Spring is not quite here yet, but it certainly felt like it today as the temperature reached 13.0°C. With bright sunshine and light winds, there were quite a few insects flying about, including my first Common DroneflyEristalis tenax and Yellow Dung FliesScathophaga stercoraria of the year.
I also added two more bird species to my year list with both Song Thrush and Greenfinch recorded in Broadcroft Quarry Butterfly Reserve, where there were also a pair of Stonechats overwintering.
Quite a few flowering plants were noted, with the following being either in bloom or about to burst into flower:
Alexanders Smyrnium olusatrum
Blackthorn Prunus spinosa
Common DaisyBellis perennis
Common DandelionTaraxacum officinale
Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna
Lesser CelandineFicaria verna
Meadow ButtercupRanunculus arvensis
Primrose Primula vulgaris
Wild CherryPrunus avium
Wild Garlic Allium ursinum
Below are a few photos from this afternoon:
A male Stonechat and his..............
...............mate overwintering in the butterfly reserve.
A few of the Hawthorns Crataegus monogyna are in leaf and this one I came across in Broadcroft Quarry Lane is about to flower.
This is the privately owned Piper PA-28-181 Archer III, registration N787CE, registered to Southern Aircraft Consultancy Inc. Trustee. It is on its way from Henstridge airfield (Somerset) to Guernsey. More on this aircraft here and here.
This is the British yacht "Zig Zag" making its way into Weymouth Bay. That is as much information as I could find on this vessel.
This was one happy dog, as Ted stretches those legs.
It was another good work out for my legs today, as I walked from Portland Bird Observatory down to the Pulpit Rock and then returned via the Obelisk, Red Crane and Hut Fields.
The purple patch was recording 13 Purple Sandpipers on the large exposed "flat" rock, to the east of the Pulpit. This is one of their favoured spots, however as it was low water, they could quite easily have been feeding at other locations around The Bill.
Other highlights were a lone Fulmar making its way east, past the obelisk and a Common Buzzard in the Crown Estate Fields. Both birds being firsts for the year.
Below are a few photos from my walk:
Just off the west cliffs here was this Grey Seal tucking into what was a very large Conger Eel
An adult Cormorant in breeding plumage
And the stars of my walk were these thirteen..........
An unusual title I know, but today I walked the furthest I have done since my heart operation back in November last year. With just a few spots of rain as I headed off, I wasn't going to be undeterred, as this was a bit of a milestone, walking just that bit further than my last effort.
And off course it also meant that I could tick off a few more bird species for my 2026 year list, which at the moment stands at a measly 39. I did add two more, with a Blue Tit and Wren, both seen along Old Quarry Lane, but I did think I might have ticked off more. Still there's 322 more days to go, so plenty of time. 😂
Other birds of interest were a Chiffchaff along Wakeham Railway Cuttings and a 2 Goldcrests tagging along with a small flock of Long-tailed Tits at the back of Church Ope Cove.
There were plenty of Snowdrops in flower, including the patch of SnowflakesLeucojum Vernum in their usual place in the grounds of St Andrew Church.
Other plants just coming into flower were:
Primrose Primula vulgaris
Alexanders Smyrnium olusatrum
Laurustinus 'Gwenllian' Viburnum tinus
Russian ComfreySymphytum x Uplandicum
Germander SpeedwellVeronica chamaedrys
Albanian SpurgeEuphorbia characias ssp
Hebe Veronica sp.
Here are a few photos from my walk
Today's walk
My first Wren of the year.
An Orange-bellied BristleshinPhaonia subventa on an Alexanders Smyrnium olusatrum
These areSnowflakesLeucojum Vernum
Hebe Veronica sp.
The sea was pretty rough today.
And judging by the size of these waves, I wasn't surprised to.............
..........see some very large drift wood up on the beach.
In fact past storms have taken there toll on this beach hut, which has been well and truly undermined by the rough seas.
I'm over here Ted!!!
This is the Cement Carrier "Cemisle" flying the flag of Antigua and Barbuda. It is on its way from Dunkirk to Cork. More on this vessel here.
After many days of wet, miserable weather, the sun finally showed itself. And with that it was off to Portland Harbour, followed by Chesil Cove, to see what was about.
It was quite hard to spot anything on the water in the harbour, as there was a stiff south-easterly gusting at around 40mph. Any diving birds that appeared on the surface, were extremely difficult to photograph as the waves lapped around them. Plus they were all very distant.
New species for my 2026 bird list were a Great Northern Diver and several Red-breasted Mergansers. All, as mentioned above, very distant.
This brute of a bird is I believe a....................
............2nd winter Great Black-backed Gull.
Other than the gulls, other birds like this drake Red-breasted Merganser and.........
.............Oystercatcher were all very distant.
Next stop was Chesil Cove. And looking west up Chesil Beach it was quite obvious the last three storms had had a profound impact on the shape of the beach. In fact there were several spots where the pebbles had been completely washed away revealing sandy beaches.
Ted on Black Barge beach. That snout of his was working overtime, but I have no idea what he was looking for!!
And anchored up in the harbour was the Portuguese LPG Tanker "Gaschem Baltic", to the rear, being refuelled by the Maltese Chemical/Oil Products Tanker "Monjasa Provider" prior to leaving for Dunkirk. More on "Gaschem Baltic" here and "Monjasa Provider" here.
