Martin Down has been host to a Rose-coloured or Rosy Starling for the last ten days. We opted to go to Durlston last week in the hope that it would still be about. Last seen on Thursday with a full on rain storm on Friday we were confident it would still be about so there was some confidence as I pulled into the car park at Sillens Lane just before 6:30 am.
The Starling was around the upper car park, but Ian and I were intending to walk, searching on the way for the orchids around Bokerley Ditch. The weather though was not June weather, fortunately it wasn't raining, but there were heavy dark grey clouds all around us. This didn't take from the beauty of the reserve with many Dropwort now in flower and scatted all over the grassland. From the car park we could hear Skylark, Whitethroat and Corn Bunting, but not Turtle Dove, this year's numbers have been very low, only 1-2 seen, the future of Turtle Dove in Hampshire is looking very concerning.
We walked up the main path towards the ditch, catching up with the Corn Bunting that could be heard from the car park.
The Corn Bunting will be starting to breed at this time of year, hence the good number of singing birds, maintaining the grass and associated seed is vital to a successful breeding season, one of the reasons why in other areas they have disappeared.
Ahead of us we picked up a lone Brown Hare.
Orchids started to appear and at first we thought they were Common Spotted Orchids, but on closer inspection it was clear they were Chalk Fragrant Orchids.
There are three distinct species of Fragrant Orchids, thouight originally to be sub species they are now known to be distinct. They are distinctive with a pink or purple torpedo shaped flower spike that is generally taller than wide. The leaves are long and narrow and arranged opposite on the stem. Both the flowers and leaves are not marked with spots stripes or loops.
There were many orchids flowering in the grass and we had to be careful walking across the grass. Looking up though I noticed a male Roe Deer with its head just above the grasses.
Here you can just see it beginning to stand up.
As we were photographing the deer we could hear a Raven calling from the direction of the trees at the back of the ditch, once the deer had run away we scanned the top of the trees and found it perched at the top of a conifer.
Reaching the ditch we came across our first Greater Butterfly Orchid, a substantial spike with plenty of large white flowers.
There are two butterfly species, the Lesser and the Greater. They very rarely co-exist and can be identified by the lip. In the Lesser this points straight down while in the Greater it curves backwards. This is not always clear though and the other difference is with the pollinia within the flower, the Greater are angled while the Lesser are parallel.
They favour calcareous soils in old coppiced woodlands, but are equally common on open rough downland as we have here and old commons, hay meadows and grazed hill pastures.
The slope of the ditch was covered in three different species of orchids, the Greater Butterfly, Common Spotted and Chalk Fragrant Orchid. However this one was a little different, definitely a Fragrant orchid, but from the shape of the petals could be a Heath Fragrant Orchid. I would have to defer to a greater knowledge than mine on this subject
Some idea of what the slope of the ditch looked like.
The view too, from the ditch, grey skies subduing it a little, but still impressive.
We walked alongside the ditch where there were plenty more flowering orchids, a mixture of Common Spotted and Chalk Fragrant. There was though one very tall and with densely packed with flowers that would point to a Marsh Fragrant Orchid. However for some reason I decided not to photograph it.
Walking through the grass we scattered plenty of small white moths that hurt your brain trying to definitively identify them, but one moth was a little larger, black with slight white wing tips. Known as the Chimney Sweeper. They are known to fly during daylight, usually in sunshine, but the males will also fly in conditions like those we found today.
Stonechats were calling from the hedges above the ditch and this male was seen carrying caterpillars.
On reaching the footpath that leads alongside the Blagdon Plantation and Bokerley Down. Almost immediately we saw two, maybe four Spotted Flycatcher on the fence and posts. They disappeared as quickly as we picked them up, but in the fields of the Bokerley Down there were at least a dozen Brown Hare.
One close to the path.
The grass was shorter than the last time I was here and this made the hare a lot more out in the open and they could see us, which meant that they would move away, sometimes quickly other times ambling.
Then through the gate and into the next field where there were similar numbers maybe more.
We counted as many as 30 hare in the fields, quite possibly more.
Rather than walk on we turned back and almost immediately came across the Spotted Flycatcher. The still and damp conditions bringing out the flying insects, the flycatchers using the post and fence to launch their attacks.
Three Hare were close to the footpath as we walked back, this one flicking the water off its paws.
Standing still and waiting saw the Spotted Flycatchers come back to the fence and post. This time we only saw two so maybe there was only a pair.
Coming back on to the ditch a Hare crossed my path and headed away into the long grass.
More orchids now, the first Pyramidal Orchid I have seen in Hampshire this year.
