list to 64 spp.

17 March: A drizzly and very foggy start hampered birding on an otherwise promising morning. Goldcrests and Chiffchaffs increased to six apiece, with at least one of the latter having black acacia pollen around the bill indicating a fresh arrival from the south. A Fieldfare chacking from the top lawn poplars was the best of the morning, an excellent year-tick and the first since spring 2002. Year list to 63 spp.


Female Wheatear on the south-east rocks, 16 March 2004		Lifeboat to the rescue, 16 March 2004

16 March: Real spring at last, with birds on the move, including four each of Goldcrests and Chiffchaffs, one of the latter in song, year maxima of 13 Oystercatcher, 23 Meadow Pipit, 19 Mallard, and two female Wheatear on the south-east rocks - new for the year - together with the female Black Redstart. Also of note on an all-action morning were a lifeboat rescue in the bay, and the first tramp of the year (plus dog) on the harbourside bench. Year-list (excluding vagrants) to 62 spp.

Back on station: Moorhen, 13 March 2004

13 March: Nothing new on a fine and mild morning, but the Moorhen was back at the lifeboat station.

5 March: Misty, calm and mild again, with a useful year max of 34 spp this morning, including Super-max portions of Collared Doves (a record max of 18) attracting a passing male Sparrowhawk.

4 March: A sudden change to mild, damp, calm and misty conditions got the birds going into breeding mode today, with the Mallard gathering up to 16, much Blackbird activity and plenty of birdsong. A Red-throated Diver in Newton's Cove was a welcome year-tick, given the rather poor showing on the sea so far this year. Year list to 61 spp.

2 March: A hard frost and probably the coldest night of the year so far, but little on the move this morning. Two imm. drake Eider flying in and settling in Weymouth Bay were nice year-ticks though, the year list reaching 60 spp, 11 days ahead of this mark last year.

1 March: A sunny afternoon was pretty quiet with just a Sparrowhawk over and the male Black Redstart on the south-east rocks of note.

Snow on the gorse, 27 February 2004

27 February: Snow was lying for the second time this year, but it again failed to produce any goodies, apart from a Guillemot new for the year. Year list to 59 spp.

25 February: Two Little Egrets flying over before sunrise were a good reward for getting out early on a crisp morning. A Grey Wagtail on the south shore was an unusual late winter record - they are usually mostly gone by January. Both were year-ticks and moved the year list on a couple of notches to 58 spp.

24 February: Sea not quite flat as a pancake today, but nonetheless much calmer, and with two Shelduck in Newton's Cove new for the year. A Small Tortoiseshell reported yesterday was the earliest on record, and surprising considering the recent cold snap. Year list to 56 spp.

22 February: A deliberate attempt to year-tick Lesser Black-backed Gull amongst the many gulls heading into the biting north-easterly wind today took about 15 minutes before an adult flew by. Year list to 55 spp.

19 February: Quite an ordeal being out on the pier in a cold, bracing north-easterly, but an adult Mediterranean Gull overhead was the reward for persistence.

18 February: A very quiet morning despite the calm conditions, with only the male Black Redstart of note.

13 February: Calm overcast conditions produced masses of bird activity today with plenty of finches and pigeons in evidence, the latter including another record max 14 Collared Doves. Four Meadow Pipit on the south rocks were the only evidence of any migrants, but there was a good selection of settled winter birds including male and female Black Redstart and a Chiffchaff on land and three Great Northern Diver and five Common Scoter in the bay. Two Mute Swans heading for Lodmoor were the first year-tick for many days, the year list going to 54 spp.

More butterflies reported in sunshine on 11th, with several Painted Lady and the earliest ever Peacock.


Painted Lady, 9 February 2004 - the earliest butterfly recorded		Low tide, but no birds, 9 February 2004

9 February: A gloriously sunny spring-like afternoon and shelter on the south slopes was enough to attract one of the current influx of Painted Lady - the earliest date for any butterfly on The Nothe. Quiet bird-wise despite the promising low tide, though 18 Turnstones were a encouraging total.

5 February: Still wet and very mild, with a Great Northern Diver in the bay and Chiffchaff on the south scrub. Reports over the last few days include two Firecrest on the north side on 2 Feb and Blackcap, two Chiffchaff and Black Redstart by Newton's Cove on 1 Feb.

