Thirty minutes birding from the patio.

Tuesday 27th October 2026.

Above, these male Pheasants were squaring up to one another in the adjacent field.

Disaster struck last night when I went to check the Moth Box before retiring to bed. The lightbulb had blown! So, no Moth reports this morning, but I will be going into Bridport later this morning to buy a new bulb for the Moth Box.

This Skylark flew high over my head.

Thankfully, I had a bit of a lay in this morning and got up just after 5am this morning and so made my way downstairs to put the kettle on and let the dogs out onto the patio to do their business. While waiting, a Little Owl was heard calling somewhere to the west and over to the east, a Tawny Owl was also calling!

A flock of Stock Doves flying south over the adjacent field.

It was bright and clear looking over the countryside from the patio as I donned both my binoculars and camera to spend 30 minutes before breakfast between 7.30am to 8am. There was again plenty of birds to look at and many more flying overhead, which kept me busy checking the fields in the distance and the area looking west for anything of note.

One of the many Rooks present by the Cottage.

Both Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker were present, but only the latter was actually seen as it flew up to the tall Pine by the Cottage and then flew off south. Good numbers of Redwing went over that included two sizeable flocks of 20 and 25 birds, plus smaller flocks of 6 and 4 birds.

A Common Buzzard trying to lose these Carrion Crows with a 'photo-bombing' Wood Pigeon in the photo.

Finches were also abundant that included a flock of Greenfinch numbering birds; a flock of 7 Goldfinches, several Chaffinches and a Bullfinch was heard again, but I failed to locate the bird. A small flock of 4 Siskin headed east and at least two Skylarks flew high over heading west.

Let the fight begin. This Pheasant fighting with another.

At least two Common Buzzards were seen soaring distantly over the countryside, much to the annoyance of the local Corvids. Another pair drifted low over the Cottage after I had my breakfast and a Grey Wagtail flew over the neighbouring field and most likely landed on the small lane adjacent to the Cottage to round off a productive morning here in Askswell. Stop press: while writing this up on my blog, a female Reed Bunting has just landed in the trees by the patio!

Take some of this! The Pheasants having a squabble.

Back in Hampshire, ‘Lazee Birder’ Mark Francis found two Shorelarks on the Rainbow Bar off Hill Head this morning and a Purple Sandpiper with the Sanderling flock!

Above, the Shorelark off Hill Head this morning and below, also this Purple Sandpiper turned up with the local Sanderling. Photos by Mark Francis.

Hive Beach, Burton Bradstock, Dorset:

Hive Beach at Burton Bradstock. 

One of the main priorities today was to replace the bulb for my Moth Box and so I popped in Morrisons on the way back from a lovely trip to Hive Beach at Burton Bradstock. Becky and I were staying around four years ago in a little holiday Cottage on nearby Portland when up popped a message on Birdguides that an American Herring Gull (not see one yet!) was found by the car park there at Burton Bradstock. Sadly, I didn’t go for it and headed off home in the rain instead.

Above, a Jackdaw flew into the trees by the patio and then I heard a familiar call of a Reed Bunting and there it was, a female bird perched in the same tree. Below.

Above, a Dunnock was exploring the patio area and then a variety of birds came into the garden including this Great Tit.

After an hour within a very busy Bridport town centre (it was Market Day today), Becky suggested about going down to Hive Beach and so taking the 15-minute drive down to the coast, we eventually parked up and had lunch at the superb Hive Beach Café. After a delicious lunch, we took the dogs to the beach for a good walk on an upcoming tide. Of course, I kept my eye open for any birdlife and both Raven and a Rock Pipit was seen during the 20-minute walk around the beach, which was all part of the Jurassic Coastline.

This female Great Spotted Woodpecker flew in and landed in one of the trees.

Above and below, one of the flock of 6 Long-tailed Tits was literally just outside the kitchen window!

Above, even a Chiffchaff came in with the birds to our patio garden.

When we got back to the Cottage, I spent a good 30 minutes outside on the patio waiting for dusk to fall and out came the Roe Deer again, with at least four seen in the field. Corvids were coming into roost in nearby trees and large numbers of Gulls were heading back to the coast after spending their day out in the Dorset countryside. The Moth Box is back on and hopefully, a good showing of Moths tomorrow morning; we shall see. I have added some more photos of the birds that were in and around the patio from earlier this morning.

Two excellent Moths to kick off a brighter day.

Monday 26^th October 2026.

A much brighter start her in Askerswell this morning after heavy overnight rain.

An awful lot of overnight rain had left my outside egg trays all sodden and I am hoping they all dry today as the weather has finally changed (fingers crossed!). Though I was up at ‘stupid o’clock’ again this morning, I could hear the wind drop and the rain that was earlier hammering against the window finally stopped. It left behind a full moon west of the Cottage and a bright start beckoned. All we needed now was the sun to rise.

