Spring 2018 at Longham Lakes

27th May
On a walk down to the “Scarlet Darter” pond south-west of the Main Lake, had some Emperor Dragonflies, Banded Damoiselle and an immature Scarce Chaser. Also had a Brown Argus and a Grass Snake swimming across the pond. Only birds of note were singles of Common Tern and Shelduck on South Lake (Martin Wood.)

25th May
Nine species of Odonata today, the best being on the ‘Scarlet Darter’ pond with my first Emperor Dragonfly of the year plus a male Hairy Dragonfly and 2+ Four-spotted Chasers. Also 3+ Scarce Chasers along the western boundary of the South Lake. Only bird of interest today was a Hobby hunting over the South Lake (George Green.)

23rd May
There was at least 1 Common Tern on South lake and 2 Hobby hawking along the western edge of South lake and above the western tree line for about an hour just after midday. On the Odonata front, 5 Hairy Dragonfly, 1 Emperor, 3 Scarce Chaser (all in female/immature male colouration) and 1st Black-tailed Skimmer of the year. Also tens of thousands of teneral Damsels all round south lake. At times I was walking through a mist of Damsels (Ian Ballam.)

22nd May
A Red Kite flew over the South Lake at c11.15am. Earlier there were 3 very distant Red Kites over woods beyond Hampreston Meadows viewed from the west bank of the North Lake. Best of the rest were pair of Egyptian Geese on the North Lake, Hobby over the SW corner of the South Lake and a pair of Common Tern on the South Lake. Excellent morning for Odonota with 10 species. On the ‘Scarlet Darter’ pond in the SW corner of the site at least 2 male Hairy Dragonflies were showing well 11.45-12.15. I also had one good sighting of a Downy Emerald. Four-sotted Chasers were also present and I found an immature Scarce Chaser beside the nearby wood (George Green.)

21st May
I spent just over 2 hours at Longham today, with much of that time watching over the largest pond in the SW corner for Odonata activity. The smaller pond which is quite difficult to see onto, held 3 male Hairy Dragonfly this morning, with two patrolling low over the water, & a third perched in reeds just in front of me. At least one of these males then flew to the larger pond, and was patrolling the edges whilst it disturbed a pair ‘in cop’ which rose up from the pond & disappeared into the trees behind. Soon after, I was quick to find a female Hairy Dragonfly ovipositing near the waters edge a few feet in front of me, and up to 3 males were also seen at any one time, often clashing with one another. After a no show on my visit last week, I finally saw the Downy Emerald today which spent most of its time towards the densely reeded end of the pond, & eventually opted to patrol an area along the north end of the same pond to tussle with the Hairy Dragonflies after about an hour or so of waiting. A male Emperor Dragonfly (my first of the year) was also frequenting both ponds, plus at least 4 Four-spotted Chasers. Based on today’s numbers, I reckon there must be at least 8 Hairy Dragonfly on site, probably more, with my reckoning being a minimum of 6 males & 2 female. Not bad for a site where they’d never been recorded until last Monday…

Today, 2 adult Mediterranean Gulls were circling overhead and a Lapwing was on the muddy pool in Hampreston fields (Olly Frampton.)

20th May
A single male Hairy Dragonfly was still present on the ‘Scarlet Darter’ pond but it was very elusive with only 2 sightings in 45 minutes. Also present there at least 4 Four-spotted Chasers. Otherwise there was a single immature Scarce Chaser along the west side of the wood. Very quiet on the bird front, best being 2 Ravens (George Green.)

18th May
Best birds today were 2+ Hobbies over the SW corner of the South Lake and 3 Mediterranean Gulls – the first for several weeks. At least 2 Hairy Dragonflies still present on the pond at the SW corner of the site (George Green.)

