Blog

A banner.full

MORNING VISIT TO ARABLE FIELDS NEAR OBORNE

WEATHER: cloudy with light showers, very light breeze. Temp 10C

This was a very quick jaunt out to the east side Sherborne on the road to Milborne Port to look for a couple of Grey Partridges that we seen yesterday by local birder Stephen Cartwright. Grey Partridge is now very uncommon in Dorset and Somerset and is missing from year list.

I had to turn off the main road and drive along a very narrow, single track lane for about a mile, I parked just the other side of a small hump-backed bridge which spanned the railway line.

I arrived just after 7am and set up my scope, Steve said to scan the fields for the bridge. I quickly found several Red-legged Partridges, a Pheasant, a Brown Hare and some Wood Pigeons. Then apair of Stock Doves landed at the far side of the nearest field and as I scoped them, I picked up the two GREY PARTRDIGES. They looked quite dull and grey in colour and I could not see any rufous belly-patch on either bird, but they were the real thing, probably female birds.

very poor record shot of the Grey Partridges

I watched them for about 30 minutes and they did not venture any nearer, so all I got was these very distant, blurred, photographs.

As I attempted to drive off my front-wheel drive car got stuck in the mud, the types would not grip and kept slipping. I spent another 30  minutes gathering sticks and stones to put under front wheels and if two dog walkers had not come along and pushed the car off the mud I think that I would still be there now!