Little Ringed Plover, River Plym

A last minute days annual leave on April 22nd and it was off to Bude with the Outlaws to sort out the caravan for the summer season. It was sunny but cool in a strong breeze which made putting up the awning with 2 80+year olds a lot of fun! Amongst all the usual sorting out the caravan shananigans I managed to hear a whimbrel calling overhead and I saw a flyover raven, hovering kestrel, a calling greenshank, swallows and sand martins.

A walk to nearby Maer Lake and a male pochard and a pair of shoveler were notable, the female shoveler being very pale looking. 2 shelduck were with the feeding teal and mallard and I also found a common sandpiper and 5 summer plumaged dunlin. A chiffchaff was singing away but a willow warbler was much more subdued, quietly singing brief snatches of song in a hedgerow out of sight.

The toilet block held 3 moths - a male pale tussock, a male brindled beauty and a new moth for me, a frosted green, ID'd with help from the Cornwall Moth Group e-forum.

Male Pale Tussock

Male Brindled Beauty

Frosted Green

Wembury beckoned on April 23rd, another sunny but breezey day. 17 whimbrel were along the beach with just 1 summer plumaged bar-tailed godwit. They were wary and flighty due to the high tide but gave some nice views. Whitethroats, chiffchaffs and blackcaps were vocal and showy and swallows flew past regularly. A willow warbler quietly sang deep in cover.

Goldfinch

At Wembury Point I quickly found a male Dartford warbler harrassing and chasing off a disgruntled looking male whitethroat. Further along the path I found a singing male Dartford warbler, active and mobile as usual, and I wonder if there are actually 2 males at the Point this year. There was no sign of any females though.

Another distant and blurry Dartford Warbler

Dartford Warbler

Dartford Warbler

2 common lizards, orange tips, green veined whites, a speckled yellow moth, a wall, holly blues and a ruby tiger moth were the non-avian highlights.

Wall

Ruby Tiger Moth

Green Veined White

Male Orangetip

On the bus journey back to Plymouth I decided to get off at Laira Bridge for a walk to Blaxton Meadow by the River Plym to have a look for a little ringed plover reported there yesterday. I soon found the bird feeding on the marshy ground very close to the footpath where it gave some great views. It was interesting to see it feeding in the same manner as the 3 birds I saw at the same site in March 2013 - shaking the vegetation with one foot and snatching at any insects disturbed. A very nice bird to see on the River Plym and a nice end to the day.

Little Ringed Plover

Little Ringed Plover

Little Ringed Plover

Little Ringed Plover

Speckled Wood, Saltram