15th May
Having heard about the finds of Longham’s first records of Hairy Dragonfly and Downy Emerald last Monday, I visited on Tuesday 15th May & had at least 6 Hairy Dragonfly around the ponds, including a pair in cop which were perched in one of the overhanging trees at the north end of the large pond, whilst 3 males were patrolling the pond, with a further male seen by another observer at about the same time near the causeway. Other finds were 2 Four-spotted Chasers & 10+ Red-eyed Damselfly. Bird interest included a Red Kite circling overhead and a Common Sandpiper beside the North Lake (Olly Frampton.) Meanwhile, a productive visit this pm with my first (and long awaited) sighting of Red Kite at Longham. In fact I saw 2 very distant Red Kites over woods to the east of Hampreston Meadows viewed from the east bank of the North Lake. Best of the rest were Hobby, Common Sandpiper and Common Tern.

Alerted by Matt Bell’s discovery yesterday of 2 new dragonflies for Longham Lakes, I found that both Hairy Dragonfly and Downy Emerald were still present on the pond at the SW corner of the site (known locally as Scarlet Darter pond). Also present were Four-spotted Chasers. It looks if it could be another excellent year for dra gons & damsels at Longham Lakes (George Green.)

14th May
A really interesting day today on several fronts. Matthew Bell writes: “I had a fantastic day for Dragonflies with 8 species seen Banded Demoiselle, Azure Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Large Red Damselfly, Red-eyed Damselfly and Four-spotted Chaser. And 2 species which I think are new records for Longham: HAIRY DRAGONFLY and DOWNY EMERALD [they are]. Both were showing well on the small pond in the south west corner. Totally unexpected to find these here especially the Downy Emerald which I have only ever seen on Heathland sites!” Meanwhile, Alan Bevis recorded the first Red Kite of the year. Also around were numerous Swifts and a few Swallows, with Cetti’s and Reed Warblers, Whitethroats and Blackcaps also seen or heard. A single Little Egret and Grey Heron were also noted.

13th May
Had a quick walk round south lake this afternoon . Best I could find was the Scaup on North Lake, two Common Terns on South Lake and a single Lapwing in Hampreston field pool (Martin Wood.)

12th May
We set up a harp trap tonight at Longham Bridge and caught 9 Soprano Pipistrelles (all females) and a single Daubenton’s Bat (also a female). In addition, we caught some other species on the detector, including Noctule, Serotine and Nathusius’s Pipistrelle. A pair of Mistle Thrushes were also feeding young on the southern boundary of the site, opposite the tip (Dominic Couzens.) This morning the male Scaup was still on north lake. Best of the rest 2 Egyptian Geese and 2 Common Terns (George Green.)

11th May
Just two birds ringed this morning, a pair of Blue Tits. Just a few occasional Swifts over this morning (Roger Peart.)

10th May
A ringing session today revealed 2 new Chiffchaffs (breeding pair, I reckon), 2 Song Thrushes (1 juvenile and an adult female), 1 male Bullfinch and a Robin. There were also 4 retraps, all ringed last year – one each of Long-tailed Tit (ringed 4 July), Wren (30 Oct), Great Tit (6 July), and Blackbird (23 May). About 10am there were 2 Ravens slowly passing overhead honking; about 10.30 one Swift was overhead, and earlier there was a Sparrowhawk (Roger Peart.) There was still no sign of the Bonaparte’s Gull, but the drake Scaup was still present on North Lake, a Hobby was briefly over South Lake and a pair of Common Terns was around.  Plenty of damselflies emerging, including Large Red Damselflies (George Green.)

8th May
Still no sign of either Bonaparte’s Gull or Scaup between 1.30 & 3pm, otherwise best sightings were Hobby, Common Sandpiper and a pair of Common Terns (George Green.)

7th May
Not much going on there though it was good to get the two Common Terns on the list for this year. A pair of Great Crested Grebes were seen mating on South Lake and a Common Sandpiper on the island (Martin Wood.)

6th May
A Little Ringed Plover was heard flying over the lakes. Despite checking the island shore and the mud fringed pools on Hampreston Meadows I couldn’t relocate it. Best of the rest was a pair of Common Terns on the South Lake (George Green.)

