A morning stroll around Lankham Bottom looking for winter thrushes, plus recent walks into Yeo Valley and a visit to Sutton Bingham
Weather; a crips autumn morning, clear sky but quite cold with a NE wind.
Lankham Bottom or Lankham Coombe, is a huge nature 'bowl' of chalk downland, grazed by cattle and is primarily a butterfly nature reserve run by Dorset Butterfly Conservation. It is found 8 miles south of Stoford along the A37 towards Dorchester. The habitat of scattered hawthorn bushes and clumps of bramble is also a great place to look for wintering thrushes and passing migrants.
a view into Lankham Bottom - a photograph does not give you the full depth of the 'bowl', the buildings in the base of the bowl belong to the water board - a pumping station. I have always fancied seeing a Black Redstart down there, but so far, no!
Today I spent just an hour walking along the nothern ridge and down into the 'bottom' with the sun behind me, it was a beautiful morning with good light.
A pair of Green Woodpeckers were the first birds I encountered, they dash about ahead of me and I managed a couple of distant shots of the female.
Green Woodpecker
Blackbirds were in good numbers and one or two Redwings flew off at speed. I hid alongside a bush for about twenty minutes and hoped for the thrushes to return. I managed good views of the woodpeckers again, also a Song Thrush and more Redwings.
Green Woodpecker again
Song Thrush
Smaller passerine sightings included: Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Yellowhammer, Linnet, Robin, Wren and Dunnock. The sky was always full of Jackdaws and Rooks enjoying the windy conditions in the morning sun. A few Gulls passed over but I never saw a single bird of prey.
On the way back up to the top of the ridge I bumped into a Mistle Thrush (my fourth thrush species), three Skylarks flew over calling and a bunch of Meadow Pipits flew off, bouncing along the ridge. In the shleter of the steep slope it felt quite warm in the morning sunshine and I spotted two Red Admirals that obviously felt the same.
Sutton Bingham - 18th October
My most recent visit to my local reservoir produced very little I'm afraid. The main footpath from the car park to the southern end is closed for hedge cutting/laying so views of the water are rstricted to the main causeway and the car park itself.
Great Spotted Woodpecker in the car park at Sutton Bingham
Apart from all the local dodgey ducks I saw good numbers of Canada Geese, 17 Wigeon, a single Lapwing and a single Common Sandpiper. (another birder noted a Cattle Egret after I had gone). The adult Yellow-legged Gull was still present but other than that it was pretty grim out there.
Common Sandpiper
Birds in the car included a mixed 'tit-flock' Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Goldcrest.
Yeo Valley: 15th, 16th, 20th October
I have taken several walks into the valley adjacent to our flat. On the 15th October I saw my first Redwing of the Winter there. The usual birds were also on site: Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, Blue,Great, Coal and Long-tailed Tits, Chiffchaffs and a large number of 'released' Pheasants. (by-the-way, my local tame Pheasant, Fez, hasn't returned this Autumn, so I presume he has migrated to the fields of gold in the sky!.
Looking into Yeo Valley from our garden
A small flock flock of Siskins were seen on the 15th October, my first for the winter, Skylarks and finches were regular fly-overs and a flock of some 20+ Meadow Pipits were be seen on the grassy slope of 'Rook Mountain'.