The Burnt Tip Orchids were just about over for the year, late this year, there were at least five clumps of this rare orchid.
Crossing the rifle ranges we headed for the area where the Rosy Starling had been reported from over the last week. We walked up and down and around the area. What birds there were turned out to be mostly Blackbirds, Corn Bunting, Whitethroat and a few Stonechat. This male posing very well for us.
But the most numerous had to be the Skylark, singing from the air and on the small bushes they seemed to be everywhere.
We were now meeting other birders searching for the Starling, however there was no Starling. We walked the path that seemed to be its favoured area, this time stopping to watch a family party of Whitethroat. Here the juvenile birds still showing the yellow gape on the bill and an expertise in using the undergrowth.
Coming back around to the main path there was a flock of around 20 Swift appearing over the bushes and then eventually heading off away to the north.
After finishing off yet another circuit without any luck I decided to check Bird Guides on my phone. There were no reports today but there was a report from yesterday evening of a Rosy Starling in Warminister in Wiltshire. This is within 20 miles of Martin Down and too much of a coincidence. I would expect the bird we were looking for moved there either overnight Thursday or during Friday, just our luck, but we couldn't really complain, we had the chance to go last weekend but decided to miss the crowds.
With this news we walked back to the car. Martin Down without butterflies seemed strange. We did disturb a pair of Ravens, but that was the only highlight as we walked back.
With the weather as it was there was no point staying around here. Where next, we opted for Fishlake Meadows. It took about 50 minutes to get there and we parked at the car park before heading round to the road side viewing area. There were no sign of any damselflies in the canal which was disappointing. at the viewing area we met another birder who nonchalantly told us the Osprey was perched out there on the dead tree. Our day had been saved, but the views were very distant and shots from the camera was not that good.
So I decided to go back to the car and got my scope and phone adapter, getting back the Osprey was still there and the result was a little better.
By all accounts the Osprey had been there since about 10:30, a long time to be sitting on a branch, We watched as it preened and stretched the wings, moving about a lot more, then finally it flew and headed away from the reserve going south.
We waited to see if it would return and maybe fish close to us, but despite the gulls going up and circling there was no further sign. Other birds of note from the view point were Common Tern, Greylag Geese, Great Crested Grebe and Lesser and Great Black backed Gulls.
We decided to move on and made our way back to the canal path. I dropped off the scope and we made our way along the canal, scanning frequently across the reed bed, with nothing of interest appearing.
From the canal path we headed across the centre of the reserve and then along the path to the screens. Reed Warbler and Cetti's Warbler sang from the bushes and the reeds and a Marsh Harrier appeared over the reeds and flew away from us. At the screens there was a Great Egret tucked away behind some vegetation, on the water Tufted Duck and Mallard while from somewhere in the reeds a Little Grebe and Water Rail could be heard calling.
I never realised how close the screens were to the road, you can see the street lights, while the new Osprey platform can be seen from both view points.
The Marsh Harrier dropped into reeds close to the Great Egret, was out of sight for a while before coming up out of the reeds and flying away to the north calling as it was chased by crows and a lone Buzzard.
There was some activity in the reeds in front of the screens, a juvenile Reed Bunting appeared at the top of the reeds, calling.
The calls were answered by an adult male who proceeded to feed the juvenile.
A Reed Warbler was also seen moving from the islands in front of us to the reeds at the side. This Reed Warbler showing well.
I had to leave early, Ian staying at the screens. As I walked back I could just see a Reed Warbler singing from within the reeds.
A little further along a male Reed Bunting was singing from top of a tree in the middle of the reeds.
Coming through the gate to the cross path I noticed an orchid tucked away in the vegetation on the corner. A closer look showed the petals to have spots, while the leaves were plain. I am quite confident that this was a Southern Marsh Orchid.
On approaching the canal path two woodpeckers flew across the path and settled in a dead tree trunk. As I tried to get closer one flew off while the other flew to one of the dead trees that line the path. Tucked away and out of sight it took a while to show, but eventually it appeared on the bark.
Along the canal path I stopped for a very vocal Wren.
As I reached the last viewing platform before the car park a group of people were quite excited to tell me that there was an Osprey perched on one of the dead trees. It had obviously returned and appeared to be eating a fish.
But while I was trying to alert Ian it flew off and I didn't see where it went.
So the end of the day did provide some sightings of interest, although there was a general air of disappointment at missing out on the Rosy Starling which was silly as that was pretty much our fault for not going last week. The Osprey was a good sighting, just need them to be closer and more active!
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