5th May
It’s not every day that a new mammal enters the list of recorded species on a patch like ours. But this evening Jan Freeborn and her helpers from the Dorset Bat Group had a superb time harp-trapping by Longham Bridge. Not only did they catch 11 Soprano Pipistrelles and 1 Daubenton’s Bat, they also caught a male Nathusius’s Pipistrelle and also a WHISKERED BAT, the latter the eight bat species recorded at Longham and the 29th mammal species here overall. These trapping sessions are part of the National Nathusius’s Pipistrelle Project managed by the Bat Conservation Trust.

4th May
Bonaparte’s Gull showing well on North Lake at c11am but it was seemingly absent earlier in the morning [not seen after today]. Drake Scaup still on South Lake between causeway and island. Best of the rest Shelduck, Common Sandpiper and Common Tern (George Green.) There was also a flyover drake Mandarin, the first of the year. The Dragons have taken to the wing with several Large Red Damselfly seen and a single  Common Blue Damselfly (Matthew Bell.)

3rd May
Both Bonaparte’s Gull (North Lake) and drake Scaup (South Lake between Island & Causeway) still present, plus 2 Egyptian Geese on Hampreston Meadows (George Green.)

2nd May
Almost unbirdable in the wind and rain, but the year’s second Oystercatcher was at the car park end of the causeway. Lots of hirundines feeding or landing in the reeds at the far end of the Causeway, bar 1 Sand Martin which was caught over north lake by a Sparrowhawk. Other than that, a lone Shelduck was on Hampreston Meadows. There was a handful of Black-headed Gulls on North Lake, but no sign of the Bonaparte’s (Kevin Lane.) The Oystercatcher was still there in the afternoon (John Lockwood.)

1st May
Bonaparte’s Gull still present on the North Lake and showing well. A redhead Goosander settled on the island at the north end of the South Lake was a surprise – perhaps a wanderer from the small breeding population in the Ringwood area. Best of the rest were single Shelduck and single Common Sandpiper. Generally summer migrants/breeding birds still very scarce (George Green.)

29th April
There were 3 Yellow Wagtails on the causeway when I arrived mid afternoon including a very smart male. Best of the rest were 3 Common Sandpipers. On the negative side there was no sign of the Bonaparte’s Gull, but very few small gulls were present this afternoon (George Green). Also Swifts and a Sparrowhawk (Martin Wood.)

28th April
This afternoon and evening the Bonaparte’s Gull was still on north lake though no sign of the Scaup.  Best of the rest were a flock of 7 Whimbrel flying over, 5 Common Sandpipers and a Shelduck. There was also 1 Lapwing on the large island in south lake. Very nice to see lots of Swift, House Martin, Sand Martin and Swallow hawking over the lakes, with some resting on teasel head in the middle of the island. Also nice to see a Treecreeper again and a Grey Wagtail. At 19.00hrs 10 Black-tailed Godwits flew high over the car park heading towards Hurn direction (George Green, Martin Wood.)

26th April
The Bonaparte’s Gull and Greater Scaup were still present. About 100 Swifts over  this PM. Also 10 each of Sand and House Martin but I didn’t see any Swallows. At least 3 Reed Warblers singing but I didn’t see any, plenty of Blackcaps in song (Ian Lewis.)

25th April
A female Goosander on the flooded Hampreston Fields was an excellent find for the time of year (Ron Poulter.)

24th April
A single Oystercatcher did a low circuit around the south end of the South Lake on 24th April, then landed at Hampreston watermeadows (Olly Frampton.)

23rd April
The Bonaparte’s Gull was still around and looking stunning and there were 2 Garganey on Hampreston Fields, the first of the year. Other counts included 30+ Swallow, 4 Swifts, 2 Common Sandpipers, a Shelduck, a Little Egret, a pair of Mute Swans on the nest and at least 3 singing Reed Warblers (Trevor Wilkinson)

21st April
The Bonaparte’s Gull was performing admirably today. (Brett Spencer).

19th April
The Bonaparte’s Gull and Greater Scaup were still around and some Reed Warblers were in (Lorne Bissell.)

