Last week Stu L and I set off at 05:30 on Thursday to attend the Royal Naval Birdwatching Society’s spring weekend to Portland, and en route we stopped at first the New Forest (Cuckoo and Tree Pipit) and then Swineham Gravel Pits to ‘twitch’ the first-summer Bonaparte’s Gull. It’s a site that neither of us had visited before and we enjoyed a productive anti-clockwise loop of the reserve. To our good fortune the Bonaparte’s Gull was showing on our arrival at Bestwall Water. Also present nearby was a partial summer-plumaged Spotted Redshank, four Greenshank and a self-found, by Stu, male Garganey. Garden Warbler was also a year tick for both of us.
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| Garganey, Swineham Gravel Pits – 2 May 24 |
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| Bonaparte’s Gull, Swineham Gravel Pits – 2 May 24 |
After a pitstop at the local Sainsbury’s for some lunch we continued on our way stopping for a loop around RSPB Lodmoor (Yellow Wagtail, Bar-tailed Godwit and Bearded Tit) before finally arriving at the Bird Observatory.
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| Bar-tailed Godwit, RSPB Lodmoor – 2 May 24 |
Good birding,
Tony T BSc (Hons) GeoSci (Open)
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