Day 3 of our trip to Dorset and we headed off to the Purbeck area of Dorset where we were being taken around for the day by guide Niel Gartshore.
Our first stop is at Lychett Bay on Poole Harbour. The wet meadows here produce our first sightings of Little Egret along with Teal, Redshank and Lapwing. As the tide rises a large flock of Black-tailed Godwits leave the harbour for the wetlands.

Lychett Bay

Little Egret
From here we change habitat completly and head for Morden Bog near Wareham which is a stretch of heathland, a habitat now almost restricted to Dorset and Hampshire. We can hear the speciality species of Woodlark, Tree Pipit and Dartford Warbler but it seems for a long while that we wont see them. Then Niel spots a Woodlark in flight which lands in tree in plain sight and gives excellent views. A short way further on a Tree Pipit repeats this scenario and again we have great views of it perched in a tree. But still no good views of Dartford Warbler, then suddenly they are calling around us and a number of perched individuals are seen distantly but clearly.
A Northern Wheatear perched on a bush was an unexpected but welcome suprise.

Morden Bog

Morden Bog

Dartford Warbler
Photo by Paul Ritchie (https://www.flickr.com/photos/thelizardwizard/)

Woodlark
Photo by Tom Lee (https://www.flickr.com/photos/68942208@N02/)

Photo by Sergey Yeliseev (https://www.flickr.com/photos/yeliseev/)
As we are leaving I receive a text message that a very rare Red-Footed Falcon has been located again at the spot in Wareham where it had first been seen a couple of days previously. As we are only 5 minutes away we make our way to a lay-bay outside of Wareham and begin searching the trees for the bird. Neil spots it hunting over the reed-bed and we are treated to an aerial display as it jinks and twists in an effort to catch its prey. Eventually it flies straight off from the reed-bed and we presume it has succeeded and gone off to enjoy its catch. To our great delight it was soon relocated perched in a tree giving excellent if distant views.

Red-footed Falcon
Photo by Michele Lamberti (https://www.flickr.com/photos/60740813@N04/)

Red-footed Falcon
Photo by Vitalii Khustochka (https://www.flickr.com/photos/phenolog/)
Having seen the falcon we resume our journey to Middlebere, another site on Poole Harbour. On arriving at the hide we quickly locate a Spoonbill but there is little else of interest until a Barn Owl gives us a brief fly past. As we are leaving the hide a Hobby flies over and a marsh Harrier is seen distantly on the heathland. At least 2 more Dartford Warblers are found along with good numbers of Stonechat.

Middlebere

Eurasian Spoonbill
Photo by Ian (https://www.flickr.com/photos/ian-s/)
After leaving Neil at Wareham Keith and I make our way back to Weymouth and spend an hour before dinner on the reserve at Radipole.

RSPB reserve at Radipole Weymouth
An excellent days birding and our thanks to Neil for showing us the sites and driving us round.
Further details of Neil’s trips and holidays in Dorset can be found at: http://www.callunabooks.co.uk/dorset_guiding.html
Common Pheasant [sp] (Phasianus colchicus)
Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
Gadwall (Anas strepera)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Eurasian Teal [sp] (Anas crecca)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)
Eurasian Spoonbill [sp] (Platalea leucorodia)
Grey Heron [sp] (Ardea cinerea)
Little Egret [sp] (Egretta garzetta)
Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Western Marsh Harrier [sp] (Circus aeruginosus)
Common Buzzard [sp] (Buteo buteo)
Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus)
Eurasian Hobby [sp] (Falco subbuteo)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Eurasian Oystercatcher [sp] (Haematopus ostralegus)
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
Black-tailed Godwit [sp] (Limosa limosa)
Common Redshank [sp] (Tringa totanus)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
European Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
Lesser Black-backed Gull [sp] (Larus fuscus)
Common Pigeon [sp] (Columba livia)
Stock Dove [sp] (Columba oenas)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Common Cuckoo [sp] (Cuculus canorus)
Western Barn Owl [sp] (Tyto alba)
European Green Woodpecker [sp] (Picus viridis)
Eurasian Jay [sp] (Garrulus glandarius)
Western Jackdaw [sp] (Coloeus monedula)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
Coal Tit [sp] (Periparus ater)
Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)
Eurasian Blue Tit [sp] (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Eurasian Skylark [sp] (Alauda arvensis)
Barn Swallow [sp] (Hirundo rustica)
Cetti’s Warbler [sp] (Cettia cetti)
Eurasian Reed Warbler [sp] (Acrocephalus scirpaceus)
Eurasian Blackcap [sp] (Sylvia atricapilla)
Dartford Warbler [sp] (Sylvia undata)
Goldcrest [sp] (Regulus regulus)
Eurasian Treecreeper [sp] (Certhia familiaris)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
Song Thrush [sp] (Turdus philomelos)
European Stonechat [sp] (Saxicola rubicola)
Northern Wheatear [sp] (Oenanthe oenanthe)
Pied Wagtail [sp] (Motacilla alba)
Meadow Pipit [sp] (Anthus pratensis)
Tree Pipit [sp] (Anthus trivialis)
Common Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)
European Goldfinch [sp] (Carduelis carduelis)
Yellowhammer [sp] (Emberiza citrinella)
Common Reed Bunting [sp] (Emberiza schoeniclus)