18th April
The Bonaparte’s Gull was out in the middle of south lake, then circled up high and headed south at 18:40 – presumably to roost somewhere in Poole Harbour. On North Lake, the drake Scaup still and my first Reed Warblers (2 singing) of the year (Kevin Lane). Also a Sedge Warbler (Ian Lewis.)

17th April
Some good stuff around today with the Bonaparte’s Gull looking very pretty and the Greater Scaup looking…well, very pretty.

16th April
This bird looks good for a genuine Greater Scaup.

13th April
The Bonaparte’s Gull was still present this morning, along with 9 Cetti’s Warblers, 8 Swallows, 4 Sand Martins and 2 House Martins (Martin Bennett.) This afternoon there were 12 Sand Martins plus a couple of House Martins and 4 Swallows hawking over South Lake. Also around were 5 Shoveler still and a couple of Teal. Singing around the site were Chiffchaffs, Chaffinches, Great Tits and a Blackcap (Martin Wood}.

10th April
The Bonaparte’s Gull was still on North Lake showing well. It is rapidly moulting and if it stays around for another week or so should be in full summer plumage. Otherwise the only other bird of note was a Common Tern (George Green.)

9th April
The Bonaparte Gull was still on North lake; also Great White Egret and 15 Swallows on bushes along the Causeway. There was a Mallard with about 5 ducklings (Lorne Bissell).

8th April
The Bonaparte’s Gull was still around today. Also a Common Tern (Brett Spencer.)

6th April
A very rainy day but the patch is coming along nicely despite the slow burning spring. The Bonaparte’s Gull was showing well on the North Lake. Great White Egret and a Shelduck were on Hampreston Fields. A small pulse of Swallows held a couple of House Martins. A Peregrine went over. Blackcaps were singing and seemed very numerous. Nuthatch and Treecreeper were glimpsed in Samuel’s Wood. And a Willow Warbler was singing near the Thicket (Matthew Bell.) Also 2 White Wagtails (Brett Spencer.)

26th March
An adult Bonaparte’s Gull in winter plumage was present in the NW corner of the South Lake near the causeway at c14.50pm. I watched and photographed as it swam around taking insects from the surface for about 10 minutes before it flew up and headed west purposely across Hampreston Fields. It seems likely to last year’s bird returning to one of its favoured haunts. There must be a good chance that it will return (George Green.)

25th March
There was a Willow Warbler singing in bushes at the west end of the causeway at Longham this morning. Apart from that, much the same as yesterday: Peregrine – sitting on pylon, then had a fly around which put up presumably yesterday’s which put up a Curlew from the island (probably yesterday’s individual, it then left high to the east); Mediterranean Gull – I only did one count through the settled birds and that came to 78; Chiffchaff – 10+ around the lakes; Roe Deer – 2 at west end of causeway (Kevin Lane.)

24th March
In the morning: Curlew – 1 feeding on Hampreston Meadows (only 6th record here); Mediterranean Gull – highest count I reached of settled birds on south lake was 67, nearly all were adults; Peregrine – 1 roosting on the pylon by the west end of the causeway; Water Rail – 2;  Snipe – 10 on the island and a couple more elsewhere; Firecrest – male in Samuel’s Wood, occasionally singing when the sun briefly broke through; Chiffchaff – 10+ scattered around (Kevin Lane.)  In the afternoon, 15.00-16.30: Great White Egret, 20 Mediterranean Gulls resting on the water, 2 Great Black-backed Gulls and some Herring Gulls. The ducks are beginning to disperse,  but still quite a few Wigeon, Teal and Gadwall about, 20 Shoveler but only 6 Pochard. Also looks like the Reed Buntings are returning as counted 6 this afternoon . 4 Little Grebe plus 10 Great Crested Grebes, two of which were displaying (Martin Wood.)

23rd March
I found yet another site tick for me this morning with a very tame Tree Pipit on fence posts near the lodge. I think this is also my earliest spring record. In addition, I found a Firecrest in bushes by the wood by the SW corner of the South Lake. Best of the rest were 27+ Mediterranean Gulls and some very showy Cetti’s Warblers (George Green.)

