Lyme Regis Birding - or an even quieter Backwater (1 Viewer)

[Roger Boswell]

Hi,

It is always nice to drive over to Seaton and see the many different birds in the Axe valley. However, without climbing into a car I can walk along the Lim, visit the Cobb or beaches in Lyme and explore the countryside around Uplyme or Ware cliffs and the Undercliff.

I am not an expert, but am beginning to look a little harder at anything that flies past and have been quite surprised how many different species I have found in this area.

This year in particular I have seen Sanderling, Dunlins, Knot, Turnstones and Ringed Plovers on Monmouth beach as well as the Purple Sandpipers on the Cobb. There have also been Razorbils, Guillemots and Great Crested Grebes in the sea with Buzzards, Kestrels, Stonechats and Willow Warblers in the scrub behind Monmouth Beach. On the Lim there have been Dippers and Grey Wagtails, with Pied Wagtails and Rock Pipits on the shore. There has even been the occassional Wheatear posing on the Cobb. Ware cliffs supports a good collection of woodland birds, and I am sure there are many more that I miss.

One advantage of birding at Lyme is that you can often get very near to the birds. Purple Sandpipers are often not more than 6ft away and by sitting on Monmouth beach all the waders can be pushed towards you by the incomming tide - all ideal for photography.

Although only 7 miles away from Backwater Birding I think this is far enough to warrant a new local patch, and would appreciate contributions from anyone else who lives in or visits the Lyme area. It might even turn out that some of the Gulls on the Cobb are not just Herring!


Today there were 5 Purple Sandpipers on the Rock Armour of the Cobb - very difficult to see when not feeding. There was also a flock of over a dozen Oystercatchers on the rocks near Church cliff, the most I have seen at Lyme. No Dippers to be seen today, but two bright male Grey Wagtails were on the Lim.

 

[andrew grinter]

Hi Roger
Had a pair of Dippers on the Lim on Sunday. 6 Purple Sands on the Cobb Wall/Rocks, 9 Oystercatchers and the usual Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails.

Andy

 

[Roger Boswell]

Hi Andy - good to have another contribution, I hope there will be some more.

Not very exciting today, high winds making it very wet along the Cobb this afternoon. Wasn't even worth the effort - not a single Purple Sandpiper to be seen, just a few Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails. Even the Dippers were out of sight today.

 

[andrew grinter]

Roger
Only minor news I know but I forgot to mention 4 Blackcaps (3m & 1f) in gardens between the Angel Inn and Town Mill on Sunday. I am sure there are some good birds to be found in your 'neck of the woods'. Possibly an under watched area?

Andy

 

[bob hastie]

Good to see you starting this thread Roger. I'll be keeping an eye on it, who knows I may even be able to contribute to it occasionally.

 

[Roger Boswell]

A bright start and off to a Jurassic Coast U3A bird group meeting - the first in Lyme. At least it shows that there are more people interested in birds in Lyme, but probably not willing to go to Cley!

The location visited was a garden on the western side of Lyme with fields beyond. The garden was full of Great Tits, Blue Tits, Long-tailed Tits and a Cole Tit. There were also a large number of Goldfinches, some Greenfinches and two pairs of Siskins - and a Nuthatch made a brief flypast.

Walked down the Lim afterwards but nothing to be seen, but the perfume from Winter Heliotrope was quite powerful in places. The mimosa by the Town Mill is also coming into flower. There have been quite a few reports of a Kingfisher being seen near the Lower Mill, so will have to keep looking.

Very blustery on the Cobb with only 1 Purple Sandpiper visible on the rock armour. While watching it, it flew off to rocks on the outside of the Cobb to join two others feeding there - a new place to look a low tide.

Back in our garden a male Blackcap made a brief second appearance.

 

[MSA]

Hi Roger

I shall be checking your thread regularly; I have fond memories of my first "find", an adult Grey Phalarope at Charmouth in June 1977, at the ripe old age of 13!! Out of curiosity, do you submit records to the Dorset Report? It's certainly an underrecorded area, and as editor I have a vested interest! Please PM me if you'd like to know how to submit.

