gryllosblog   Gryllo's (aka Ian Lewis') blog. All things to do with travel, wildlife especially birds, history, architecture and anything else that interests me.

Stuck at home today whilst an electrician did some work at home but I did manage to escape for a few hours and go back to Longham Lakes. The female Blue-winged Teal did show, but only briefly as it slipped from the long grass on the island into a hidden inlet. I hope to return as soon as the weather improves for better views.

Blue-winged Teal is a vagrant from North America and is about the sixth record for Dorset. I have seen one previously in Dorset at Abbotsbury in 1999.

With no photographs taken I have included (with permission) a shot from Vaughan Ashby taken of the same bird last week.

Female Blue-winged Teal, Longham Lake. Photo by Vaughan Ashby / Birdfinders.

I later made a brief visit to Hatch Pond where a Jack Snipe showed well for a few minutes in the recently cleared area adjacent to Elborn’s Cut.