Yellow Browed Warbler, Bowling Green Marsh, January 23rd 2019

A very cold but sunny and still morning saw me heading off to Topsham on the train to look for a yellow browed warbler that has been showing well here for a while. It was first reported on Twitter on January 6th but wasn't widely seen until January 10th and with it being particularly showy it seemed too good an opportunity to miss.

I caught the first train out of Plymouth after 9am to save myself £11.40 on the ticket price (and to have a lie in!) and arrived at Topsham at just after 11am. I walked along the lane towards the hide scanning the hedgerow as I went and within a few minutes had found the yellow browed warbler feeding in the vegetation low to the ground on the roadside verge - result.

It showed very well, down to a few feet at times, and was very unconcerned by people walking past, certainly the best views ever I have had of one. However like my previous encounters with yellow browed warblers this one was just as active and mobile, always on the move and disappearing for short periods only to reappear elsewhere. I managed to get a couple of decentish record shots but there are far better photos on Twitter, some of which show the bird with a squinty right eye due to a tick which was apparent at times as it flitted through the undergrowth.

 Yellow-Browed Warbler

 Yellow-Browed Warbler 

Yellow-Browed Warbler 

The water levels at the Marsh were very high still and having missed high tide there were just a few curlew and redshank around along with lapwing, snipe and black-tailed godwits. A male gadwall, a male pintail, 6 male and 2 female tufted ducks and 2 shelduck were seen amongst the shoveler, wigeon, teal and mallard. The lone ruff was found sleeping on a small island too, having been spooked earlier by a male sparrowhawk skimming by which also spooked 2 feeding redwings.

 Lapwing and Ruff

Teal and Shoveler

Onwards to Goosemoor where an adult common gull and 2 greenshanks were seen along with a hunting female sparrowhawk and from the hide at Darts Farm a feeding flock of 50+ fieldfares were feeding in the fields with a few redwing and starling. Scanning around and I picked up a few meadow pipits and eventually 2 water pipits although the views were distant. The water pipits were quite feisty and often chased each other around but later I managed to see 3 feeding  together much closer to the hide with another bird feeding on it's own nearby.

I then caught the train to Dawlish Warren for a quick look off the sea wall in very flat calm conditions but the sky had clouded over and the light was poor. From the wall I picked up a few gannets flying around and diving for fish and 5 great crested grebes resting on the sea. 3 Brent geese flew past and landed on Langstone Rocks to feed and a few shag, cormorant and great black-backed gulls were also noted but there was no sign of the recent velvet scoter (although it was reported that afternoon).

And so not a bad day out and with a few mammal sightings too - 2 rabbits at Bowling Green Marsh with 2 grey squirrels in the nearby trees, a fox from the train at Topsham,  fallow deer from the train at Powderham, a grey seal poking its head out of the water at Dawlish Warren and 2 roe deer from the train at Totnes.