Biking Birder Rides Again 2015

Friday 13 th February An unlucky day, Friday the 13 th ? Well torrential rain followed by a gale in the face didn't start things off too well. Mind you I do love a wild sea and that was definitely what was hitting Dawlish Warren beach when I had a very optimistic look there for the dipped on Bonaparte's gull there after breakfast. The next piece of bad luck as another inner tube breaking as I was going downhill into Teignmouth. Something is going on here but I can't figure out what and I will be buying a new tyre etc when I reach a=the next cycle shop. Two cars stopping to ask whether I needed assistance was nice. On reaching Labrador Bay RSPB reserve I pushed the bike around muddy fields before heavy rain had me retreat to a nearby barn. From within the dry confines I could watch the few birds around and saw a female cirl bunting on a hedgerow opposite. Bird number 143 for the year and a difficult one out of the way.   Cycling through Torquay and off ...

Thursday 12 th February A day searching for an American gull, a Bonaparte's gull at Dawlish Warren ended without seeing this rarity but at least by dark I had met some great people and seen three year ticks. The year ticks included the difficult to get water pipit. Also year ticks were red-throated divers and guillemot. Other birds seen during the day were red-necked and black-necked grebes and watching a wader roost at high tide is always a thrill.  Talking with two local birders, Dave and Dave was great; Dave being a very opinionated birder and Dave being a Frank Zappa fan, like myself. Due to the same name problem I called the first Dave Bob. Now are there any keen birders who haven't heard of the famous Richard Millington? Well back in 1979 Richard saw over 300 birds albeit as a carbon twitcher. It is his book, A Twitcher's Diary that many a birder has read. Now my journey is to emulate that achievement by green means and meeting his Aunt, Hazel a...

Wednesday 11 th February The day started with a scoot along the wonderful new cycle path around from Topsham to Dart's Farm in the dark. On arriving at the hide where I was hoping to quickly see the reported penduline tits, it was a tad disappointing to see two dogs running through the small reed bed! Six hours later the penduline tits were there on bullrushes; a very special bird to add to the year list. During the long wait I had seen two chiff chaffs that repeatedly went around and around the reedbed, two stonechats, around 800 brent geese, two little egrets, three black-tailed godwits, 36 curlew, three grey herons, a meadow pipit and a fly over black swan! So at 1.40pm I made my way to Goosemoor and Bowling Green RSPB reserves, meeting the delightful Judith at the latter in the brand new hide, the RSPB staff member there. Then it was off through Topsham and onto the cycle path to Matford Marsh RSPB reserve. Next to Exminster Marshes RSPB reserve, le...

Tuesday 10 th February Away from Beer Youth Hostel after the hearty (well the amount must affect the heart) breakfast, I cycled to Aylesbeare Common RSPB reserve. Well it was mostly like yesterday with a mixture of cycling and pushing up hills. They weren't as severely steep as yesterday. Even getting to the reserve was a push.  After I had photographed the RSPB signs and noticeboards, I photographed a group of RSPB staff who were burning a small area of old gorse. I tried to make the photos look as though they were engulfed by the flames. I went the other way to these hard workers, trying to see dartford warblers in an area where The Birding Clams had seen them last year. No luck, just a few pished goldcrests. I then explored down in the valley. Still no birds, well except a wren and a crow. It was then up to say hello to the workers. Richard, the assistant warden coordinating the burn told me their names. He also asked me whether I knew of Venn Ottery RSPB rese...

Monday 9 th February  Goodbye to Claire and Craig at Wilton Geuest House and around the harbour to get to Nothe Forst. Immediately a female black redstart flew in front of me. Great start to the day, new year list bird, it was soon joined by a smashing male. After photographing these I went along the sea wall path and saw a close kingfisher, a grey wagtail and a chiff chaff. After such a glorious morning of birding in fabulous sunny and windless weather, the cycling journey took over the day with hill after tortuous hill and white-knuckle ride downhill stretches. A stop for lunch at Abbotsbury preceeded the first of these 'mountains', a long push which was rewarded with meeting two lovely ladies, Julie and Pippa. They had enjoyed the view of not only Chesil Beach stretching into the misty distance but of me struggling up the hill. Pippa runs a business selling native artefacts from Africa and it was lovely to have a chat with them both. I saw them on a couple...

Sunday 8 th February A fabulous scoot of a ride from Wool to Weymouth started the day and I was soon birding around Lodmoor RSPB reserve. I had had a quickish look in at Osmington Mills for the Richard's Pipit that hadn't been reported for the last couple of days but I didn't find it. Circumnavigating the Lodmoor reserve I found snipe but little else. Next it was off to Radipole RSPB reserve, where I met a gentleman, Alan Parfitt, I had last seen on Fair Isle when I was on the Biking Birder 2010 tour. He remembered a lot of details of what had happened that week that I was there and we talked for a while before a photograph was taken of myself with all the RSPB staff. A new bird for the year was on the island adjacent to the visitor's centre, adult mediterranean gulls taking the year list up to 134. Around to the concrete bridge to meet an old friend, Sid. Sid the hooded merganser had arrived at Radipole a number of years ago as a 1 st year bi...

Saturday 7 th February What an absolutely fabulous, brilliant day! It all started with dawn over Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour as seen from the hide overlooking Shipstall Point on Arne RSPB reserve. A group of four ravens were then mobbed by a very vocal peregrine and as the tide was coming in 3 spoonbills flew onto a sandbank close to the saltmarsh edge fronting the hide. Walking around to Shipstall Point itself, the views across to Poole were stunningly beautiful and the number of spoonbills had increased to 9. Walking up to the viewpoint there, masses of memories from when I used to live in nearby Swanage came to me as I named each island and headland presented in front of me. Brownsea Island, Middlebeare, Brand's Bay would be around that bend, the ferry at Sandbanks; all of these places had given me immense nature moments, treasured moments. The area where a dartford warbler had buzzed me the evening before gave me very quick views of one again but no c...