Marsh and Moor and Coast

Despite Storm Hannah barrelling across the UK overnight on Friday 26th April I decided to head off to Exminster Marsh anyway on Saturday 27th in sunny skies but with continuing strong winds. I caught a later train than planned and being a Saturday it was exceptionally busy but I arrived off the bus at The Swans Nest at Exminster at around 11:20am without any mishaps or delays.

It was very windy and I wasn't sure if I would see my target birds (sedge warbler and reed warbler) but I could hear both species singing away deep in cover as soon as I began my walk along the road to the car park. I did eventually manage brief sightings of 2 sedge warblers and 2 reed warblers on my walk around the marsh with many more heard only and I also heard a whitethroat, a Cettis warbler, blackcap and chiffchaff.

A few sand martins were buzzing around with just 2 swallows and amongst the Canada geese and shelduck out on the marsh I picked out a few teal, 2 male and a female shoveler and a male wigeon. The highlight though was a cattle egret feeding close to the road with little egrets amongst some cows, looking quite smart as it develops into summer plumage and my first sighting of one on Exminster Marsh.

 Cattle Egret, Exminster Marsh

 Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret

I carried on to Powderham Marsh, seeing female orange tips and a green veiled white in more sheltered spots along the way, and from the viewing platform there were many Canada geese including a pair with 5 very yellow and fluffy goslings. Lapwings were noisily displaying and a few small chicks were also seen running around, and other waders noted were 2 oystercatcher, a flighty flock of around 80 black-tailed godwits in mixed summer and winter plumage and 4 little ringed plover.

Black-tailed Godwits, Powderham Marsh

 Orange Tip

Orange Tip

3 Egyptian geese were found amongst the Canada geese before 2 flew off towards Turf and the single bird left went to sleep amongst the grass and also seen were teal, 2 pairs of tufted ducks and 2 male and a female shoveler (possibly the birds seen earlier on Exminster Marsh).

A nice surprise though was a little gull feeding along the waters edge and occassionally flying around , a sub adult bird in summer plumage but with a white speckled black head. It had been reported on the bird sites a few days previously but reports had dried up and I assumed it had moved on so I was very pleased to see it although it was quite distant. It appeared a bit weak and wobbly on its feet as it fed along the waters edge but flew strongly and I guess its wobbly gait was due to the continuing strong winds.

 Little Gull

Duchess of Sutherland

Monday 29th April and it was time for my annual Dartmoor bird day with Mavis, a little earlier than usual but we still had a great day despite the grey skies and drizzly mizzle. We parked up at Bennets Cross and walked down to Golden Dagger in Soussons and as we began our walk we could hear skylarks singing away and a distant cuckoo calling. Willow warblers were very vocal and showy too and we eventually found the calling cuckoo perched in a tree being mobbed by a small bird (probably a pipit) but it remained very distant.

A pair of stonechat, a male reed bunting, 2 songflighting tree pipits, a kestrel, a buzzard, swallows overhead, 2 mistle thrush, 3 male whinchats and 3 redpolls continually flying around calling were also seen with a green woodpecker also heard yaffling despite the wet conditions but the undoubted highlight was a reeling grasshopper warbler. We picked it up giving brief and quiet reels at first before it reeled loudly and strongly and then appeared on top of a bramble bush allowing some close and good views for around 15 minutes before it went quiet and disappeared from view.

 Grasshopper Warbler , Soussons

 Grasshopper Warbler

Grasshopper Warbler 

I wasn't expecting to see any green tiger beetles in the cool and wet weather but we did manage to find one which allowed very close views as it enjoyed the warmth of my hand and showed off it's absolutely gruesome set of jaws.

 Green Tiger Beetle

 Green Tiger Beetle

Green Tiger Beetle

After some lunch at Warren House Inn we drove round to Challacombe Farm for the second part of our walk and fortunately the mizzle had stopped but the skies remained grey. 4 Tamworth piglets running around at the farm kept us company as we walked around and we managed to see swallows, a grey wagtail, 2 songflighting redpolls, a song thrush, more willow warblers and a singing male redstart which was very mobile and elusive.

Redstart, Challacombe Farm

We eventually heard a cuckoo calling and managed to find it perched in the top of a dead tree where we managed to get some very good views before it flew off into cover.

 Cuckoo

 Cuckoo

 Cuckoo

Cuckoo

We had a look in the fields by the roadside as we began our drive back home and we managed to eventually find a male whinchat along with a pair of linnets and 2 pairs of wheatears, a nice end to a very enjoyable day out.

 Wheatear

Whinchat

Tuesday April 30th and a dry morning with sunny spells saw me heading out to Wembury for a quick walk before yet another dreaded night shift. It was fairly quiet and not too busy and along the beach I found a lone winter plumaged bar-tailed godwit, a curlew and 7 noisy whimbrels with the oystercatchers. A cirl bunting was heard singing with blackcaps and chiffchaffs and there seemed to be whitethroats singing everywhere. I finally managed to see my first Wembury swallows of the year with a group of 8 coming in off the sea and heading off straight inland followed by a trickle of 1 or 2 birds in off the sea on the rest of my walk.

Stonechat, Wembury

The toilet block held a green carpet and a double-striped pug which I caught and released outside.

 Green Carpet

Double-striped Pug

A few orange tips and green-veined whites were seen along with a single speckled wood plus 2 common lizards and bloody-nose beetle larva before it was time to head back home.

Bee Sp.?

Bee Sp.