 

[Roger Boswell]

I 'chased' a Dipper down the Lim from just below Post Bridge, until it finally gave up and perched on its favourite stone behind the houses. However, further down on the Leatway there were 2 Dippers down on the river; are there now 3 Dippers on the Lim? There was also a Song Thrush in the trees and two Grey wagtails near the waterfall.

Along the seafront were several Pied Wagtails running in front of people on Marine Parade and quite a few Rock Pipits round the harbour.

There were 13 Purple Sandpipers on the Cobb - 12 in the wall and the 13th on the end of the Cobb. The latter posed for me for about 20 minutes, allowing me to get within 6ft of it; it only flew off when some people approached.

There were several Black-backed Gulls in the harbour in the afternoon, looking superbin the bright sun.

Image 1 one of the Dippers (forgot to turn the IS on!)
Images 2 & 3 The poser
Image 4 The feasting BBG

 

[Wendy Morris]

I'm rather a long way inland from Lyme (near Sherborne), but reading this makes me sure that I shall be paying a few more visits through this year.

 

[Roger Boswell]

Is this the first victim of the Ice Prince, or is the Napoli still spilling oil?

This Guillemot eventually landed on the beach behind Victoria Pier. The winds were gale force and it seemed to struggle to get ashore. It didn't look too bad from this angle but I couldn't get to see the other side, which it seemed to be trying to clean.

Purple Sandpipers still on the rock armour. Yesterday one was bathing in a pool of water on the rocks below an intermittant power shower provided by the waves breaking over.

 

[Roger Boswell]

Not good for birds today!

The Lim was a torrent of brown water, with no stones left for the dippers to stand on. Only a flock of Long-tailed Tits in the trees on the way down to Lyme.

There were a surprising number of Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails on the main beach, but it was impossible to get near the end of the Cobb to see if the Purple Sandpipers were there!

 

[paulwfromtheden]

Not good for birds today!

The Lim was a torrent of brown water, with no stones left for the dippers to stand on. Only a flock of Long-tailed Tits in the trees on the way down to Lyme.

There were a surprising number of Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails on the main beach, but it was impossible to get near the end of the Cobb to see if the Purple Sandpipers were there!

Hi Roger,
I walked from West Bexington to Charmouth on Saturday along the costal path, highlights were about 10 Buzzards, a pair of Ravens and a smashing view of a Peregrin up on Golden Cap.
One of my favorite parts of the world...
Paul

 

[Roger Boswell]

Hi Paul,

I have seen the pair of Ravens on the beach but haven't seen a Peregrin for a couple of years. Will have to look up instead of down on my next walk along Charmouth beach - if there is not too much wood piled up there!!!

 

[Roger Boswell]

Another dismal day with waves again breaking over the end of the Cobb. At first I couldn't see any Purple Sandpipers, but looking down from the path behind the aquarium there were 13 hidden in the crevices of the wall. I am sure they turn a darker colour in dull weather - they blended in very well with the colour of the wall.

The Lim is still flowing very fast, but I saw one Dipper flying down towards Jericho.

First daffodil nearly out along the Lim - just needs some sun for a change. Winter heliotrope still giving off a heady perfume.

 

[Roger Boswell]

Quite rough weather over the last few days with Purple Sandpiper numbers varying from 13 to 1! Today 5 were seen on the rock armour.

Also plenty of Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails, some of the latter being almost jet black and white - even in today's dull weather. No rare gulls to be seen, just a few Great Black-backed and Black-headed among the large number of Herring Gulls.

A couple of Oyster Catchers on the ledges east of Lyme.

The most exciting sighting was a female Black? Redstart on the rocks at the mouth of the Lim, competing with the Wagtails for the flies on the rocks. Can anyone confirm that it is a female Black Redstart?