While I was lying in bed, contemplating in getting up early again, I could hear one of the Roe Deer ‘barking’ outside and this continued for at least an hour, which totally intrigued my dogs for they have never heard anything like it!

 

My Moth Box:

A stunning Mottled Umber was perched near the Moth Box.

Despite the grim wet weather overnight and all my egg trays all soaked, I till managed to get 10 moths 8 species this morning. Two of which were new for the year as well; a stunning Mottled Umber and another nice moth, the Feathered Thorn. Both species have turned up in my Southsea garden, but very rarely and so to see these two species this morning really put a big smile on my face.

Above, my first Feathered Thorn of the year and below, the only micro moth present this morning was this Narrow-winged Grey.

The other Moths present included those that have been seen so far with the micro moth Narrow-winged Grey (Eudonia angustea) being the exception. I would not have seen it until it flew across the back of the garden and landed on a wooden fence. There were two other macro moths present, but they were so worn that I did not try to ID them but still safely released them from the Moth Box.

Just some of the Moths present this morning.

Once again, the Moth Box attracted several species of insects including two Ichneumon Wasps and at least 5 large Caddisflies plus numerous House Flies!

Two Ichneuman Wasps were in the Moth Box.

The Moths present this morning included the following:

 

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Mottled Umber * x1	Narrow-winged Grey x1
November Moth x1
Feathered Thorn * x1
Large Yellow Underwing x1
Yellow-line Quaker x1
Beaded Chestnut x2
Green-brindled Crescent x2

 

While checking the Moth Box, there was a lot of birds going over or calling in the background. This included both Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker that were both heard only, however, a Mistle Thrush was seen calling high up in one of the Conifers by the garden. A Common Buzzard was calling in the small bit of woodland nearby and a Grey Wagtail was seen twice flying around high over the garden and eventually landed out of view in the small lane adjacent to the Cottage.

Above, this Jay perched up in a nearby tree this morning and below, a male Pheasant strutting his stuff in the field opposite our Cottage.

Again, there was a lot of finches flying over that included Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and even a flock of 6 Crossbills going over heading west over the trees. A Jay flew out of the nearby woodland and headed south and still plenty of Corvids around the premises. A Red Admiral flew high around the garden before flying off north and out of view. A nice start to the day me thinks!

Askerswell and then onto West Bay:

The Grey Phalarope on the small estuary at West Bay this afternoon.

Before we headed off back to West Bay, I spent at least 30 minutes or so enjoying the birds around the garden. A flock of Long-tailed Tits came into the edge of the garden, numbering around 6 or so birds as they explored the small trees and bushes. A Treecreeper then flew in and landed in one of the nearest trees and showed superbly in the bright sunshine as did a male Great Spotted Woodpecker within the same tree.

Above, the Treecreeper sharing the same tree with a Great Spotted Woodpecker below.

A Common Buzzard drifted lazily over the large field to the north of the Cottage, being chased by a posse of Carrion Crows, while more Chaffinches were flying overhead heading west. A busy 30 minutes of birding. There was no news on Birdguides about whether yesterday’s Grey Phalarope had been seen at West Bay, but seeing there were quite a few around the coast of Dorset this morning, I decided to take a gamble and with agreement from Becky, we were heading back to this rather nice little town.

Above, some of the Long-tailed Tits in the garden and below, the Common Buzzard flying over the neighbouring field and hassled by Carrion Crows.

Parking up within the car par by the Rise Café, I quickly grabbed my camera (forgot to take my binoculars! Doh!) and made my way overlooking the mudflats and the small estuary where sadly, there was no sign of any birds here. I then walked further west to get a better view of the creek in front of me but to no avail. There was another birder there also after the Phalarope and he looked rather disappointed to as he and his family sped past me.

The Grey Phalarope in West Bay.

I almost gave up and then I caught sight of a small grey and white wader walking over the mudflat towards the estuary. It was the Grey Phalarope and quickly, I got some decent images on my camera and some film footage of this beautiful little wader. It was my first of the year and hopefully, not my last as I watched it head to the water and then have a brief swim. It did return to explore the mudflats again and realising I had both my wife and the dogs still back at the car, I made my way back to the guys with a huge smile on my face. Happy days.

Above, the Grey Phalarope and below, the Isle of Portland in the distance seen from West Bay beach.

