Dorset Winter New Year Tour - Weymouth

 ​January 6th - 9th 2023

£520 per person based on two people sharing a twin/double room. Single supplement £90

Leader: Bob Buckler

Group size: maximum 6.

WEYMOUTH AND THE SURROUNDING AREA

This 4-day tour, based in Weymouth, concentrates heavily on wintering hot-spot locations of many birds in this beautiful south coast county. Birds we shall look for include several rare species as well as regular migrants. On Portland regular wintering species include: Firecrest, Yellow-browed Warbler, Black Redstart, Purple Sandpiper, Short-eared Owl. Whilst at Ferrybridge, Portland Harbour and the fleet we can look for Grebes and Divers, Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser and perhaps an unusual Gull, Tern or Wader.

Purple Sandpipers are regular winter residents on Portland

For two years (2017/18) a Lesser Yellowlegs has made Lodmoor its winter-home and last autumn (2018) a Ring-necked Duck resides at Radipole Lake. The 'Fleet' ( a series of brackish pools sheltered from Lyme Bay by Chesil Bank and stretches from Ferrybridge all the way to Abbotsbury Swannery) usually houses Greater Scaup, sometimes Long-tailed Duck and plenty of Brent Geese which often have Pale-bellied Geese in the flock with them. Cattle Egrets have made a massive invasion of Southern England in recent times, there have been recent flocks of over 90 birds in the Weymouth area (Autumn 2020).

Add to that the prized birds that we can look for at Arne and the Wareham Forest. The heathland at both of these beautiful birding sites holds Dartford Warbler, Common Stonechat and Woodlark, and both have the prospect of hosting a wintering Great Grey Shrike and Hen Harriers, whilst Merlins can often be seen.

                                          Short-eared Owl taken on Portland

Wareham Forest is an excellent site for finding Yellowhammer, Woodlark, Goldcrest, Common Crossbill, Woodpeckers, Siskin, Redpoll, Mistle Thrush and a host of common woodland species. Whilst Arne has the added prospect of seeing Pied Avocet, Godwits, Eurasian Spoonbill, Grebes and Divers as we scan Poole Harbour from various locations around Arne and Studland Bay.

 

The prime locations on the trip's itinerary are:

  • RSPB Radipole Lake 
  • RSPB Lodmoor
  • Weymouth Bay
  • Portland Harbour, Ferrybridge, The Fleet
  • Portland and Portland Bird Observatory
  • Wareham Forest
  • RSPB Arne

Day 1 - if combined with the Somerset Tour of the 2nd - 5th January you will be transported by minibus down to Weymouth with some birding along the way otherwise:........

We meet up around noon at our superb Guest House which is just a minute's walk from Weymouth's Sea-front.  For the afternoon will shall spend time at Radipole Lake looking for Bearded Tit, Cetti's Warbler and many species of gulls and ducks. Recently (autumn 2018) the pre-roost gathering of gulls has attracted Franklin's Gull, Ring-billed Gull amongst hundreds of Mediterranean Gulls.

Days 2- 4

We shall visit all the sites named above and a few more thrown in, our itinerary for days 2 - 4 depends entirely on the weather, bird movements and the discretion of the guide. Rest assured you will have a fantastic time visiting Portland, Ferrybridge and the Fleet, RSPB Arne, Wareham Forest (and heathland) and Lodmoor Nature Reserve.

Franklin's Gull with Mediterranean Gull at Radipole Lake Autumn 2018

 

 

Day 4

A morning’s birding at one of the local reserves if time permits, transport to Weymouth Train station

What’s included in the price:

  • 2 full days and two half-day guided birding trips (depending on arrival and departure times)
  • 3 nights accommodation with en-suite facilities in a good quality 3 star guest house
  • Breakfast & Dinner, beginning with dinner on day 1 and ending with breakfast on day 4
  • All land-transport.
  • All entrance fees, tolls, fuel, parking charges
  • A checklist of species – expect to see around 115-130 species
  • An evening bird-log

What’s not included:

  • Transport to/from Weymouth, Dorset (unless you take the combination New Year Tour - Somerset 2nd - 5th and Dorset 5th - 9th, in which case you have the option of a fee transfer from the Somerset Levels).
  • Travel insurance
  • Lunches
  • Tips/Gratuities
  • All Items of a personal nature such as telephone calls, alcoholic drinks, soft drinks and snacks

FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND TO BOOK THIS TRIP PLEASE EMAIL: 

info@wingspanbirdtours.com

or call us on 01935-426152, International +44 1935-426152

Check for availability - click the link below and then scroll down to the Dorset Tour - "Remaining Places" are shown beneath the banner of each tour and are updated monthly               http://www.wingspanbirdtours.com/tours

Latest Trip Reports

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    The combined trip of the Somerset Levels and Southern Dorset worked very well, we logged 140 species noting all five species of Grebes and all three Divers. Great, Little and Cattle Egrets are now easy sightings in Somserset with Spoonbi...

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