Images taken with Canon S3 with Olympus 1.7TC 1/25 at f3.5 max telephoto

 

[Steve Waite]

Yes Roger, a Black Redstart. Nice photo!

 

[sideshow bob]

Quite rough weather over the last few days with Purple Sandpiper numbers varying from 13 to 1! Today 5 were seen on the rock armour.

Also plenty of Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails, some of the latter being almost jet black and white - even in today's dull weather. No rare gulls to be seen, just a few Great Black-backed and Black-headed among the large number of Herring Gulls.

A couple of Oyster Catchers on the ledges east of Lyme.

The most exciting sighting was a female Black? Redstart on the rocks at the mouth of the Lim, competing with the Wagtails for the flies on the rocks. Can anyone confirm that it is a female Black Redstart?


Images taken with Canon S3 with Olympus 1.7TC 1/25 at f3.5 max telephoto

Roger,

That is indeed a female Black Redstart - good find. I would expect a few wintering along that stretch of coast, but they're always a pleasure to find. I love watching them feed, all flicking wings and quivering tails. Good photo's too.

When my Dad had a static van at Burton Bradstock a few years ago, I used to love visiting West Bex/Cogden Beach. In five years of wandering this coast I only ever saw two other birders. I wish my Dad had kept the van, because I absolutely love that part of Dorset, and bird-wise, I think it's brilliant undiscovered country.

In 5 years, I found 2 Wrynecks, a Dartford Warbler, a few Marsh Harriers, Whimbrel, Greenshank, Merlin, and one one memorable September morning at West Bex, experienced wonderful viz-mig - a constant stream of wagtails, pipits, hirundines, finches, all following Chesil Beach down towards Portland (so going east).

 

[Roger Boswell]

It was quite dull when I set off down the Lim - a Dipper passed me flying downstream, rather higher above the water than usual. Onto the Cobb and 14 Purple Sandpipers were in the wall today. Two gulls were doing 'beak-wrestling' in the harbour; they were not fighting over a tasty morsel but had their bills locked together for quite a while.

Only Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails to be seen as I walked to the west end of Lyme. However, as I returned to Cobb Gate I saw the Black Redstart on the rocks in front of the car park. It gradually moved over the rocks to the mouth of the Lim and then spent a long time feeding from rocks just infront of the sea wall - too near to it - you could not see her from behind the wall. She eventually flew to a rock just below me at the mouth of the Lim - and just as quickly returned to the same place below the wall. Not wanting to miss a possible very close view I climbed onto the wall and looked over - to see her on a rock about 10ft away.

The same rocks also had a Rock Pipit and Grey Wagtail searching for food on them.

 

[Roger Boswell]

A complete contrast to yesterday when, even 3 hours before high tide the waves were being blown over the Cobb and across the harbour - to wet to photograph.

Today it was dead calm! Despite this, only 2 Purple Sandpipers on the Cobb. Plenty of Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails.

Walked down to the mouth of the Lym, but no Black Redstart in sight. However, one Pied Wagtail was so busy having a good preen that I watched it for ages and was able to move round it taking photos from all angles. I even had to zoom out to get it in the frame!

Grey wagtails on the Lim, but no Dippers. I then saw a small bird fly into the ivy of a tree beside the Lim; it eventually appeared - a Treecreeper. A first for me in this location.

 

[James Lowther]

Hi Roger,
was inspired by this thread to launch a short-range twitch to your local patch today in the hope of getting dipper onto my dorset list.
Walked pretty much the entire length of the lim from the devon-dorset border and after getting increasingly frustrated finally struck gold at the very last viewpoint next door to the shoe shop (rainbow?) in the town centre! So, cheers for that!
Got really excellent views of the same bird by moving back to the balcony next to cafe sol.
Also saw 2 grey wagtails on the river, a female blackcap in trees overlooking the town mill, and 6 purple sandpipers at extremely close range on the cob.
Keep up the good patch work!
James