Birding,Beer & Skittles

Today I should have been going to Newton Abbot Races with the Hustlers Skittle Team but on Thursday the meeting was called of due to a waterlogged course so I took the only course of action and went birding instead.
I saw on Birdguides last night that the long staying Woodchat Shrike was still at Wyke Regis just outside Weymouth so I sent a text to Andy G and asked if he wanted to try again. We had aborted a trip last week due to the weather.
We set off at 7.30am and had arrived at the Bridging Camp around 8.30am. We set off looking for the paddock with the "Keep out - Bull" sign that was mentioned in the report. On the way we saw a couple of Whinchats ans several Wheatears. We took up position by the sign and waited, and waited and waited.......and waited.
After around 90 minutes I saw a couple walking through one of the fields back towards the camp and saw them looking at something with binoculars. Scanning in the direction they were looking I saw the Shrike perched on the fence post for about a second before it moved off.
We walked back towards the Bridging Camp and soon had the 'Chat in our scopes. It had taken a while but we got the result in the end.
We then decided to try for a Wryneck that had been at Tidworth Rifle Ranges the day before. This was a new site for us but its one we will try again. It was 'alive' with Wheatear's and we also saw a Whitethroat and a female Redstart but no sign of the Wryneck.

Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)


Wheatear

We were then going to try for a Little Stint that had been reported at Lodmoor RSBP Reserve but a message came through on the phone that a Black Tern was at Abbotsbury and a Wryneck at West Bexington so we decided to go there instead.
We struck lucky with the Black Tern and saw it straight away as it flew over the meadow pool,we then pushed on for West Bexington and the Wryneck.
We again struck lucky and saw it within about 10 minutes of arrival on the main coast path.