Female short eared owl found on Redcliff/Culver

Not my find, but a couple of local birders came across a shorty on Friday morning. It was found entangled along the fence line. They rescued it, but unable to fly, they took it to the vets: latest news of it suggested it is recovering ok, so fingers crossed). Stunning picture of it by finder Mark Buckley:

 

On holiday & not feeling 100% so found some videos to inspire me. The pom (target bird for next spring) one i'd seen before, but that lead me to Sean's more recent Batumi trip vid - nice. On my to do list. Although Estonia looks good too...

St Catherine's - fair conditions

The highlight was a BLACK REDSTART hanging about the lighthouse grounds/building rooftops. Did an extensive circuit around the headland including Rocken end and the old Blackgang road: finches were prominent overhead, best of which were brambling (heard only), and skylarks featured well too. Goldcrest and chiffs also predominated being heard or seen all over the shop. Despite scrutinising every flock that moved about in the sycamores, not one appeared to have a yellow-browed tagging along with it; though a fellow Ventnor birder succeeded with one today.
1 Dartford warbler and 1 wheatear also noted. And just as I was getting in the car a grey wagtail was hanging about in a garden. Odds 'n' sods otherwise.

 

Fanning its red tail (phoenicurus ochruros)

Enjoying the water feature - grey wagtail pitched in



Quite a subtle recording of migrating com.redpoll - requires headphones and volume

ravens

oystercatchers

Still some lepidoptera interest: on the wing a clouded yellow (colias croceus)

Headed west again today

Not long after leaving the high down quarry car park a rich sound of vocal chiffchaffs and goldcrests greeted me (single firecrest heard also), which always gives a birder hope on the migration front. Then further along I heard what I'm pretty certain was a SIBERIAN chiffchaff (tristis), of which the call sounded more discordant and simpler than you'd get from a common chiff (phylloscopus collybita). (There's an informative section on sibe chiffs in one of the sound approach books with an accompanying CD, which I've studied). However, having had no visual on it, I will keep it as a 'probable'. Interesting call though.

Continued along the north fence line and had my first fieldfare of the autumn (also redwing heard earlier in the proceedings). And thrush interest continued with up to 5 ring ouzel about the scrub, but being typically wary, they kept their distance. Also a Dartford warbler heard and seen, always appreciated.

Over head migration was pretty much non existent. Though when I got to the headland I heard a bullfinch and gave me the impression it was finding its feet so to speak.

I then hung about the needles battery: a very late (the latest recorded) juvenile cuckoo was still hanging about and feeding in the area. Anyway I approached from a distance, spotted one of those hubble-sized camo' covered lenses set up with a photographer/twitcher stood near it, and then kept my distance. Never did see the cuckoo, but heard one woman exclaim its presence (Lymington residents probably know about it too), so it was still there. Bizarre.
Glad I did stake the area out though and looked elsewhere, specifically at the sea mostly, as 5 bottlenose dolphins were putting on quite a display out there. Got some shots. Sod's law came into play though: at one point I thought I was taking some great video footage of them only to find I hadn't pushed the record button properly. Ah well.

Distant fieldfare

 

 

 

Distant ring ouzel

 

 

raven

 

 

1st port of call - Not Siberian (chiffchaff) fresh in after landing in a tiny bit of scrub near the cliff edge #birdmigration

 

 

Off the Needles: My 2nd bottlenose sighting of the year; pics don't do them justice

A video of them off Ventnor posted on the county press website

The American dream find - back in the day the finder used to regularly bird the IOW

 

Kiss From A Rose 

 

St Cath's

 

And a ringo from yesterday along West high down (0:07s):

Kris's vid