21st March
A Great White Egret was on the western side of South Lake, 10 Snipe on the the large island, plus two nice Red Fox seen (Martin Wood.) There were also 2 Great and 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Dave and Pat Harris.) The Oystercatcher was still present, but now roosting on the island off the causeway. Also along the causeway at dusk were 7 Snipe, 6 Stonechat and 2 Water Rail (Kevin Lane.)

20th March
There was an Oystercatcher feeding at the east end of the causeway this morning. Surprisingly this is quite a rare visitor to Longham Lakes with only 6 previous records – the last in 2014. Otherwise some evidence of cold weather movement with c100+ Fieldfare. Best of the rest 17 Mediterranean Gulls and 6+ Stonechats, a high count for the site (George Green.)

19th March
On a bitterly cold but beautiful snowy day the patch was heaving with birds. Top billing goes to the 60 (maybe a lot more) Golden Plover feeding and flying around the Corn stubble field at the western end of Green Lane. Lots of Stock Doves and Linnets also in that field. Single Wheatear and Sand Martin were seen from the causeway which was incredible to witness surrounded by snow! Huge numbers of Fieldfare, Redwing and Meadow Pipits. Also an obvious influx of Stonechat which seemed to be everywhere (Matthew Bell.)

17th March
Very cold and the lake was practically empty of birds with a few Wigeon, Shoveler and Gadwall hunkered down by the island. On the flooded pool in Hampreston Fields were some Teal and a good number of Mediterranean Gulls. Best bird today was 2 Sand Martins flying around in the North West Corner while it was snowing (Martin Wood).

16th March
Highlight today was a single Brent Goose on the south side of the North Lake (edge of causeway). This is only the 5th record, and the first since 2011. Also 6 Cetti’s Warblers (Martin Bennett).

12th March
Counts today included 8 Goldfinches, 2 Cetti’s Warblers (only heard), 5 Chiffchaffs, 10(8,2) Redwings, 7 Reed Buntings, 2 Goldcrests, 2 Jackdaws at nest hole, 4 Little Egrets, 10 Greylag Geese (Hampreston fields), 5 Teal, 7+ Mediterranean Gulls, both Lesser black-backed Gull and Great black-backed Gull and 2 Herring Gulls. Also a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming (Trevor Wilkinson.)

10th March
Some wildfowl counts included 49 Gadwall, 57 Teal, 30 Pochard, 38 Wigeon and 17 Shoveler. Good to hear the calls of the Mediterranean Gulls again, with 22 on South Lake; also 4 Redwing still about and a Mistle Thrush, Pheasant, Chiffchaff and a Stonechat for the patch yearlist it was a very nice stroll round (Martin Wood.)

8th March
I counted at least 30 Shoveler, mostly males so there were probably more females as well. Also up to 15 Wigeon, at least 3 Little Grebe, lots of Pochard (a flotilla of about 20 on the North Lake), plenty of Tufted Ducks and at least 10 Gadwall. Great Crested Grebes were showing well and there were 20 Cormorants on the large island (Roger Peart.)

4th March
The best bird I found was a Shelduck on South Lake, the first of the year. Still a lot of Pochard, a few Wigeon, Teal and Gadwall about, along with Little Grebes and Great Crested Grebes. 11 Shoveler flew east from the lake (Martin Wood.) In the last hour of light there was 1 Great Egret on South Lake, 1 Water Rail feeding by the jetty, 2 Snipe along the causeway and 3 Roe Deer at the far end of the Causeway (Kevin Lane.)

2nd-3rd March
Who knows what was around during the brief Arctic freeze? Sadly none of the regulars could get to the site.

1st March
Visited Longham lakes briefly at around this morning at around 10am, car park gate closed. Temperature below -3C and in a strong gusty, ENE wind up to 20mph and too cold for me to do a full circuit. The usual ducks present including c.30 Shoveler and Wigeon, Gadwall and Pochard, mostly gathered close to sheltered banks. Also, c.30 Black-tailed Godwits probing the snow and grass at the east end of the causeway plus a few Snipe, flying quickly to cover when flushed (Alan Pearce.)