31 January: Standing behind the wooden hut on the pier in a south-west gale and rain, anorak-clad, and writing down birds as they went past seemed dangerously close to train-spotting, but was nonetheless entertaining, with single Kittiwake and Fulmar - the earliest on record - both new for the year, and 38 Great Black-backed Gulls in an hour - the most since New Year's Eve 2000. The year list goes to an excellent end-of-January total of 53 spp.

30 January: A return to Atlantic weather today, with SW wind and rain. Three Brent Geese going west were new for the year, as was an early report of a Sandwich Tern in Newton's Cove yesterday. Year list leaps the half-century to 51 spp.

A rare covering of snow, 29 January 2004

29 January: Yesterday evening's snowstorms and the sharp overnight frost were, disappointingly, not enough to produce any cold weather birds today, but even a light dusting of lying snow is a rare enough sight on The Nothe. The Moorhen was still in place on the pontoons, and Collared Doves were much in evidence, with a new record max of 14.

Hoping for rescue? The Moorhen and its unlikely habitat - the lifeboat station pontoons.
Possibly the same bird as seen in December, which was the first record for the site

27 January: Dull and cold, but with a Nothe tick for me in the form of the Moorhen still hanging round the lifeboat station. Possibly the same bird as the first record seen on 16 Dec 2003: my 156th species for the site. A Peregrine took off from the fort walls and became the first certain record on the land here, while a Grey Heron on the south shore was a year tick to give 49 spp for the year.

25 January: A Firecrest and fem/imm Black Redstart were present again on a calm, spring-like morning. Nine Common Scoter in Weymouth Bay were a year max.

A Moorhen reported in the harbour on 21 & 23 Jan (together with two Coot on 23rd) was new for the year - year list to 48 spp.

Fem/imm and adult male Black Redstarts, 18 January 2004

18 January: A superb sunny morning with a light frost and very light northerly wind didn't really live up to its promise, with just four Razorbill new for the year. A Peregrine flew across the bay on to the breakwater, and two Black Redstarts and a Chiffchaff were on the south shore. Year list to 47 spp.

Great Crested Grebe off the pier - one of a year max of seven, 15 January 2004

15 January: A lovely sunny start to the morning produced a good count of 34 species including Slavonian Grebe in Newton's Cove, Great Northern Diver in Weymouth Bay, a Chiffchaff along the south shore and eight Mallard, the latter new for the year. Seven Great Crested Grebes were the highest count so far this year, while a Black Redstart fem/imm continues to frequent the rocks below the fort. Year list to 46 spp.

14 January: A remarkable 17 Shag were in the bay, with no less than eight of them on the fort rocks - a record bunch on land - the most in total since 1 Nov 2000, and similarly following a few days of south-west and westerly gales. Both male and fem/imm Black Redstart were present on the pier beach and south rocks. while the Long-tailed Tit flock made its first appearance of the year.

10 January: A very mild morning with birdsong, the first bumblebees and lots of 'seaweed flies', the latter being enjoyed by the female Black Redstart on the south-east rocks. New for the year were a Coal Tit, a male Blackcap with House Sparrows around garden bird feeders, and, best of the bunch, a Coot at the end of the harbour pier - the first since 4 Apr 2002. Also of note today were up to four Meadow Pipits on the south slopes (perhaps they think it's spring), and a very welcome return of the Turnstone flock in decent numbers: today's count of 23 is the highest since 26 Apr 2002, and hopefully indicates that these have decided to come back after the seawall works disturbance.

Two Firecrest were reported later, with three Black Redstart in Newton's Cove.Year list stands at 37 spp.

9 January: A blustery afternoon, with just two Shags in the bay new for the year. A Meadow Pipit on the south-east rocks was a good winter land record.

2 January: Cold and clear, with a bitter north wind this morning, but the smart male Black Redstart was showing well on the rooftops of Newton's Cove. A Meadow Pipit was an unusual winter flyover, and both Little and Great Crested Grebes were still sheltering in the harbour. Year list on 32 spp.

1 January: A good start to the year as the wind went round to the north-west earlier than expected, leaving the south side sheltered enough for a fem/imm Black Redstart in Newton's Cove. Weymouth Bay had a Slavonian Grebe, and, remarkably, three rather distant Gannets - by definition the earliest ever, but these are by far the earliest - there has only been one other January record.