On the way to Portland Bird Observatory last Friday we called in at the RSPB’s Lodmoor Reserve, just outside of Weymouth, to see if we could catch a glimpse of one of their rare visitors, a Lesser yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes), a bird that’s usually more at home in the Americas. Our views weren’t super clear – my photos were taken through tall grasses and bramble – but it was great to see one of these occasional visitors to Europe.

As well as the Lesser yellowlegs (and the Gadwall I blogged about earlier in the week), there was an abundance of other birdlife.

Large numbers of Canada geese flew in while we walked the trails, and there were numerous Teal and Tufted ducks.

A few Mediterranean as well as the more common gull species …

Ruff, Snipe, Little and Great white egrets puddled about in the lagoons; a very confiding Kingfisher posed for photos; two Marsh harriers glided over the distant reed beds; and a Spoonbill was a nice, though distant sighting. I recorded over 30 species of birds at Lodmoor and that was without walking right around the reserve.