A Quiet October Ends

October 26th and a busy day of jobs and chores and Outlaws was broken up by a quick walk around Burrator Reservoir. It was quiet, a continuing theme for this October, with the highlight being a pair of wigeon on the water before they disappeared into the overhanging trees at the waters edge, my first Burrator sighting. There were also 12 male and 11 female tufted duck out on the water, my highest ever Burrator count, along with a few mallard and a muscovy duck, and the 2 white feral geese were feeding on the grass by the side dam and appeared to be in a good mood for a change.

Also seen were a few siskins in the tops of the pine trees, 2 flyover mistle thrush and 2 young roe deer feeding in a field by the roadside totally unconcerned by traffic and people passing by.

 Roe Deer

 Roe Deer

 Roe Deer

Roe Deer

With a recent large influx of hawfinch into the UK a report on Twitter of 3 birds at Badgers/Budshead Woods in Plymouth had me heading out there to have a look on October 29th. However looking for 3 small and secretive birds in a large and still leafy woodland unsurprisingly drew a blank but it was a pleasent walk in an area of Plymouth I have never visited before. The usual woodland birds were seen - buzzard, goldcrest, jay, woodpigeon, great tit, etc. - but no hawfinch.

I walked on to nearby Ernesettle Creek where there were 5 greenshank with redshanks on the incoming tide, 4 male and a female teal with 2 shelduck and mallards, 16 snipe roosting together on the salt marsh, 2 curlew, little egrets, grey herons and gulls. A few speckled wood were flitting about in the warm sunshine too.

October 30th and a beautiful autumn morning with clear blue sky, no wind and a chill in the air, and so I headed off to Wembury for a quick walk. 2 rusty dot pearl were in the toilet block and along the coast path walk as the sun warmed up the morning  I saw a bloody nose beetle and plenty of red admirals flitting about and appearing to be heading in a westerly direction and including a single painted lady.

 Red Admiral

Fly Sp.

Bird wise it was quiet with the highlights being a male and 2 female pheasents, 3 buzzards soaring together overhead, a calling chiffchaff, 2 female blackcap, stonechats, a female kestrel and some nice views of at least 4 male and 4 female mobile and flighty cirl buntings. Best bird though was a male great spotted woodpecker in trees in a garden by the road as I walked down to the beach, my first one actually in the village.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

And so October ends, a rather quiet affair this year with mostly mild but windy weather and not a lot of bird action.