Back at the Cottage, we had great views of a doe Roe Deer bounding over the field and then getting closer, I managed to reel off a few close photos of this lovely animal. Becky was well pleased looking at the Deer through my binoculars. The Great Spotted Woodpecker flew in again and showed well in one of the nearby trees and good numbers of Chaffinches went over and also a pair of Stock Doves that flew over westbound. The Common Buzzard drifted over a few times, but no other raptor species have been seen here yet. I did put my sighting on Birdguides when I got back to the Cottage, and I also noted that Portland still has a Snow Bunting on there near the Bill and nearby Chesil Cove had up to FIVE Grey Phalaropes there today!

This Roe Deer showed nicely for both Becky and I.

The Grey Phalarope at West Bay today.

 

 

Another miserable morning but several Moths noted.

Monday 26^th October 2026.

A horrible wet start to the week here in Askerswell.

Sadly, it looks like another morning of persistent rain, although the strong winds of yesterday seemed to have gone. I did have my Moth Box on overnight and as expected, the outside egg trays were all sodden, but they did hold some Moths! So it looks like a lazy morning for Becky and myself and hopefully, we will go out somewhere this afternoon once the rain has stopped.

 

My Moth Box:

One of three Green-brindled Crescent moths this morning.

I have put the egg trays by one of the radiators after checking the Moth Box in the rain this morning and hopefully, they should be dried out by lunchtime. I still got 8 moths of 6 species this morning although one Moth flew off before I could get a look at it when I turned the light off.

Above, another White-point was present today and below, there was just the one November Moth.

Three gorgeous Green-brindled Crescents were present with two on the egg trays and one inside the Moth Box. Both Double-striped Pug and Willow Beauty was a surprise find, especially the latter which was very late for this species, and I certainly know one guy who would question it! There was just the one November Moth that was perched on the wooden fence which was nice to see.

Above, a Willow Beauty and below, the Double-striped Pug.

Other insects attracted to the Moth Box included several Caddis Flies, of which there were two distinct species. Caddis Flies are notoriously difficult to ID, so I shall just settle for Caddis Fly sp. Again, there was another Ichneumon Wasp inside the Moth Box, but quickly flew out when I was getting one of the Moths out of the Box.

One of several Caddis Flies present.

The Moths recorded this morning included the following:

MACRO MOTHS

White-point x1

Large Yellow Underwing x1

Green-brindled Crescent x2

Double-striped Pug x1

Willow Beauty x1

November Moth x1

 

Above, a pair of male Pheasants out in the field adjacent to our Cottage this morning.

Above, the Nutcracker at Mundesley and below, the Desert Wheatear at Cley Beach. Both photos by Emma Parkes.

West Bay, Dorset:

It was a tad rough at West Bay beach this afternoon.

Finally, the rain finally stopped here in Askerswell and so Becky, the dogs and myself made our way to Bridport for a bite to eat at the Grove Nurseries excellent Restaurant before heading off to West Bay beach. It was the first time we have ever been to this location and despite the overcast, drizzly conditions and the strong wind blowing in off the sea, we still braved the elements to give the dogs the chance to stretch their legs.

Looking west from West Bay beach.

The wind nearly blew Becky over and so she sat it out while I walked the dogs up to the top of the shingle ridge and checked out the sea to see if anything was moving through. The Hayling and Southsea area, back in Hampshire, is still recording good numbers of Little Gulls, but all I could muster was a pair of Black-headed Gulls heading west over a very rough sea.

A few Great Black-backed Gulls joined the Herring Gulls in a flooded field by Station Road.

My hat then flew off and landed some 50 feet away and so I turned back to get back to my wife and then grab a nice hot drink and a gorgeous cake in a local Bakery nearby. Before reaching West Bay, I pulled over on Station Road where to the north, a large, flooded area held a good number of larger Gulls and thinking there could be a Caspian Gull among the many Herring Gulls and several Great Black-backed Gulls, but despite taking a lot of photos of the Gulls, checking my photos this evening, I can conclude I could not find a Caspian among them. Poo!

Another photo of the Gulls off Station Road.

To rub salt into the wound, it wasn’t until we returned to our cottage in Askerswell that BirdGuides alerted me to a Grey Phalarope on the small estuary by Rise Café! I had actually driven along the road past the café, so I missed out on a cracking year tick! Ger-rumble!!!

One of two Caddisflies by my Moth Box this evening.

Due to the hour going back, it got dark here a lot earlier than expected, but checking the big field by the Cottage, using my binoculars, I picked out a herd of at least 5 Roe Deer grazing in the field and then a probable Doe walked up to the nearby hedgerow by the main road. The Moth Box was switched on around 5pm and it already attracted two of the larger species of Caddisflies. More rain is a possibility tonight and the wind is still strong too. I’m not sure on where we are going tomorrow, but if that Grey Phalarope is still present, I just might go back to West Bay.